Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia

Back in January, I received an interesting email from Michael Brown. Michael is a former Lorain Countian who has done very well for himself. He grew up in Grafton in the 1960s, went to Ohio State in the late 1970s and is now President of BarrickGold USA, the nation’s largest gold mining company.

From Nevada, Michael reads my blog to connect with his Lorain County roots. He shared some thoughts regarding the coming of Midway Mall to Lorain County in the 1960s, as well as its effect on the downtowns of Lorain and Elyria. He also sent me some newspaper articles, as well as some images to supplement some of my previous posts.

Here’s one from the June 8, 1964 Chronicle-Telegram announcing the multi-million dollar mall project.

“The announcement of the Mall was not only front page above the fold, but was above the CT’s banner!” observed Michael. “It was interesting how the Mall was designed to replace a downtown. At the opening, it had a community room, a barbershop, a stockbroker, a drug store, pet shop, etc. I don’t remember the community room being used much (it was in the original south mall area) and I think became a storage room. The Mall had an apartment where the manager resided. I found the rarely mentioned coffee shop at JC Penny to be the best place for Mall workers for lunch or dinner.

“What should be noted was how the community celebrated the opening of the Midway Mall. No discussion about what would happen the downtowns of Lorain and Elyria. The focus was on temperature controlled shopping at a pleasant 72 degrees. Lorain County was booming with the opening of the auto plants.

Sears store at Midway Mall circa Sept. 1970
(Cleveland Press photo currently on Ebay)

“Sears was the driving force for the Mall,” noted Michael, and for a very good reason. “The original chain stores built in the downtowns of medium size cities were unable to expand and lacked adequate parking. We tend to forget that Sears was to the 1960s what Walmart is in retailing today.

Another article from the January 1, 1965 C-T reported, “Another all-time record for employment may be in store for Lorain County in 1965.” According to Michael, this was another distraction that kept city officials from noticing that their downtowns would soon be suffering because of the mall.

“Look at the number of people hired and the taxes paid,” observed Michael. “Booming communities always assume the boom will go on forever.”

Next: More Midway Mall reminisces including the story behind the dripping wires

To Michael, it’s not that surprising that the downtowns were unprepared to compete with Midway Mall.

“We lived in Grafton from 1962 to 1978,” he noted. “I remember the Elyria downtown chain stores were dingy and old with wooden floors and bad ventilation. Going there involved parallel parking and parking meters.

“The Mall was like an Apollo rocket. The original cinema had a 60’ screen with a working silent curtain. Not only was the mall heated in the winter, but in that era most homes were not air-conditioned in the summer.”

Michael also remembers – like everyone else who shopped there in the 1960s and 70s – the dripping vertical columns at the Mall that were so interesting to watch.

An article that Michael sent me explains that it was called the WonderFall.

So why does Michael have such a keen interest in Midway Mall?

“My mother was secretary to the Mall manager so it overtook our family life,” he explained. “As a teenager I worked for the Mall management in the early 1970s,” he added.

He has a theory about how the new anchor stores at the Mall basically came in under the radar, playing down what would eventually happen to their outlets in the downtowns.

Cleveland Press photo of Midway Mall Sears
circa Sept. 1970 (currently on Ebay)

“I suspect Sears was coy about the downtown stores because they needed the building permits,” he noted, “and deferential local officials bedazzled by money coming into build the mall probably didn’t press it.

“We have to remember how much more rural and remote Lorain County was in that era. For Higbees of Downtown Cleveland to open in Lorain County was a major wow! The mid-1960s were the peak years of the 20th century manufacturing economy. Lorain County was at the center of it.

“I don’t know about you, but nearly everything we bought for our household from toys to clothing came from Sears!”

I would tend to agree with Michael on that. We picked our clothes out of the Sears catalog, as well as our Christmas presents.

Michael has a few more memories about Lorain County.

“As a Graftonian, Lorain was a distant place,” he admitted. “I don’t think I ever made it to downtown Lorain until I was at LCCC in the late 1970s. I had a part-time job at new bank (TransOhio) at Oberlin and Tower.

“I do remember a small beach and marina where my uncle had a boat, but I also remember the dead perch littering the beach.”

Michael left Lorain County for Ohio State in 1979. After that he worked in the Ohio House of Representatives, and then in Washington DC, before his present post at Barrick Gold USA.

“Now I am bicoastal between Washington DC and Nevada. I have seen the same boom and bust in Las Vegas in the last decade.”

He did not forget his Lorain County roots though.

