Quantcast
Channel: Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia
Viewing all 3228 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Own a Piece of Avon Lake History

September 23, 2014, 3:35 am
$
0
0
Now's your chance to own a historic piece of commercial property in Avon Lake. The Avon Lake Wine Shop is currently for sale by owner, along with the buildings behind it.

The Arcadia Images of America book on Avon Lake includes some great photos of the building as it appeared in earlier incarnations. Its principal use through the years has been as a grocery store, and the book dates the building back to at least 1915.

One of the photos from the Images of America book shows the store as an IGA in the 1950s (below).

Courtesy the City of Avon Lake and the book Images of America Avon Lake
From that same time period, here's the store's listing (complete with typo) in the 1952 Avon & Avon Lake Directory. (I've included the listing of the Avon Lake Garage as well, since it was located behind the grocery store.)

1952 Directory listing
The grocery store's official Lake Shore Electric Railway stop was Stop 52, and for many years that was its address.

It's fairly difficult researching the Avon Lake Wine Shop building, as the Avon Lake Library has a very sparse collection of vintage directories from over the years. All I could really determine during two trips to the library is that during a brief time in the late 1950s, there was no business listed at that address.  I also found that the Avon Lake Wine Shop was already located there in 1969.

It will be interesting to see if a new owner finds another use for the building.
↧
Search

The "New" Manhattan Market Opens – Sept. 21, 1963

September 24, 2014, 3:26 am
$
0
0
Courtesy Lorain Historical Society
From an Avon Lake grocery store (yesterday's post) to one in Lorain…

Here's a nice article about the well-remembered Manhattan Market in Lorain. The piece appeared in the Lorain Journal on September 21, 1963 (at the time that the grocery had just opened in its new location) and provides a nice history of the business.

****
Manhattan Market Opens
By BILL CONLEY

Manhattan Market has opened for business in its new location.

For the past 23 years the store that specializes in 50 shapes of bulk spaghetti and macaroni and cheeses from Italy and Greece, has moved seven blocks from downtown to Central Lorain.

"Although we are open for business, our grand opening has been postponed until Oct. 15," Pat Grego, manager, stated.

"We aren't completely settled and there are several things that have to be ironed out before the grand opening," he added.

The store has moved from 1152 Broadway to the old Fisher Store at 1820 Broadway.

"In 1940, I bought the Pat Monaco Grocery and Meats store at 11th and Broadway and changed the name to Manhattan Market," Grego said.

The name came from a store Grego worked at in Morgantown, W. Va., from 1933 to 1940. The new store has been incorporated with Grego secretary and treasurer, Charles Malik, president and Larry Ashebaugh, attorney, vice president.

In moving to the location, the self-serve market has expanded all departments and has added a self-serve meat department.

"Two years after we opened the store in the old location, we went to self-serve, with the exception of our bulk spaghetti and macaroni," Grego explained.

The spaghetti and macaroni is weighed and packaged for customers. Also available are spices and oils from here and other countries.

The store has about tripled in size from 24 feet in width by 80 feet in length at the old location to 50 feet by 138 feet in the new store. There are new modern fixtures and lighting.

Imported cheeses include Provolone and Romano from Italy and Feta from Greece. The Italian cheeses are basic for lasagna and pizza pies.

Besides Grego as store manager, the organization includes his brother, John, as meat department manager and August D'Orazio as produce and grocery departments manager.

The manager pointed out that although the store has added a self-service meat department, it still handles the customers' special custom cutting of meats.

A free lot for the store has been provided at the corner of 18th and Broadway.

****
I had first mentioned the Manhattan Market on this blog back here. Reading that post, I can see that a lot of my dates connected with the store are approximate, since I was using only city directories as a guide. That's why it's nice to have the article above on this post to set the record straight.

Here's the former Manhattan Market building location today.


↧
↧

Dairymens New Plant on Abbe Road Opens – Sept. 29, 1956

September 25, 2014, 3:23 am
$
0
0
Here's an ad for an Open House at the brand new Dairymens facility that was located on Abbe Road near the railroad tracks between E. Lake Road and Colorado Avenue. The ad appeared in the Lorain Journal on September 29, 1956 – 58 years ago today.

I wonder what the refreshments were at that 1956 Open House? I have a hunch that it wasn't punch – and that chilled glasses of delicious, farm-fresh milk were served instead.

I've written about Dairymens on this blog before, including here.

