Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia

Urban and Genevieve Miller were the owners and operators of the Supper Club. It was located at the corner of Lake Avenue and Elyria Avenue.

According to a real estate listing in the Sandusky Register of February 4, 1936, the Millers purchased their land from Reva A. Hulse. The land is described as being "property on plank tp"– which makes sense, because Elyria Avenue was originally the old plank road that started in Lorain and winded its way to Elyria and points south.

The Supper Club's location is certainly compatible with the 'supper club' definition discussed here yesterday, with supper clubs usually being located at the edge of town in a rural area.

In addition to the Supper Club, Urban and Genevieve Miller also ran a produce stand – Miller's Produce– on the property. (It was also referred to as Miller's Celery in some city directory listings.)

The earliest reference to the Supper Club that I could locate was a reference to its sponsorship of a bowling team in 1944. In fact, the Chronicle-Telegram made a reference to the bowling prowess of Mrs. Miller earlier that year. Under a heading that read BETTER THAN HE IS NOW, The Chronicle-Telegram of January 3, 1944 stated, "You can believe it or not but Urban Miller, who divides his time between running the Supper Club and driving a vegetable produce truck is jealous of his wife, Jennie. That's on the up-and-up, but the truth is, Urban's only jealous of his better half in a bowling way and that's because his wife is becoming more proficient than he is at knocking down the maples. They bowl on the same evening – Tuesday night at Wykrem Recreation. Not so long ago, Urban kayoed the maples for a 400 series in All-City League. Just one shift later, his wife connected for 458."

Here's an ad (below) for the Supper Club that ran in the Chronicle-Telegram on October 2, 1946. The Club was featuring Paul Brosky's Syncopators and the ad included a neat caricature of the group.

1946 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram ad

The Supper Club featured a variety of talented musical groups over the years. Some of the groups mentioned in 1940s and 1950s ads included Brosky's Syncopators, Duke Nelson, Jimmy Alu, the Continentals, and Jack, Jean and Dusty, "A Harmony Trio From the West."

During the 1952 Christmas season, the Millers apparently took advantage of their property's high-profile location. They ran ads in the Chronicle-Telegram announcing 4 to 12 foot fresh-cut Christmas trees for sale and available at the Supper Club property.

And as noted yesterday on this blog, the Millers announced their "All New" Supper Club with an ad that ran in the Chronicle on December 8, 1954. Various local contractors were highlighted in the ad, including Joseph Finochi & Son General Contractor, Haladey Electric, Gintonio Plastering Co., Modern Floor Covering, and Miller Upholstering and Mfg. Company.

1954 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram ad

Next: the Supper Club changes hands

In early April 1957, Urban Miller's Supper Club changed hands.

As reported in the Chronicle-Telegram of April 6, 1957, "The Supper Club, one of this area's popular dine and dance spots and now under new management, plans its grand opening for Apr. 14. Operated for many years by Urban Miller, the nightclub changed hands when Mrs. Elsie Jacobs of Elyria sold it to Albert Tuma and Charles Student. Tuma is the owner of the well known tavern bearing his name on Center Ridge Rd., while Student was formerly connected with Ludwig's Drive-In, corner Lorain and Clague Rds. Miller, from last reports reaching this desk, has purchased a home in Florida and plans to spend most of the months of the year there."

Indeed the 1957 Elyria City Directory listing for the business was Tuma's Supper Club.

Here's an ad that ran in the Chronicle-Telegram on March 7, 1958.

However, the business would soon change ownership again.

The Chronicle-Telegram of December 12, 1958 stated, "Mrs. Sally Ely, Washington Ave., today announced purchase of the Supper Club, 2213 Lake Ave., after several weeks of negotiations. The new owner took formal possession of the property today. Official opening will be about the third week in January, Mrs. Ely announced, and the Supper Club is to be renamed the Old Ely Stagecoach Inn. Redecorating is scheduled for this spring, with the building to be remodeled in keeping with the name. The property was leased from Urban Miller, and the business was purchased from Mrs. Elsie Jacobs, whc. was represented by Atty, Joseph Ujhelyi, Lorain. Manager for the Old Ely Stagecoach Inn will be John "Scrubby” Wozniak, who worked for 14 years with the All Nations Club, Lorain, and who has handled its management for the past three years while Joe Maiden has been handicapped by illness. Dancing and holiday parties will be featured at the Inn, the new owner said, and plans call for emphasis on quality of meals in an effort to capture the "dine out" trade. Mrs. Ely for I5 years was at the Northwood Inn. Broad St., and five years ago sold it, retiring from the tavern business. Her husband, Arthur died Nov. 4."

Apparently the Old Ely Stagecoach Inn did not last enough to make it into the city directory. The 1959 edition listed the property (except for Miller's Produce) as vacant. And the 1960 Elyria City Directory had the property once again listed as the Supper Club, and managed by Frank Jacobs.

