Lewis House in Avon

The Lewis House circa 1936

The Lorain Journal often featured old houses in its pages back in the 1940s and 50s, providing the history of a landmark that its readers might find interesting.

The Lewis House in Avon was one of those landmarks. As noted in the article below that ran in the paper back on June 14, 1940, "On a knoll shadowed by huge pines stands the "Lewis House," one-story stone building which in 1941 will celebrate its one hundredth birthday.

"From all the old and interesting buildings in Avon this one was chosen by the National Advisory committee of the historic buildings survey as "possessing exceptional historic and architectural interest worthy of most careful preservation for the benefit of future generations."

"Now reposing in the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C., is a record of its present appearance and condition. 

"Howard and George Lewis, brothers and sole inhabitants of the old homestead, are proud of its reputation and cherish a certificate from the department of the interior signed by Harold Ickes marking their home as one of great historic value."

The house was built around 1843 with sandstone from the Amherst quarries. It was originally located on Center Road. 

In the summer of 2002, it was moved to a new location in the Olde Avon Village shopping district by the shopping center's owner, Ron Larson. He explained his philosophy in an article written by Chrissy Kadleck for Cleveland Magazine in April 2004. ""We create a sanctuary here for old buildings," says Larson, who lives in Avon Lake with his family. "It's my project and I'm totally absorbed in it. I'm married to it."

Since its relocation to Olde Avon Village, the Lewis House has been the home of Details, an upscale gift shop.

Avon Isle - Site of French/Indian Battle

Nov. 10, 1933 ad in the Lorain Journal

Today, Avon Isle Park Pavilion is an events center available for rent located at 37080 Detroit Road in Avon. Pretty much hidden from the road, it's a cozy venue for parties and weddings.

It has a lot of history, mainly as a dance hall dating back to at least the 1920s.

But did you know that its location was also the site of a bloody battle between Native Americans and French soldiers?

That's the story told in the article below which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on November 25, 1940. 

It notes, "Avon and its historic French Creek was once the scene of a "battle to the death" between French soldiers and desperate Indians.

"Excavations have revealed human skeletons in positions indicating violent death. Near them were French military buttons and rusty remains of ancient guns.

"Most of this evidence of violence and strife was found on what is now Avon Isle-pk. Old timers in Avon still tell the story of the crude stone, circular embankment which runs along the bank of the creek thru the entire village.

"The tale runs that this embankment was thrown up by one powerful Indian tribe as protection against marauding bands of other tribes – all this long before white settlers set foot on the soil.

"The wall stood from eight to ten feet high and many of the stones can still be found around Avon. Avon is also the site of numerous Indian mounds which are thought to have been burial grounds because of the many human bones found in them.

"Early tillers of the soil have leveled most of these. When Avon was founded in 1819 as Troy many of these mounds were still in evidence.

Judge Pierpont Edwards

"Originally owned by Pierpont Edwards, a famous Revolutionary soldier, congressman and judge of Connecticut, Avon for a time was also known as Xeumma. It has been called Avon since 1825."

The story of Avon's name was recalled in the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on October 22, 1926. 

As the article notes, "It was named in honor of the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The village was once known as French Creek.

"But the name of Avon was not given it without a struggle, and many people still think of the village and talk of its as "French Creek."

"When the township was organized in 1818, it was named Avon. Then they tacked on it the monicker "Troy." Before 1818 they called it Xeumma.

"However, six years after the organization of the township, Shakespeare students achieved their wish, and it has been "Avon" officially ever since.

The article explains why Avon was once called "French Creek." It notes, "Among the first settlers of the vicinity were a colony of French who erected their cabins on the creek early in the 18th century, a century before the township was organized.

"For generations they continued on this site, and the place acquired the name "French Creek." Now, however, none of the descendants of the old French now remain.

"Years ago there was a circular embankment of stone from seven to eight feet high, along French Creek.

"The embankment appeared to have been thrown up by the natives as a protection wall before the settlers came and without regard to the size of the stones.

"Mounds in the vicinity that were opened up years ago contained human bones. Most of these mounds, near which is situated the Avon Park dance hall, have been leveled."

Interestingly, the 1940 Lorain Journal article referenced at the beginning of this blog post appears to have its roots in another article (below) that appeared in the paper on January 11, 1927. It's the same story with a few tidbits not found in the 1940 version.

Sparky's On the Job in Oberlin

Fire Prevention Week 2025 may be over, but it was a nice surprise a few weeks ago to see a banner on the front of the Oberlin Fire Department station on S. Main Street featuring none other than Sparky the Fire Dog.

