Oberlin College's Wilder Hall in the News – August 6. 1956

I've mentioned before how I enjoy working in Oberlin because I get to drive through the Oberlin College campus twice a day. It's quite beautiful and I never get tired of it. Sometimes I even stop after work and just walk around Tappan Square, just to enjoy the college environment.

I thought I was familiar with many of the campus buildings until I saw the article above from the Lorain Journal of August 6, 1956. It notes that the Oberlin College Student Union Committee had suggested housing the new student union in Wilder Hall. I understand that the building still has that function.

I thought for sure the building looked somewhat familiar, but I failed to identify it during a few commutes. It turned out that I was driving right by it twice a day – only I was seeing the back of it. Turns out that there is another nice grassy square surrounded by buildings that I wasn't even aware of – and Wilder Hall was one of them.

Wilder Hall (originally called the Men's Building and used as a dorm) was built in 1911. It has been the subject of postcards for more than a hundred years. Here's an ample sample (below); the dates are not confirmed, as they are gleaned from eBay listings and only a few postmarks.

1915

1920s

1944

1950s

1960s

And here's the 'now' view. Time to call in Paul Bunyan, I think. Why let trees hide a beautiful building?

Fortunately, there's a 1930 view that's a little bit easier to recreate.

The 'now' view doesn't quite match (I hadn't found the postcard yet) but at least you can see the beauty of the building.

1976 Ohio State Fair Program

My opportunity to be a member of the 1976 All Ohio State Fair Band remains one of the great, unforgettable experiences of my life. 

That's me, almost in the dead center of the band

Performing with such a large group of excellent high school musicians, and being able to be at the State Fair for several weeks was a big thrill. It's something I think about every year when the State Fair opens. I can hardly believe it was 50 years ago, during the nation's bicentennial year.

I did miss the summer band camp of the Admiral King Marching Band, and the photo taken for the football program. But it was worth it.

Anyway, a few years ago I picked up a copy of the 1976 Ohio State Fair program on eBay, and the memories came flooding back. It's interesting to flip through it and get a little taste of the Fair that year. Check out the incredible lineup of entertainers, including Johnny Cash, The Osmonds, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Tanya Tucker, Lynn Anderson, Neil Sedaka, John Davidson, Pat Boone, Mac Davis, The 5th Dimension, Telly Savalas, KC & The Sunshine Band, and Dan Fleenor's Hurricane Hell Drivers – wow!

Since Borden was a sponsor of the Ohio State Fair, and was headquartered in Columbus at that time, the program was full of company ads. Here's a great one with our favorite dairy cow Elsie, as well as her husband Elmer (of Elmer's Glue fame) and their calf, Beauregard.

Much of the program consisted of pages with the Fair schedule. Here are two of them. Band members used these to decide what to do with our free time (what little there was of it). It was fun going to the various pavilions where live TV shows were being broadcast from the Fair, including TV icons Flippo the Clown (from Columbus) and Bob Braun (from Cincinnati).

I've written before how sad all of the band members were during our last performance on the grounds of Rhodes Center, our home during the Fair. Kids were crying and choking back tears; we just didn't want it to end. (One reason I didn't want it to end was that I had a crush on the trombone player sitting next to me; I wonder where she is today?)

Anyway, while the rest of the band members were packing up to go home, those of us who were in the 1976 All Ohio State Fair Stage Band (including me) got to stay a little longer, pretty much until the end of the Fair. It was odd without all the other band members there, but it was still fun. 

Here's our group shot, which I haven't posted before. I still remember the names of the two of the other trombone players.

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Be sure to visit my original All Ohio State Fair Band post where I go into more detail about my experience as a band member. I also write about 'meeting' Colonel Sanders, and seeing Bob Hope and Red Skelton up close.

July 23, 1966 – Journal TV Grids and Fred Flintstone

We watched a lot of cartoons in the Brady house back when I was a kid. Some of my earliest memories are watching the syndicated shows that came on right after dinner (like Huckleberry Hound, The Yogi Bear Show, etc.) as well as the network shows that were shown in the evening (like The Bugs Bunny Show, Jonny Quest, and Top Cat. I'm sure we watched The Flintstones, because I knew who they were and we had all the toys, including the Marx Flintstone Playset, the large vinyl figurines by Knickerbocker and those great big Flintstone Checkers.

