spective clients, Florene needed to keep it perpetually clean and tidy, no small task when her children were young. But the pair shared the same vision for what they wanted both in life and with the business, so flashpoints never flared. In fact, seeing the gentle way they recall the past, even when their memories diverge on certain points, reveals a distinct level of understanding and harmony between them. But when asked about each other, they describe Shelly as the “uptight” and Florene as the “easy going” partner. The business has been carried forward by Scott and Ron, who both initially became lawyers, but later decided that they wanted to return to the family business, representing the third generation to do so. In 1992, they embarked on their first project together, a residential development in South Russell, with dad supervising the construction. Since then, they have built homes in developments including Sterling Lakes of Pepper Pike, Aberdeen in Highland Heights and Parkledge of Mayfield Village. They are currently involved with a new development, The Lakes of Orange, near Miles and Brainard roads. Ron, who lives in a home he built on Willow Lane in 1996, said he was drawn to residential building by virtue of what the business offered – a way to tap his interests in production, finance and marketing. “As time went on, joining my dad just seemed like a good idea,” he notes. Choosing to reside in Beachwood was based on the city’s merits, which Ron touts as the city services, schools, location and his own familiarity with it. Scott’s journey involves living now in a house on Shakercrest that was built by his father and grandfather in 1961 and purchased from the original owner. After practicing real estate law for 13 years, he says, “It was a natural transition to join the well-respected family business.” He says he also always wanted to be a business owner. And with this business in particular, he had a feel for it, loosely based on childhood experiences when he helped to sweep up the floors at newly constructed homes. Now he and brother Ron have the distinct option of sweeping their own construction projects. Florene Miller Reveals History of Old Beachwood Middle School Do you remember the original origami-shaped pods in the Beachwood Middle School? Florene Miller, wife of longtime Beachwood home builder, Sheldon Miller, can explain the school’s history, since she was part of a group of residents who were instrumental in the introduction of the building. When she had young children in the Beachwood school district, she would often gather with her lively friends to discuss, among other things, educational methods and trends surrounding them. They were all heavily influenced by ideas espoused in the bestselling non-fiction book, Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing (published in 1960) by A.S. Neill, the headmaster of the English boarding school, Summerhill School. Summerhill School was founded in the 1920s and run as a children’s democracy, guided by the author’s educational philosophy of self-regulation, where children decided whether or not to go to class. Rules were established during weekly school-wide meetings at which students and teachers each cast a vote, a measure predicated on Neill’s belief in the innate goodness of children. According to his philosophy, any attempts to mold children were coercive in nature and therefore harmful. The book sold three million copies, and its contents were incorporated into many college courses in the 1960s, when countercultural themes were prevalent. “I thought the concepts were wonderful,” says Florene. “We believed that schools were not just for test taking.” She also thought that a student who was shy might especially benefit from these types of educational conditions. The Summerhill approach was combined with an idea derived from a visit by Florene and friends to a school in Circleville, outside of Columbus, where, instead of walled classrooms, there were large, open spaces. They were extremely impressed. Their collective energy and enthusiasm, mixed with the progressivism and liberalism of the times, provided the push for the walls to come down at BMS. The community as a whole, though, was largely polarized on the issue, and residents voiced conflicting opinions at many meetings. Eventually, “we all realized that it was a big mistake,” she says. The walls were restored several years later. The whole school, however, was demolished and rebuilt in 2003. But more importantly, what happened when these former wall-less middle school students from the 1970s entered the brick-lined hallways of the high school? Many just insisted on having their lessons conducted outdoors, of course. “I was hesitant because it was a new idea for this area.” – Sheldon (Shelly) Miller of Miller Homes, referring to the construction of four-unit homes in the Village. April 2016 n Beachwood Buzz 43