Lakewood Considers Dedicating Park To Pioneer

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood officials are considering dedicating a park space to pioneering activist and politician Bernice Pyke.

City Council is mulling a resolution which would turn the site currently known as the St. Charles Green into Bernice Pyke Park. If passed, the site would be rechristened on Aug. 18, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

The resolution was proposed by Councilperson At-Large Tristan Rader, Ward 1 Councilperson Tess Neff and Ward 2 Councilperson Jason Shachner. They wrote a letter to their peers noting Pyke's groundbreaking accomplishments.

"Bernice Pyke created a path forward for women, not only here in Lakewood, where she helped win women the right to vote, but also nationally through her work to ratify the 19th Amendment. She’s more than deserving of this honor," said Rader.

Pyke lobbied for the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, and then spent part of her career in politics. Between 1918 and 1931, Pyke took on a variety of political roles. She served on the Lakewood Board of Education and was a member of the Cleveland mayor's cabinet, according to Ohio History Connection. She was Cleveland's welfare director from 1923 to 1933.

In 1920, Pyke became the first women selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president, he made Pyke director of customs collection for Ohio. Subsequent presidents waived mandatory retirement protocols to allow Pyke to continue working.

"Ms. Pyke’s achievements would be worthy of respect and honor if accomplished today. However, to have achieved so much at a time when society was much less accepting of women in public life is nothing short of remarkable, deserving of a permanent and prominent place of remembrance in our community," said the three Lakewood city councilperson who proposed naming the park in honor of Pyke.