Midway Mall Reflections – Part 1

Back in January, I received an interesting email from Michael Brown. Michael is a former Lorain Countian who has done very well for himself. He grew up in Grafton in the 1960s, went to Ohio State in the late 1970s and is now President of BarrickGold USA, the nation’s largest gold mining company.

From Nevada, Michael reads my blog to connect with his Lorain County roots. He shared some thoughts regarding the coming of Midway Mall to Lorain County in the 1960s, as well as its effect on the downtowns of Lorain and Elyria. He also sent me some newspaper articles, as well as some images to supplement some of my previous posts.

Here’s one from the June 8, 1964 Chronicle-Telegram announcing the multi-million dollar mall project.

“The announcement of the Mall was not only front page above the fold, but was above the CT’s banner!” observed Michael. “It was interesting how the Mall was designed to replace a downtown. At the opening, it had a community room, a barbershop, a stockbroker, a drug store, pet shop, etc. I don’t remember the community room being used much (it was in the original south mall area) and I think became a storage room. The Mall had an apartment where the manager resided.  I found the rarely mentioned coffee shop at JC Penny to be the best place for Mall workers for lunch or dinner.  

“What should be noted was how the community celebrated the opening of the Midway Mall. No discussion about what would happen the downtowns of Lorain and Elyria. The focus was on temperature controlled shopping at a pleasant 72 degrees. Lorain County was booming with the opening of the auto plants.  

Sears store at Midway Mall circa Sept. 1970
(Cleveland Press photo currently on Ebay)

“Sears was the driving force for the Mall,” noted Michael, and for a very good reason. “The original chain stores built in the downtowns of medium size cities were unable to expand and lacked adequate parking. We tend to forget that Sears was to the 1960s what Walmart is in retailing today.

Another article from the January 1, 1965 C-T reported, “Another all-time record for employment may be in store for Lorain County in 1965.” According to Michael, this was another distraction that kept city officials from noticing that their downtowns would soon be suffering because of the mall.

“Look at the number of people hired and the taxes paid,” observed Michael. “Booming communities always assume the boom will go on forever.”

Next: More Midway Mall reminisces including the story behind the dripping wires

Midway Mall Third Anniversary – Sept. 1969

Fifty years ago this month, Midway Mall was celebrating its Third Anniversary. Above is the full page ad making the announcement that ran in the Journal on Sept. 17, 1969.

And here's an article about the big event, which ran in the paper the same day.

****

It's strange thinking how big an impact Midway Mall had on our daily lives. While it was fun to shop there in the 70s and 80s, it all came at a cost.

It basically sounded the death knell for most Downtown Lorain businesses, and later, the O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center. And today, Midway Mall itself has been ironically supplanted by shiny new planned shopping and residential developments like Crocker Park and Legacy Village, which are pretty much fake versions of what they replaced.

In my opinion, Midway Mall hasn't been helped by the modifications to the highway there, especially the removal of the 49th Street Bridge and the Cloverleaf. It takes forever to get around with all the traffic lights. 

And for westbound traffic on State Route 2 during the evening rush hour, the Route 57 interchange has become a major bottleneck with nightly backups. Without the Cloverleaf (which allowed for a continuous flow of vehicles moving on and off the highway), traffic consequently builds up at the traffic light entrance to westbound Route 2, until the light changes, turning loose dozens of vehicles all trying to squeeze their way onto the two-lane expressway at the same time.

****

Click here to bring up all of my posts about Midway Mall in chronological order. (If you scroll all the way to the bottom, then be sure to click “Older Posts” (on the right) and it will continue to bring up the rest of the Midway Mall posts going back to 2010.)

Midway Mall 1966 Halloween Ad

Forty-five years ago, Midway Mall was still new, and here's a cute full-page ad for it that ran in The Journal on October 26, 1966. (Give it a click, although the annoying new Blogger viewer may not size it good enough for reading – for that you need to click on 'Show Original' within the viewer.)