By October 1961, the whole property was offered for lease in a series of ads that ran in the Chronicle, including a 7 room house, the Supper Club building, a barn and a vegetable stand.

The 1962 Elyria City Directory was the last to include a listing for the Supper Club.

In the 1963 edition, the property was listed as the Triangle Bar and run by John & Mrs. Claudia Miskow. In subsequent city directories, the property was no longer listed.

Urban Miller passed away in late September 1963. Even in retirement, he was the owner and operator of a produce market in West Hollywood, Florida.

Next: the rest of the story and the property today

1962 aerial shot showing the Supper Club building
(Courtesy of Historic Aerials)

Although the Supper Club property was no longer listed in the Elyria City Directory after 1963 (with the book merely skipping over its address), the building was apparently still in use. Parents Without Partners held several functions there in the early to mid-1970s.

An item from the January 29, 1974 Chronicle-Telegram reported that the Parents Without Partners regular meeting would be held on Feb. 15th at 8 p.m. at Miller's Supper Club, Elyria Avenue and Lake Ave.

Strangely enough, yours truly performed at several of these Parents Without Partner functions at the Supper Club, providing dance music as a member of the Four Links. For many years, whenever I drove by the former Supper Club building at the corner of Elyria and Lake Avenue, I thought of those gigs with a smile.

And then suddenly, the building was gone.

Highway improvements – specifically the addition of a short access lane and stop sign for Elyria Avenue traffic to more safely pull out onto Lake Avenue – claimed the Supper Club building, and apparently the former Miller home, fruit stand and barn as well.

Today, a newer building (dating from the early 1980s according to the Lorain County Auditor website) sits near the edge of the former Miller property, serving as the home of Gene's Hair World.

Although the corner of Elyria and Lake Avenues is empty and barren today, it's nice to know that in the 1940s and 50s, it was alive with the sounds of people enjoying great food and entertainment at the Supper Club.

1986 Elyria Phone Book ad

Did you know that Elyria had its own version of the Kahiki – right by Midway Mall in the 1980s? That year is no misprint – although it seems like it should have been the 1960s instead.

As described in the 1986 Elyria Phone Book ad (above), Trade Winds was Lorain County's beautiful Polynesian Supper Club. Just like the Kahiki in Columbus, it featured exotic foods and drinks in a South Pacific atmosphere.

Here's the ad for Trade Winds that ran in the 1986-87 Lorain Centel Phone Book (below). It's slightly different from the Elyria phone book version – especially in the way that Trade Winds is spelled as one word.

The Trade Winds supper club doesn't seem to have been around very long. It only appeared in the 1985 and 1986 Elyria phone books, and the 1986-87 Lorain phone book. Its address never even made it into any of the city directories that were available to me.

Does anyone remember this place – or exactly where it was located? I sort of recall seeing Polynesian Tiki masks on a building somewhere near the Mall in the past, but I'm not sure of anything at this point.

The 41274 Griswold Road address puts Trade Winds on the north side of Griswold, right across from the car wash near the corner of Griswold and Leona Street. That would seem to make it one or both of the buildings shown below in the 1994 aerial shot (courtesy of HistoricAerials.com). Unfortunately, the addresses for both streets are inconsistent and even out of order in some books – making it virtually impossible to try and figure it out.

It seems to be the right location if my memory serves me right. It really wasn't that far from the location of the Supper Club, which I've been blogging about all week. Maybe that part of Lorain County is supper club country.

The building on the corner of Griswold Road and Leona Street today (below) was the longtime home of Lighthouse Pools. Does anyone remember if it ever housed the Trade Winds supper club? It seems to have the right roof line, although the building would have had to have been modified a lot from its original form.

Courtesy Lorain County Auditor website

Aerial view courtesy of Bing Maps

Anyway, if anyone remembers the Trade Winds and where it was located, please be sure to leave a comment! There's virtually no internet footprint, so I'm fairly stumped.

My recent posts about Kahiki and Tradewinds got me to thinking about Lannie's, the iconic Lorain restaurant on East Erie (U.S. Route 6) that served up Chinese and American cuisine.

Lannie's was located in the building formerly occupied by Heimann's Barbecue at 402 East Erie. It first appeared in the Lorain phone book in the 1974-75 edition, replacing the Heimann's listing.

Leonard Lee managed the restaurant throughout its entire run.

Here's a sampling of Lannie's ads through the years. It's interesting watching the graphics evolve and change with the times.

1974-75 ad from the Lorain phone book

1976 ad from the Elyria phone book

This 1984 ad (below) even had a Tiki mug promotion (I guess the Tiki craze hit Lorain County a quarter century later than the rest of the country). It's a fairly ubiquitous mug, easily found on Ebay.

1984-85 ad from the Lorain phone book

1985-86 ad from the Lorain phone book

Sadly, the last ad that ran in the Lorain phone book seemed to have lost its exotic feel.

1989-1990 ad from the Lorain phone book

Lannie's disappeared from the phone book in the early 1990s.