“I was back for a high school reunion and I took the Saturday to walk into every place I once worked, no matter what is there today, and introduced myself!”

One of the images that Michael Brown sent me during our correspondence in January about Midway Mall is the above ad for the Grand Opening of the Harvest House Cafeteria. The full-page ad ran in the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram as part of the special section about the opening of Midway Mall in late September 1966.

It’s a great ad, showing both the interior and exterior of the store, as well as apparently the first of the ongoing roast turkey dinner specials. (I’m surprised their cafeteria advertising slogan wasn’t “It’s Always Thanksgiving at Harvest House!”)

Since my original posts about Harvest House back in January, I’ve also scared up a bigger version of the postcard showing the interior and exterior of typical restaurants. You can click on for that “You are there” experience.

I also found this matchbook currently on Ebay.

It's Sunday afternoon while I'm preparing this post, and it’s almost time for me to get started on my chili. But for some reason, all I can think of is roast turkey with creamy mashed potatoes, giblet gravy and a warm roll and butter.

And a choice of vegetable.

Although I don't mention most of them on the blog, I get emails almost every day from people asking me if I have any information about something they remembered from being a kid.

I received an interesting email like that from Fritz Kuenzel in late February. The name seemed familiar, since I remembered that my brother Ken had played trumpet in a Musicians Union band that included two gentlemen named Hans and Fritz Kuenzel. (It was hard to forget them because the Katzenjammer Kids of comic strip fame have the same first names.)

Fritz’s email revealed the musical connection – and brought up a bit of Cascade Park trivia as well.

Fritz wrote, “I was reading one of your articles on Cascade Park at Elyria, Ohio. As a young boy in the 1960's, my father played in a local musicians union and they would periodically do concerts during the summer months at Cascade Park.

“My parents would take us along and we would play in the park playground during the band concerts. There used to be a very old 1930's era fire truck that sat in the sand in the playground for kids to play on. I have fond memories of climbing and playing on it.

“I was wondering, what ever happened to that old fire truck? What manufacture and year was it? Was it an old retired Elyria fire truck? A friend of mine who grew up in Elyria also remembers the old fire truck and we talked about it last week on the phone.”

I traded emails with Fritz, who responded with more information about his father. “My Dad, Fritz R. Kuenzel, played tuba in the band,” he explained. ““I was named Fritz N. after him. His twin brother Hans played trombone in Dixieland bands, both are 82 yrs. old. Hans named his son Hans also.”

A quick online search revealed that the Kuenzel brothers have had a long musical career. An item in the April 23, 1945 Chronicle-Telegram about the Avon Lake High School Spring Music Festival mentions that “Hans and Fritz Kuenzel will play a duet, “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen.” Another Avon Lake High School concert mentioned in the November 25, 1947 C-Tnotes that “Hans and Fritz Kuenzel, members of the band, will play a trombone solo and a tuba solo, respectively.”

But getting back to the fire truck. Researching it was more difficult than I thought, and I only found a photo of the playground (with no truck) and few recent online mentions of the truck in the Chronicle-Telegram.

Cascade Park playground photo courtesy of
The Great Elyria Time Machine website

An article from the C-T June 13, 2014 included this reminisce. “When I was a kid, my grandparents lived just above Cascade Park on Bath Street, and one of the biggest thrills of my kid life was getting to play in the park. This was before anything in our world was scary or dangerous, so it was ok for parents to let their kids climb all over a rusted out fire truck with jagged chrome edges and steel springs sticking up through the seats.”

Since I had come up short in my research, I decided to ask Rick Kurish for his help. Rick is a great researcher who has helped me many times.

If anyone could come up with something about the Cascade Park fire truck, he could.

And he did!

I reached out to Rick Kurish for help researching the old fire truck that used to be located in the playground at Cascade Park. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it easier for Rick by accidentally (and feeblemindedly) telling him it was an old train!

Rick responded, “My family frequented Cascade Park at least once or twice a year from the mid 1950s until the early 1960s, and while I and my brothers were all over the playground, I have no recollection of an actual railroad locomotive in the park.”

Once I informed Rick of my mistake, it didn’t take long for him to remember the fire truck.

“Ah, a fire truck, not a train!” he responded. “Yes, I remember the fire truck. It sat near the building that served as a concession stand. I was never too interested in the fire truck, but my younger brothers spent some time playing on it. I was more into the slides and swings --- especially the corkscrew slide.”

It didn’t take long at all for Rick came through as usual.