The full-page promoted Midway Mall's Halloween festivities, which included a costume parade and contest for the kiddies, as well as cider and donuts.

I don't remember getting out to Midway Mall much as a kid in the 1960's. Downtown Lorain was still hanging on, and that's where my mother headed to shop on Saturday mornings with my brothers and I in tow for our trumpet lessons. O'Neil's (later replaced by May Company) was still around as well, and a much more convenient choice for shopping than going all the way out to the Mall. (The spouse and I still miss that May Company store.)

My mother's trips to Midway Mall were reserved for Saturday afternoon and, mercifully, my brothers and I didn't have to go shopping too often. Midway Mall wasn't really of interest to me until I began dating, and that's when the Mall's twin theaters came in handy.

Midway Mall Reflections – Part 2

To Michael, it’s not that surprising that the downtowns were unprepared to compete with Midway Mall.

“We lived in Grafton from 1962 to 1978,” he noted. “I remember the Elyria downtown chain stores were dingy and old with wooden floors and bad ventilation.  Going there involved parallel parking and parking meters.

“The Mall was like an Apollo rocket. The original cinema had a 60’ screen with a working silent curtain. Not only was the mall heated in the winter, but in that era most homes were not air-conditioned in the summer.”

Michael also remembers – like everyone else who shopped there in the 1960s and 70s – the dripping vertical columns at the Mall that were so interesting to watch. 

An article that Michael sent me explains that it was called the WonderFall. 

So why does Michael have such a keen interest in Midway Mall?  

“My mother was secretary to the Mall manager so it overtook our family life,” he explained. “As a teenager I worked for the Mall management in the early 1970s,” he added.

He has a theory about how the new anchor stores at the Mall basically came in under the radar, playing down what would eventually happen to their outlets in the downtowns.

Cleveland Press photo of Midway Mall Sears
circa Sept. 1970 (currently on Ebay)

“I suspect Sears was coy about the downtown stores because they needed the building permits,” he noted, “and deferential local officials bedazzled by money coming into build the mall probably didn’t press it.  

“We have to remember how much more rural and remote Lorain County was in that era. For Higbees of Downtown Cleveland to open in Lorain County was a major wow!  The mid-1960s were the peak years of the 20th century manufacturing economy. Lorain County was at the center of it.

“I don’t know about you, but nearly everything we bought for our household from toys to clothing came from Sears!”

I would tend to agree with Michael on that. We picked our clothes out of the Sears catalog, as well as our Christmas presents.  

Michael has a few more memories about Lorain County.

“As a Graftonian, Lorain was a distant place,” he admitted. “I don’t think I ever made it to downtown Lorain until I was at LCCC in the late 1970s. I had a part-time job at new bank (TransOhio) at Oberlin and Tower.  

“I do remember a small beach and marina where my uncle had a boat, but I also remember the dead perch littering the beach.”  

Michael left Lorain County for Ohio State in 1979. After that he worked in the Ohio House of Representatives, and then in Washington DC, before his present post at Barrick Gold USA.

“Now I am bicoastal between Washington DC and Nevada. I have seen the same boom and bust in Las Vegas in the last decade.”

He did not forget his Lorain County roots though.  

“I was back for a high school reunion and I took the Saturday to walk into every place I once worked, no matter what is there today, and introduced myself!”

Midway Mall Ad – December 1, 1968

The view from last weekend

Midway Mall was in the news last month (here), with redevelopment plans presented to Elyria City Council by an outside consultant. The study concluded that changes are needed for the mall to survive in this era in which open-air shopping villages (like Legacy Village and Crocker Park) are the preferred destination for people who want to spend money.

So it’s a good time to look back at the above holiday-themed Midway Mall ad, which ran in the Journal on December 1, 1968 back when the mall was only about two years old. (It opened late September 1966.)

The ad mentions a few of the mall’s seasonal attractions, including Fort Christmas (anyone remember it?) and the Talking Christmas Tree. The ad also includes a great map that shows how today's Route 2 back then only extended from Baumhart Road to Route 57.

