Dan Chabek was born on Cleveland’s West Side in 1915, and moved to Lakewood when he married his wife Marge, a Lakewood native. A gifted writer, he began professional life as a reporter for the Cleveland Press. In 1952, he became a public relations representative for the Ford Motor Company. After he retired he continued his hobbies of writing and studying Lakewood history.
In the 1980’s he became involved with the Lakewood Historical Society. In 1988 he volunteered to write a series of articles delving into Lakewood's history for the Lakewood Sun Post to commemorate Lakewood’s centennial. The series, Lakewood Lore, proved popular and was picked up as an occasional column. Mr. Chabek wrote over 200 articles for the column, many of which are now available online on the Lakewood Public Library Web site. In 1998, he published the book, Lakewood Lore: A Collection of Historical Stories and Profiles based on selected stories from the Lore series. With The Buckeye Chronicles, Mr. Chabek's historical explorations moved to a broader landscape with vignettes from Ohio history. He was also a former trustee of the Lakewood Historical Society.
Mr. Chabek was a member of the Lakewood Kiwanis Club and served as editor of the Club newsletter for six years.
When he wasn't busy writing or looking for new bits of Lakewood and Ohio history, Mr. Chabek enjoyed keeping fit physically. He ran in every Revco (later CVS) 10K until he was 75. In 1995, at age 80, he returned to the race. Aside from running (he estimated he had logged over 6,500 miles at the Central Y's gymnasium), Mr. Chabek also played racquetball and participated in more than 3,000 calisthenics classes.
Mr. Chabek and the Lakewood Historical Society were chosen as the Grand Marshals of the City's 2002 Fourth of July parade. In announcing the Grand Marshals, Mayor Cain said, "In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Lakewood Historical Society, Lakewood is proud to recognize Lakewood author Daniel Chabek and the Society for their many years of service to the community and for their exceptional community spirit."
Mr. Chabek passed away January 29, 2008.
Lakewood Lore online - These columns began as a series in the fall of 1988, just before Lakewood's 100th anniversary, which was celebrated in 1989.
Lakewood Lore: A Collection of Historical Stories and Profiles [book] by Dan Chabek
Buckeye Chronicles - Explore the regional cultural landscape with vignettes of people and places from Ohio history.
Original Poetry - Whetstone City-Room Reminiscences and Other Verse - written primarily about the newspaper personalities from Mr. Chabek's days at the Cleveland Press.
6 Mile Memories - Mr. Chabek occasionally guest-wrote columns for the Lakewood Sun Post. Here are some of those articles:
- Thoughts race along while runner goes the distance
- With years comes wisdom and lessons yet to learn
- Everyone has fun at Revco run
- Race vet reminisces on Revco run
Cleveland Plain Dealer obituary February 5, 2008