Ivan L. Otto interview, 18 March 2014

Abstract

Ivan L. Otto, an immigrant from Hungary, recalls coming to Cleveland from Hungary and spending the rest of his life here. He remembers traveling from Hungary as a refugee after World War Two. He describes the schools he went to throughout his life, and how he befriended an African American in the sixth grade who taught him English. According to Otto, they were two outsiders who stuck together. He mentions the different areas and neighborhoods that he lived in as a Clevelander. He also describes the big cases that he worked on as a lawyer. The biggest being the Doan Brook Dam. As a major sports fan, Otto does not forget to include the city's many different sports organizations, and how he grew a fondness for the different pastimes. He concludes by saying that Cleveland is on an upswing, and the most interesting period in Cleveland's history that he can recall is now.