Hinckley Township Newsletter - December 2009
Table of Contents
- Upcoming Township Events
- Township News
- 2009 Citizen of the Year - Walter A. Robb, Jr.
- Hinckley Buzzard Day History
Township News
Walter A. Robb, Jr. was born in Hinckley on September 1, 1930. Walter's father, Walter A. Robb, Sr. moved to Hinckley in 1922 and started a family. He had four sons, Richard, Ramon, Herbert and Walter Jr. They lived on a 13-acre property on River Road raising farm animals. The Robb Family community involvement began when Walter, Sr. became a charter member of the Hinckley Fire Department and the First Township Zoning Inspector. Walter's father also served on the Hinckley School Board and, in 1942, Walter, Sr. was elected Hinckley Trustee for 2 terms.
While growing up in Hinckley, Walter A. Robb, Jr. obtained the nickname "Judge" which has stayed with him through the years. There is a lake in Hinckley named after him called "Judge's Lake." Walter graduated from Hinckley High School in 1948 and then helped his father build and remodel homes in the area. In 1952, Walter was drafted into the U.S. Army and served 2 years. Walter later married and raised 5 children, Jeffrey, Susan, Linda, Gary and John. Walter is the proud grandfather of 13 and great grandfather of 2.
Walter's career began in 1955 with the Cleveland Metro Parks where he served as a park ranger. He was promoted to Chief of the Ranger Department in 1972. In 1974 he was promoted again to Director of Operations and served in that position until he retired in 1982.
Walter served on the Hinckley Zoning Board for 8 years. He was a huge advocate of conservation and managing Hinckley growth. In 1994 he was elected as a Trustee for Hinckley Township for 2 terms. During his time in office he helped in the creation of the Hinckley Township flag, the very first township flag in the State of Ohio. Walter also took the lead in the formation of the Hinckley Veterans Memorial Park and the building of the current Town Hall, Fire Department and Police Department buildings. Walter led the fight with fellow Trustees, at the state level, to stop the 3 mile control of township land from neighboring cities.
Walter was a 25 year member of the Hinckley Lions Club which raised money for people with sight problems. He is a life member of the Hinckley Historical Society and Nature Conservancy. Also, for the past 8 years Walter has volunteered in the canteen for the USO. Walter presently serves as the Township Sexton and has served as Sexton for the last 3 years.
In 2004, Walter A. Robb, Jr. donated seven of his eleven acres to the Cleveland Metroparks as a conservation easement to help preserve the river bottom area of the Rocky River.
Walter has traveled all fifty states and many Provinces in Canada and he enjoys fishing.
On behalf of the Hinckley Citizen of the Year Committee and Hinckley Township we are honored to announce Walter A. Robb, Jr. as "The 2009 Hinckley Citizen of the Year."
The legend of the annual return of the buzzards (turkey vultures) to Buzzard Roost in the Cleveland Metroparks goes back nearly a century in Hinckley history.
Legend has it that they were first attracted by the tons of butchering refuse and unwanted game left behind in the great Hinckley Hunt of 1818, but additional historical research among the records of the Sylvester Library of Medina uncovered an old manuscript by William Coggswell, who as a youth with his uncle, Gibson Gates, were the first white men to set foot in the township in 1810. This manuscript told of their expedition from Bath and Richfield through Hinckley, and of finding the "vultures of the air" at the gallows at Big Bend of Rocky River around the foot of the ledges where the Wyandots had hanged a squaw for witchcraft two years before. This indicated that these turkey vultures had made their home on Hinckley Ridge long before the white men settled west of the Cuyahoga River, and it moved their occupancy back into the midst of the Indians legend.
In 1957 a reporter from the Cleveland Press became interested in a claim by Metroparks Ranger Walter Nawalaniec. He told the reporter that he had personally observed the buzzards arrival in Hinckley each March 15 for the past six years and that his predecessor, the late Charlie Willard had kept a personal log of their arrival for the past 23 years.
The reporter's interest was aroused. He wrote in the February 15, 1957 issue of a Cleveland paper that longtime legend of the Hinckley Buzzards. He further predicted their return in exactly one month - March 15.
Excitement mounted as the month progressed. Naturalists, ornithologists and reporters repeated and embellished the original story and suspense mounted. March 15 arrived and so did the buzzards - who arrived right on schedule at 2 PM that day, a Friday, news traveled fast and the weekend brought throngs of sightseers from all over Ohio and neighboring states.
The township was unprepared for the 9,000 plus visitors that flocked the township that year but by 1958 plans had been made to welcome the interested visitors.
Carl and Catherine Neu, turkey farmers, stepped in to see that Hinckley would be better hosts that year. Edward Spatz of the HInckley Chamber of Commerce and others joined in the effort.
The township proclaimed the first Sunday after March 15 as Buzzard Sunday. Forty-plus years later thousands of visitors continue to attend the pancake and sausage breakfast, hosted by the Hinckley Chamber of Commerce, at Hinckley Elementary School. Organizations from the township are invited to help and provide exhibits and information about their activities. Crafters and artists fill the classrooms with their wares. Many township volunteers assist in the Chamber with this annual breakfast.
The Cleveland Metroparks welcome visitors yearly on March 15 to the Buzzard Roost in Hinckley Reservation. With a traditional "Buzzard Spotter" (for many years retired ranger Roger Lutz and now the chief naturalist Robert Hinkle) the first buzzard's time of arrival is clocked. The event is hailed as a sign of spring in the Midwest by all who attend.
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