Let's stay on Oberlin Avenue in 1962 for another day – shall we?
Just a few blocks north of the Putt-R Golf course on the same side of the road was Sherwood Inn. The quarter-page ad below ran in the Journal back on July 28, 1962.
The ad, highlighting the Sunday morning breakfast menu, makes a very convincing case to drop in. I especially like the description of the 'delicious buckwheat pancakes swimming in butter and hot syrup.' And the free cup of coffee, "whether you have breakfast with us or not," sounds pretty good too.
Sherwood Inn has long been a favorite topic on this blog. In fact, it was the subject of the very first regular post back on April 3, 2009.
Since then, I've written a lot about the various establishments that called that building home, including the 400 Bridge Club (early 1930s), the Country Gardens (mid-1930s), Penny Morgan's Place (late 1930s), Hilltop Tavern (1939), the Airport Tavern (1942-1962) and finally, Sherwood Inn (1962-1982). After that, it was the Trademark (1982-83), Scardi's (1984) and then Mutt & Jeff's (since 1984). You can find ads in chronological order for some of these businesses on this post, and read an excellent history of the building and its various occupants (including Penny Morgan) by well-known Journal Staff Writer Hank Kozloskihere.
I found this ad photo of the iconic Sherwood Inn sign while (what else?) looking for something else on newspaper microfilm. It's from June 1969. (Give it a click for a closer look.)
I still can't remember if I ever went in there when it was the Sherwood Inn, but that really doesn't matter. Nowadays, my wife and I spend a lot of time in there on Saturday nights enjoying the Mutt & Jeff's atmosphere. Our favorite waitress Brenda always takes good care of us, and the food is really fantastic. The burgers are great too.
We never stay for the bands, because that just isn't our thing – we like to eat and run. But if enjoying some great local bands appeals to you, Mutt & Jeff's has an all-day end-of-summer event calling Mutt-Fest coming up next on Sunday, September 26 featuring a lot of local bands and the delicious great food. The event is a benefit for the American Cancer Society.
Mutt & Jeff's/Sherwood Inn/Airport Tavern is rapidly becoming one of my favorite topics on this blog, as it was the subject of my very first post back here, and some follow-up posts here and here.
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Loyal reader of this blog (and fellow Admiral King High School alumni) Jeff Rash left a comment last week about my 'virtual trip' on the sidewalk over to the former Charleston Elementary School (which I posted here). He remembered a 'very small creek' on the west side of the sidewalk and noticed that I did not include a photo of it.
I felt a little guilty that I had rushed through that part of the tour, so I went back with the camera to see what Jeff was talking about. Sure enough, there was a small ditch leading to a storm sewer right where he remembered it. It was dry that day, but I am guessing that this is what he remembered.
Here are the photos of that missing portion of the tour, which starts right at W. 28th Street. (Click on each for a larger view.)
Looking back towards 28th Street you can see the sewer grate.
Thanks, Jeff for pointing that out!
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My blog entry about Johnny Appleseed in Lorain County has caused me to think more about apples, and I've been plowing through the bag of Honeycrisps I bought last week at Shipula's.
So Saturday morning I headed out on Route 113 to another favorite roadside stand, the Grobe Fruit Farm to get even more apples and a few bottles of apple cider.
Grobe Fruit Farm is also where I've been getting my pumpkins for about the last twenty years.
Here's a link to their page on the Ohio Apple Association website.
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Lastly, I was driving over the Bascule Bridge today and looked over at the harbor and saw some of the first local Autumn color. So, of course, I had to capture it photographically for all you homesick Lorainites living in western states!
Halloween is getting closer, so I’d better keep posting some vintage ads to put everyone in the mood.
Here are a couple nightclub ads that ran in the Lorain Journal on October 25, 1963. The first one is for a dance at the Knights of St. John on Kansas Avenue. It features some great, stylized Halloween artwork.
Mike Vidovich’s Jolly Boys provided the music. At the time of his passing in June 1977, the Journal noted that Mr. Vidovich was a native of Lorain and that he formed the Jolly Boys Orchestra in the 1930s. The paper also stated that he served with the U.S. Army Band during World War II, and had retired from the pipe shop of U. S. Steel, Lorain Works after 35 years of service as a group leader.