As most of you probably remember, many properties on the east side of Lorain near the river – both commercial and residential – were acquired for anticipated development associated with the Spitzer HarborWalk riverside housing project. However, the development never occurred, due to the economic downturn. Lannie's former property remains empty today, serving as a parking lot during RoverFest 2014.

****

You might remember that I featured a number of photos on the blog that were shot by a local gentleman who had the foresight to document much of Lorain during the mid-1980s, a time of tremendous change. One of these photos (below) – for sale on Ebay a few years ago – featured a small glimpse of the Lannie's sign.

I don't know Chinese, but it sure appears that the Chinese characters on the restaurant sign match the ones in the early ads. I wonder what they mean? (I tried an online translation website but I couldn't generate similar characters.)

Tomorrow: Whatever happened to Lannie's statues?

My late father-in-law's auto body shop was located pretty close to Lannie's.

I'm guessing he knew the restaurant's owner, because after it closed, my father-in-law ended up with several of the cool statues that used to grace it. There's several of them that have been serving as garden ornaments on my in-laws' property for several years now.

One of the statues is called a Foo Dog – or, a Chinese guardian lion. Statues of Foo Dogs have traditionally guarded the entrance to imperial palaces, tombs, temples and government offices, believed to offer mythic protection. (You can read more about them here.)

Here are several views of it (below).

I'm not sure what the other two statues represent (below).

Here's all three of them (below).

It's nice to know they found a good home in Elyria Township.

I received an email a few weeks ago from a gentleman with a question about a local smorgasbord (or borgasmord, if you're Mason Reese) restaurant. As a result, I ended up compiling a rough timeline of Sveden House, which was located on Griswold Road near Midway Mall.

A nice history of Sveden House was published in the Waterloo Courier of November 4, 1974. It read, "The Sveden House Smorgasbord began as a single unit in Duluth. Minnesota, in a restaurant operation known then as the "Plaza Dining Room." It was a full service restaurant that also had a short buffet line incorporated into its operation. In spite of good management, however, the operation was going bankrupt in the very difficult winter months in Duluth. The owner operators of the unit, in desperation, after an all night "Prayer" meeting, decided the next day to change the operation into a strictly "One low price, all you care to eat "Smorgasbord" style unit. It was their desire to serve the whole "family unit" delicious food at a lower reasonable price and thereby generate enough volume to also make the unit profitable.

Vintage postcard

"The change in the total business was almost "over-night" and quite dramatic. From a condition of near bankruptcy, to a profit month in the middle of winter, in Duluth, became a reality in spite of it being thought impossible. After about a year of further refining and developing the operation, it was decided upon to open a like unit in Minneapolis and give it a try. It was from the fantastic success there also that it blossomed into the nationally enfranchised chain that it is today."

It's interesting that you can find vintage photos and postcards of restaurants in the chain with both the name spelled both Sveden and Sweden House.

Here's a fairly common postcard that was used to advertise the national chain (below).

Vintage postcard

Sveden House opened near Midway Mall in Elyria in the fall of 1972. It was still running ads in the classified section of the newspaper for head cooks and waitresses in late October (below).

October 22, 1972 ad from the Chronicle-Telegram

It did open in time for Thanksgiving 1972. The below ad ran in the Chronicle-Telegram on November 16.

Its first appearance in the Lorain phone book was consequently the 1973-74 edition (below).

Sveden House enjoyed a fairly long run at its location by Midway Mall. Lorain Countians like to eat, and must have been dying for a good smorgasbord restaurant.

My parents took us there a few times in the early years. (My brothers and I could really tie on the feedbag when we were in high school, so I'm sure my parents got their money's worth.) I remember having to wear sport coats and ties there. (In fact, we seemed to almost always dress that way, even if we were going somewhere casual – like McGarvey's in Vermilion – where we stuck out like a sore thumb in a sea of T-shirts.)

Anyway, here's another Sveden House Thanksgiving ad, this time from the late 1970s (below). It's much more ornate than the 1972 version.

November 23, 1977 ad from the Chronicle-Telegram

Sveden House continued to appear in the phone book until it disappeared in the 1984-85 edition. It was replaced in the 1986 book by the Mark Restaurant and Lounge.

Unfortunately, the Mark didn't last very long. By the time of the 1989 city directory, the building's new address – 40844 Griswold – had gone vacant.

By the 1990s, the building had another address – 451 Griswold – and several more businesses tried to make a success of it there. Beginning in the 1991 book, Dinosaur Kiddyland Restaurant and Amusement called the 451 Griswold address home for a year or two. The building was listed "not verified" in the 1994 book, before Fun Times appeared in the 1996 book.

There were no listings at all from 1998 on, until Jumbo Buffet appeared in the 2002 book and returned the building to its roots. The buffet continued to appear until 2011, when it briefly shared a listing with New Star Buffet.

Here's the photo from the Lorain County Auditor's website (below) of the New Star Buffet. You can see the silhouette of the Sveden House logo in the design of the illuminated light box on the front of the building.