By 1966, however, the Flintstones were just ending their original network run. But that didn't stop Hanna-Barbara from featuring them in their own full-length movie for the theaters. Since spies like James Bond, Matt Helm and Flint were big box office successes, Fred Flintstone was pressed into service as an amateur spy in The Man Called Flintstone. The upcoming movie was even the subject of an article on the Journal TV page of July 23, 1966. I like how Fred is treated as a real, live human being that happens to be starring in a movie.

We didn't go see The Man Called Flintstone in the theaters. While we loved the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons, we were more of a Disney family when it came to big screen animated movies. My siblings and I eventually saw The Man Called Flintstone when it appeared on TV a year or two later. I remember being disappointed – too much singing and romantic misunderstanding and not enough of the usual Fred and Barney antics.

It's interesting looking at the way the movie was promoted. In the United States market, the ads featured Fred in his spy get up and the two femme fatales from the movie.

But an Australian movie poster is comically different. 

Fred looks pretty happy and why not? The cave women in the ad look less like Bedrock housewives and more like showgirls from Rock Vegas. And I won't even get into the ad's Freudian implications.

Anyways, if you're not all that interested in Fred Flintstone, it's always fun to check out the TV grids. Hey, Maverick reruns were being shown on Channel 3 on Saturday night at dinnertime!

Bank By Mail – July 1955

Today we do just about everything online, including shop, work, socialize, correspond, manage your finances, play games, earn college degrees and... bank.

Well, I don't bank online. I might check the balances of my CDs but I still refuse to do anything else. I know I'm in the minority here, but I just don't trust it. 

Speaking of trust, how do you feel about banking by mail?

Three years after Central Bank unveiled its popular Drive-In Teller service at its main branch in central Lorain, it was promoting banking by mail with this ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on July 16, 1955.

It's an odd concept, especially by today's standards. "All you need do is fill out a special mailing form, enclose your deposit, stamp your envelope – and mail it,"notes the ad. "The postman will speed it safely to our bank, where it can get the same prompt attention as deposits made in person."

It makes it sound like the postman will deliver it to the bank without the envelope first having to be processed at the US Post Office. And the ad recommends that "letters containing cash should be registered." Sounds like you have to go to the post office to send a registered letter – why not just go to the bank instead?

Anyway, it's an interesting look at what was considered modern and convenient in 1955.

But more than 70 years later, I'm still doing my banking the old-fashioned way: in person. 

It's got a little harder since last year when Fifth Third Bank closed the branch in Vermilion that was only about three minutes from my condo. They kept the ATM machine there – neglecting it pretty well, letting it run out of money, paper to print receipts, etc. – before unceremoniously closing it for good a few months ago. 

Since I also bank at Northwest in Vermilion, which is fully staffed and where I have my own – ahem – personal banker, I may just abandon the fifth-rate service I'm getting now. We'll see.

Hot Dog on a Stick at the 4 Winds Drive In – July 1956

Some of my older readers might remember when there was a Manners Big Boy at the southern end of Oberlin Avenue where it meets North Ridge Road. Before it became part of the Manners chain in Northern Ohio, it was one of successful restaurant entrepreneur Richard Head's empire of restaurants that were all called The Hoop.

But before it became The Hoop, the location was home to a very successful eatery called 4 Winds Drive-in. As I noted in this post, (which provided a detailed history and timeline of the restaurant), the operators were pretty savvy in identifying new trends in the food industry. 4 Winds Drive-in was one of only a handful of places serving pizza when it was first introduced in Lorain.

And here's another 'new' food item that 4 Winds quite possibly introduced to Lorain: the Hot Dog on a Stick. This Lorain Journal ad from July 20, 1956 tells the story.

The ad points out that the hot dogs were "California Style," which makes me think it was referring to a chain called Hot Dog on a Stick that was founded in 1946. The product it served was a corn dog. It's unclear whether the 4 Winds menu item was also a corn dog, or something else.

I've been a big fan of corn dogs for a long time and occasionally even keep a box of the frozen State Fair variety in the freezer. I also ate a lot of them when patronizing John Brady's mobile Brady's Good Food trailer when he had it set up at various locations around Lorain over the years.

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Here are a few 4 Winds ads to supplement the ones featured in my 2019 post. The first one is the oldest that I've ever found, from its inaugural year. I've also posted the full-page Grand Opening ad.

Feb. 4, 1956

Feb. 11, 1956

Sept. 29, 1956

October 19, 1956

Oct. 26, 1956

Dec. 7, 1956

Sept. 26, 1957

The pizza that 4 Winds served sounded pretty authentic. I guess that's why "4 Winds Pizza" was still available when the restaurant became The Hoop in 1958.

1958 Lorain Phone Book Ad