I’ve mentioned the Jolly Boys on this blog before, posting an ad for a 1953 St. Patrick’s Day appearance here.
According to the Lorain County Auditor website, the Knights of St. John Commandery #281 sold the Kansas Avenue building back in 2013.
Meanwhile, Sherwood Inn at 3700 Oberlin Avenue held their own Halloween wingding on the same night as the Knights of St. John. Here’s the nightclub’s ad. The Harry Herman Trio provided the music.
It looks like the black cat from the other ad wandered into this one.
I’ve featured Sherwood Inn – and its many predecessors and successors – many times on this blog since 2009. In fact, Sherwood Inn was my very first topic.
I'm not old enough to remember that even before Mutt & Jeff's was the Sherwood Inn, it was the Airport Tavern.
The Airport Tavern first showed up in the City Directory in 1942. It must have been the only thing along that stretch of Oberlin Avenue back then. According to the 1945 City Directory, there were no other street addresses listed between the Airport Tavern and 29th street.
Also, according to the 1942 City Directory, the airport at that time was called the Lorain Airport and it was located at the northeast corner of Meister Road and Leavitt Road.
The Airport Tavern became the Sherwood Inn around 1962. Here's a 1942 ad from the City Directory (above).
Last weekend my wife and I enjoyed some terrific burgers and great service at Mutt & Jeff's at 3700 Oberlin Avenue in Lorain. It got me thinking back to when it was still the Sherwood Inn. (I believe it became Mutt & Jeff's in 1984.)
As a kid, I always liked the Sherwood Inn sign and ads with the Robin Hood character. It made me think that inside were all these huge oak barrels of ale, and that it would seem perfectly natural for Friar Tuck to be sitting at the bar.
Here's an ad for the Sherwood Inn from 1973 (at right).
Today is Valentine's Day – and many of you may have plans to celebrate by enjoying a fine dinner at a local restaurant. But where to go?
Well, fifty years ago, the Journal made it easy for you to decide where to dine by publishing a regular advertising feature called the Golden Crescent Guide to Dining and Dancing. It usually included a pretty good review of a restaurant, followed by a series of small boxed ads for other establishments.
(I posted one of these Golden Crescent Guides before, which featured this 1973 review for Amber Oaks.)
Anyway, here are two Guides from February 1969. The first one (below) ran on Feb. 7, 1969 and features a review of the late, great Elberta Inn. There's also a nice photo of the well-remembered Vermilion landmark.
This guide includes ads for McGarvey's, Philbo House, Popi's Colony Restaurant & Lounge, Americana Inn, Sherwood Inn, Presti's of Oberlin, Dover Chalet, Mr. Larry's Beef & Tails, and Avon Lake's Saddle Inn.
The second Golden Crescent Guide ran right on Valentine's Day 1969 – fifty years ago today. This one highlighted the aforementioned Presti's of Oberlin.
Presti's closed its doors in March of 2014.
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We ate at Presti's a few times in the 1990s, although the restaurant has the somewhat dubious honor of starring in one of my more infamous restaurant recollections.
Although the food and service at Presti's was usually good, on one of my visits there I encountered an off night. Waaaaaaaaay off.
Although I never did find out what was going on in the kitchen that night – whether someone quit or the place just ran out of everything – I endured the longest wait of my entire life for my dinner to be served in a restaurant.
More than two hours after we arrived, we were still waiting for our entrées, with no explanation from our waitress (who eventually skedaddled and was probably home in bed before our food was served).
At one point I went looking for a manager – or anyone – so I could ask about our missing dinner, and found nobody. I half expected to see the whole staff hogtied with gags in their mouths, lined up on the floor next to an empty cash register.
I was determined to wait it out, however, and remember eating dinner well after nine o'clock that night in an almost-empty dining room.
The very first topic on this blog (almost a year ago) concerned Mutt & Jeff's (one of my favorite restaurants) and how it used to be the Sherwood Inn. I followed that up a few days later with a second entry noting that before it was the Sherwood Inn, it was the Airport Tavern beginning around 1942.