And here's my recent photo (below) from a week ago or so.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that the buffet is still open. When I dialed the restaurant's number on Wednesday evening, I found myself connected with the answering machine of a healthcare company.

By the way, while researching Sveden House for thes last two posts, I made an amusing discovery. There are actually two versions of the vintage postcard with the blond waitress.

In the version below (courtesy of the card cow.com website), she stands next to the buffet line at the far left.

Yet in this more commonly found version of the postcard (below), she's been repositioned to the right. And with no Photoshop back then, the camera man or commercial artist had to outline her by cutting an overlay and knocking her out of another photo showing just the food – just the way we'd have done it at work in 1985.)

Why did they create a second version? My guess is that whatever that is behind her in the top postcard was no longer being offered as a buffet item. At first glance, I thought it was a pile of raw cuts of beef – but a closer look reveals that it's probably watermelon slices.

Neither one would appeal to me in a buffet line anyway.

Ad from the June 21, 1955 Lorain Journal and the Lorain Times-Herald

I had seen this ad for Kathe Kreuzer's Country Place at the Lorain Public Library (in one of the vintage newspapers on display upstairs) for several years now, each time wondering if the place was still around and what it was known as today. So I thought it would be a good time to finally find out, since I seem to be focusing on restaurants lately.

The above ad – which ran in the Lorain Journal on June 21, 1955 – tells the history of the place up to that point. As the headline noted, the restaurant had been a Lorain County landmark for 36 years, which dates it back to 1919. The ad copy reads, "KATHE KREUZER'S COUNTRY PLACE – all that a famous name implies. Here you will find a menu and a hospitality that has delighted many a gourmet for the past thirty - six years. Mr. Carl Wriedt the owner of Kathe Kreuzer's appreciates the discriminating tastes of these many people and consequently has striven to preserve those features that have made Kathe Kreuzer famous in Ohio... namely FINE FOOD and WONDERFUL HOSPITALITY. THE COUNTRY PLACE is truly picturesque and the setting reminds you of some elegant inn situated on the outskirts of some Bavarian town. Once inside you're impressed with the quaint decor of this inn and you are pleasantly charmed by the furnishings. You look around and see many family groups and couples enjoying their dinners. The superb cuisine, the unexcelled hospitality and the fine setting all blend into a wonderful atmosphere that makes KATHE KREUZER'S COUNTRY PLACE a fascinating and interesting place to dine. We can seat a capacity crowd of 350 so call Avon 48-292 for a reservation today.

Who was Kathe Kreuzer? I'm not sure – I'm assuming it was the person who started the business. Perhaps someone with knowledge of Avon history will add a comment some day to this post. But with a distinctive name like that, it's not surprising that the name was kept.

Here's a few ads from the 1950s.

November 1955 Lorain phone book ad

May 11, 1956 Chronicle-Telegram ad

In 1963, Kathe Kreuzer's was purchased by John W. Miller, who had previously been associated with Miller's Dining Room in Lakewood. Here's a photo of the restaurant at the time of the purchase. (The photo appears courtesy of ClevelandMemory.org.)

The place became known as Miller's Country Place. Here's an ad from 1964 (below).

October 24, 1964 Chronicle-Telegram ad

It's easy to find many online references to Miller's Country Place through the decades, as it was a popular place for luncheons and parties. (I remember the name and know that I played there too, as a member of either a big band or a polka band.)

Businesses located there after Miller's Country Place include Fox & Crow Restaurant and until recently, Winking Lizard.

Courtesy Lorain County Auditor website

But with the Winking Lizard's recent move to a brand new Avon location, the building is slated to soon become the home of Farmhouse Tavern.

I drove by the building on the way home from work the other night to capture this snowy, sunset shot (below).

It's great to see the old place still in use after almost a hundred years, still providing enjoyment to guests in what is still a beautiful country setting.

****

UPDATE (January 27, 2015)
It appears that the business was more commonly known as Katie Kreuzer's Country Place, according to earlier ads and city directory listings that I have discovered since my original post.

A 1948 Lorain County directory has it listed by that name with Ludwig Kreuzer as the owner. Also, the Westlake High School Panorama Yearbook - Class of 1949 includes an ad for Katie Kreuzer's Country Place that states that it was established in 1919. Ludwig Kreuzer is again listed as the owner, and Adam Hampel is identified as the manager.

1973 Elyria Phone Book ad

When I saw this yellow page ad (above) for Chicken Manor recently while doing research at the library, I had to chuckle. But before you think I'm a dumb cluck, let me explain.

Back here, I told you how in the mid-1970s, I was a trumpeter/trombonist with the Four Links, a dance/polka band made up of high school students from Avon Lake and Lorain (including my friend Bob Berstling). My recruitment for the band came about because their trumpeter had gone off to college.

To help me learn the tunes and get me up to speed, we practiced a couple times a week. During these sessions, the other Links would regale me – as the new guy – with stories about various gigs.