What I didn't know until recently was that Dairymens had bought out Mackert's Dairy on Abbe Road in Sheffield Village in 1954. Dairymens operated it as a substation, and eventually constructed the new, modern plant (mentioned in the grand opening ad) just north of the Mackert's Dairy cow barn.

You can download a terrific 2009 article from The Village Pioneer that provides the entire history of Sheffield's Dairy Industry by clicking here.  (Actually it's the whole issue.) As with all of his research topics, Sheffield Village Historical Society Director Charles "Eddie" Herdendorf has done the incredible work of digging up the complete story, and then compiling a fascinating narrative, complete with vintage photos and interviews with the people involved.

Whatever happened to the Dairymens plant? According to the Village Pioneer article, Dairymens closed their Sheffield operations in 1969. And Sandy (my source for Sheffield Lake local history) reminded me that the abandoned dairy complex at 1181 Abbe Road later became the home of Patrick Electric and the storefront for Village Lighting.

You can see the Dairymens plant's "footprint" on this current Bing Maps aerial below. The facility was located just south of the railroad tracks on the east side of Abbe Road. Some of the former Mackert Dairy buildings can be seen immediately south of it.


↧

Heilman's Ranch House Opens – Sept. 1961

September 26, 2014, 3:29 am
$
0
0
July 1967 newspaper ad from the Journal
Remember Heilman's Ranch House on Broadway?

I still think it was a neat idea to have a Western-themed restaurant in Downtown Lorain that was open 24 hours a day. (The Western motif was popular back then, as the Saddle Inn in Avon Lake had the same idea.) I hope that they both served Wild West Sarsaparilla.

Well, Heilman's Ranch House opened up for business on September 21, 1961 – 53 years ago this month. Here's the small article that tells the story. It appeared in the Journal on September 16, 1961.

****
West Style Restaurant Opens Here

A new western style restaurant, Heilman's Ranch House, will officially open Thursday at 211 W. Erie.

To say that the decor of the new 24-hour restaurant, built at the site of the former Park Restaurant, is inspired by the Wild West would be an understatement. The pine walls of the 60 seat dining room are covered with cattle hides, longhorn skulls and lariats.

A hamburger goes by the handle of a "ranchburger."

According to Hubert Heilman, the Ranch House was designed to replace the grill in Heilman's Marine Room, which will be turned into an enlarged bar.

Heilman describes the Ranch House as "informal, masculine, friendly, American." By using modern cooking methods, the Ranch House will be able to offer a wide variety of fine, moderately-priced meals at any hour.

****
The photo and caption below appeared on the front page of the Journal on September 23, 1961. You can't say that the Journal wasn't supportive of new businesses back then .

NO HAMBURGERS– Hamburgers go by the name of ranchburgers 
at Heilman's Ranch House, newest addition to the city's restaurant 
industry. Opened Thursday, the Ranch House carries a "wild west" 
theme throughout its decor, complete with cattle hides, longhorn 
skulls and lariats. Located on the site of the old Park Restaurant, 
the Ranch House was built to replace the grill in Heilman's Marine 
Room. It is open 24 hours a day.
****
Heilman's Ranch House lasted 13 years before becoming a victim of urban renewal. You can read a great article about its March 1974 closing below (which I originally posted back in April 2010). Give it a click.


↧

The House of Enchantment – September 1964

September 29, 2014, 3:25 am
$
0
0
According to this website, the Servel Corporation dates back to 1923, and is credited with pioneering the perfection of an "All-Year" gas residential air conditioning unit, in which the unit became a heater during the cool months. The company also produced a variety of products, including Servel gas refrigerators, and Servel Gas water heaters.

It's that Servel "All-Year" air conditioner that's in the spotlight in this ad (below) for the House of Enchantment, a model home constructed by local builder Clem Rice at 5109 Leavitt Road. The full-page ad appeared in the Lorain Journal on September 18, 1964.

Here's another ad for the House of Enchantment that ran in the Journal the same day as part of a special promotional section (below).
And what about the House of Enchantment today? Is it still enchanting 50 years later?
Today it sits on a beautiful wooded, private lot on the east side of Leavitt Road (below), across the road and just north of the Superior Medical Care building.
It's still a nice looking house in a cozy, country setting. Here's my shot from Saturday afternoon (below).
It'd be interesting to know if they still have the original Servel appliances!
↧
↧

Laurel Oaks Ad – September 1961

September 29, 2014, 7:44 am
$
0
0
As long as I'm posting vintage model home ads, here's another one. It's for the Laurel Oaks development, which was located west of Route 57 in the Homewood Drive area.

