An early aptitude for music helped pave the way to a distinguished medical career for Robert Rosner. An accomplished trombonist, he played during the big band era with such notables as Guy Lombardo, while attending medical school at Ohio State University. After completing his studies at the Ohio State College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Ophthalmology, Dr. Rosner practiced ophthalmology for more than 50 years, until age 80. Known for his compassion for his patients, he invented the tonometer sterilizer in response to the viral eye epidemic in Chicago in 1950. He developed a color blind chart, used by pediatricians and ophthalmologists. He also invented an air conditioner to aid in breathing for use during local anesthesia. Dr. Rosner is a founding member of the Association for Research in Ophthalmology.

Elizabeth Rodgers was born in Chagrin Falls and has devoted much of her life’s work to the historical preservation of her birthplace. A passionate overseer of Village Council proceedings, she authored the book, CHAGRIN : : . Whence the Name? Her writings have painstakingly detailed the history of the Village of Chagrin Falls, including the origin of its name. Dr. Rodger’s remarkable energy and considerable talents resulted in numerous professional accomplishments. In 1936, she earned a Ph.D. in physical education from Columbia University. She was a high school teacher and professor at several colleges, including Madison College in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the University of Colorado, and State Teachers College in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Much of her research in physical education has been documented in journal articles. More than 60 years ago, she developed the first standardized achievement tests for athletic skills and information. While a student at Chagrin Falls High School, Elizabeth Rodgers excelled in both academics and athletics. She was an outstanding basketball player and track and field athlete. For many years, she held the school record for the softball throw.

This quiet, unassuming man was a tough teacher in a noisy classroom. His classroom was the Chagrin Valley Herald, which he founded in 1946. The bylines of his former students grace the pages of newspapers and magazines across the country. Allen “Pete” Tenny, “Mr. Tenny” to most, was hired as a youth by editor William R. Bailey to work a couple of summers in the Chagrin Falls Exponent office. Newspaper work took Mr. Tenny to Illinois and Michigan, where he became assistant city editor of The Detroit Free Press. He returned to Chagrin Falls in 1946 to serve as editor of the Chagrin Valley Herald for the next 22 years. During Mr. Tenny’s tenure, the Herald and its reporters earned numerous journalism prizes. He, himself, won many awards including the “Golden Dozen” award in 1969 for writing one of the 12 best editorials in weekly newspapers throughout the world. After 43 years as a newsman, Mr. Tenny retired as “Editor Emeritus” of the Herald Sun in 1973. He died in Vermont in 1981. 

Standing tall among his classmates, the splendid young actor had an uncommon wit which would carry him to even greater heights. Multi-talented Will Stanton appeared in football games, track meets, and operettas during his years at Chagrin Falls High School. Since then, he has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Saturday Evening Post, and the New Yorker. Chagrin’s most prolific writer moved with his family to Chagrin Falls before he had reached school age. Growing up in Chagrin Falls during the Depression, he always remembered the kindness and understanding of its people during those difficult times. One of his three books, “Golden Evenings of Summer.” was based, in part, upon his memories of Chagrin Falls. An episode from the book was made into a Walt Disney movie, “Charlie and the Angel,” starring Fred MacMurray. Will’s humorous stories and poems have been published in many magazines including Atlantic, Life, Look, McCall’s, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping. A 1941 graduate of Princeton University, he now lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.