I'll never forget that the one gig they got misty-eyed about was the time they played Chicken Manor.

"They loved us at Chicken Manor," Bob reminisced, sounding like an old vaudeville performer reminiscing about his showbiz career.

Feb 14, 1975 ad from the Chronicle-Telegram

Bob explained how the audience there was literally eating out of their hand. Every tune they performed (including the Chicken Dance, I assume) was apparently received with great enthusiasm and applause. I would hear this story many times.

Unfortunately, when I played out with the Four Links, I never witnessed that kind of adoration from the crowds we played for. (Maybe I was the weak Link.) Many times, the indifferent members of the audience would barely look up from their rum and Cokes.

Unlike the group's success at the Chicken Manor gig, we laid many an egg at clubs and halls all over Lorain County.

Thus, in my mind, Chicken Manor achieved mythical status as the place where the Four Links – for one brief, shining moment – were on top of the world musically. Sadly, the Four Links never performed there again during the short time that I was a member.

I'm not sure how long Chicken Manor remained in business. I know that it lasted into the 1980s.

Sept. 16, 1980 ad from the Chronicle-Telegram

One online source (the Fields Church Newsletter of October 1952) states that Chicken Manor was preceded at its 34139 Center Ridge address by Bess & Andy's, and that it was succeeded by Santa Fe Express and finally, Buffalo Wild Wings.

Today, the scene of the Links' greatest musical triumph is gone. A retail strip center sits at Chicken Manor's former location on Center Ridge Road in North Ridgeville.

Courtesy Google

No doubt about it – my effort to determine the location of the Tradewinds supper club on Griswold in Elyria during the mid-1980s is stirring up a lot of interest. I received several emails from regular readers of my blog trying to help.

Local historian Matt Weisman remembers eating there, and believes it was located on Griswold on the east side of Route 57, ironically near the location of the old Sveden House building (which I wrote about last week). It's certainly possible, since the addresses on Griswold are so scrambled that it is virtually impossible to rule out anything.

Regular blog reader and research contributor Rick Kurish has furnished me with the names of the owners of the Tradewinds. Two of them are deceased for sure; consequently, I've reached out to members of their family via Facebook, but I haven't heard back yet. (I'm hoping that my Facebook messages aren't going to languish in their "Other" folders. I've had people find messages from me in that folder years after I sent them!)

And the webmaster of the Oberlin in the Past Facebook page is asking around, and even sent me a photo of a Griswold Road building that might have housed the restaurant.

But the research continues at the library. I've cross-referenced all phone numbers associated with the business to no avail. It's like they were never even hooked up.

It seems that prior to the Tradewinds, the only business associated with the 41274 Griswold Road address was a vineyard/farm in the 1970s. The classified ad below ran in the Chronicle-Telegram on August 31, 1970.

I did discover that besides being listed in the 'Restaurants' category, Tradewinds was also listed in the 'Caterers' category of the 1986 Elyria phone book (below).

I've also made the trek to the Elyria Public Library, expecting to solve the mystery through its collection of city directories. But it turns out that the library's collection of Elyria directories is even more anemic than that of the Lorain Public Library; there are no Elyria directories at all from 1980 to 1986!

Although it appears that the Tradewinds wasn't around very long (since it was just in the 1985 and 86 phone books), the idea of the restaurant was much older. This May 17, 1980 article that appeared on the front page of the Chronicle-Telegram (below) makes reference to it. It seems to infer that the restaurant was related to the large Cassell development project that stretched back along Leona Street north of Griswold on the west side of Route 57.

The restaurant was going to cost a quarter of a million dollars!

Anyway, we love a mystery on this blog, and we'll have an answer sooner or later. I'm just wondering if the elaborate Tiki-inspired building was even built.

From time to time, I receive photos and reminisces from people who graciously allow me to share them on the blog with my readers. Here's one of them.

The subject of the above photograph is a restaurant with Castle in its name. But it's not theCastle, or even a White Castle – it's the Blue Castle.

Linda Ellis sent me the above photo in a recent email. According to Linda, it's circa 1950 and depicts the inside of the Blue Castle restaurant in Lorain. Her aunt, Helen Zagorsky Hendry, is standing to the right of the restaurant's owners, Edward and Loretta.

I'd heard of the Blue Castle, but it wasn't until I did a little research for this post that I discovered that there were several restaurants in the area by that name. The earliest appearance was the Blue Castle Sandwich Shop in the 1945-46 Elyria City Directory. The restaurant was run by Al Kaufer and was located at 588 W. Broad in Elyria.

October 26, 1945 ad from the Chronicle-Telegram

By the time of the 1947 directories, the Blue Castle name has disappeared from the Elyria book and resurfaced in the Lorain edition. The Blue Castle Sandwich Shop was located at 116 West Erie and was run by Robert L. Haff and Joseph S. Downie.

