Lakewood Dedicates Park To Pioneer

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood City Council unanimously adopted legislation to create Bernice Pyke Park, a new green space between Belle Avenue and St. Charles Avenue.

The park was dedicated during a small ceremony on Tuesday, which also marked the 100th anniversary of women winning the battle to vote. John Pyke, Bernice Pyke's grandson, was present at the ceremony.

Councilperson-at-Large Tristan Rader led the charge to improve the park, adding benches and trees and removing construction materials left in the area.

“Because of Lakewood’s population density, our public green space is of great importance to our residents. I am delighted to add this new park to our collection of high-quality public spaces and thrilled that it will pay homage to Bernice Pyke, a true Lakewood heroine,” Mayor Meghan George said.

The new park is named for Pyke, a Lakewood resident and pioneering activist who broke glass ceilings in Northeast Ohio. 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.