Besides the war stories, there’s plenty of interesting things on the page. Employees of the National Tube Co. were about to receive a wage increase of 10 percent; the first coke was about to be drawn from the new ovens at the National Tube plant that day; the earnings of United States Steel were ‘greatest in history; and the Elks enjoyed turtle soup at their hall on Tuesday night.
But what caught my attention was the small article about how Lorain got its name. It’s a nice little explanation for anyone who has never heard the explanation.
“How did Lorain get its name?” asked the article. It noted, “That question is asked often these days when the province of Lorraine in Europe figures so prominently in the news dispatches and when there is some talk of changing the city’s name to adopt the french spelling.
“The city took its name from the original Lorraine.
“It was named from the county of Lorain by Judge Human Ely from whom Elyria took its name.
“The judge had traveled in Lorraine and was so impressed with its beauty that he decided to name the county in which he controlled the land for the beautiful French province.”
The article goes on to note that when the village of Charleston had to come up with a new name (as ‘Charleston’ was already taken), it was the late Charles S. Vorwerk who had suggested naming the village ‘Lorain’ after the county.
Vorwerk’s suggestion was a clever idea (though perhaps a wee bit weaselly). It gave Lorain a charming name, as well as prominence as the namesake port city in the county, and cemented Vorwerk's fame as one of the incorporators of the city when he passed away in 1914.