Lakewood Lore

Letters from Guam were 'best present' for publisher

Harold F. Gilbert, longtime Lakewood publisher, community leader and benefactor, died Dec. 30 at age 81, not long after receiving what he declared was his "best Christmas present ever."

Shortly before the holiday, Gilbert was sent 52 letters from school children from the Pacific island of Guam, where he served as a U.S. Army Air Force lieutenant during World War II more than a half-century ago.

The letters were from island pupils thanking him for a shipment of special bookmarks he recently sent to their school as a gift.

Gilbert's gesture was typical of his many generosities in support of youth education in Lakewood and elsewhere throughout a career in publishing that spanned 67 years.

Memorial services for Gilbert, who collapsed in this home after several years of poor health, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Busch-Saxton-Parker-Daniels Funeral Home, 15800 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood.

Born in 1916 in Elyria, Gilbert came to Lakewood with his parents when he was 11. An early bloomer with a matchless talent for graphic arts, he began his work in publishing the following year, when he bought a small printing outfit to produce business cards, recital programs and advertising handbills.

He attended Lakewood High School, where he wrote a column for the Lakewood High Times school newspaper, and belonged to the Quill and Scroll Honorary Journalism Society.

Four years ago he was inducted into the schools's Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.

Gilbert became known as an artisitic perfectionist. Stimulus for the love of his creative business was provided by his parents, the late Fred and Hazel, who in 1923 founded the Gilbert Music Publishing Co., a landmark Lakewood enterprise.

The couple was active in fraternal work. Hazel composed music, and thus the company began with the distribution of a book of music for lodge use. Later it added a wide assortment of other items used in organizational rituals.

Son Gilbert served on Guam as an Air Force statistical control officer, and was awarded the Bronze Star. After being mustered out of the military service, he took over the family's business and combined it with his own publishing service to form the Gilbert Publishing Co.

In the years ahead, he acquired several other firms in related fields. In these endeavors, he was joined by his son, Kenneth, who heads a subsidiary, Carberry Manufacturing Co.

His hobbies included collecting often-exhibited Russian avant-garde art and American railroad artwork. He transformed the recreation room of his Lakewood home into a condensed railroad station replete with artifacts associated with trains in their heyday.

With imaginative skills, he formed a fictitious railroad of his own -- the Lake Erie & Southern -- and stocked his station with make-believe timetables, engraved dinnerware, letterhead stationery and other special memorabilia, to the delight of his friends and admirers.

In addition, his library comprised 1,000 records of classical music and 350 limited edition books.

Gilbert was a member of numerous area organizations, including the Lakewood Hospital Foundation and Neighbors Organized for Action in Housing. He also was a consultant in special projects for the city of Lakewood, both Lakewood and Cleveland school boards, and the Beck Center for the Cultural Arts.

The Gilbert family did business in the Detroit and Warren area before moving more than a half-century ago to 15624 Detroit Ave. at Summit, a location that was both home and office until 1961, when the facility was razed to make way for the company's current one-story plant building there.

In 1943, Gilbert married Alice Myers, who also is a Lakewood High graduate. Survivors besides his wife and son, both of whom have integral roles at the plant, are a daughter Marcia, who is an artist in New York Gity, and three grandchildren.

Harold F. Gilbert

1916-1998

This article by Dan Chabek appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post January 8, 1998. Reprinted with permission.

- 1991 Lakewood Lore article about Mr. Gilbert and Gilbert Publishing -

- Lakewood Luminaries profile of Mr. Gilbert -

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