Here's a better look at what the banner looks like (below). The artwork, with its message of safely buying, charging and recycling Lithium-Ion batteries in your home, is very visible on the internet.

Here's the National Fire Prevention Association's Charge into Fire Safety: 3 Steps

Buy only listed products. When buying a product that uses a lithium-ion battery look for a safety certification mark such as UL, ETL, or CSA. This means it meets important safety standards. 

Charge devices safely. Always use the cords that came with the product to charge. Follow the instructions from the manufacturer. Buy new chargers from the manufacturer or one that the manufacturer has approved. Charge your device on a hard surface. Don’t overcharge your device. Unplug it or remove the battery when it’s fully charged. 

Recycle batteries responsibly. Don’t throw lithium-ion batteries in the trash or regular recycling bins because they could start a fire. Recycle your device or battery at a safe battery recycling location. Visit call2recycle.org to find a recycling spot near you.

Rory Raccoon Revisited

Remember my post about Kmart's raccoon mascot? Initially, Google AI Overview scoffed at my assertion that the nationwide retailer ever had a ring-tailed critter representing its stores' home improvement offerings. Eventually Google's AI technology saw the error of its ways. 

Well, here's another look at raccoon mascot I've written about before: Rory Raccoon, who represented two Post Cereals over the years.

As noted back on this post, Rory Raccoon was one of the cartoon characters on the Linus the Lionhearted TV show (which my siblings and I watched). You might remember that each character on the show had his own segment and was a mascot for a Post cereal, such as Sugar Bear for Sugar Crisp, Linus for Crispy Critters, Lovable Truly the Postman for Alpha-Bits, etc.

Rory Raccoon initially plugged Post Toasties, the Post equivalent of Kellogg's Corn Flakes. In the commercials, Rory matched wits with C. Claudius Crow, who was always trying to steal the cereal. This setup mirrored the Linus the Lionhearted segments, where the crow concocted various schemes to help himself to Rory's cornfield. 

Here's one of the commercials. That's Jesse White (the Maytag Man) as C. Claudius Crow.

And here's a Rory Raccoon cartoon. This is one of the funnier ones, in which the conflict between Rory and the crow is escalated to actual warfare, with a retired U. S. Army general advising the raccoon in the use of military tactics.

Back when cereal boxes were fun, there was always something interesting on the back of the box. This vintage Post Toasties box had a neat little "How to Draw Rory Raccoon" lesson on the back.

Rory eventually was reassigned from Post Toasties to Sugar Sparkled Flakes, the equivalent of – what else? – Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes.

Apparently the decision was made to get rid of Rory's odd (hunting?) hat. Several boxes featured Rory and his crow adversary in various colorful scenarios (as seem on this flattened box).

Eventually Linus the Lionhearted was pushed off the air by the FCC, who wasn't crazy about the idea of  the cartoon characters on a TV show appearing in commercials during the program. With the cancellation of the program, many of the characters disappeared from the boxes of their respective cereals. There were a few survivors: Sugar Bear (on Sugar Crisp) and Lovable Truly (on Alpha Bits) and Rory Raccoon. As time went on, Rory stayed on the box, but without any headgear.

Years after the TV show ended, Rory was still on the box, but looking rather odd.

Anyway, today most of the Post Cereals that Baby Boomers grew up with are gone: Post Toasties, Alpha Bits, Rice Krinkles, Sparkled Flakes and Crispy Critters (which made a brief comeback in the 1990s sans Linus). 

Only Sugar Bear (on Golden Crisp) survives to tell the tale of a time when the Post Cereals menagerie ruled the TV airwaves and the cereal aisle.

****

Good news! The Linus the Lionhearted Show will be coming out this fall (supposedly) on a DVD set issued by MPI Home Video. You can read about its restoration here on the Cartoon Research website.

You can bet I'll be buying the DVD, and eating a bowl of Sugar Crisp Golden Crisp when I watch it!

The Big Blackout of 1965 – Nov. 9, 1965

Do you remember the Big Blackout of 1965?

For those too young to remember, it was a major power outage that struck the Northeastern United States back on November 9, 1965. More than 30 million people in eight states, as well as Ontario, Canada, were left without electricity, with the outage lasting up to 13 hours. 

Above is the front page of the Journal of November 10, 1965, reporting on the aftermath.

The Journal coverage noted, "At its peak last night, the power failure and companion blackout encompassed 80,000 square miles and 30 million persons in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island and Toronto and Ottawa in Canada. It hit about 5:50 p.m. EST and New York City, one of the last areas to have power restored, was without lights until 3:55 a.m. today.

How did it happen?

Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Station No. 2
Courtesy Water.OPG.com

As its Wiki entry notes, "The cause of the failure was the setting of a protective relay on one of the transmission lines from the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Station No. 2 in Queenston, Ontario, near Niagara Falls. The safety relay was set to trip if other protective equipment deeper within the Ontario Hydro system failed to operate properly. 

"On a particularly cold November evening, power demands for heating, lighting, and cooking were pushing the electrical system to near its peak capacity. Transmission lines heading into southern Ontario were heavily loaded. The safety relay had been misprogrammed, and it did what it had been asked to do: to disconnect under the loads it perceived. As a result, at 5:16 p.m. Eastern Time, a small variation of power originating from the Robert Moses generating plant in Lewiston, New York, caused the relay to trip, disabling a main power line heading into Southern Ontario. Instantly, the load that was flowing on the tripped line redistributed to the other lines, causing them to become overloaded. Their own protective relays, which are also designed to protect the lines from overload, tripped, isolating Beck Station from all of southern Ontario. 

"With nowhere else to go, the excess load from Beck Station was redirected east, over the interconnected lines into New York state, overloading them as well, and isolating the power generated in the Niagara region from the rest of the interconnected grid. The Beck generators, with no outlet for their power, were automatically shut down to prevent damage. 

"The Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant continued to generate power, which supplied Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation customers in the metropolitan areas of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York. These areas ended up being isolated from the rest of the Northeast power grid and remained powered up. 

"Within five minutes, the power distribution system in the Northeast was in chaos as the effects of overloads and the subsequent loss of generating capacity cascaded through the network, breaking the grid into "islands". Station after station experienced load imbalances and automatically shut down. The affected power areas were the Ontario Hydro System, St Lawrence-Oswego, Upstate New York, and New England. 

"With only limited electrical connection southwards, power to the southern states was not affected."

I was too young to be aware of it until a Doris Day movie (the next to last of her career) came out a few years later entitled, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

I'm sure more of us remember the Northeast Blackout of 2003, which affected the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and most of Ontario. It happened on August 14, 2003 just after 4:00 p.m.

I remember that one well. It was so creepy at work that we were sent home early. I remember driving slowly through Lakewood on the way home, with all the traffic lights out. The stores all had their doors open, trying to let some light in on a hot, sunny day. Nobody knew what was going on, and there was a lot of anxiety that it was the result of terrorism, as 9/11 had only happened two years earlier.

I seem to recall the power coming back on in early evening, much to my relief.

Louis Cohn Opens Vermilion Store – Nov. 1965

 

Many of us who grew up in Lorain remember when Downtown Lorain was still thriving, with a large variety of stores geared to specific interests. There were several great men's stores offering personal service, including Sam Klein, Harry's Men's Wear and Louis Cohn, the subject of this post. I'm sure the Louis Cohn store at 13th and Broadway is well-remembered by many of my readers.

And it was 60 years ago when the well-known Louis Cohn name came to Vermilion with the opening of an outlet in the South Shore Shopping Center. Above is the Grand Opening ad that ran in the Journal on November 4, 1965.

I've neglected Louis Cohn on this blog for too long. So here's an ample sample of ads and clippings about the store, and the men behind it: Louis Cohn and his son, Edwin.

Sept. 27, 1929

April 12, 1935

April 11, 1941

Nov. 14, 1947

June 21, 1955

Oct. 13, 1955

Dec. 19, 1960

Jan. 6, 1966

Oct. 20, 1966

July 8, 1970

Nov. 8, 1979

Feb. 4, 1980

Oct. 23, 1983

Feb. 14, 1985

Oct. 14, 1998

July 22, 1999

Armistice Day Front Pages – 1930 & 1935

Today is Veterans Day (which somehow I forgot) and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge it here on the blog. So here are two Lorain Journal front pages from the 1930s, back when the day was still celebrated as Armistice Day. Both have great header illustrations, something that would eventually be eliminated in later years in favor of providing more front page news.

Above is the paper from Nov. 11, 1930. World War I had only been over for twelve years so it was still fresh in the mind of Lorainites. There are some other interesting tidbits as usual, including a story about Penfield farmers promising a 'buckshot reception' for vandals who "molest Lorain-co farms and orchards."

Below is the Journal from Nov. 11, 1935.

Of interest is the fact that the Journal had just changed its typeface. There's a side by side comparison near the bottom of the page. The muddy microfilm images don't make it easy to analyze, but the new font (Intertype Regal) does seem to be a little more readable (at least to my aging eyes).

There's also a report about the Dept. of Agriculture's interest in developing turkeys that will fit better in a roaster pan and consequently the oven.