Hole-in-the-Wall in the News 1932 –1987

The "No Parking" sign near the traditional "entrance"
to Hole-in-the-Wall beach

Hole-in-the-Wall.

For many of us that grew up in Lorain in the 60s and 70s, those words meant a secluded beach on private property just a little west of Oak Point Road. To get there, you had to pull your car off West Erie Ave. (US 6) and park in the grass, and climb up over the railroad tracks. We had no idea how the beach got its name, or that originally there had been another 'hole in the wall' nearby on the Claus farm. (I wrote about the history of the two hole-on-the-walls  here and here in a 2-part series). 

All we knew was that going to hole-in-the-wall beach at night was a forbidden thrill, with a very real element of danger, since it was a haven for all sorts of crime. I was only there with my high school buddies once or twice, and was nervous the whole time, either that I would get beat up, or that my car might be gone when it was time to go home.

But it wasn't always that way.

The beach started out as part of a respectable resort complex, and thus was the setting for many social events. The Lorain Journal printed small mentions of many of these outings over the years and it paints a fascinating picture of a quaint time. 

Here's an ample sample of these articles, including the very first mention that I could find in the Journal – in 1932.

Sept. 1, 1932

Aug. 24, 1936

July 19, 1938

July 1, 1940

Aug. 2, 1940

July 1, 1943

Aug. 11, 1950

July 22, 1951

Beginning in the early 1950s, mentions of the Hole-on-the-Beach in the Journal took a tragic turn. Stories of drownings, capsized boats, accidents and various crimes replaced the articles about church outings and social gatherings. (I've excluded those articles involving loss of life in this collection.)

Sept. 2, 1953

July 23, 1954

July 6, 1959

July 13, 1959

July 18, 1960

June 11, 1963

For a while in the 1960s, serious consideration was given to the possibility of acquiring Hole-in-the-Wall and making it a city beach.

July 2, 1963

Feb. 5, 1965

Sept. 15, 1969

July 3, 1970

Aug. 5, 1970

This account (below) of a West Erie Ave. police chase that started by the hole-in-the-wall is interesting, because of the mention of the Lorain Police Department's antique wooden camera used to take booking photos. 

Nov. 8, 1971

Aug. 14, 1972

Sept. 19, 1977

July 17, 1979

July 26, 1987

Dog N Suds Carhops on Roller Skates – July 1967

Did you know that from time to time, Ilene's Dog N Suds drive-in out on North Ridge Road put their carhops on roller skates? 

Above is the ad from the Journal of July 25, 1967 announcing this only-on-Wednesdays promotional gimmick. It's a cute idea, right out of TV's Happy Days.

I'll have to ask Heather, the manager (who I interviewed for Leisure Living) if the drive-in had ever revived that particular idea in recent years. I don't recall ever seeing it.

But it's just as well. I would be cringing watching a carhop with a full tray of root beers and coney dogs rolling out to a car, anticipating a comical crash. 

Now, the promotion advertised below in a Journal ad from that same year is more my speed: a free Dog N Suds coloring book. The ad, which ran in the Journal on April 22, 1967, notes that "the book is full of pictures of Rover, that famous Dog "n ' Suds dog.

And here's the book that was very likely being given away that day.

I always thought Rover looked like Walt Disney's Goofy. Or perhaps Mickey Mouse's pet canine – Pluto Pup.

Anyway, this summer Ilene's Dog N Suds has had a limited number of root beer mugs for sale, bearing the current version of the Rover mascot. I picked up my mug last Sunday, when I stopped there to treat myself to a root beer float. It's a nice little souvenir of my many visits there this summer.

Demolition Derby Ads – July 1965

Are you a demolition derby fan?

I've only been to a few in my lifetime. For a little while in the 1980s, it was fun to go out to Lorain County Speedway (now Lorain Raceway Park) and see one. But I plan on seeing at least one this summer, because a co-worker (also named Dan) is a demolition derby driver and a great guy. He's told me some hilarious stories about some of the various rivalries that exist between his team of drivers and others. 

He also shows me a lot of photos of his cars before and after the derbies. So I really want to catch one of the derbies he's competing in.

So with demo derbies on the brain, naturally, I had to post the above ads. The Sandusky Speedway ad is from the July 10, 1965 Journal. The Lorain County Speedway demolition derby ad ran in the paper a few weeks later, on July 30, 1965

Both ads are great. The Sandusky ad has some cool typography, playing up the word, "DEATH." But I like the simple design and graphics of the Lorain County Speedway ad.

So how do you find 100 drivers willing to participate? With a recruitment ad, what else? Here's the ad that the Sandusky Speedway ran on July 8th in the Journal.

It turns out that the ad was a template, because the Lorain County Speedway ran its version of it in the Journal on August 12 to entice drivers.

Summer of Davy Crockett – 1955 – Part 2

 

Jim Bowie (with his famous knife) is greeted by Davy Crockett at the Alamo

For a limited edition comic strip, In the Days of Davy Crockett does a nice job of condensing the stories of  Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, William Barret "Buck" Travis and Andrew Jackson to make them easy to understand for young readers. The stories are generally accurate and portray each man as an American hero. The artwork is excellent, with appealing composition and masterful use of shadows. Writer William Ritt and artist Alfred J. Buescher did a great job.

While I was unable to collect the entire set of strips (some were missing in the available papers), there are enough presented here to give you a good idea of what the youngsters were reading. The story of Jim Bowie and his famous knife kicked off the four-week long series. I like how the narrator gives the young reader credit for knowing "all about Davy Crockett," and notes that "Now I'd like to tell you about some of Davy's friends, like Jim Bowie."

June 6

June 7

June 8

June 9

June 10

June 11

I thought the imminent death of Jim Bowie in the strip was depicted pretty tastefully. 

Next up: Sam Houston. The first strip apparently ran on a Sunday, so the Journal (which didn't publish on Sunday back then) didn't carry it. The June 14th strip handles the fall of the Alamo and the death of all its defenders very quietly.

June 13

June 14

June 17

June 18

The story of William Barret "Buck" Travis began with the June 20th strip. The inclusion of Travis is understandable, as he died at the Alamo with Crockett and Bowie. 

June 20

June 23

June 24

On June 27, the Journal printed two strips, one atop the other (below). The top comic includes Travis' famous drawing of a line on the ground for volunteers to cross, as well as his death at the Alamo. 

The bottom panel kicks off the story of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson was somewhat of an odd choice to be part of this series. Jackson was hardly a 'friend' of Crockett, since during the time the frontiersman was serving in Congress, he vehemently opposed many of President Jackson's policies.

June 27

June 30

July 1

The series concluded with this strip on July 2.

July 2

But the Lorain Journal was not quite done with Crockett that summer. A brand new series, this time focused directly on the man, not his friends, began on July 25, 1955. Here's the short promo that appeared on the front page on July 22nd.

And here is a small selection of the Davy Crockett strips, beginning with the first. Unlike the brisk pace of the other comic strip series, unfortunately this one plodded along like a turtle. 

July 25

July 29

Aug. 1

Aug. 15

Aug. 8

Aug. 9

Aug. 14

Oct. 3

Nov. 1

Apparently the recovering Crockett staggered away and right out of the Journal pages in the Nov. 3, 1955 strip. It was the last to appear in the paper that I could find.

Maybe it was just a case of frontier fatigue.