“Attached is a neat article from the Chronicle-Telegram of June 8,1956 which details the fire truck that the city of Elyria retired and donated to Cascade Park. The city apparently bought the truck new in 1929. Perhaps your correspondent who played on the truck in the 1960s will find the article interesting.”

Here is the article (below). It reveals that the fire truck was a 1929 Ahrens-Fox. The company was based in Ohio.

I sent the article to Fritz, who was happy to get the information about the fire truck that he remembered so well.

“It's hard to believe that it was put out to pasture in the park with only a couple thousand miles on it,” observed Fritz. “I'm sure it was well-loved and played on by all children who visited Cascade Park. I know by the time I first played on it the fire truck had been there at least 10 yrs. from what your article states from 1956. By then it was becoming well-worn when I first remember climbing upon it.

“I always remember it had that huge brass or chrome ball mounted on the front which I presume was part of the pumping unit. The next question for all is whatever happened to it when it was removed from the park and when? Lets hope it ended up being preserved and restored somewhere. Being a 1929 Ahrens-Fox model, I would think that by today’s standards, it would be quite a collectible model.

“Although I did not live in Elyria, we would go there frequently for summer band concerts, and on Sunday drives for picnics in my dad’s Model A Ford. We would also go there in the winter to go sledding down the hill.

“Thank you so much for searching and finding the information from my memories of the fire truck from 50 or so years ago!”

And thanks to Rick, a little bit of Cascade Park history – retrieved from the Chronicle-Telegram– is available online for others who remember the fire truck from their childhood.

****

Click here to visit the official Ahrens-Fox website. And to see a restored 1929 Ahrens-Fox fire truck, click here.

The Lorain Lighthouse – known as the “Jewel of the Port” – is celebrating its 100th year anniversary on June 30, 217. That alone should bring a tear to the eye of anyone who lovingly calls Lorain their hometown. It’s been the symbol of the city for a long time now, in good times and bad.

Many of us have only seen it from certain popular vantage points, such as Hot Waters. Thankfully, the Sunset Dinner Cruises make it possible to see up close what most of us have only seen from afar.

The official Lorain Lighthouse website has an interesting explanation as to how the 2017 date was selected to celebrate the centennial. It notes, “Many dates are given for when the Lighthouse we see today was built. An article from the Lorain Journal, September 23, 1953 indicates 1898, with the title, “Lorain’s Lighthouse in 55th Year of Duty”, but that date isn’t close.

“Most sources give 1909 as the date, but the blueprint for the current structure is dated 1916. Information from the Lighthouse Board in the National Archives states: “On June 30, 1917, the concrete structure had been erected, roof completed except shingling, metal work of lantern erected, and concrete forms removed. Temporary light in commission shone from new lantern. It is expected to install permanent light this season and place fog signal commission early next season.” Also, an act of October 22, 1913 appropriated $35,000 for a light and fog station at Lorain Harbor.

“Thus the date 1917 is the most accurate available for the construction of the current Lorain Lighthouse structure.”

In preparation for the big anniversary, I decided to see if I could come up with some newspaper coverage of the lighthouse under construction, as well as its dedication.

Some of the regional newspapers mentioned its construction. The Norwalk Reflector of August 16, 1916 noted, “The pierhead of the Lorain breakwater, erected ten years ago, has sunk eighteen inches it was discovered today. The pier is a concrete structure 22 by 22 feet in dimensions. The sinking was discovered when work of building the new lighthouse and foghorn station on the pier started. The new building will be 50 feet above the water and will be a three-story concrete and steel structure.

The Sandusky Register in its March 12, 1919 edition also made reference to the Lorain lighthouse in an article explaining the structure’s light and fog signal to mariners. The article referred to the lighthouse as “the new structure, gray square building with square tower rising from southeast corner, recently completed.”

Here is what the Register article was quoting from: a 1919 Notice to Mariners.

From the 1919 Index to Notices to Mariners

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any mention at all of the lighthouse on the available Lorain newspaper microfilm. I checked both the June 30, 1917 date as well as the March 1919 date mentioned in the Sandusky paper.

I still have a few more months to try and find a dedication article. We’ll see.

Perhaps the beloved lighthouse – remotely located as it is and not accessible to anyone without a boat – silently went to work with no fanfare at all.

The Lorain Lighthouse as it looked in 1919
(Courtesy lighthousefriends.com)

UPDATE

I understand now why I was unable to find something in the vintage newspapers for the June 30, 1917 date. That date is a government fiscal year-ending date found in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce. The construction update information associated with that date is merely a summation of progress made up to that point. The June 30th date does not have special significance.

