Euclid’s entry into celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country kicked off on Feb. 11 by showcasing the accomplishments of local Black inventor Garrett Morgan. Gathered inside the Shore Cultural Centre a speaker with the Western Reserve Historical Society highlighted Morgan’s inventions, mo st notably a safety hood, that would become the starting point for World War I gas masks, a three-way traffic safety light in 1923, sewing machine patents, and a complete line of hair care products. Ed Chenock, the community development manager for the City of Euclid, prepares to start a talk on Feb. 11. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) Visitors take in a photo that shows Garrett Morgan wipe mud off of a victim that he just rescued during the 1916 Waterworks Tunnel Disaster, in Cleveland. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) Morgan still has local connections as Sandra Morgan, the new interim mayor of East Cleveland, is his granddaughter and his newspaper the Call Post, which he founded in 1928, is still around today. Morgan played a big role in local history, once using his breathing device to save Cleveland City workers during the 1916 Waterworks Tunnel Disaster, wherein 20 people perished 120-feet under the depths of Lake Erie. Morgan and his brother Frank were the only people able to recover some of the initial workers who were stranded in the tunnel after it had been blocked by an explosion caused by hitting a pocket of natural gas during excavation. Although others received credit and monetary awards for their efforts during recovery, because of his race, Morgan did not get any accolades for his bravery until shortly before his death in 1963 at age 86. Ed Chenock, Euclid’s community development manager, said they picked Morgan to start the 250th celebrations because they wanted to highlight Ohioans accomplishments. “The theme was to celebrate Ohio’s ‘greatest,’ and this event was actually supposed to happen in January, but we had to postpone it because of the windchill, (however) we wanted to celebrate a great significant person who contributed so much,” Chenock said after the presentation. People leave the Shore Cultural Centre in Euclid after a lecture on local inventor Garrett Morgan on Feb. 11. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) He said the upcoming year will be filled with events, some of them, such as a car show in April, a float in the Memorial Day parade, and a fair during their National Night Out. “There’s going to be a lot more community stuff,” Chenock said. “We are also going to end the year by creating a time capsule to celebrate the year we had this year but to also have the community or kids, talk about what they want to see by the 300th anniversary of our country, 50 years from now. “Additionally, Euclid is celebrating two major milestones. It’s going to be the 230th anniversary from when Moses Cleaveland landed at Euclid Creek before he landed at the Cuyahoga River to create Cleveland. “He actually named Euclid, ‘Euclid’ because the mathematician was seen as the patron saint of surveyors.” “I thought the turnout was excellent,” Chenock said about the event. “Especially for an evening like this, most of the seats were full, and also we are just looking forward to more events as the months come along.” ...read more read less