Before I even rang Mary Ann
Stropkay’s doorbell, a
neighbor was waving hello
to me. That’s the kind of
neighborhood Moreland is,
says Mary Ann, where her
brand-new home sits on a
formerly vacant parcel
on Ludgate Road.
“They’re all lovely,” she says of
her neighbors, who go out of their
way to reach out to one another.
“That’s the way Shaker is.”
Mary Ann, who works as a
financial consultant, first lived in
Shaker Heights in the 1990s, when
she lived in an apartment in the
Shaker Square area. She and her
late husband, Eric, raised their
two children farther east, closer to
extended family. But when their
second child finished high school and
headed off to Chicago for college
last year, Mary Ann knew the time
was right both to find some fresh
empty-nester digs and to return to
Shaker Heights.
When it came to location, Mary
Ann was drawn to the walkability
of Moreland and the proximity
of Heinen’s and the rest of the
Chagrin-Lee retail district. She often
prefers to stroll up to CVS rather than
have to always hop in the car.
And, she says, there was a
particular attraction to buying a
new home. “It’s the perfect way to
experience Shaker life,” she says. “It’s
a wonderful way to live here. And, a
small house on a small lot is totally
perfect for me, rather than a condo or
a townhouse.”
WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SUMMER 2021 55
“A small house on
a small lot is totally
perfect for me,
rather than a condo
or a townhouse.”
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE