JERRY VENCL CORLETT MOVERS & STORAGE CO. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

JERRY VENCL CORLETT MOVERS & STORAGE COMPANY, INC. was established in 1930 by Jerry (Jaroslav) Vencl Sr., a CZECH immigrant to Cleveland. After migrating to the United States in 1922, Vencl worked for his older brother Anton who owned an established moving company in Cleveland. In 1930, Vencl started his own moving company at 4095 East 141st Street, naming it after Cleveland's Corlett neighborhood where he settled with his wife, Frances, and their children, Jerry C. and Yarmila. During the Depression, Vencl transported local WORK PROGESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA) workers to and from the CLEVELAND METROPARKS while performing the usual moving jobs in between. Staying in the neighborhood, he relocated to 3948 East 131st Street in 1936. With the acquisition of a building on Miles Avenue in April 1942, the company expanded its services to include warehousing and storage. After WORLD WAR II, Jerry Sr. transferred direction of the company over to his son, Jerry C., who had acquired experience in the moving business while working with his father. On March 10, 1947, the company was incorporated under the name Jerry Vencl Corlett Movers & Storage Company, Inc. In November 1948, the company purchased a bottling facility of the Forest City Brewing Company, located at 6911 Union Avenue, and converted it into a household goods storage warehouse. Corlett began offering long distance moving in the late 1940s, acting as an agent for Greyhound Van Lines, Ivory Van Lines, and King Van Lines. Corlett Movers was the first among Cleveland moving companies to offer its customers safe storage in private vault containers, which were loaded at the origin residence and then transported to their destination. After expanding the company facility at East 131st Street in the late 1950s, Jerry C. converted the household goods storage warehouse into palletized containerized storage in 1965. Another generational shift occurred in 1970 when grandsons, J.J. and Ken Vencl, who had worked with their father and grandfather, took charge of Corlett Movers. They became official owners of the company in late 1975 following the death of Jerry Sr. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 27. The company became an official agent for Wheaton Van Lines in 1976. In 1979, the company left its facilities on East 131st Street and Union Avenue and consolidated its operations at the former Lederer Terminals warehouse at 3101 East 55th Street.

All three Vencl generations have been actively engaged with Cleveland's Czech community. Jerry Sr. wrote extensively about his international travels in the local Czech newspaper, NOVY SVET. The company contributed funds for the conversion of the old Mount Pleasant Theater at 3689 East 131st Street into the Sokol Tyrs gymnasium in 1958. Corlett Movers have also transported food, beverages, and supplies to the annual Cesky Den (Czech Day), program.

As of 2011, the services proffered by Corlett Movers included local and long distance moving; commercial and industrial moving; crating and packing; household goods storage; record storage; boat, car, and recreational vehicle storage; and international relocation.

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