The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on September 16, 1961 – 53 years ago this month. It's an eye-catching ad, even if it was probably a clip-art layout. Plus, I'm a sucker for these ads showing how Lorain's neighborhoods grew, thanks to countless unsung builders and developers.

In this case, the name associated with Laurel Oaks is Alex Bruscino. According to online Chronicle-Telegram article from September 1994, he was a "pioneer home builder for veterans returning from World War II. His distinguished career lasted into the early 1970's and he built over 4,000 homes in Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties."

I didn't get a chance this weekend to drive out to South Lorain and try and find some of these model homes for "then and now" shots. It's just as well. I probably would have ended up in the Journal police blotter, mentioned as some suspicious middle-aged guy taking photographs from a car seen cruising slowly through the neighborhood.
↧

The Paul Miller Circus Comes to Town – September 1963

September 30, 2014, 3:35 am
$
0
0
Way back in 2010 (here), I posted a 1960 ad (at left) announcing the arrival of the Paul Miller Circus in N. Ridgeville.

At the time, there were some interesting comments posted, including one by one of the acts – the "Riding Kristensens"– that toured with the circus. But there was another comment that was posted by a local gentleman who had a unique perspective of that circus – namely, from his Lorain front yard!

He wrote, "Dan, the Paul Miller circus was in Lorain in September of 1963. They also were in my front yard. I won a contest that brought some of their  acts to my home. Two clowns, Japanese tumblers and three elephants. Next time you're going through old newspapers, check out page 3 of the September 23, 1963 Lorain Journal.

Well, I finally took his advice! Here is the article (below) and photos of Billy Nahm's memorable experience of the day the circus came to his E. 46th Street home – 51 years ago this month.

And where did all this go down? Over in the area by Clearview High School, east of Broadway on E. 46th Street (below).

↧

Shoreway Shopping Center Opens – October 1958

October 1, 2014, 3:10 am
$
0
0
October 2, Lorain Journal ad
Fifty-six years ago, it was the eve of the opening of Shoreway Shopping Center in Sheffield Lake. 
It was an exciting time. Sheffield Lake was evolving from a tiny seasonal cottage community to a full-fledged city – and the addition of a shopping center was a big step.
Although the shopping center is now a little smaller and less busy than it was when it opened, it's still an important part of Sheffield Lake life.
Anyway, here's the story that appeared in the October 1, 1958 Lorain Journal announcing the opening of the center.

****

Houses 14 Stores In Sheffield Lake
$1,250,000 Shoreway Center To Open Tomorrow


SHEFFIELD LAKE – Opening ceremonies for the $1,250,000 Shoreway Shopping Center, Rt. 301 and East Lake Rd., will begin tomorrow when Mayor Frank Duguid cuts the ribbon at the entrance.

All village officials are scheduled to attend the opening and each will be issued a charter shopper badge commemorating the occasion.

Festivities have been planned for the public with an aerial display of fireworks under the direction of Fire Chief Peter Cifranic at 9:30 p.m. tomorrow.

On Friday at 9 p.m. an all-star variety show will feature George Latshaw, puppet star of the movie "Lili," and two acts from TV Super Circus starring Edward Bier and his trained dogs and the Fabulous Claytons.

On display during store hours from Oct. 6 to 12 will be "Ernie's Miniature Circus," an exhibit of 25,000 hand-carved circus figures. This display has been shown at the the Brussels World Fair and is to be forwarded to Disneyland following the showing.

Store hours have been set from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. However, as part of the grand opening celebration stores will remain open until 9.p.m. this Saturday.

Climaxing the two weeks of activities will be an Ox Roast sponsored by the Sheffield Lake Kiwanis Club on Oct. 9, 10 and 11. The dinner is to be served on the south parking lot of the center.

The shopping center building is approximately 700 feet by 150 feet and houses 14 stores. Parking facilities have been designed for 1,000 cars.

Zehman, Wolf and Sterman Construction Co. of University Heights is the builder, and Sidney H. Morris and Associates of Chicago are the architects. M. H. Hausman of Cleveland is the leasing agent. William DeCarpentier is general supervisor of the project.

Jacob Levin of Sheffield Lake, principal owner of the center, will be host to village officials, store managers, W. R. Hauserman of the Ohio State Department of Highways, former mayor Dr. James C. Markley, former council president Earl Barnhart, and Chris Howley Jr., president of the school board.