Well, it took almost a year, but I can now add another nugget of information to the history of Mutt & Jeff's building. I discovered that the 3700 Oberlin Avenue address first showed up in the city directory in 1940 as a place where tourists could rent a room for the night. (See city directory entry at left.) It kind of makes sense, since at time there wasn't much on Oberlin Avenue in that neck of the woods, and besides, it was outside Lorain city limits. (The 3650 Oberlin Avenue address disappeared from the directory by the time that the Airport Tavern was in business, leaving just the tavern and the farmhouse on Oberlin Avenue near the city limits.
Ever since I started this blog almost two years ago, I've been feeding you the history of the building at 3700 Oberlin Avenue (above) piecemeal. Of course, many of you recognize it asMutt & Jeff's. But during my last update, a regular reader of this blog named Bill noticed that I had overlooked two other businesses that had called that address home. So I had to go back and do a little more research.
What follows below is a compilation of my research so far.
I still haven't determined exactly when it was built, since that information for this building is not on the Lorain County Auditor's website. But as early as 1939, it was the residence of Penny Morgan, who rented rooms to tourists.
Listing from 1939-1940 City Directory
An ad in the Lorain Journal in July 1939 for the Hilltop Tavern lists its address as 3700 Oberlin Avenue.
From around 1942 until about 1962 it was the Airport Tavern, taking its name from the airport that was located nearby at the corner of Meister Road and Leavitt Road. At that time, there was nothing out this way (since it was outside the city limits) but farms and the airport.
1942 City Directory ad
April 1958 Lorain Journal ad
Around 1962, the Airport Tavern became the Sherwood Inn. (This is what I remember the place as being while I was growing up.)
1973 Lorain Phone Book ad
From about 1982 to 1983 it was TheTrademark.
Next, it was Scardi's in the 1984 phone book.
And since 1984, Mutt & Jeff's has called 3700 Oberlin Avenue home.
Special thanks to Bill for filling in the gap in between the Sherwood Inn and Mutt & Jeff's.
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Most Saturday nights, you can find my wife and me at Mutt & Jeff's, sitting at the same table near the bar, enjoying the great food, the ambience and most of all, the company of the warm, friendly staff. Brenda (our favorite), her sister Becky, Tracy and the rest of the gang make Mutt & Jeff's a special place for their customers and growing group of regulars.
If you've never tried one of their excellent burgers, by all means stop in and try one – or anything on the menu for that matter. You might just get hooked and become a regular yourself. (But please – don't take our table!)
So it's May 7, 1976 and Mother's Day is fast approaching. You'd like to treat her to a nice meal – so where do you take her?
Below are the two entertainment pages from the May 7, 1976 Journal with the answer. As you can see, there was an incredible amount of choices, from restaurants to taverns to hotels to nightclubs. It's almost mind-boggling how many there were.
There are a few that haven’t been the subject of a blog post but deserve one: Rustler Steak House; Lucky Lady; Americana Inn (with the animal statues, remember?); Paradise Restaurant in Elyria; Electric Ballroom.
There was plenty of entertainment too: Jim Perrino & Danny at Tiffany’s; Gary Ryan at Carey’s Villa; The Michael Stanley Band at Electric Ballroom; Ted Zaborniak at The Mark; Miss Marti Brown at Beaver House.
Be sure to leave a comment if one of your favorites are listed here, or if you have a special reminisce you would like to share.
Ponderosa Pines Park Ranch House was one of the restaurants I wrote about back on St. Patrick's Day. Despite its colorful and Western-sounding name, however, I'd never heard of it. I only knew from its ad that it was located on Diagonal Road, south of Route 303.
Thus I was happy to see this "Golden Crescent Guide to Dining and Dancing" from the May 26, 1972 Journal devoted to the place. It turns out that the restaurant was part of Ponderosa Pines Park, a camping resort with a 9 home golf course, swimming, and horseback riding, not to mention 400 campsites.
