Guide to the Betty Klaric Collection

Biography of Betty Klaric

Betty Klaric was born in 1931 in Yorkville, Ohio. Before joining the Cleveland Press as a "copy boy" in 1955, she earned a journalism degree at Ohio State University, worked as an elevator operator and wrote articles for the Martins Ferry Times-Leader, the Locomotive Engineers Journal, and a guest column for the Wheeling Intelligencer. She covered PTA and club functions in the women's section before becoming a newswriter herself, focusing on environmental issues.

Klaric's coverage of the Metroparks and environmental issues brought her acclaim. She began the "Save Lake Erie Now" campaign in 1965 with the Cleveland Press, and brought the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire to national attention, leading to changes in environmental laws on the federal level.

Betty Klaric also advocated for pensions for female journalists, and was elected president of the Cleveland Newspaper Guild in 1967. She received a National Headliner award in 1972, the Edward J. Meeman Conservation Awards in 1973, and the Water Pollution Control Federation Schlenz Medal in 1979.

After the Cleveland Press ceased publications, she began studying law, clerked for two years with Ohio Appeals Judge August Pryatel before working at the State Employment Relations Board and as a trial lawyer in the U.S. labor solicitor's office. Upon her retirement in 1997, Klaric volunteered at the Legal Aid Society in Cleveland, where she worked as a part-time community education specialist . Klaric passed away in 2011 due to complications from brain cancer, and in 2020, "Betty Klaric Park" at East 9th Street and Rockwell Avenue, was renamed in her honor.

Scope and Content

The Betty Klaric Collection contains photographs, personal papers, writing, correspondence, and other materials related to her life and work.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Please refer to our acknowledgement and statement on copyright below:

http://clevelandmemory.org/copyright/

Restrictions on Access

Access to this collection is unrestricted.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Item title, Box number.] Betty Klaric Collection. Cleveland State University.

Detailed Description of The Collection