ABSTRACT
Early Life Cheryl Crawford was born just after the turn of the century in the small midwestern city of Akron, Ohio. Located on the Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of the state, Akron had a bustling economy dominated by the activities of the Quaker Oats cereal company. Cheryl's father, Robert Kingsley Crawford, was a real estate broker known by his nickname of "King"; her mother, Luella Elizabeth Parker Crawford, reared Cheryl and her three younger brothers. The Crawford home was a solid Victorian structure built to house a large family, and included such amenities as a large library and space in which to hold amateur theatrical productions. As an elder sister to three brothers, Cheryl was something of a tomboy and an enthusiastic participant in climbing trees, racing bicycles, and even boxing in gloved matches. When her youngest brother Robert was born in 1915, Cheryl served as his surrogate mother and enjoyed regaling him with the ad-libbed stories that were her great specialty.
