Code,999006
Subject,Nancilee McCormack
Date,12/8/2005
Interviewer,Mark Souther
Abstract,"In this 2005 interview, Nancilee McCormack, a resident of the westside of Cleveland since 1966, talks about moving to Cleveland from southern Ohio as a young woman and working for 40 years as a waitress in a number of well-known and not so well known bars and restaurants of Downtown and the west side of Cleveland, including Tony's Diner and the ""infamous"" Egg Palace.  She recounts stories of shopping in Downtown Cleveland with a friend and their children in the 1970s and 1980s before the last of the large retail stores left Downtown.  She also talks about her work as a member of the West Clinton Block Watch and, most recently, as an employee of the Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Association.  In connection with her current employment, she talks about a number of project sponsored by the Association to promote the neighborhood community."
Special Notes,"detroit shoreway, block clubs, downtown economy, west side food and entertainment"
minutes:,75
0,introduction and background.  Came from a small town in southern Ohio to Cleveland at age 20 in 1966.
1,"Dudley Elton/Urban Tiers (?) neighborhood: ""it was rednecks and hillbillies [in the 1960s]"""
2,"waitressing at Tony's Diner (W117th): ""it was a big deal place for [journalists and politicians]"", Tony's relocates to suburbs"
3,"moving to cleveland:  ""I thought it was really neat.  There were these pockets of neighborhoods"""
4,"downtown retail, 1960s: ""downtown was really exciting back then""; transportation"
5,"Madison Avenue neighborhood, 1960s: description"
6,
7,Detroit Shoreway neighborhood: block club and detroit shoreway development coproration
8,"""my neighborhood is from w25th to w117th, from the lake to denison.  It's a pretty big neighborhood…  I think of detroit shoreway as more than a neighborhood"""""
9,
10,detroit shoreway has avoided the gentrification that Ohio city has experienced
11,"neighborhood improvement, diverse housing stock"
12,
13,Block Club: involvement
14,accomplishments as block club leader
15,describing block club meetings
16,new labyrinth project (w65 and w. clinton)
17,
18,"local waitressing experiences, incl. specific information about time period, locations, operations and ownership (tony's diner, jim's waterburgh, ""the infamous egg palace"", alvie's, midtown, the frontier, sidelines, the new york deli)"
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,downtown retail and restaurants
24,"""slowly but surely, there was no place to shop downtown"""
25,effect of store closings on downtown residents and downtown economy
26,"""now there's no reason to go on euclid"""
27,Penton Publishing relocation; decline of the Galleria
28,"Block Club, beautification and safety projects: new streetlamps"
29,"neighborhood clean-ups, flower boxes and plantings"
30,yard maintenance
31,"youth volunteers, Neighborhood Connections grants"
32,"Cleveland Public Theatre parking lot lighting, neighborhood watch"
33,Detroit Shoreway Snowflake Project
34,
35,"Detroit Avenue, bars: The Yankee Bar (""you would sit with your back to the wall so you could see when the people came in with guns), reopened as The Happy Dog"
36,Happy Dog's petition for liquor license brings out bad memories of Yankee Bar
37,Cleveland Public Theatre's liquor license
38,"Detroit Avenue, grocery stores : Kroger's, Sapelli's Bi-Rite, Sav-A-Lot, Pick N Pay, Dave's"
39,
40,"Detroit Avenue, bars: relocations and closings"
41,"[40:40] Lorain Avenue, bars and restaurants: ""once again, the rough and tumble bars all got closed down"", Steve's Hot Dog Inn"
42,fire at Perry's (w64th and Detroit)
43,"other bars and restaurants: happy dog, lou and eddie's/bella's four seasons/snickers (car crash and road construction affect business), the parkview (""when I have company in from out of town, I take them there"")"
44,
45,"Detroit Shoreway, local retail and entertainment: Gordon Square Arcade"
46,"Treasure Trove (thrift shop), Cleveland Public Theatre"
47,Cleveland Public Theatre
48,description of interior
49,preserving historic architecture
50,description of interior and exterior murals (the latter sponsored by local block club)
51,
52,
53,"Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, community-building: a ""gradual"" process"
54,
55,combatting local drug trade; new housing development
56,"Bridge Avenue: ""they have a lot of dedicated home owners"""
57,"Eco Village: ""It was a great boon to the community"""
58,does not conform to neighborhood aesthetic
59,green building
60,site was mostly undeveloped
61,"[60:45] Community Events: Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival, Block Club festivals"
62,Trunk or Treat (halloween alternative)
63,
64,Block Club cooperative events
65,
66,"Detroit Shoreway, growing immigrant population"
67,Saigon Plaza (w54th and detroit)
68,
69,"Neighborhood Connections, mission: ""they are there for… the people who need it the most"""
70,programming
71,"[70:45]  urban murals, not welcomed by some residents"
72,
73,visiting art gallery on Detroit (possibly owned by Bill Busta)
74,
75,end
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