Ernie Nichols and the Nightbeats were the featured performers on Friday and Saturday nights back in May 1972.
Courtesy UMKC Digital Special Collections
Today, Ponderosa Pines Park is no more. The golf course is now Pheasant Run Golf Course. Its website notes, "Pheasant Run Golf Course was originally built in the mid-1060s as a nine-hole public golf course. The course expanded to an 18-hole course in the mid-1980s, and further expanded when we added our clubhouse and pavilion in 1995."
The campground appears to be the location of a housing development.
But the large lake nearby – Ponderosa Pines Lake – keeps the memories alive.
The original Ponderosa Pines Park Ranch House building appears to be still standing, although it is unclear if it is being used for anything.
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The Golden Crescent Guide to Dining and Dancing features many restaurants that have appeared on this blog through the years, including Amber Oaks, Elberta Inn, Sherwood Inn, and Presti's of Oberlin.
The restaurant ads in the Journal on St. Patrick’s Day 1972 weren’t exactly overflowing with corned beef and cabbage. Maybe Lorain just didn’t have a very big Irish population, except for those O’Brady’s on the west side.
Elberta Inn in Vermilion was promoting its upcoming clambake.
And Amber Oaks was thinking even further ahead to Easter. (BTW, I haven’t made it out to the ‘new’ Amber Oaks yet.)
Presti's of Oberlin did a superb job of ignoring St. Patrick’s Day too.
In North Ridgeville, the fabulous “Songsations” were performing at Harrish’s in the Ridgeview Shopping Center on U. S. Route 20.
And over in Avon Lake, the Tropicana was featuring The Vengeant Fox for everyone’s dining and dancing pleasure.
The Ponderosa Pines Park Ranch House out on Diagonal Road had Ernie Nichols (morning personality on WOBL) and the Nightbeats. Plenty of Lake Erie perch but no corned beef and cabbage.
At least L-K Restaurants were thinking of beef. But not corned beef; it was their L-K Tender Steak, “1/2 pound of satisfying goodness.” Love that crooked logo in the ad!
But, Dan (you might be thinking) – where are all the St. Patrick’s Day ads? Well, me boyo, only good old Sherwood Inn was catering to the sons of Erin that day, with a corned beef and cabbage dinner for only $2.50.
As we head into the holiday weekend, you might be wondering: besides going to see fireworks, what else is there is to do for fun?
Nowadays, it's hard to think of where you can look to see a virtual snapshot of all of the various entertainment options. The Cleveland TV news programs usually offer a few suggestions, but there is nothing quite like the jam-packed entertainment pages that used to run in the Lorain Journal.
It seemed like every local restaurant, nightclub, shopping center, social club and ethnic organization had an ad. In addition, Journal readers were made aware of every fair, circus or special community event within an hour's driving distance. The choices were impressive.
Below are the Journal entertainment pages for July 2nd and 3rd, 1964. It's hard not to feel a little wistful, seeing how just about every ad is for something that is no longer around (except for McDonald's of course).
Nevertheless, it's fun to study the pages and see what you remember. It sure was an exciting time in the Lorain area back then.
And here's the entertainment page from a year later, July 2, 1965.
I thought I'd done about a complete a history (here) as I could of the building that houses my favorite Saturday night eatery – Mutt & Jeff's – until I found this great article. It's by well-known Journal Staff Writer Hank Kozloski, and ran in the newspaper on April 2, 1989.
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Oberlin Avenue Tavern has colorful past
By Hank Kozloski
Except for the sign in front of 3700 Oberlin Ave., and maybe an occasional change in paint color, the building now known as Mutt & Jeff's hasn't changed much over the years.
But the building has a colorful and sometimes notorious past.
Today Mutt & Jeff's is a popular weekend haunt. To oldtimers, it will always be known as the Airport Tavern.
But during the Great Depression, when the building was still in Black River Township, it was called Penny Morgan's Place and was the site of a famous Lorain County scandal.
Lorain County Sheriff William F. Grall,who served three two-year terms as Lorain mayor (1920-24 and 1926-27), went to prison in late 1938 for accepting bribes in a sensational grand jury probe of a slot machine and vice racket which operated out of Penny Morgan's Place. Five other Lorain County men were also sent to prison for running the racket and giving bribes to Grall for allowing them to operate.
