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Watershed: Listeners Share Memories of the Burning River

Ideastream Public Media | By Sarah Taylor
Published June 17, 2019 at 4:54 PM EDT
A Goodtime cruise in August 1964 shows the Cleveland skyline with two bridges, one a railroad bridge and the other the Carter Road bridge over the oddly colored Cuyahoga River.
CHARLES GUNDERMAN
A Goodtime cruise in August 1964 shows the Cleveland skyline with two bridges, one a railroad bridge and the other the Carter Road bridge over the oddly colored Cuyahoga River.

Starting on June 24, WKSU will begin a series of reports looking at the state of our local waterways including the Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, and Black Rivers as well as Lake Erie. As we prepared these reports, we asked listeners to share their memories of the time 50 years ago when the Cuyahoga River burned. You'll hear their recollections on air all week, and you can check them out here as well.  

Ed Kelly used to work for the city of Cleveland and recalls counting how many pipes emptied into the Cuyahoga River as part of early attempts to regulate pollution.
Credit JEFF ST. CLAIR / WKSU
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WKSU
Ed Kelly used to work for the city of Cleveland and recalls counting how many pipes emptied into the Cuyahoga River as part of early attempts to regulate pollution.
Elaine Marsh founded the Friends of the Crooked River.
Credit JEFF ST. CLAIR / WKSU
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WKSU
Elaine Marsh founded the Friends of the Crooked River.

Elaine Marsh on the Cuyahoga going back 60 years

Frank Samsel launched the first clean-up service on the Cuyahoga River with his boat Putzfrau.
Credit JEFF ST. CLAIR / WKSU
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WKSU
Frank Samsel launched the first clean-up service on the Cuyahoga River with his boat Putzfrau.

River memories from Frank Samsel

Mark Weimer grew up with the Gorge Metro Park in his backyard. He became active in environmental activities as a high school student.
Credit NATHAN REINECK / WKSU
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WKSU
Mark Weimer grew up with the Gorge Metro Park in his backyard. He became active in environmental activities as a high school student.

Mark Weimer on his childhood memories of the river, growing up in Cuyahoga Falls

Walt Adams appeared in a video about the history of the Kent Environmental Council.
Credit STANDING ROCK CULTURAL ARTS
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STANDING ROCK CULTURAL ARTS
Walt Adams appeared in a video about the history of the Kent Environmental Council.

Walt Adams on the Cuyahoga River in Kent in 1970

Copyright 2021 WKSU. To see more, visit WKSU.

Watershed: Listeners Share Memories of the Burning River
Watershed: Listeners Share Memories of the Burning River
Watershed: Listeners Share Memories of the Burning River
Watershed: Listeners Share Memories of the Burning River
WKSU Stories
Sarah Taylor
A Northeast Ohio native, Sarah Taylor graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she worked at her first NPR station, WMUB. She began her professional career at WCKY-AM in Cincinnati and spent two decades in television news, the bulk of them at WKBN in Youngstown (as Sarah Eisler). For the past three years, Sarah has taught a variety of courses in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State, where she is also pursuing a Master’s degree. Sarah and her husband Scott, have two children. They live in Tallmadge.
See stories by Sarah Taylor