The ad also points out that the temperature inside the mall is kept at a comfortable 72º. That was one of the reasons that the mall helped kill both Downtown Lorain and O’Neil - Sheffield Center.

Today, it’s hard to believe that people prefer to walk from store to store – out in the December deep freeze – at places like Crocker Park.

****

UPDATE (December 23, 2016)
Checking the comments on this post, I noticed there's an interest in which stores were part of the mall when it opened. So I checked the 1967 Elyria city directory and grabbed this listing (below). I had forgotten all about some of those stores!

By the way, I've done several Midway Mall-related posts in the last seven years.

Harvest House Cafeteria – Part 1

It was just a month ago on this blog that we were discussing the stores and businesses that were part of Midway Mall when it opened in 1966. One of them was Harvest House Cafeteria.

You can part of its illuminated sign at the far left of the above photo.

The Harvest House Cafeterias were owned and operated by Woolworth’s. According to the book, Remembering Woolworth’s: A Nostalgic History of the World’s Most Famous Five-and-Dime by Karen Plunkett-Powell, “During the 1960s, Woolworth’s also introduced Harvest House restaurants in American shopping malls, and Red Grilles in their Woolco stores. By then, approximately eighty percent of F. W. Woolworth variety stores were equipped with some type of eatery. Some had small counters seating ten, while others could seat over 300. There were stand-up counters, sit-down counters, full-fledged cafeterias, bakeries, and simple soda fountains.”

Although cafeterias are still perfectly at home in schools, colleges and hospitals, it’s strange (and a little quaint) to think of cafeterias as a dinner option for mall shoppers back then. But it was a successful business model, and an economical choice for shoppers as well. I’m surprised the concept hasn’t made a comeback.

Here’s an ad for the Midway Mall Harvest House that ran in the Lorain Journal on January 6, 1967. (I suppose today the clown in the ad would be a no-no; too scary!)

As you can see, the ad template was adapted for each location. Here’s the same ad customized for Cherry Hill Mall and Moorestown Mall in Moorestown, New Jersey.

I only remember eating at the Midway Mall Harvest House once or twice. I don’t know what the occasions were, but I think I was dressed up.

Anyway, the Midway Mall Harvest House lasted right into the 1990s. Sadly, both the restaurant and the Woolworth’s store both disappeared beginning with the 1994 edition of the Elyria City Directory.

Tomorrow: A Look Inside a Harvest House

Midway Mall Easter Ad – March 16, 1972

Well, it's Easter week – so longtime readers know that means it's time for my traditional Easter parade of vintage ads.

First up is this attractive, full-page ad for Midway Mall heralding the appearance of the Easter Bunny that ran in the Journal back on March 16, 1972. I really like the artwork of the Easter Bunny casually leaning against a basket the size of the one in Lakeview Park (although an egg-rattling earthquake is seemingly in progress).

I don't recall Mom and Dad ever taking my siblings and me to see the Easter Bunny in a department store. In fact, I don't think I ever had a clear image in my mind what a rabbit who delivered Russell Stover and Faroh's Candy, as well as hard-boiled eggs, would look like. Was he six feet 3 and 1/2 inches tall like Harvey in the movie of the same name? Or was he just a little bigger than your average garden variety rabbit? 

Plus, the Easter Bunny didn't bring toys, so there wasn't any pressing reason to visit him before the holiday. I do recall that my parents did put little wind-up toys in our baskets one year.  

Anyway, over the weekend I had to stop at PetSmart across the way from Midway Mall. It was pretty depressing looking over at the now almost empty shopping complex that's slowly morphing into something else entirely. 

For so many years in the late 60s and entire 1970s, Midway Mall truly was the shopping and entertainment hub of Lorain and Elyria, hosting a variety of special events, shows, school exhibits and performances. There's a lot of sentimental memories there for locals. It's hard to imagine that today's youth will look back decades from now with the same kind of affection for shopping meccas like Crocker Park or Legacy Village (which are designed to look like Downtowns) that we have for Midway Mall. 