Village officials expected to be present at the ceremonies include Shefffield Lake Councilmen William Piersen, John Groleau, Dan Fragassi, Gerald Spradlin, Carl Dietrich, Santino Cambria and Maurice Sturtevant; members of the Board of Public Affairs Paul Riddell, William Freeh and D. E. Ratliffe; Village Solicitor Dale Barnhart, Police Chief Clarence Hambley, Fire Chief Peter Cifranic, Building Commissioner Patrick Towner, Planning Board members Alfred Askew, Charles Ward and Mrs. L.W. Clites, and Zoning Board members Horace Smith, David Jones and Thomas Raptis.

FOODTOWN TO OPEN– This Foodtown Store will open
tomorrow at the new Shoreway Shopping Center in Sheffield
Lake. It will be the first Foodtown market in the area. Ted 
Trakas of Westlake has been named manager.
****
Shoreway Shopping Center has been a favorite topic of mine on this blog. I did a three-part series on it back in 2009 (here, here and here) when part of the center was demolished, and later, a variety of posts featured various seasonal ads and promotions.
↧
Search

Sheffield Lake Carnival at Cleveland Beach Dance Hall – October 1930

October 2, 2014, 3:25 am
$
0
0
Back in early October 1930, Sheffield Lake was getting ready for a fund raiser for their fire department, to be held at the Cleveland Beach Dance Hall. Here's the story as it appeared in the Lorain Journal, October 3, 1930.

****

SHEFFIELD LAKE AWAITS GALA CARNIVAL
(Special to The Journal)

SHEFFIELD LAKE, Oct. 3 – Paralleling the old phrase, tomorrow is the time for all good Sheffield Lakers to come to the aid of their fire department.

Officials in charge of the first community carnival, to be held Saturday afternoon and evening at the Cleveland Beach dance hall, are certainly looking for a record crowd.

All week the dance hall and adjoining buildings have been echoing with the sounds of hammer and saws while booths and various accessories have been erected for the carnival.

Tonight everything is practically in readiness, and nothing has been left undone to make the affair a success.

In the first place, there will be the carnival proper, with more booths than people of the village have ever seen before. Then there will be the German village in the basement.

In addition to these things, a beauty contest, a flower show, a pet show, a baby show, and any number of other features have been arranged.

Climaxing the evening will be old-fashioned and modern dancing until a late hour.

Of course, there will also be the usual "grand prizes"given a way as an added incentive.

Anyway, a cracking good time is promised to all, and village officials haven't even the slightest idea how many will turn out for the carnival.

Proceeds will go to the fire department to pay for new alarm apparatus – and if there is enough left, to buy a resuscitator, which is badly needed but has been too expensive.

****
I'll bet it was a "cracking good time" with all those fun events.

What interested me in this article was the fact that the carnival was held at the Cleveland Beach dance hall – a favorite research topic of many local history buffs.

The Cleveland Beach dance hall was located where Tennyson Elementary School is today in Sheffield Lake, just a short distance from Lake Road. The official stop on the Lake Shore Electric Railway was Stop 83.

The Cleveland Beach dance hall was actually a barn that had been converted for use as a dance pavilion, and it was a popular place for local bands to perform.

For many years during the 1920s and 30s, Decoration Day (today's Memorial Day) was the traditional opening day for local dance halls from Cleveland to Sandusky, and the newspapers were full of their ads around that time. It's easy to find old ads for the Cleveland Beach dance hall mixed in with other local resorts.

Here are two from May 1928 (below). WHK Radio artists Stan Wood and his Pirates were performing.

Here's another ad, this one from May 27, 1931 (below). Sammy Gerace and his Orchestra were featured.
The dance hall was used for a variety of purposes. In 1942, the Sheffield Lake Civic Club sponsored bingo games there to raise funds for civilian defense, according to an article in the July 4, 1942 Billboard. And according to the July 3, 1943 Plain Dealer, the dance hall was put to use as the location of an assembly line, "producing 3,600 victory garden dusters for the American Specialty Co. of Amherst." (The American Specialty Company manufactured a variety of products for food growers, packers, shippers and processors, as well as labor-saving products for the home.)
Finally, in September 1945, the Sheffield Lake Board of Education purchased the Cleveland Beach dance hall and property for use as the location for a new school. A public auction to sell the building was scheduled for October. 
The October 11, 1945 Chronicle-Telegram included an advertisement for the auction. It read, "The undersigned will sell at Stop 83, 350 feet south of Lake Road, corner of Kenilworth and Hawthorne Ave's., in Sheffield Lake Village on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 6:00 P.M. the following described building, not including the land; Located in Sheffield Lake Village and known as part of Cleveland Beach allotment, being a large wooden building, approximately 50x100 feet and having been used as a dance hall, known as the Cleveland Beach dance hall. The lumber and installations of this building are in very good condition and the purchaser will be given ample time to take apart and remove. If you need building material now or in the future this will be an excellent opportunity to get it. Don't miss this chance. TERMS: CASH and building will be sold to the highest bidder.
According to an article in the Summer & Fall 2013 issue of the Village Pioneer, the dance hall was purchased by Nick Kelling. It was dismantled and moved to his farm at the northeast corner of Abbe and French Creek Roads, where it was once again put to use as a barn. Unfortunately, the building caught fire and burned in May 1955.
****
Drew Penfield (local historian and webmaster of the Lake Shore Rail Maps website (which has a whole section dedicated to Sheffield Lake here) has been looking for an vintage photo of the Cleveland Beach dance hall in its heyday for some time now. If you happen to know of a photo, please let Drew or me know!
↧
↧