There really is no controversy regarding the dates associated with the construction of the Lorain Lighthouse. It just depends on whether you want to celebrate the anniversary of a lighthouse under construction but functioning, or one that is totally complete.

It is easy to go online and find the various government documents with the lighthouse construction progress reports. Site construction was expected to start in early July 1916, and was planned to be done in 1917, according to this report in the 1916 Reports of the Department of Commerce (below).

The 1917 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses to the Secretary of Commerce included this update (below). The permanent light and fog signal were expected to be installed early in the 1918 season.

But by the time of the June 30, 1918 Reports of the Department of Commerce, the Lighthouse still wasn't quite done (see below).

Finally, the 1919 report provides a nice description (spread out over two pages) of the now completed lighthouse.

Note that the lighthouse came in about 25 bucks under the $35,000 budget. I hope the keepers had a good party with the leftover loot.

I received a nice email from Kelli D’Agnese recently regarding my blog series on the Showboat last month.

If Kelli's name sounds familiar, it might be because her grandfather was Peter D’Agnese, well-known in Lorain for his popular restaurant on Broadway in the 1960s, as well as his sandwich & pizza shop on Root Road in the 1970s.

This time Kelli was writing about her mother’s side of the family – the Serbian side. She wrote, "I have something you might like to see. My great uncle, (my grandmother’s brother-in-law) Dave Zupkovich, from Youngstown, was a popular Serbian tamburitza musician from the 1940s until his early passing on in 1963. He had several orchestras and they traveled all over.

"I just received these pictures from a friend in Canton, Ohio, whose father also played with Dave. In this photo, Dave and his orchestra play at the Lorain Showboat in 1950.

From left, Joe Marmilich, Joe Matacic, John Krilcic and Dave Zupkovich

The photo had a nice souvenir cover on it too with great artwork, indicating it was taken at the Showboat.

Kelli knew that the back cover of the photo would be of interest to me too. "Note the name of the photographer that was on the back of the photo!” she noted. "Enjoy!!”

I was surprised to see that Katherine and Alex Visci were listed as the photographers.

Of course, longtime blog readers might remember that well-known bandleader Alex Visci was my brother’s and my trumpet teacher back in the late 1960s and early 70s. (I wrote about him here, here, here and here.)

I remembered that Mr. Visci’s wife was a photographer. With his active career and connections in the local nightclub scene, it makes sense that she would have an opportunity to use her talents shooting candids at the Showboat.

Kelli’s great uncle achieved quite a bit of success in his musical field. Dave Zupkovich and his Balkan Recording Artists made many records on the Balkan Records label.

Courtesy tamburitza78s.blogspot.com

Visit the Tamburitza and more blog to learn more about Dave Zupkovich’s career. And in the meantime, here’s a nice sample of his music.

Thanks for sharing, Kelli!

On a Sunday afternoon in late December 2016, I had to make a trip to Elyria. On the way home, I shot this photo of some ancient street signs located where Lorain Boulevard meets Lake Avenue.

The Ohio Turnpike sign is a rare die-cut version that you just don’t see any more. The sign pointing in the direction of Midway Mall has seen better days too – much like the mall itself.

That’s a Family Dollar in the photo on the left in the background.

While preparing this post, I looked at an aerial on Bing Maps of where the sign is located. Strangely enough, the now-demolished former Greyhound station was still in the photo where the Family Dollar is now located.

I remember having to catch a bus at that Greyhound station, but I’ll be doggoned if I can remember when that was – and where I was going!

****

I just dug through my photo files and came up with another one of those faded, die-cut Ohio Turnpike signs. This one (below) is located in Huron near the intersection of Route 6 and Main Street on the south side of the highway looking east. I photographed it in 2016.

Interestingly, the Google Maps view from 2013 shows a different sign (below). Maybe somebody clobbered it with their car, necessitating dragging the older one out of retirement as a replacement.

I hope that COLOR TV sign is saved!

Well, it looks like the old motels on the western approach to the city will finally have their date with the bulldozers.

According to an article in the Morning Journal on March 20, “Lorain City Council voted 10-0 to award a contract to knock down Erieview Motel, 2800 W. Erie Ave., and Shoreway Motel, 3945 W. Erie Ave.”

Shoreway Motel up close

Erieview Motel

The Parkview Motel and Lake Motel will be dealt with in the near future by Council.

Some of the motels were supposed to have been demolished by October 2015.

