Lenore Mae (Cleveland) Lambert

Young Adult

1941 - 1944

Lenore Annual Editor 1941

Cleveland Girl Student Has Tie to School in Like Name

"One of the most outstanding pupils at Cleveland High School is a girl, named, appropriately enough---Lenore Cleveland. Her selection as this week's student personality is a result of her appointment as editor of the school's annual, the Aquila. Lenore was selected from the twenty-six members of the news-writing class, about half of whom are girls. After graduation next spring, Lenore, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Cleveland, plans to enter the University of Washington and study journalism." (from Seattle paper, November 1941)

Alice Skellinger was Lenore's best friend through junior and senior high school. She worked on the Annual with Lenore, and is pictured with the Aquila staff above (front-center) consulting with Lenore.

Another of Lenore's good friends, Bess, in 1941.

Lenore and Bess in 1941.

Lenore graduated from Cleveland High School on 9 June 1942, three months before her 17th birthday.

Let's Go Dancing!

For about a year following high school graduation, Lenore maintained a lively correspondence with a number of her high school chums. Several of the young men had enlisted in the military, and wrote to her weekly from wherever they found themselves. Lenore saved many of these letters in an old shoe box, and it was obvious that the fellows were quite smitten with her. Alas, this happy diversion for them came to an end, and they each graciously congratulated Lenore when they learned of her engagement to Dow.

Among the many letters was a page, written in Lenore's handwriting, that contained a somewhat risque joke that she had sent to at least one of her correspondents.

Here is the joke.

Lenore at Edison Vocational School in 1943.

Nick Foster on the steps of Edison Vocational School, Seattle. Nick, taught the Radio Communications course at Edison, introduced Lenore to Dow Lambert (or vice versa), and was one of the guests at their subsequent wedding.

"Scene at Edison Vocational School, where many Seattle young men and women are being trained for positions as radio operator, and Miss Lenore Cleveland, a former student at Garfield High School, who hopes to be a broadcaster on the airways. In the school are oscillators and the students tap off the code to each other. The instruction covers a period of 300 hours." (from Seattle paper, 11 Sep 1943)

Lenore at Edison Vocational School in 1943.

Lenore was awarded a Certificate of Merit from Seattle Public Schools, dated 15 June 1944, for satisfactorily completing the Radio and Communications coarse at Thomas A. Edison Vocational School. She was the first woman to ever complete this course. One year later, after satisfying an employment requirement for graduation, she was awarded a diploma.

Ten weeks before completing her coursework, on 27 March 1944, Lenore and Dow got married. Dow had just turned 20 and needed his mother's signature to get a marriage license. Dow's high school friend, Art Rediske, was Dow's Best Man, and in addition to performing that function Art managed to take the following pictures of the wedding. These are the only known pictures of this event, and Art found the negatives 60 years later and contributed them to this web page. About four months later, Dow, Lenore, Art, and his wife Lois, drove to New York together, where Dow and Art were working for Pan American Airlines.

Until Art found the following pictures, this was the only known picture from Dow and Lenore's wedding day, and Lenore isn't in it. Dow's eldest sister, Wilma, is next to him. Eloise, Bessie, and Lana are in front of him. The child is Wilma's daughter, Sharon. They are all on the way to the wedding.

Lenore's mother, Grace Cleveland, Dow, Lenore, and Dow's mother, Bessie Lambert.

Lenore, Dow, and Bessie, with Lenore's father, Howard Cleveland, in the background. Bessie looks very happy...partly for Lenore and Dow, of course, but she has been waiting years for Dow to get married so that she could marry Howard Swain. Bessie and Howard were married less than two weeks later, on 09 April, 1944.

This makes it official, according to Rev. Dr.C.M.Ridenour (left), as Art Rediske and Howard Cleveland look on.

Dow eventually learned to cut cake without Lenore's help.

Lenore and Dow eating wedding cake with Nana Helen Jones.