MEDINA, Ohio – Thanks to a grant from the Feckley Foundation, Medina City Hall now boasts a bench that is being dedicated to the honor of Carroll B. McClure, who spent much of his life in service to the city.
“We are recognizing C.B. McClure, but the McClure family has served our community for many years and for many generations,” Mayor Dennis Hanwell said before the official dedication Sept. 9.
McClure was born Sept. 8, 1910. His father, N.H. McClure was mayor of the Village of Medina from 1895 to 1898 and also served as a Medina Common Pleas Court judge and county prosecutor.
C.B. McClure graduated from the University of Cincinnati and also became an attorney. His military service included serving in the Army Coast Artillery in California and the Army Air Corps in England, France, Belgium and Germany. He saw the atrocities of the German concentrations camps and participated in war crime trials. Back home, in Medina, he served as clerk-treasurer for the Village of Medina, was elected the first mayor of Medina under the new charter system and served from 1954 through 1957. He was a Medina police prosecutor from 1963 to 1968, and then served as the Medina Municipal Court Judge for 18 years. After retiring, McClure worked for the Ohio Supreme Court as a visiting judge, filling in for vacationing judges or those who needed to recuse themselves. He was a member of the North American Judges Association Committee and the Ohio State Bar Association, where was honored in 1989 for 50 years as an attorney. His long list of community involvement includes: Post Commander and life member of the American Legion Post 202, and was a charter and life member of the VFW. From 1947 to 1950, he was secretary of the Medina Area Chamber of Commerce, and was inducted into the Chamber Hall of Fame in 1993. He served on the local draft board, was a member of Kiwanis, was librarian for the law library, helped with Meals on Wheels, and was selected as Jaycees Citizen of the year in 1957. McClure was married to his wife of 60 years, Dorothy (Kerr) and they had one son, Douglas McClure. Douglas followed in the family tradition of serving the community. He served six years in the United States Navy and 29 years in the Ohio Naval Militia. He also is a 30-year member of the America Legion Post, served on the City Archives Commission, and has been active for over 20 years with the Medina Police Community Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association.
“We want to thank the family for their generations of public service,” Hanwell said.