On the other hand, one structure seems to have been awarded a stay of execution this week: the closed bait shop that once served as the clubhouse for the Lorain Yacht Club. The Morning Journal reported (here) on March 26 that the city is seeking proposals for a seasonal service or concession stand at the dock, known as Hot Waters. This includes the Hot Waters Bait Shop. The article noted, “Any proposal using the building must include a capital improvement plan with proof of finances, according to the city.

“Council agreed it should be razed, but wanted the city to seek possible concession providers this year because the site is well used by Lorain anglers.”

It will be interesting to see if a proposal is submitted. I hope so.

Although there aren’t any Kroger stores in Northeast Ohio any more, the supermarket chain made its first appearance in Lorain in April 1936. The Lorain Journal and Times-Herald devoted a whole section of the newspaper to it on Friday, April 3, 1936 – 81 years ago today. The first page is shown above. (Click on it for a readable version.)

There was quite a bit of hoopla connected with the store opening, including a parade.

Kroger joined a very crowded market of grocers in Lorain, including A&P, Fisher Brothers, Harry Fligner, Goldberg’s, Jacoby Brothers and William Jeancola.

The original Kroger store in Lorain was located at 348 Broadway. By 1940, two more area locations were added: 1815 Broadway in Lorain, and 154 Park Avenue in Amherst.

By 1950, only the 1815 Broadway address was still open in Lorain. Another store was added at 129 Fourth Street in the early 1950s.

Apparently in that era, the Kroger name could not compete in Lorain against the many strong local grocers; by the late 1950s, both of the stores had closed.

But Kroger did not give up on Lorain. A new Kroger “super store” was built in 1976 at Oberlin Avenue and Meister Road. A second Lorain “super store” went up at Route 57 and Fairless Drive (by the Kmart) the following year.

There were a total of six stores in Lorain County by the late 1970s. But after a strike, they all closed – alone with 17 other northeast Ohio stores – in mid-September 1985. Kroger blamed it on an “unsatisfactory rate of return plus excessive union demands,” according to an article in the September 14, 1985 Chronicle-Telegram.

Today, Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in the United States (according to this Wiki entry). But if you feel like Krogering, you’ll have to drive to Sandusky or Port Clinton for the closest stores.

Willis Leiter’s Real Photo Postcard of Oakwood Park

A colorized, retouched version of Leiter’s composition

Oakwood Park had been in the news again last month (here), so it’s a good time for this post. It’s an article that ran in the Lorain Daily News back on August 31, 1939 that provides a nice capsule history of the park.

****

OAK TREES NEAR SWAMP GAVE OAKWOOD PARK ITS NAME

The giant oaks that strive to reach the heights of the smoke stacks of the National Tube Co. in South Lorain are responsible for the name of Oakwood Park. The 70 acres of beautiful trees that form this park, drew their sustenance as saplings from swamp lands about them.

Johnson and Moxham, the two men most concerned with the establishment of the steel mills in Lorain, helped to dedicate this piece of land to the city of Lorain for a park in 1894 through the Sheffield Land Company.

Twenty years later, late in 1914 or early in 1915, Thomas A. Peebles, 1965 East 32nd st., then a member of city council, overheard a conversation that indicated there was a mortgage about to be foreclosed that would deprive Lorain of her gift park. His fellow councilmen called him “crazy”, he says today, when he told them what he had heard. The park had been given to the city. There couldn’t be a mortgage. But when C. E. VanDeusen, 1128 5th Street, then the city prosecutor, received a notice of the foreclosure from the Federal District Court, council took immediate action.

Money was transferred from the established park fund which had been raised from a previous bond issue and the blanket mortgage of some $15,000 was paid off. This released the park and gave the city the entire allotment east of what is now Grove ave. This action of the city fathers netted Lorain a pretty return on her investment when these lots were sold. A block of land off Palm Ave. was dedicated to the Board of Education, and the ownership of the park was legally settled.

The park had developed according to the amount of labor and money spent on it by the city through the service department through 1933 and the Park Commission since 1934.

In the early years one man was hired each summer to clear out the underbrush and to keep the outside edges mowed. Later the bandstand was built, some filling in was done, ball diamonds and tennis courts built, and picnic tables were set up.

The park commission with PWA and WPA assistance had hauled in 25,000 yards of dirt to fill in low spots; has built 12 miles of cinder roads; put in 2 1/4 miles of drains and sewers; laid 1 mile of side walk; rebuilt two tennis courts and made two new ones; constructed 4 additional softball diamonds and has made an ice pond and built a shelter house.

