The Legacy of the Beavers

Submitted by Jim and Sally Fell

Sixty years ago the Greater Cleveland Area enjoyed two daily newspapers.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer was the morning paper, and the Cleveland Press the afternoon paper.  In an era before the Internet and instant delivery of news electronically, the Press enjoyed a circulation of over 400,000 subscribers.  Each paper featured a robust section containing real estate advertisements and every week published a special Homes insert.

Don Reiss, a graduate of Cleveland’s Cooper School of Art, worked the Classified Advertisement division of the Cleveland Press beginning in 1952.  Because of his sales experience and artistic expertise, Don could both sell and design promotional ads.  Enter the development of Roaming Shores in 1966.  Don called the developers, made an appointment to sell advertising, and visited the future Roaming Shores just after the trees had been cut down and the construction of the dam was underway.  This was the first of many visits to the Shores by Don as the marketing of the community progressed over the next two years.  The opportunity to build a cottage or home on a lake was a big draw in post-World War II America.  In a recent interview, Don recalled that among the first of the amenities developed were the beaches and clubhouse to show buyers the future potential of the community.

Don related that when the Shores was conceived, the development was called “Roman Rock Shores;” however, the sign painter for the project apparently mislabeled it as “Roaming Shores,” and the name stuck.  (Note: The full name developed into “Roaming Rock Shores,” but in 1979 the community became known as simply “Roaming Shores” when the Village of Roaming Shores was incorporated; however, according to the RRA office, our subdivision is still officially “Roaming Rock Shores.”)   The Greater Cleveland Area was determined to be a fertile field for promotion of the sale of Roaming Shores lots so over the next few years, Don created a series of ads and cartoons for publication in the Cleveland Press, including the invention of several caricature illustrations using a beaver motif for marketplace “branding”.  So how did the pair of beavers come to symbolize this new real estate venture in Ashtabula County?  Don said the idea was simple.  The developers were building a dam on Rock Creek, and beavers were also known for construction of dams so the association was a natural.  Don remarked that his beaver cartooning and artwork for the initial advertising of Roaming Shores was “a lot of fun to do.”   

Today, Don resides in Westlake, Ohio where we met him over dinner several months ago.  He worked at the Cleveland Press for twenty years and then managed advertising and catalog design at the newly formed Invacare company in Elyria, that is now a global leader in home and long term care medical equipment.  He was delighted to learn of the success of Roaming Shores real estate promotions when informed that Roaming Shores now has over 900 homes.  Recalling what lots and homes at Roaming Shores sold for in the mid-`1960’s, Don was amazed to learn of lots in the 2020’s now selling for over $100,000 and homes going for over one million dollars.  He commented, “It is nice to see the lake survived and that nice houses are being built.”