The House Overlooking the Golf Course Part 3

October 3, 2014, 3:19 am
$
0
0
Last month, I did a two-part post (here and here) about the house overlooking the FoxCreek golf course that included a 1961 Journal article about the house. The article stated that the house dated back to the early 1850s, and that it had been built by a German baron named Baron von Bonn.

At the time, I wondered if the German baron story was correct, and if a member of the Jaeger family hadn't built it instead. That's because an 1896 map showed that A.C. Jaeger owned the land, and the road on which the house sat was once known as Jaeger Road.

Ah, but as usual, I should have done a wee bit more research.

Thank goodness that after I posted Part 2, emails from several local historians and history buffs started pouring in. I received valuable help from Renee Dore, Rick Kurish and longtime contributor Jeremy Reynolds that enabled me to do this follow-up post.

It turns out that the man who built the house was indeed "an exile from Germany" as stated in the Journal article. His name was Ludwig von Baumbach.

According to an 1897 collection of biographical sketches of Wisconsin business leaders published by the Evening Wisconsin Company, Ludwig von Baumbach "was of aristocratic origin, the family being landed proprietors, which in the old country means more as to social position than it does in this. He entered the army and rose to the rank of captain. Leaving the army he took part in the political agitations of the times, was elected to parliament and joined the liberal element in its effort to secure the establishment of constitutional government. As every one knows who is familiar with the history of those times, the effort failed disastrously, the government was more strongly established than ever, and those who were outspoken in their advocacy of the revolution were compelled, as a measure of personal safety, to leave the country. Ludwig von Baumbach was one of these. He came to this country and settled on a farm at Black River, Ohio, but, subsequently, in 1857, removed to Milwaukee, where he lived the remainder of his life, dying in 1883. Not long after coming to Milwaukee he was appointed imperial consul to Germany, which position he held until 1878."

(Here's the link to the website containing this information, as well as that of one of Ludwig's sons, Charles, who was a successful druggist in Milwaukee.)

An 1857 Black River Township map does indeed show Ludwig von Baumbach's name and residence on the property next to Beaver Creek that overlooks the golf course today.

An 1874 map shows the land owned by William Jaeger.

And, the 1896 map shows the land still in the Jaeger family, with the adjacent road (originally Jaeger Road and now Longbrooke Road) finally in its present configuration.

It's interesting to see how German politics caused Ludwig von Baumbach to move to the Lorain area in the first place, and how his move to Milwaukee in the 1850s (to be with his son) almost resulted in him losing his place in local history.

Anyway, it's nice to get the early history straight on that house once and for all.

Special thanks to Renee Dore, Rick Kurish and Jeremy Reynolds for their help with this story.
↧

Michael's Locust Park

October 6, 2014, 3:21 am
$
0
0
An early listing for Michael's Locust Park, in
the 1954 Lorain County Farm & Rural Directory 
While researching the house overlooking the golf course, I came across a name in the city directories that I hadn't heard in a long, long time: Michael's Locust Park.

From the 1950s to the 1990s, Michael's Locust Park was a very popular setting for a variety of social functions, including wedding receptions, picnics, clambakes and as a place for clubs and organizations to hold their meetings and get-togethers.

Michaels' Locust Park was owned by Benjamin A. Michael. According to his obituary, he was born in Amherst Township and lived in the area his entire life. He was a retired farmer, and owned and operated his park facility for many years. He had also been a 15-year member of the Black River Fire Department.

The facility has been closed since the late 1990s. Is it still there? Drive down Jaeger Road today, and it is difficult to see back into the woods where the park was located.