When the 36th st. water main was laid this past year, George Crehore, park superintendent, had the dirt hauled in on the back of the park to form a knoll which was to be shaped a bit, planted, and generally made to improve the landscape. However, a young publis approbation, the beauty spot is a grand toboggan.

At the present time a lagoon and island is being constructed by 42 NYA boys under Park Commission supervision in the north east corner of the park.

Appropriate planting and colored lights will add to the beauty of the park. The park has always been a place for huge outdoor mass meetings as well as organization picnic. Nationality groups, church groups and family groups use the park of for their larger outdoor gatherings when the weather permits.

The city-wide development of a recreation program for children and adults by the WPA Recreation workers has greatly increased the use of the park as a play spot.

****

In tomorrow's Part 2 of this series, I point the spotty lens of my Canon Power Shot A480 at the park (or at least what’s left of it) today.

It’s a good thing that Google Maps has an outdated view of Oakwood Park from July 2014 (above). At least we can see how Oakwood Park used to look before the park improvements began late last fall.

It’s pretty shocking if you compare the above photo to how it looks now with so many trees cut down.

Although the story had been in the news for months, I hadn’t had a good look at the park since last December. So I drove over there on Sunday to take a look as well as some photos. Of course, the leafless trees and soggy grounds made it look even more barren and depressing.

Looking east towards Grove Avenue (Route 57) from the center of the park

It seemed like a good idea to make $9 million worth of major improvements to the park, which had seen better days. To be fair, it was known all along that the first phase of the project would require the removal of existing trees.

But somehow, seeing a bunch of park trees cut down has a way of making one feel empty and sad – especially with the long wait expected between the cutting down of the trees and the next phase of the improvement project. Thus the whole thing has been more or less put on hold for now, according to this story.

****

I snapped this photo (below) of the park back on a Sunday in late December on the way home from Elyria. With the fresh stumps dotting the landscape, it looked as if Paul Bunyan and his Seven Axemen had laid waste to the place.

The view from Route 57

Here’s hoping that the community decides what it wants in a new, improved Oakwood Park and that the plan unfolds smoothly and quickly.

Undated aerial photo of Thew Shovel
(Courtesy Dennis Lamont)

Courtesy P. C. Campana

I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the demolition of many of the original Thew Shovel buildings that’s been going on at the P. C. Campana complex on E. 28th Street since last year.

I happened to pass by it on the way home from Oakwood Park on Sunday and thought it was strange to not see the buildings that were so familiar to generations of Lorainites.

Thew Shovel is sometimes overlooked when it comes to celebrating Lorain’s glory years as an industrial powerhouse. Perhaps that’s because after a merger in 1964 the name was changed to the Thew – Lorain Division of Koehring Co.

Nevertheless, Thew Shovel was an important part of making the name ‘Lorain” known all over the world.

July 1949 newspaper ad

Anyway, I took a few photos from my car as I proceeded west on E. 28th Street.

The intersection of Fulton and E. 28th Street

For great and poignant photos documenting the gradual demolition of the former Thew Shovel buildings, visit the always interesting Lorain365.com website.

****

I did take a few photos on another Sunday morning back in 2013. I’m kind of glad I did.

****

Speaking of the Thew Shovel buildings, it didn't take long for the company to expand its operations in Lorain in the early years. As this news item that appeared in the Norwalk Reflector of December 12, 1901 explains, a 100-foot extension to the shop on the west end was planned.

(Courtesy Drew Penfield)

Also, according to the May 26, 1913 edition of Industrial World, a 125 x 60 extension to the Thew Automatic Shovel works main building was being pushed to completion.

To end this week, here’s something of interest to you baseball fans courtesy of regular blog contributor Rick Kurish– although it’s really more for devotees of the Cincinnati Reds than our Cleveland Indians.

Rick enjoys researching, and contacted me a few weeks ago with some baseball lore that he dug up – namely some very early baseball coverage as reported by one of our local newspapers.

He wrote, "Since the opening day of the 2017 baseball season is rapidly approaching I thought I would share one of the earliest reportings of a baseball game that I have come across in the local newspapers. The attached article is taken from the Elyria Independent Democrat of June 29, 1870, and relates the local fervor over the result of a game played between the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Philadelphia Athletics on June 22nd.

"As most baseball fans are aware, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professional baseball team, going professional for the 1869 season. As a result, they went undefeated that year, finishing with a perfect 65-0 record.