Midway Mall Sports Show – May 1973

It's strange to drive by Midway Mall these days, knowing that the property is going to be redeveloped by its new owner, the Lorain County Port Authority. Possible plans include transitioning it away from retail and towards health and wellness, with Cleveland Clinic as an anchor tenant. We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, it's fun to look back at the Mall's heyday of the 1970s when there was always some kind of show or exhibit going on. Below is an ad for just such an event : Midway Mall's Sports Show. It ran in the Journal back on May 17, 1973.

Hey, Boo Boo!
This drawing is a boo boo!

It's a fun ad. You have a great French-Canadian lumberjack character, "Paddling Pierre," drawn by none other than Bob Lynch, the Chronicle-Telegram's resident cartoonist and creator of Petey the Pioneer, the Elyria High School sports mascot. On the other hand, you have a lousier-than-the-average drawing of the smarter-than-the-average bear, Yogi Bear, apparently at the Mall to plug his Jellystone Park Resorts.

There's something for everyone: an appearance by former Ohio State Football player and Cleveland Brown Dick Schafrath; square dancing; a fishing rodeo for the kids; a first aid demonstration; a free putting green; a swimming pool exhibit; taxidermy demonstrations; a backpacking demonstration; and a canoe exhibit.

Yup, this show seems to have been designed for a manly, rugged woodsman like myself. I mean, how could I pass up a chance to meet Yogi Bear?

I just hope Yogi's costume was more bearable than the unreasonable facsimile of him in the ad.

****

Midway Mall and its special events have been the topics of many posts on this blog.

Midway Mall Ads – August 1969

Here's a pair of ads for Midway Mall that appeared in the Journal in August 1969.

This one (below) ran in the paper on August 3 and celebrated the 50th Anniversary of 4-H Clubs with a special exhibit.

This full-page ad (below) ran on August 6 – 45 years ago today. I guess the back-to-school ads started just as early back then as they do now.

That vaguely British-looking crossing guard seems to be giving that cocky kid the evil eye.

Anyway, it's interesting that Midway Mall – in its early years at least – positioned itself as sort of the community gathering place for Lorain. Various community events – such as Lorain City Schools art shows – were always held there. With the decline of Downtown Lorain, and the disadvantage of the Sheffield Shopping Center being open to the elements, Midway Mall stepped in and took advantage of its opportunity to become the 'town center' of Lorain.

If you look closely at the newspaper ad, you can see all sorts of fun attractions designed to appeal to kids, including a visit by Scollon's Famous Marionettes, as well appearances by Les Barker, the creator of Bugs Bunny, and…

The creator of Bugs Bunny? Les Barker?

I thought Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and a bunch of other guys contributed to the creation of the Oscar-winning rabbit. Who was Les Barker – and what kind of show did he do at the Mall?

Well, the Bradys caught one of his shows – and I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

In the meantime, click here to learn about Scollon Productions. They're still around, but instead of creating traveling puppet shows, they have shifted their creativity to the production of costumed characters. (Here's a link to their history page, which mentions their mall shows.)

Midway Mall Shows – Feb. & March 1971

Fifty years ago, Midway Mall was still in its early days – and very much committed to attracting new shoppers. One technique that the Mall’s owners used to increase traffic there was to sponsor shows.  

Above is the ad for a camping show, which appeared in the Journal on Feb. 10, 1971.

It’s an odd ad. I get the feeling that the newspaper's art department just didn’t have any clip art of happy campers roasting marshmallows or curled up in sleeping bags. Thus the clip art of a guy with a bow tie holding a tape measure.

I can’t remember if the Brady’s went to this camping show or not. We were slowly winding down our camping days about this time, and would sell our pop-up Bethany camper within a year or two.

The ad for the Midway Mall Boat Show was much more conventional. No 1950s beer commercial guys in this ad, which ran in the Journal on March 5, 1971.

