Ralph Horner
Ralph Horner grew up in the 1950s and 1960s on Whittier Avenue in the Central and Hough neighborhoods. In the 1960s and 1970s, at the age of 19, he managed a French Shriner shoe store on Euclid Avenue, where he got to know many of the people who hung out on Short Vincent. A self-proclaimed juvenile delinquent living in the inner city, Horner observed the characters who were regulars in the neighborhoods he lived and worked in. Now in his 70s, Horner shares the stories of some of his more memorable experiences on Short Vincent with the FreshWater series, Rascals and Rogues I Have Known.
FreshWater columnist Ralph Horner goes back through 1950s and 1960s Cleveland, when he was in his childhood quest to understand the world. Horner explores local television, holiday traditions, and the beloved Euclid Beach amusement park, among other musings.
In his final installment of "How I became a St. James altar boy," Ralph Horner shares his experiences with Father Bothe, assistant pastor to Father Peterson, and compares the magnitudes of both religion and war.
Ralph Horner writes about growing up near St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park, how he met Father Pete and became an altar boy and “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII,” and the first time he saw the mansions of Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights.
Ralph Horner writes about growing up near St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park, how he met Father Pete and became an altar boy and “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII,” and how his little sister humiliated him one day during mass.
Ralph Horner writes about growing up near St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park, how he met Father Pete and became an altar boy and “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII,” and incident during one Mass where the accidentally spilled the incense.
Ralph Horner writes about growing up near St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park and how he met Father Pete and became an altar boy and “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII.”
Ralph Horner writes about growing up next to St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park and how he met Father Pete and became an altar boy and “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII.”
In Ralph Horner’s newest series, “How I became a St. James altar boy,” Horner writes about growing up in the 1950s next to St. James Church in Goodrich-Kirtland Park and how he got drawn into being an altar boy and, eventually, “a high Anglo Catholic, but not under the Pope Pius XII.”
After discovering his love for rhythm & blues in the early 50s, Ralph Horner reflects on the transition into doo-wop later in a the decade, and eventually into the Rock & Roll sounds emerging out of California in the 1960s and 70s.
Ralph Horner recalls an up close and personal encounter with Big Jay McNeely's saxophone when McNeely played an Ohio City bar in the 1950s, as well as other rock legends of the era who simply faded into memories.
While hanging around at a church dance in Euclid one night, Ralph Horner recalls the unsavory reaction he and his friends displayed toward icon Frankie Avalon when the star stopped in.
Ralph Horner recalls listening to Walkin’ and Talkin’ Bill Hawkins on WJMO radio, discovering his love of Elvis Presley, and the Rock & Roll music scene in Cleveland in the 1950s.
In this first installment of Ralph Horner's newest column, Birth of Rock & Roll (and those who brought it into the world), Horner waxes nostalgic on his discovery of Bill Haley and His Comets when he was a teenagers in he 1950s.
In the conclusion of his series "The Cardalians," Ralph Horner reflects on his experiences with his friends from Cardale, Pennsylvania who settled in Glenville and Collinwood in the 1950s. Horner then wraps the series up with a personal note.
Ralph Horner recalls his time as a young man in the 1950s, spending time with Glenville residents from Cardale, Pennsylvania at Otto's Bar and the Bowl-a-Rama in Collinwood.
Ralph Horner recalls his time as a young man in the 1950s, spending time with Glenville residents from Cardale, Pennsylvania at Otto's Bar and the Bowl-a-Rama in Collinwood.
"The Cardalians" is Ralph Horner’s third series of essays, recalling his days in the 1950s as a young man near Cleveland’s Glenville and Collinwood neighborhoods, and the large population of residents who came to Cleveland from Cardale, Pennsylvania.
Ralph Horner recalls the ethnic mix of the residents living in the Goodrich-Kirtland Park neighborhood in the 1950s, reaching racial harmony, and his discovery of photos of his old neighborhood at the Cleveland Public Library.
Ralph Horner reflects on coming of age in the old neighborhood, and how culture and experiences influenced the different paths he and his friends chose in life.
Ralph Horner recalls the melting pot of friends he grew up with on East 49th Street in the 1950s—a group who regularly met to play basketball and try to stay out of trouble at the Rainey Institute on East 55th Street.