"The next year they continued their dominance, stretching their consecutive win streak to 84 games. Finally on June 14, 1870 they were defeated by the Brooklyn Atlantics by the score of 8 to 7 in 11 innings at Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn. The following week they were scheduled to play the Philadelphia Athletics, another baseball powerhouse, in Philadelphia.

"Since Philadelphia had recently defeated the Brooklyn Atlantics by the lopsided score of 19 to 3, they harbored the idea that perhaps they were the better team. The game played on June 22nd between Cincinnati and Philadelphia for baseball supremacy proved to be a slugfest that ended in a Cincinnati victory by the score of 27 to 25.

"The attached article details the importance of the game to excited local fans and affirmed Cincinnati's claim to be the best team in baseball.

"I have also attached a photo of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team. The photo is from a web site devoted to the team and is in the public domain."

In closing, Rick expressed his hope for a good season for our favorite local team. "Lets hope the Cleveland Indians can run off several winning streaks this year,” he noted. "I would even settle for something less than 84 straight wins. Go Tribe!!!!”

Amen to that. Thanks for sharing, Rick!

Vintage postcard postmarked January 19, 1910

Although the look of Downtown Lorain was altered forever by the 1924 tornado, the buildings of the Central Lorain business district have remained largely intact for more than a hundred years.

A good example is this vintage postcard (postmarked 1910) of "Penfield Avenue Looking North" that was recently on Ebay, and ripe for the “Then & Now” treatment.

Some of the signs in the photo are legible. I was able to find a few of them in the closest available city directory, although in the 1912 edition the Penfield addresses have already been replaced with that of the new name – Broadway.

We see a sign for DOCTOR GRILLS on the far left side of the photo. Dr. A. T. Grills was a physician and surgeon with his office there at 1948 Broadway. There are also signs for a hotel and a dentist that I could not identify in any available directories.

Further down the street is a sign for FURNITURE & CARPETS that corresponds with Reichlin, Reidy & Scanlan, whose address was 1930-1934 Broadway in 1912.

Today it appears that many of the original buildings from the vintage postcard are still there, though greatly modified through the years.

Well, today is the Indians’ Home Opener – so I thought I’d better prepare something appropriate.

At the top you see my genuine Twins Enterprise, Inc. Collectible MLB Bobbing Head Chief Wahoo Doll fron the 1990s. It was inexpensive, and not a bad facsimile of the type of bobble heads that my brothers and I used to ogle down at the old Municipal Stadium souvenir stands in the 1960s. Those same original nodders now run about 300 clams on Ebay (that’s a lot of wampum), so this one will have to do for now.

Anyway, I went back to see how the Indians did on two other Home Openers – 70 years ago and 60 years ago.

In 1947 the Indians were still a year away from the season which ended with them winning the World Series. Bob Feller took the mound against the Chicago White Sox on April 15, 1947. Unfortunately, he was “trumped” (very appropriate now) 2-0 in front of a record crowd of 55,014 fans.

Here’s the story from the April 16, 1947 Lorain Journal.

In the 1957 Home Opener, the Indians played – who else? – the Chicago White Sox. On April 16, 1957, the day of the game, the Lorain Journal ran this article featuring great illustrations of Cleveland Manager Kerby Farrell and Chicago White Sox Manager Al Lopez.

Unfortunately, the Tribe lost this one as well, 3-2. Herb Score pitched all 11 innings of this three hour and 28 minute game.

Let’s hope the Indians make out better against the Chicago White Sox today.

A scene at Central Park today

Last week I featured an article about Oakwood Park that ran in the Lorain Daily News back in late August 1939. Here’s another article that was part of that newspaper’s series on Lorain parks. This one features a short history of Central Park and ran in the paper about a week later on September 7, 1939.

****

CENTRAL PARK TOO SMALL FOR AREA IT SERVES
third in a series of articles concerning the history and development of Lorain city parks
CENTRAL PARK

The wading pool at Central Park, located west of Oakdale ave. between West 27th and 30th sts., is constructed over an old quarry hole. The 16 1/2 acre tract purchased by the city in 1911 to be used as park land was all quarry and trees. Old timers in the neighborhood say it was a tale easy to believe that the quarry hole had no bottom. Several drownings occurred that made even the boys who persisted in using the hole for swimming, more cautious. So the city lost no time in filling up the old “death trap” with rubbish, tin cans and refuse, and after it had settled sufficiently, topped it with a thick cement wading pool.

The park was christened “Highland Park” by the city dads, and that name stuck until 17 years later. In June, 1928, persons owning lots adjacent the spot, petitioned the city to change the name to Central Park. The council acquiesced and by ordinance No. 3527, the new name became legal.