There’s been rumors for years about the current Midway Mall ending up repurposed as a medical facility. Hopefully the current Mall owners will do something ambitious to try and get local shoppers out there again.

After all, you can’t have a boat show at Crocker Park in winter.

Sam Klein Company: the Rest of the Story

A graphic Jan. 22, 1942 newspaper ad

Here's a few more ads and information about The Sam Klein Co. and its successor stores that I found since my post (back here). After reading some of the great reader comments, which filled in the gaps in the store's later history, I realized I'd better go back and do some more research about that era of this well-known Lorain icon.

I was surprised to find out that Sam Klein had a store out at Midway Mall in 1966, the same year the mall opened.

Here's a 1968 ad for Sam Klein (below). If you're a fan of Mad Men like the spouse and me, the show is up to 1968 right now. Based on this ad, I guess it's appropriate that Don Draper is still wearing his fedora.

Feb. 1, 1968 Journal ad

Both the Downtown Lorain store and the Midway Mall store continued to appear in the Lorain phone book until the 1975 edition, when only the Midway Mall store was listed.

On October 21, 1983 the small article (below) appeared in the Chronicle-Telegram. It announced that the Sam Klein Co. store was going to close its Midway Mall store in January 1984 in preparation for its move to a new location nearby.

Oct. 21, 1983 C-T article

The new location turned out to be to the Midway Square shopping center.

Here's a January 1, 1985 Journal ad from that era (below).

Eventually the store became known as Warren Klein's Store for Men.

In May 1994, Warren Klein announced his retirement. In large newspaper ads he stated, "After 43 years in the business personally, I have reached retirement age. I am going out of business and closing the store, which has been in my family for 103 years."

He added, "My heartfelt thanks for your many years of support."

****

Here's a link to the obituary of Allan Klein, who along with his brother Warren Klein owned Sam Klein Company and its successor, Klein's Store for Men.

Midway Plaza Ad – March 3, 1971

For my third straight post about the happenings at Midway Mall back in the early 1970s, here’s an ad for Midway Plaza. The advertisement announcing that the office complex was now leasing ran in the Journal back on March 3, 1971.

Midway Plaza, “In the Heart of Midway Mall” according to the ad, is one of the buildings across from the aging shopping mall that I never really paid any attention to. In fact, I wasn’t exactly sure if it was still there until I drove out there to take a picture (at right).

The buildings’s developer might have anticipated that the Midway Mall area, so close to the Ohio Turnpike and the relocated State Route 2, would become an important new center of commerce for Lorain and Elyria. But today, the whole area is in a slow decline, which probably explains why the lonely building is not only still leasing, there’s a For Sale sign in front of the building. Perhaps the recently announced plan to convert part of the Mall into medical facilities will increase Midway Plaza’s chances of a sale.

However, it’s still a very attractive office building. It was built in roughly the same time period as the monstrous Lorain City Hall, but is aging much better.

Courtesy Cresco Real Estate

Midway Mall 5th Anniversary – Sept. 1971

Fifty years ago this month, Midway Mall – “Ohio’s Showplace Enclosed Mall Shopping Center" – was celebrating its Fifth Anniversary. At that time, the Mall boasted fifty four ‘fine firms.’ 

Above is the full-page ad that appeared in the Journal on Sept. 19, 1971.

To celebrate the occasion, the Mall booked a grab bag of entertainment acts including Quantrell and Company Magic Show; Lipko’s Human Comedy Chimps (who I previously wrote about here); Arnold & Sir Richard Burton (an organ grinder and his monkey); and Blossom the Clown (an animal balloon artist). There was also Fritz, the Bavarian Glass Blower;  a caricature sketch artist; nightly drawings for gift certificates; and Mini Grand Prix Children’s Rides.

