Readers interested in Lakewood and the way it once was will want to curl up with a new book titled "Lakewood Lore."  The volume is a collection of 122 short, flavorful vignettes about the Cleveland suburb's formative years and its pioneer personalities written by Dan Chabek and appearing in the Lakewood Sun Post during the past decade. Furthermore, it is illustrated by 118 photographs of local places and people plucked from the annals of history as well as the attics of Lakewood. Author Chabek, an octogenarian, is a journalist by trade and a Lakewoodite by choice. He loves the city, was married in it in 1939, and has lived within its confines for the past 50 years with his wife, Marge, a native of Lakewood. The couple have a son and a daughter and two grandsons.

Chabek was born on Cleveland's West Side in 1915. He attended Ohio State University, graduating from its School of Journalism in 1936 and, that same year, joined the Cleveland Press as a copy boy.  In time, he advanced to reporter, did a stint as a naval officer on a destroyer in the South Pacific during World War II, returned to become the Press's auto editor in 1951, and then left daily newspaperdom the following year for a public relations post with Ford Motor Co. He remained with the auto firm until his retirement in 1980. Lakewood Lore is available for sale at the Oldest Stone House Museum at 14710 Lake Ave. (216/221-7343) and at Borders Books, Promenade of Westlake, 30121 Detroit Road (440/892-7667).

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Dan Chabek on the Web:

• Visit Lakewood Lore Online to sample Dan Chabek's articles.
• See the Lakewood Library ProFile of "Lakewood luminary" Dan Chabek., with additional columns and poetry by the author.
• The Buckeye Chronicles - Mr. Chabek chronicles the historical landscape of Ohio with vignettes of its people and places.