You can see the Blue Castle Sandwich Shop's neon sign
at the left hand side of the building; a bus is parked in front of it on West Erie

Strangely enough, in that very same 1947 edition, Eddie's Blue Castle – run by Edward and Loretta Easton – was listed at 723 Broadway.

May 24, 1946 ad from the Lorain Journal

Courtesy Paula Shorf Collection

By the time of the 1950 Lorain directory, the Blue Castle Sandwich Shop was still at 116 West Erie, but it looks like thar wasn't room enough in this hyar town for two Blue Castle's – so one had to go. Eddie Easton's business became listed in the book as Eddie's Confectionery. His business also moved to 611 Broadway.

Within two years, the Blue Castle name would disappear entirely from the Lorain city directories. The Butterfry (there's a healthy-sounding name for a restaurant) replaced it at 116 West Erie.

Thanks to Linda Ellis for sharing one of her cherished family photos.

Kevin Conley poses with the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine
and Curly Joe DeRita). The two young ladies are unidentified.
(Photo by Bill Conley)

Remember when I wrote (here and here) about the Three Stooges performing at the Palace Theater in Lorain back on July 31, 1960? I commented that I'd love to hear from anyone who caught the famed trio's show that day.

Well, it only took a year and a half, but I finally got a response!

Kevin Conley not only saw Larry, Curly Joe and Moe perform that day, but he met them backstage – and even posed for a picture with them (at left)!

How did he get so lucky?

As Kevin explained in an email, his late father – Bill Conley– was the photographer for the Lorain Journal at the time. The Conley family lived in Lorain for ten years, and during that time Bill Conley enjoyed a fine career at the Journal as a reporter, photographer and copy editor.

Kevin recalls his meeting with the Stooges well. "I remember how nice the Stooges were to us," he noted. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn't know the identity of the two pretty young girls in the photo with him.

He does have a funny memory connected with them, though. As Kevin hilariously noted, "The two girls' parents were there in the dressing room and Larry changed his pants in front of them!"

Special thanks to Kevin for sharing his wonderful photo and happy memory of meeting the Three Stooges

After I posted the final part of my series on Urban Miller's Supper Club (back here), I began receiving emails and comments that quickly made it apparent that there was more to the story than I ever could have imagined. Unfortunately, it is a sad coda to the tale of the Supper Club.

Rick Kurish generously provided me with an article from the Chronicle-Telegram that explained how the former Supper Club at 6312 Lake Avenue became the Cambridge Inn in 1968.

As the article (written by Kathy Fenstermaker) noted, "A college tavern-owner who knows what his patrons want and how to please them is Doug Ruble, swinging proprietor of the Cambridge Inn. Ruble, 20, an enterprising Lorain County Community College student from Toledo, decided what this area needed was a pub-type Mecca for the college set.

Collegians pack the Cambridge Inn
(C-T photo by William F. Naegele)

"Instead of complaining about the situation, Ruble sold his car, got a lease and 3.2 liquor license and started a place of his own. Friends from LCCC helped Ruble whip the old Supper Club building on Lake Avenue into a frothy mixture of English pub and German beer-parlor. They made rough-hewn tables and picnic style benches which are grouped cozily at each end of the semi-dark room. An extended bar, with an ample stock of 3.2 draft beer, completes the "Andy Capp"-style club. Ruble – searching through old English books with his three rommates – named his investment Cambridge and the Inn was ready for business. Male patrons must be enrolled in a college or university and female patrons must be 18 year of age or older.

"The first night Cambridge was open in May, the house was packed and a record 11 kegs of 3.2 beer were sold. Business has been booming ever since."

Two years later, the Cambridge Inn later became the notorious Pandora's Box – and later, the target of a drug raid in late February 1971.

According to the Chronicle-Telegram of Monday, February 22, 1971, fourteen people were arrested by Lorain County sheriff's deputies after a full-scale drug raid involving 90 deputies and the state attorney general's office agents. Thirteen adults and four juveniles were charged with drug violations.

The former Supper Club as it looked when it was Pandora's Box
and was raided by drug agents (C-T photo)

As I pointed out in Part 4 of this series, by the mid-1970s, the building had reverted back to its original name – Miller's Supper Club– and was rented out for various private functions before finally becoming a casualty of Lake/Elyria Avenue road improvements.

Thanks to Rick Kurish and all who contacted me to help make this story more complete.

Back in February 1966, the Batman TV show starring Adam West had only been airing for about a month when the above ad appeared in the movie section of the Journal on Feb 1, 1966 – 49 years ago yesterday. It promoted a one-time showing of An Evening With Batman and Robin at the Tivoli in Lorain.

An Evening With Batman and Robin apparently was rushed into theaters to take advantage of the TV series' popularity. The ersatz "feature" was merely a compilation of the 15 episodes of the 1943 Batman movie serial.

Batman as he appeared in the 1943 serial

The serial was a little ahead of its time, however, with its apparent inclusion of zombies in the storyline.