Stores at the Mall at that time included: Andre Duval Beauty Salon; Arnold Palmer Cleaners; Baker’s Shoes; Barricini Candy; Bentley Ties; Blvd. Juvenile Shoes; Clarence Faflik Shoes; Cleveland Fabric Shop; Clowntown; Diamond’s Men Shop; Fanny Farmer Candy; Fisher-Fazio; Foxmoor Casuals; Goodyear Tire & Rubber; Gray Drugs; Midway Opticians; Harvest House Cafeteria; The Higbee Co.; Hobby Center; Hough Bakery; Household Finance; Lane Bryant; Lorain County Savings & Trust; Louis Cohn Mens Wear; Melody Manor; Memory Lane Card Shop; McDonald & Co.; Michael-Angela Hair Fashions; Midway Barber Shop; Midway Cinema; Nobil Shoes; O’Henry’s Pub; Parklane Hosiery; Paul Harris; JCPenney; Petries; Puppy Palace; Record World; Regal Shoes; Richman Brothers; Rose Jewelers; Sam Kleins; Schwede Appliance & TV; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Seven Seas Gift Shop; Sidewalk Cafe; Singer Sewing Center; Spencer Gifts; Ted Jacobs; Tweed Shop; Union Savings Associates; Walden Book Co.; Winkelman’s; and Woolworths.

In case you were wondering (like me), Clowntown was a photography studio that specialized in children. For some reason, I don’t think this place would succeed today.

Some of the businesses listed were not in the main portion of the Mall. For example, O’Henry’s Pub and Household Finance were in the strip of stores anchored by Goodyear Tire & Rubber (at the north end) and Fisher-Fazio (at the south end). In later years, AAA was a longtime tenant before it flew the coop to Avon.

1968 Lorain Part 7

Here's yet another photo from the 1968 Greater Lorain Chamber of Commerce booklet – of course, it's the JCPenney store at Midway Mall, sometime in the 1960's. And the corresponding "now" view is at right. (Click on each so you see a jumbo size and pretend "You Are There!")

JCPenney (or just Penneys as it was known back then) was one of the three original anchor stores at Midway Mall when it opened back in 1966, along with Higbee's and Sears.

The concept of a covered shopping mall was still relatively new in 1968, having transitioned from the 1950's open air shopping malls (such as the O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center a few miles from Midway Mall). I'll be doing more on Midway Mall and the O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center as well in some future blog series.

It wasn't easy getting the "now" picture. Several times I framed my shot, only to have shoppers wander into the shot at the last minute. Then, I realized that a gentleman was seated in the right side of the shot and looking right at me the whole time! After I explained what I was doing, he was quite friendly and enjoyed looking at the 1968 photo.

Unfortunately, I also drew the attention of a security guard, who literally ran over to see what I was doing. "I thought you were secretly photographing shoppers," he explained.

That's all I need – to get arrested and end up on the front page of the newspaper. Actually, it might be good publicity for this blog!

Christmas Comes to O'Neil's – 1954

I've done quite a few Christmas posts on O'Neil - Sheffield Center over the years on this blog (including Christmas 1955 and 1960, Santa's arrival in 1959 and 1963, and the Talking Christmas Tree. I guess it's because the shopping center left such a big impression on me as a kid.

Well, here are two more ads for O'Neil - Sheffield Center, both from 1954 – the year it opened. Both ads ran in the Lorain Journal on November 22, 1954.

First up is the ad announcing Santa's arrival in a helicopter – same as he did in later years.

In the same edition of the Lorain Journal was this full-page ad trumpeting the arrival of Christmas at the center for the very first time.

Note that the Talking Christmas Tree had not yet made its appearance in 1954. Instead, a 40-foot live 'community' Christmas tree is promoted.

The full-page ad does a good job of making the case to go out there and check out all the wonderful holiday sights. The center's ideal location between Lorain and Elyria did indeed position it as the community place to shop (much to the detriment of Downtown Lorain) until Midway Mall was built.

I never did feel the same way about Midway Mall as I did about O'Neil's. Maybe it's because the mall was in Elyria and didn't have that connection with Lorain that O'Neil's did. Or possibly because it was such a headache to get to Midway Mall (still is) with having to go up and over Route 57 to get there.

