Jethro

There are many misnomers associated with the newly chic neighborhood, Duck Island, one of which needs to be set straight once and for all, the origin of the name. My name is Jeff Milum and I lived in Duck Island in 1960. At that time the area was called "The Grove" which was derived from the original plat maps of Cleveland, circa 1900. It is designated "Bradford's Grove" on those maps and there is still a street called Bradford in the neighborhood. I was there when the name "Duck Island" was first coined and this is how it came about: As the Baby Boomers came of age Cleveland was one mass of small neighborhoods. Such as St. Rocco's, Hermann, Trent, Tremont (which the locals called The South Side) and Duck Island was then derisively called The Near West Side. However, by the mid-sixties the boys and young men had begun to band together in a common bond of pretty much self-defense. As it meant fighting to get through any neighborhood to get to and from almost anywhere, WE came up with a "One for All and All for One" bond that in time enabled us to roam the west side without having to fight (it was strictly fist-fighting) kids from other neighborhoods because they knew we could, and would, retaliate. The kids (young men) from other neighborhoods would refer to us as "he's one of the guys from the Island." You see, to enter Duck Island you had to cross a bridge. The Lorain Carnegie, the Abbey Bridge, the Columbus Bridge, the RTA Bridge, the Cuyahoga River, RR tracks, etc., and the close proximity of The Hill which had a myriad of foot paths which we knew well and if we were once on or down the hill we were immediately safe. Hence the "Island" aspect of the neighborhood. As the 60's progressed a great deal of mischief emerged including under-age drinking, marijuana trafficking and some box-car larceny. Most of which was relatively harmless by the standards of the day. We did have some major confrontations with other neighborhoods until we established ourselves as a formidable group and we began a good relationship with almost all of the west side groups. The police, who in those days made it a point to make routine patrols and get to know the "boys" would stop in front of Haab's Bakery, a late-night hangout for us. Usually they would stop and chit-chat with us. We would get information from them about who they were looking for or what "job" they were trying to solve. But THEY noticed that if there were 10 or so "youths" in a group, as they approached, many of the youths would "duck" between the closely packed houses and reappear from a different place, having disposed of any contraband in the process. One evening in the summer of '67 some of us were standing by a police car chatting with the officers. The driver, a man I could recognize to be this day, made the comment in a humorous way " It's like watching ducks in a pond. They go in one place and come out another place." I made the off-hand remark that we 'aren't a pond, we're an island." He chuckled and said "I like that, Duck Island." We (I?) immediately grabbed the combination and began calling our little piece of real estate "Duck Island." (there are retired cops who can vouch for this name and time period) By the early 70's we had all grown up and were a force to be reckoned with. By the police and the entire west side. And we ran our little neighborhood with impunity, protecting ourselves and anyone who lived in the Island. By the mid-70's things got a little crazy and friction between the police and the Duck Island Boys got rather intense (ask Mary Rose Oakar about that time period) and things got out of control. Enough said about that. If anyone wants specifics you can ask me and I will respond honestly. Hopefully that sets the record straight about how the name originated. BTW I have a tattoo on my left arm that says Duck Island and it's been there since 1968. And the man who put it on me is still alive and well. 1968, Duck Island. The real story!

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