Parma Heights Historical Society Starts Thinking About Centennial

Parma Heights is getting old. 2011 marks 100 years since the historic vote which resulted in Parma Heights separating from Parma Township and establishing itself as a village.

Over the years, there has been some debate as to the reason the residents of the village made the decision to chart thier own course.  The most commonly accepted explanation found in the literature of the time indicates that the residents of Parma Heights did not feel they were equally represented in the decisions made by the township trustees at the time. Today, the city of Parma Heights has been making its own decisions for close to 100 years. 

This leaves the Parma Heights Historical Society in a rather daunting position.  The Society, which is barely one year old, with only 12 members and a bare bones budget, must think about how to celebrate an event as big as a centennial. 

Most members agree that the Parma Heights Historical Society, as it exists, is not ready for such a major undertaking.  A traditional centennial celebration usually involves multiple activities over a long period of time. That is large task for a small organization with little resources.  The members have made the decision that it may be necessary to reorganize the organization for this event.

A decision was made to form a separate centennial committee to organize events and activities.  It would be a separate entity than the Society it's self. The theory is that people who may not be interested in joining the Historical Society may be interested in getting involved in just this event.  There is a large group of people who have an interest in the city and it's history but do not have the time to commit to one organization, but may have the time available to commit to one event. 

No person who is a member of this committee would be required to join the Society. The only requirement would be an interest or pride in the community that would motivate an individual to put forth their best effort towards creating, building and hosting various activities and events that celebrate the city's past while at the same time promoting its future.

With the city facing a deficit, the Historical Society is not expecting any financial help from the City of Parma Heights. The Society would not expect a city to finance a celebration at the same time it is searching for increases in revenue and hoping to hold on to all of the employees and the services it offers. This will be the first concern of any group that organizes any events or activities.  Donations, fund-raising or the old concept of using what we have will be the themes in the planning stages.

Some people have raised the question "It's a year and a half away, we are you worried about it this early?" The answer would be, these types of events and activity can take a year to plan and put together. The brainstorming, the planning, the acquisitions, the preparation and presentation cannot be done overnight. The goal is to put together events and activities that make you proud of your beginning and optimistic on building on the past to create a successful future. The Society hopes the residents of the City of Parma Heights step forward to make in 2010 to make the centennial year a memorable one.

If you are interested in being involved in a centennial planning group, send an email to jgriffith@parmaheightshistoricalsociety.org or call 440-886-4934 and leave a message. 

If you are a member of facebook, and want to take a fantastic trip down memory lane, go the group "I was a Parma Heights kid...." A great page where people who grew up in Parma Heights share pictures, memories and nostalgia.