We'll see in a few years whether the planned highway improvements in that area (and the removal of the bridge) result in a revival for Midway Mall.

Meanwhile, the 'reimagined' Centre of Sheffield remains. Even in its new configuration, it still brings back holiday memories for many local Baby Boomers.

Midway Mall Sports, Vacation and Travel Show – March 4, 1976

Back in the 1970s when Midway Mall was truly the community gathering place for Lorain and Elyria, there was always something going on to attract shoppers. One of the most anticipated events each year was the Annual Sports, Vacation and Travel Show.

Above you see Sportsman Pierre, the mascot of the 1976 edition of the show. Hmmm... with that mustache, he bears a slight resemblance to Yukon Cornelius from the Rudolph Christmas special.

The Journal did a good job of promoting the show before its opening.

March 2, 1976 Journal

And here's a nearly full-page ad for the show that ran in the Journal on March 4, 1976.

Bob Jasinski promoted the show in his "Great Outdoors" column of March 5, 1976. Hey, that hunter & dog silhouette looks mighty familiar.

It's hard not to feel a little wistful seeing all this. Midway Mall was the place to go in the 1970s when I was in high school. It was the perfect place to take a date to see a movie because you could walk around and kill time before it started. 

Fifty years later, the whole concept of an indoor mall has inexplicably become obsolete, along with the newspaper that promoted its events. 

****

I've written about various sportsman shows before – featuring the 1971 American and Canadian Sportsmen’s Vacation and Boat Show; and Midway Mall's 1972 and 1973 Sports Show. 

I loved those old Sportsmen Shows. It was fun to pick up brochures for campgrounds, etc. I used to collect them as a kid and would even write to campgrounds, parks and attractions just to get one in the mail. It probably was the reason that I ended up in printing as a career.

****

It's interesting how "Paddling Pierre" (designed by well-known local C-T cartoonist Bob Lynch) from the 1973 Sport Show became Sportsman Pierre in the 1976 version.

Penneys Architect Sketch – February 1966

Midway Mall is in the news again – with the usual concerns about its future. (Here's the latest story, courtesy of the Chronicle-Telegram, about a possible sale of the aging shopping center.)

Thus, it's not a bad time to take a look back at the time when the Mall was new.

The above photo – an architect's sketch of the proposed J. C. Penney Co. store then under construction at Midway Mall – appeared in the Journal on February 3, 1966 – 49 years ago this month. An article accompanying the photo made reference to the Penney Co., the Higbee Co. and Sears, Roebuck & Co. as the Mall's principal occupants. It also stated that approximately 200 men and women would be employed in the new store, which would occupy about 175,000 square feet.

Of course, the Higbee Co. is long gone, but J. C. Penney and Sears are still hanging in there. (I still think of it as Penneys – never J. C. Penney.)

Here's a vintage shot of the store from an earlier post.

I gotta confess, I haven't driven around to the back of the J. C. Penney store in years – so I had wrongly assumed that the view in the architect's sketch was lost to the Mall's expansions and additions over the years. Then I saw this Bing Maps view (below) and realized there still was a back entrance to the store.

So I drove over to Midway Mall this past overcast Sunday afternoon to grab a quick shot. (Of course when I got there, a person was loitering outside the store, leaning against one of the supports. Fortunately, they began pacing back and forth – enabling me to get my photo (below).

Franz and Flapper Visit Midway Mall – Sept. 20, 1967

Baby Boomers who grew up in the Cleveland area had several local TV hosts to entertain them with cartoons and friendly patter. I’ve written a few times about Captain Penny, who was on Channel 5, as well as Barnaby and Woodrow the Woodsman, who were both originally associated with Channel 3. Channel 61 had Captain Cleveland. And Channel 8 had Franz the Toymaker, star of the ad above announcing his appearance at Midway Mall. The full-page ad appeared in the Lorain Journal on September 20, 1967.

It’s a good time to post the ad for Midway Mall, seeing as it was just sold at auction over the summer.