Grall, who was paroled from prison in 1941, moved from Lorain after being paroled to become editor of the Lake Union Herald, a weekly magazine published by the Lake Union conference of Seventh-Day Adventists at Berrien Springs, Mich.
Former Lorain builder Vlad Nickoloff, now living on Key Largo, Florida, recalled delivering newspapers to Penny Morgan's Place during the early 1930's.
"All the politicians went there," Nickoloff said.
He said Carl Finnegan, who replaced Grall as sheriff, put Penny Morgan's Place out of business.
The list of people who owned a building at that site dates back to 1928 when Celia Florence Chovik acquired it, then lost it to Cleveland Trust Co. in 1936. Gus Gailus Sr. bought it in 1937 and sold it to Alex Hormanski in 1943.
It was Hormanski who named it Airport Tavern, after Mills Airport located on Meister Road. When Hormanski was killed in a car accident, Nettie Sroka took over Airport Tavern in 1954. She later sold it to Bruno Dombroski, a local professional wrestler, in 1959.
The name Airport Tavern disappeared from the building when ownership changed five times since 1959.
Wilma George, the next owner after Dombroski, changed the name to Sherwood Inn. Then former County Commissioner Fred Ritenauer became the owner. He called it The Trademark. It wasn't long after that it became Scardi's under Guy Scardami's stewardship. And now, Mutt & Jeff's under Klaus J. Grm.
Whatever it is called, it will always be a part of Lorain history and Oberlin Avenue history.
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Hey, speaking of Mutt & Jeff's, here's a nice look at how it is today. After watching this, you'll understand why my wife and I are Saturday night regulars. (The only problem with the short video? It doesn't have Brenda, our favorite waitress in it. But it does feature her twin sister Becky.)
I like posting vintage Lorain Journal pages that showcase the various restaurants and social clubs. The pages are fun to look at and they provide a snapshot of the city when it was still a hotbed of eateries, nightclubs and organizations associated with various nationalities or veterans.
The above page from the October 12, 1962 Journal is dominated by the large ad announcing the change in management at Miraldi's Spaghetti House at 900 Broadway. I think it's interesting that the restaurant was serving Rosie's Pizza at its Tuesday Pizza Party.
Miraldi's became The Corner Restaurant & Lounge by the mid-1980s, and Scorchers in the early 2000s.
The various businesses located at 3700 Oberlin Avenue – the home of today's Mutt & Jeff's – has been the subject of many blog posts over the years.
While many of the previous modern era nightclubs and restaurants located in that same building that is still there today are well-remembered (such as Sherwood Inn), the ones dating back to the 1930s are not so well known. Penny Morgan's – a notorious brothel – is one of them. (I've written about Penny Morgan's several times.)
Another is the 400 Bridge Club, which was the scene in 1934 of a tragedy involving the nightclub's two business partners. As I described it back on this blog post, "It happened in early September 1934. Florence Lee, a divorcee and co-owner of the club, had been attempting to keep her partner, Michael Carreo, from driving home as she believed he was drunk. She took his keys and, for her trouble, received a beating from him, including a punch in the face.
"He drove off with Joseph Yankowsky, the manager of the nightclub, who lived nearby. Furious, Miss Lee arrived at Yankowsky's residence shortly thereafter and shot Carreo several times with a .38 automatic pistol.
"Then she drove directly to Lorain police headquarters and gave herself up. Carreo died later that day.
"When told that her partner was dead, she was quoted as saying, "Why did I do it? Oh, why did I do it? Forgive me, Mike. I must have been crazy, Mike."
In November Florence Lee was found guilty of manslaughter by a common pleas jury. Here's the front page of the November 1, 1934 Lorain Journalwith the story, as well as the continuation.
During sentencing, Ms. Lee received quite a tongue lashing from Judge Webber. I'm not sure his speech would go over too well today. Here's the article with the story from the November 3, 1934 Lorain Journal.