Courtesy www.uer.ca
But, according to the Urban Exploration Resource website, the buildings were still there in 2007, when a guerilla site visit was undertaken.

Besides some great photos of what the facility looked like at that time (such as the photo at left), the website also includes some information gleaned from the gentlemen who ran the place in the years before it closed.

Here is what the website stated: "Built on farmland owned by Benjamin Michaels somewhere around 1952, it was used as a family picnic ground, with kitchen and playground. It was also Ben's escape from his farm duties. Over the years, several sections were built onto it. According to his grandson, Ben's wife didn't like dancing, but Ben loved it. He hosted many a square dance there in early years. After Ben's death, grandson Allen Erhart took it over and continued to rent it out. Many churches did retreats or ladies' group luncheons here. It could be rented out for events. About 10 years ago, he sold the property and closed the park, due to liability of renting the park becoming too much for him. Urban sprawl has doomed this place, however, and it will soon be torn down. All this info is straight from the former owner himself."

If you remember Michael's Locust Park and are interested in seeing what it looked like in 2007, here's the link to the Urban Exploration Resource website. Double-click on the photo under the "Photo Galleries" heading and it will bring up the entire gallery of photos. 
Although I don't specifically remember attending an event at the park, I do recall seeing a big sign for it on Jaeger Road.

A Bing Maps aerial view of part of the facility, with Jaeger Road shown at the bottom of the photo

↧

Ohio Fuel Gas Company Mascot's Name FINALLY Revealed – Part 1

October 7, 2014, 3:33 am
$
0
0
Last week I did a post on the House of Enchantment, which featured all gas appliances. That reminded me that I had some loose ends to clear up regarding the anthropomorphic gas flame shown above that I've been putting off for literally months.

It all started way back in 2011, when I posted a 1958 Ohio Fuel Gas Company ad featuring him. At the time, I didn't know his name, or what the pronged thing was that he was holding.

As anyone who reads this blog for a while knows, I'm a big fan of advertising mascots and their history. I even have a small library of books on that subject – and this guy is not to found in any of them. So not knowing his name really bugged me.

Since that first post, I've collected and presented a variety of ads featuring him, including a whole series of ads with a circus theme – but still, none of them mentioned his name.

May 1947
May 1950
June 11, 1950
June 18, 1950
November 5, 1950 ad
October 1958 ad
Actually, the 1947 ad referred to him as the Tiny Gas Flame, and that's what I finally thought his name was. I even formally announced it on this blog (back here).

But, as it turns out – I was (groan) wrong. He has a real name – and it took the help of Michigan State University Libraries to come up with it.

Stop back tomorrow for the whole story – it's a gas!
↧

Ohio Fuel Gas Company Mascot's Name FINALLY Revealed – Part 2

October 8, 2014, 3:10 am
$
0
0
It was back in May that I received an email clear out of the blue from Mary Kathryn "Kate" Ojibway, who works in the Cataloging and Metadata Services department of Michigan State University Libraries in East Lansing, Michigan.

It was the subject line of her email that intrigued me: I know the mascot name!

And indeed she did – solving a longtime mystery for me. She wrote, "I am in the process of cataloging a collection of recipes that includes lots of promotional blurbs from the Ohio Fuel Gas Company promoting the use of gas. Your little mascot appears in them and many lead off with the phrase “Speedy says…”  So there you have it. The little flame mascot is named Speedy. Specifically the Ohio Fuel Gas Company, Home Service Adviser offers “Betty Newton’s recipes” that fit 5 to a page that can be filed into recipes boxes in the convenient 3x5 format. On the back of each of these sheets is Speedy demonstrating the convenience of gas."

Kate went on to point out that Speedy appears in different guises and poses in the illustrations. She described them to me in her email. Sometimes Speedy wears a tuxedo, sometimes he's dressed like a magician, etc.

Meanwhile, the very recipe book she described – Betty Newton's Recipes – happened to be on Ebay that very day. I quickly bought it (it was only a few bucks) and I eagerly awaited its arrival. To my surprise, when I opened my much anticipated package, I discovered that the spiral bound cookbook consisted of only the cover and one or two pages of general kitchen advice – all of the recipes had been removed!

It was one of the few times I was actually ripped off on Ebay.

Fortunately, Kate was happy to send me photocopies of the missing pages in the mail so I could see Speedy in all of his various poses. Here's a few of them.








 There were even a few Christmas versions to rival that of Reddy Kilowatt's holiday appearances.