More people per square foot use Central as a play spot than any other place in the city, according to statistics provided by the City Recreation Commission. Many games of the city baseball leagues are played on the Central diamonds. The City Park Commission realize only too well, the need of more park space in Central Lorain. A few adequate spots are available, and have been considered pending the time when the city has funds for such a purchase.

The park as it is, has a number of improvements listed for it by the Park Department book of “must be dones,” according to Supt. Geo. Crehore. A new wading pool, a new rest room and shelter house, new baseball bleachers, more tennis courts, baseball diamonds, and more picnic tables and benches are necessary to equip the park satisfactorily for the use of the people it serves.

****

I remember my father late in life expressing his annoyance at the park’s name change from Highland to Central Park.

I guess it was because he spent a lot of time playing there as a kid in the 1920s. It was only a block from the house where his grandparents lived on W. 28th Street, and just a couple blocks from where he grew up on Livingston. Thus the name change probably trampled on his memories.

Nevertheless, today the Highland Park name lives on as the name of the boulevard running east off of Oberlin Avenue towards the park’s northern limits.

I was fairly surprised to discover that I haven’t mentioned the longtime Lorain business Central Bakery too much on this blog over the years. So, it’s a good reason to post the above Easter-themed ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on April 15, 1957.

There seems to be two dates associated with the opening of Central Bakery. A full-page ad for the company that ran in the Journal on June 21, 1955 states that the firm has been “Serving Lorain Since May 15, 1915.” Other sources (including the Lorain Public Library’s online History of Lorain timeline) say that it was 1904 and that Edward Kowalski started the business.

Anyway, on December 11, 1963 an early morning fire destroyed the Central Bakery plant and offices at 2326 Elyria Avenue. The damage to the two-story brick building which housed the bakery, as well as a retail store in front of it facing Elyria Avenue, were estimated to exceed $250,000.

If there’s one photo that you can count on seeing almost every year in the Morning Journal and Chronicle-Telegram at Easter, it has to be the ceremonial placement of the large, concrete eggs in the iconic Lakeview Park Easter Basket.

It’s a tradition going back decades. I posted the 1958 edition back in 2011.

Here’s the photo (below) from 1957 as it appeared in the Lorain Journal on April 20th, the day before Easter. The caption reveals that David Shukait, the man who designed Lorain’s giant concrete easter baskets, had recently received a patent for the process he used to create them.

Joe Trifiletti and Charles Camera were the egg-bearers in the 1958 photo as well.

On the day after Easter 1957, the Journal published a photo of the crowd down at Lakeview Park.

MAIN ATTRACTION– The huge basket in Lakeview Park, as in other years,

was the main objective of Lorain’s Easter paraders yesterday. Traffic in the

vicinity of the park was slowed to a crawl as thousands gathered at the basket,

including many out of town and out of state visitors.

****

A lot of people took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend to get their Easter photos early by the basket in Lakeview Park. I noticed a small crowd every time I drove by there on Saturday and Sunday.

I would guess that the Lakeview Park Easter Basket is probably Lorain’s most-loved landmark, at least by locals.

More beloved than the Lighthouse? I think so. Many residents old and new have an emotional connection to the basket due to the tradition of taking family photos in front of it. It’s a lovely ritual that seems to be growing in popularity again, year after year.

It just wouldn’t be Lorain without its giant Easter Basket. And that’s something the Shukait family can always be proud of.

Happy Easter!

Midway Mall Reflections – Part 1

Midway Mall Reflections – Part 2

Harvest House Grand Opening Ad – 1966

The Old Fire Truck in Cascade Park – Part 1

The Old Fire Truck in Cascade Park – Part 2

Just When Was the Lorain Lighthouse Built? – Part 1

Just When Was the Lorain Lighthouse Built? – Part 2

Dave Zupkovich and His Orchestra Play the Showboat – 1950

Ohio Turnpike Signs That Time Forgot

Demo Update

Lorain Goes Krogering – April 3, 1936

Oakwood Park – Part 1

Oakwood Park – Part 2

Thew Shovel Demolition

Cincinnati Red Stockings Coverage in the Elyria Independent Democrat Newspaper – 1870

Penfield Avenue Looking North – Then & Now

Cleveland Indians Home Openers – 1947 & 1957

How Lorain’s Highland Park Became Central Park

Central Bakery Easter Ad – 1957

Loading up the Lakeview Park Easter Basket – 1957