Here's Chapter 1 of the original serial. It's not too bad, actually. It's a little more faithful to the original comics than the campy 1960s version.

The real Batman feature starring most of the TV cast wouldn't hit the screens until July 1966.

****

Like everyone else our age at that time, my brothers and I were big fans of the Batman TV series, which was televised in two parts on successive weeknights.

Here are the opening credits for the 1966 season.

We had the paperback reprints of the original comics (below), which we brought with us on one of our cross-country camping trips to read in the car. It didn't occur to me that the stories were made up of comics that were decades-old.

We also had the Batman candy that came in small colorful boxes (below) that you could string together to make a genuine Batman utility belt.

I think we had a 45 RPM record of the Batman theme song, but – if I remember correctly – it might have been a different recorded version than what was played during the opening and closing of the TV show.

As for the big 1966 Batman movie, I don't recall seeing it in the theaters. I'm pretty sure we waited until it came to TV. Since it didn't feature the original Catwoman (Julie Newmar), it's probably just as well – although Lee Meriwether did do a good job as her replacement.

I think we lost interest in the Batman TV show during the third and final season when Batgirl was introduced. It seemed ridiculous that Batman and Robin didn't have a clue as to her true identity. Plus I resented Batgirl horning in on the Caped Crusaders' cases.

The ongoing flap about the North Ridgeville High School Ranger sports logo (which you can read about here on the Chronicle-Telegram website) is very interesting to me as a graphic designer.

Tired of the current simple gold star symbol (on the above left), some North Ridgeville High School students came up with their own proposed Ranger character design (on the right). This hombre is a tough character, with gritted teeth and skull-like face. He reminds me of the DC Comics Western antihero Jonah Hex.

It's just another reminder that today's students don't want a wimpy or boring sports mascot.

But it wasn't always like that. Remember my post about the Midview Middie mascot? Here's the hairy behemoth that has the mascot job today (below).

But this is what the same guy looked like (below) in 1964 – just a lovable little scamp.

Closer to home, the City of Lorain has had its share of offbeat high school mascots.

For instance, here's the beloved Southview High School saint mascot (below). It's rather unique that he represents a... well, a dead character.

Southview Saints mascot circa 1977

Just like the Navy, Admiral King High School (my alma mater) had a goat for a mascot that appeared at football games – but he did not serve as a symbol of the school, whose sports teams were called the Admirals.

Admiral King's arch-rival Lorain High School was the home of the Steelmen, as a tribute to Lorain's steelmaking heritage. Their steelman mascot was depicted in a couple of different of ways through the years.

One version resembled a cute, clanky, robot (below).

This particular version appeared in a 1965 Journal sports cartoon drawn by our old pal Gene Patrick (below). I like the nuts and bolts flying off the Steelman, as well as the five o'clock shadow on the Elyria High School Pioneer.

Lorain High School was still using this design in 1978. The front of the Scimitar yearbook that year included an illustration of a whole gang of the lovable Steelmen (below).

Eventually this design was replaced by a more manly version that resembled an actual steelworker.

Remember when the 2009 demolition of Lorain High School revealed the wall containing his scowling countenance?

Speaking of mascots, did you know that your friendly blogger designed the mascot for the current Lorain High School? Stop back here next time and I'll tell you the story!

When Lorain High School students voted to abandon the long-established Steelmen name in favor of the Titans, a new mascot was needed. Thus, in Spring 2010 the Morning Journal reported that the athletic director was asking for help developing a new mascot. The article stated, "The district will begin accepting submissions for a logo and mascot today through April 30. He is asking that only district students or graduates participate."

Reading this, as a cartoonist and 1977 Admiral King graduate, I thought: I've got to enter this.

But what should the mascot look like? I did a little research about the Titans of Greek mythology before doing a few roughs of a big goon-like Titan. But I was unhappy with the results.

I thought about it for a few days, and about Lorain in general, and how the city has really taken a beating in the last few decades. I reflected on how the city has pretty much lost almost all of its industries, and the exodus of families from the city has resulted in a shrinking school population, and how the city is down on its luck in general. Plus its sports teams had not been the powerhouses of the past.

Thus in my opinion, it didn't seem right for the city to be represented as a powerful, bully type mascot.

So I thought about it some more, and during the drive in to work one day, I imagined a small but wiry Titan. One who wasn't a bully, but an average guy who just keeps getting up each day and doing battle, even though he's probably going to get creamed.

When I got to work, I quickly dashed off a rough sketch of this guy.

I drew him in my usual style – which is naturally a little bit retro. I was hoping that if he was chosen as the mascot, that he would work well stylistically with the other local high school sports mascots that had been around for decades.

I eventually cleaned up my sketch, added some details to his garment and made him a little more aggressive looking. Then I inked him – the old-fashioned way with a brush – and submitted a copy of the artwork.

To my surprise, I was contacted by the athletic director. He said that my mascot was one of only a small handful that had made the cut and was still in consideration. While he was having professional artists clean up the other entries, he asked me if I would mind modifying my mascot slightly to include their new LHS sword and shield logo design and resubmitting it.

