By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Bob Brucken has anticipated the start of the Chautauqua season ever since he started visiting Lakeside in 1946. He’s even more excited this year after his birthday last fall. It’s a celebration that will continue throughout the summer.
“I turned 90, so this year I don’t have to pay a gate fee,” Brucken said. “That’s a milestone.”
Brucken is a well-known and highly respected member of the community. The retired attorney has been a cottage owner since 1978 and was a Lakeside trustee for over 30 years. Shortly after Brucken bought his cottage, he was asked to join the Board of Directors to have a lawyer represented at the meetings. He served on the Lakeside Board (1979-98) and the Lakeside Chautauqua Foundation Board (2005-13).
“During most of the years that I was on the board, I chaired the Property Committee when we turned Lakeside around,” Brucken said. “We were starting to put Lakeside back together. During the second 10 years on the Board, I chaired the Development Committee when we had our first-ever capital campaign. In recent years, I haven’t had any official capacity at Lakeside, although I’ve continued to be very much interested in it.”
Brucken earned his bachelor’s degree from Marietta College, where he’s been a trustee since 1984, before getting his law degree from the University of Michigan. He spent his entire career with the Cleveland law firm Baker & Hostetler LLP. He started as a summer clerk in 1958 before joining the practice a year later. He became partner in 1970 and retired as senior partner in 2005.
Brucken may be retired from practicing law, but he’s still doing some editorial work. He’s the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Probate Law Journal of Ohio, which was started in 1989. He’s also the Editor of both the Ohio State Bar Association-Cleveland Ohio Trust Code Manual and the Merrick-Rippner Ohio Probate Law.
Even with his busy schedule, Brucken spent summers with his wife and four kids in their Lakeside cottage. He didn’t mind the daily 80-mile one-way commute to Cleveland, but he now lives in Lakeside during the entire season. He says his kids and three grandchildren are “scattered around the country,” but they always get together for a week or two in Lakeside around the Fourth of July holiday.
“Our kids spent summers at Lakeside, and it was their summer home,” Brucken said. “I’d like to think that they visit Lakeside because they want to see me, but they also come back because their friends come back, too.”
Brucken was introduced to Lakeside by his parents, whom he credits for reaching his 90th birthday.
“They lived long and healthy lives,” Brucken said. “I had the right genes.”
While nobody is going to argue with Brucken, he does things on his own to stay fit. He has always enjoyed the sailing program, both helping with it and physically sailing. He runs or walks up to 2.5 miles daily, even in the cold weather. It’s something his kids, who are avid runners, told him to do several years ago.
“As I was getting older, the kids got on of my case and said I should start running,” Brucken said. “I recognized they were right, so I took it up. I enjoy running or walking around Lakeside, although it’s very time consuming, because I always have to stop and talk with somebody.”
Brucken participated in the first Raccoon Run in 1980 and only missed a couple times out of 44 races due to prior commitments. To honor him for his dedication to the race, the award for the oldest 5K finisher was named the Bob Brucken Honorary Award in 2023.
“It happened because of my complaint that I couldn’t win my age group,” Brucken joked. “The age group was 70 and over, and there were all these young 70 year olds I had to go up against. Now, I typically finish both first and last.”
Even though Brucken no longer needs to pay gate fees, that doesn’t mean he won’t be contributing to Lakeside. He said unrestricted giving is something he’s done for years and will continue to do.
“I recognize Lakeside’s need for contributions as a past member of the Finance Committee,” Brucken said. “It’s not easy trying to make the budget balance and to provide all the programming and other things that people expect. Lakeside cannot operate on its current budget solely on gate fees.”
This summer, Brucken and Lynne Hudson will alternate leading the World Affairs Forum on Fridays at 3:30 p.m. in the Fountain Inn Aigler Room starting May 30. This will be the 10th year Brucken has been involved with the program.
Lakeside has been a place of many memories for Brucken for nearly eight decades, and he’s looking forward to more years—with no gate fees—at one of his favorite places.
“I have a long history with Lakeside, both enjoying it in the summers and trying to work, support and improve it,” Brucken said. “All the people here are special. The people who appreciate Lakeside are the ones I enjoy being around.”