Anyway, that's the story of Speedy, the long-forgotten Ohio Fuel Gas Company advertising mascot. 
Special thanks to Kate Ojibway of Michigan State University Libraries for taking the time to contact me about Speedy and solve my mystery.
↧
↧

The House at 1403 E. Erie Avenue

October 9, 2014, 3:29 am
$
0
0
Several people emailed me a few weeks ago to tell me that the fine old house at 1403 E. Erie Avenue – the house adjacent to the St. Anthony of Padua parking lot – was going to be torn down. I had always kind of admired the house while sitting at the stop light there, so I made sure I grabbed a few shots when I went through there.

The house was finally demolished last week.

How long had the house been there? The Lorain County Auditor website had 1900 listed as the year it was built, meaning that the actual date was unknown. So I hit the city directories to see if I could find out.

As usual, Lorain's penchant for renumbering the house addresses has made it quite confusing. Fortunately, many of the homeowners in that area stayed put from 1912 on – allowing me to possibly determine when the house showed up in the directory.

The 1915 Lorain City Directory included an address not found in the 1912 book: 1405 E. Erie Avenue (owned by P.A. Rissman). It was the only odd-numbered (lakeside) address in the immediate area.

The 1405 E. Erie address disappeared in the next available book in the library, which was the 1919 edition. In that book, 1407 E. Erie Avenue appeared, owned by Anton Cooper, a general contractor. He continued to live at this address (sometimes listed as Anthony M. Cooper) into the early 1930s, when his 1407 E. Erie Avenue address became 1403 E. Erie Avenue.

Anthony M. Cooper lived at 1403 E. Erie all the way into the 1950s. The house was still in the Cooper family in the 1960s (owned by Mrs. Thomasina Cooper) before going vacant around 1967. It remained that way for a few years before being listed in the directory as the Meeting House for St. Anthony of Padua.

With the demolition of the house, as well as that of the commercial building across the street at 1368 E. Erie earlier this year, that intersection of E. Erie and Kansas Avenue sure has changed!
↧

The Three Stooges Play the RKO Palace – October 1946

October 10, 2014, 3:40 am
$
0
0
As a longtime fan of the Three Stooges, I found this ad kind of interesting. It appeared in the Lorain Sunday News on Sunday, October 13, 1946 and promoted the comedy trio's live appearance at the RKO Palace in Cleveland – 68 years ago this month.

You might remember I did a two-part post (here and here) about their personal appearance at the Palace in Lorain much later in their career.
Why is the ad interesting to me? Because, sadly, Curly had suffered a stroke by that time, ending his career as a Stooge, and brother Shemp was already back in the act. (Many people don't know that Shemp was indeed the original third stooge opposite Moe and Larry.)

Moe was quite fond of playing the Palace in Cleveland, even mentioning it in his autobiography, I Stooged to Conquer.

Anyway, on the bill with the Stooges was humorist Herb Shriner, as well as the movie Black Angel, starring Dan Duryea and Peter Lorre. Here's the trailer (below).


↧
Search

Cleveland Browns Brownie Mascot Through the Years

October 13, 2014, 3:34 am
$
0
0
I'm sure everyone will be talking about the Cleveland Browns today at work since they beat the Steelers on Sunday, so here's a little look back at their classic Brownie mascot through the years. Many of the images are from Ebay. I had my pal Gene at work – who is a sports authority and collector of sports memorabilia – help me establish a rough time frame for some of them.

There's few that are downright unusual – and a couple that are hilarious.

Courtesy www.clevescene.com


Although I'm not a big football fan, I've always rooted for the Browns – and liked their Brownie mascot too. I was disappointed that Browns owner Art Modell didn't like him and did away with him for so many years. But the team's new ownership brought the little elf back and he's more popular than ever.

For a terrific article about the history of the Cleveland Browns Brownie mascot, click here.
↧

Johnson Hill Revisited and Amherst Town Hall – Then and Now

October 14, 2014, 3:32 am
$
0
0
Johnson Hill looking south on S. Main Street in Amherst
Back in July I did a "then and now" post on Johnson Hill in Amherst. At the time, Col. Matt Nahorn of theNew Indian Ridge Museum kindly left a comment explaining that "the name comes from an early settler, Salmon Johnson, who bought land from the founder of Amherst's downtown area, Josiah Harris."

Since then, I received in my email a copy of an undated vintage postcard (above) of the hill from the other direction (from the webmaster of the Oberlin in the Past Facebook page). So, on Saturday I went out to get a "now" shot from that perspective, as well as a better companion photo of one of the original vintage postcards.

