Memories of Old Stone Villa Part 1

1970 Lorain phone book ad

Although I try to have my blog topics planned out weeks in advance, sometimes I rely on pure serendipity to guide me on what to write about next. And quite often it pays off in a way that I never would have imagined.

That was the case recently, when I planned to write about Lorain restaurants – and was looking for one to research that I hadn’t already written about in the past.

That’s when I remembered that late last August, I had received an email from Linda Harding of Florida.

She wrote, "Wanted to tell you my Grandma and Grandpa built the Old Stone Villa in Lorain which is now an Antique Store or Floral Shop.

"I was born there in 1955, was just 6 years old when we moved to Florida. We lived in Amherst. But, my Grandma owned the corner where 'The Place' (as my family called it) was, I believe there was a gas station, Jet Car Wash, Lawsons, and a couple other local businesses.

"Those were my best childhood memories spent in her restaurant with my Grandma. She lived down the road on Foster Park. It was a big beautiful home, with a big deer in the front yard.”

Remembering Linda’s charming email about her grandmother, I decided that the Old Stone Villa would make a great blog topic. So I recently contacted Linda again for some more reminisces, and did some research of my own.

You’ll hear more from Linda as this story unfolds.

Next: From schoolhouse to villa