Anyway, I vaguely recall watching Franz the Toymaker, mainly because he showed some of the lesser-known animated favorites like Ruff and Reddy, as well as the crummy, newer Koko the Clown cartoons.

Ruff and Reddy

Franz had a Raggedy Ann-like sidekick; there was also an offscreen mail plane (that arrived not unlike Five O’Clock Charlie on M*A*S*H) that was part of his daily shtick.

Click here to read a nice article about Ray Stawiarski, who played Franz. And here’s an ample sample of some of his gentle antics.

Getting back to the ad, also appearing at Midway Mall that day was Flapper, the “Million Dollar Talking Dolphin” direct from the Canadian National Exposition.

Flapper? Was the dolphin kinfolk to Flipper?

It doesn’t sound like it. During an appearance by Flapper at a shopping center in Alton, Illinois in early July that same summer, the Alton Evening Telegraph wrote about the apparently loquacious sea mammal.

"Flapper," billed as the "$1 million talking dolphin," visited Wood River on Wednesday and Thursday, and her squeaky- squawky "talk" and playful antics in a swimming pool amused hundreds of children and adults. The bottle-nosed mammal — a relative of the whale family — cavorted in her private circular swimming tank on the Sav Mart shopping center parking lot, splashed a few onlookers, and allowed children to stroke her at times,” wrote Dick Fackler. "In response to commands from a trainer, the agile, seagoing pet emitted a series of "talk" noises, which sounded like Donald Duck with a bad cold. Her trainer said she could recite nursery rhymes and has a good vocabulary. Flopper also retrieved objects thrown into the pool and brought them back to the trainer. As she performed, the trainer would reward her with slices of fish.

"About 28 pounds of salt water fish dally form the major part of the dolphin's diet. Employees of the traveling firm, called "Porpoise Productions," from Pensacola, Fla., said the dolphin weighs about 350 pounds and is about eight feet long. She is very friendly and they swim in the pool with her, and even ride her like a horse.

"Flapper seems to enjoy putting on a show in her limited watery world, and proudly stuck her mischievous-looking head out of the water several times as if listening to the applause. Her repertoire includes wearing a "hat" around in the water, and pushing a spinning little propeller underwater at the end of her nose.

"Flapper was captured by a specially-designed boat and net near Key Biscayne, Fla., on July 15, 1963. At that time she was still nursing age, and was weaned two weeks later in Galveston, Tex. Her show business career was launched just one week after capture, as she learned in just seven days to leap into the air for a fish."

New Stores at Midway Mall – Sept. 1967

Here's sort of a companion piece to the Midway Mall ad I ran a couple days ago. It appeared in the Lorain Journal on September 20, 1967 and announced the addition of four new stores: Foxwood Casuals, Melody Manor, Goodyear Tire & Appliance Center, and Schwede Appliance and TV Center.

I found a little bit of information about Foxwood Casuals. A 1969 article about the opening of a new Cincinnati store stated, “Foxwood Casuals is only eight years old. But it has already grown to 26 stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut. And plans are to expand to 173 stores within the next five years. It's a rustic place that uses antique trappings to display up to the minute fashions.” That explains the old-timey type used in the store signage.

Melody Manor has an interesting history as well. It was co-owned and managed by musician Gary Ryan. The liner notes from his 1969 album tell the story. It notes, "At nineteen, in addition to working the Anchor Room near Wheeling and other night clubs, he was associated with Gerrero Music Stores selling pianos and organs. In 1967, he moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area and became co-owner and manager of a retail piano and organ outlet, appropriately called the Melody Manor, located in Elyria, Ohio, in the Midway Mall Shopping Center.

"After Gary closes up shop, the beat goes on at a plush area supper club called, Mr. Larry's Beef and Tails. Mr. Larry's clientele appreciate the talents of this young man so much that Gary's appearance there has packed them in for more than fifty-eight weeks."

The Goodyear store lasted for many years, but today its location at Midway Mall is a Conrad's Tire Express and Total Car Center.