Just as it was when I was trying to get my shot back in July, there was an incredible amount of traffic along that stretch of the road. Rather than sensibly park somewhere and get a shot on foot, I cruised back and forth several times, shooting out the window and trying to frame the shot from memory. I finally did get a usable shot (below).
Like I said, I was hoping to to improve on one of my original 'then and nows' from July. Here is one of the vintage postcards of the view looking north (below).
Courtesy Amherst Public Library
And here's my "now" companion shot from Saturday (below).

After driving back and forth so many times, I was happy to pull over and grab a nice shot of the old Town Hall so it too could get the 'then and now' treatment.
Courtesy Amherst Public Library 

↧
↧

More Passing Scene Cartoons – October 1968

October 15, 2014, 3:37 am
$
0
0
I'm a little bit busy this week with my other ongoing writing project, contributing articles to the Black Swamp Trader & Firelands Gazette. As I'm preparing this blog post on Tuesday night, my current  article for the paper is due this week. So forgive me if you see a few blog posts of the "filler" variety as I slowly get back to my normal schedule.

First up are a couple of The Passing Scene cartoons by Gene Patrick that ran on October 12 and 19, 1968. (By George, I've cleaned up so many of these strips in Photoshop that if I keep this blog going for a few more years, I'll probably have posted The Passing Scene's entire run!

Of interest in the October 19th strip – particularly in view of the current Ebola scare –  is the reference to the Hong Kong flu, a 1968 flu pandemic that killed one million people worldwide.
↧

Hollywood Bread Ad – October 21, 1958

October 16, 2014, 3:33 am
$
0
0
My family ate a lot of bread from both DeLuca Bakery and Hough Bakeries while I was growing up, so Hollywood Bread– shown above in an ad which which ran in the Lorain Journal on October 21, 1958 – seems a little foreign to me.

I didn't know the story behind Hollywood Bread until I prepared this blog post. I had assumed that it was baked in Los Angeles. It turns out that it was headquartered in Hollywood, Florida!

Hollywood Bread also positioned itself marketing-wise as a healthy choice for women trying to lose weight. According to ads, the diet bread was baked with 8 great vegetable flours without lard, grease or animal fats.

I read online that at some point the makers of Hollywood Bread got in trouble with the FTC for some of its weight loss claims. You can read about that here.

The bread is apparently no longer being manufactured. Its stylish, landmark headquarters building in Hollywood, Florida was for sale a few years ago (which you can see here).

The ad makes a vague tie-in to the movie Party Girl (1958), which runs on Turner Classics every once in a while. The movie is a film noir, full of gangsters, shootouts and scantily clad showgirls; in other words, not the best match for a product a mom might use to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids.

See for yourself – here's the trailer!


****
When Mom did buy a national or regional brand of bread when we were kids, it was probably good ol' squishy Wonder Bread (it was great for making dough balls when we went fishing) or something from Nickles Bakery, like Hillbilly Bread – the subject of one of my very early blog posts.


I also remember annoying TV ads for Taystee Bread too, in which kids spelled out the name T-A-Y-S-T-E-E in raucous song. I don't think that bread is still around either.
↧

Benny's Ad – October 16, 1964

October 17, 2014, 3:26 am
$
0
0
I've written several times about Benny Hart's nightclub, as well as some of the acts that appeared there. It's fun to try and find out if the performers ever hit the big time after their Lorain appearances.

The ad above – which appeared in the Lorain Journal on October 16, 1964 – 50 years ago yesterday – shines the spotlight on Billy Webb. He's identified as a well-traveled comedian, emcee and impressionist who performed all over the country, including gigs at the Morrison Hotel in Chicago, the Holiday House in Pittsburg, Fontainebleu in Miami Beach and Ben Maksik's Town & Country in Brooklyn.

Also on the bill were The Stags, fresh from a Las Vegas engagement.

I did a little online research trying to find out about Mr. Webb. He's identified as a Pittsburgh comedian and impressionist in the April 15, 1965 Evening Standard in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The article notes, "He has appeared in many popular supper clubs throughout the United States and Canada where his version of "Laugh Clown Laugh" has been termed a "classic." He seemed to be particularly active in the Uniontown area as a master of ceremonies for a lot of events.

Here's hoping that Mr. Webb enjoyed a fine career, and that he or a family member finds this post and posts an update.
↧
Viewing all 3228 articles
Browse latest View live
Search
<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>