I quickly replaced my generic shield and sword with the approved designs. Here is the result (below).

Within weeks, I was informed that my mascot design had been chosen, and that it would appear in the Morning Journal on May 27, 2010.

I was ecstatic – but had no idea what lie ahead for the mascot and me.

The front page of the Morning Journal on Thursday, May 27, 2010 was a big thrill for me. Unfortunately, it only lasted for the time it took for me to drive to work!

By that time, comments about my mascot were already being posted on the Morning Journal website. One thing was clear: everyone hated him!

(Here's a link to the article; unfortunately, when the Morning Journal redid their website a few years ago after being sold, all of the original comments were lost.)

Comments were surprisingly vicious: the mascot was awful; an embarrassment; unprofessional; a ripoff of cartoon characters ranging from George Jetson to Barney Rubble. One commenter hilariously observed that the city had better pass a levy to cover the lawsuits that Hanna Barbera was going to bring against Lorain City Schools!

Petey the Pioneer was
designed by longtime
Chronicle-Telegram
editorial cartoonist
Bob Lynch

One person said I'd merely copied the Little Caesars pizza mascot. Another commenter from Elyria – who had read in the article that I'd designed the mascot to be compatible with other local high school mascots, such Elyria High School's Petey the Pioneer (at left) – said my mascot was unfit to be compared with him.

A few people were supportive. But by midday, I couldn't bear to read any more insults. I figured, "At least I'll have the last laugh when he starts appearing all over the place."

But as the football season began, I noticed that my mascot artwork wasn't being used in the Morning Journal sports pages. Instead, the Titan sword and shield were used to represent the Lorain teams.

I contacted the Lorain City Schools athletic director to find out why, and was told that school districts use their logo to represent their school on the sports pages – not their mascots. He explained that the purpose of having the mascot created was so that a costume could be made for a student to wear on the sidelines and entertain the audience. I guess I misunderstood that.

Anyway, my Titan mascot has enjoyed a few moments in the spotlight since then. During the fall of 2010, I saw him on Willow Rental's electronic sign on Oberlin Avenue. He can be found on the internet on a few high school sports websites. I even saw him in this ad last fall in the Chronicle-Telegram (below).

I guess school mascots occupy a special place in people's hearts. To many people, the mascots symbolize tradition, as well as the carefree school days of their youth. That's why the ones that have been around for decades are so beloved – and why new ones are often rejected as upstarts.

Here's a little glimpse of Sheffield Lake's past, which is appropriate in this Sheffield Bicentennial year.

The photo shows the Sheffield Lake Fireman's Emergency Squad ambulance in front of the fire station on East Lake Road. The caption reads, "Sheffield Lake Fireman's Emergency Squad ambulance was transformed from a blue and white carrier into one of red and cream recently. Michael Golobich, driver and fireman, prepares to back the ambulance into its stall at the Sheffield Lake Fire Station, Lake Rd. Boasting a new two way radio tied in with the police and fire truck, the emergency vehicle answered all fire calls alongside the fire truck and carries such equipment as a respirator and two stretchers and wrecking equipment for auto accidents. A driver and two assistants comprise the crew. Last year the squad answered 49 calls and so far this year, 10."

The photo appeared in the Chronicle-Telegram on February 22, 1958.

The former station this past weekend

The photo actually captured what was soon to be the end of an era. Online Sheffield Lake Council Records include a 1958 ordinance authorizing the issuance of $110,000 of Fire Station bonds "for the purpose of acquiring real estate for a Fire Station site, constructing a new fireproof Fire Station and purchasing a new Fire Truck, Fire apparatus and equipment." By 1959, the fire department was in its new home at 609 Harris Road.

Here's the link to the Sheffield Lake Fire Department's page on the Sheffield Lake website.

****

Speaking of the Sheffield Bicentennial, be sure to visit the official website (here) and learn all about how a single township evolved into three separate communities: Sheffield Township, Sheffield Lake and Sheffield Village.

The website also lists all of the events planned for the celebration, and there's even an online store where you can purchase Sheffield Bicentennial merchandise.

Urban Miller's Supper Club Part 2

Urban Miller's Supper Club Part 3

Urban Miller's Supper Club Part 4

Trade Winds Polynesian Supper Club

Lannie's

Lannie's Statues

Sveden House – or is it Sweden House? Part 1

Sveden House – or is it Sweden House? Part 2

The Sveden House Waitress Moved, By Yiminy

Kathe Kreuzer's Country Place

"They loved us at Chicken Manor"

Tradewinds Update

Not White Castles... But Blue Castles

Portrait of the Stooges With a Young Man

Urban Miller's Supper Club Part 5

An Evening With Batman and Robin – Feb. 1, 1966

High School Mascot Musings

The Mascot That Wasn't – Part 1

The Mascot That Wasn't – Part 2

Sheffield Lake Ambulance - 1958