Valentine's Day Ads – 1956

Valentine's Day is tomorrow. How about some gift ideas for your sweetie from the pages of the Lorain Journal around Valentine's Day 1946 and 1956?

Lorain Telephone Company just dialed it in with this not-very-romantic suggestion of a new phone on Feb. 8, 1956 . Boy was that a wrong number!

Rusine's suggested a good book in this ad from Feb. 9, 1946. How about the book Kitty that's highlighted in the ad?

It's not exactly the Good Book. Kitty is described as, "The wildcat of the streets who set her cap of curls for the bluest blood in England. There never was another like Kitty – with her satin skin, melting flesh and tremulous mouth. Kitty with the lithe body of a wildcat... tongue of a teamster... the greed of a girl of the streets. Kitty – the saucy strumpet of the streets, who became most talked about Duchess in England."

The book was made into a 1945 movie starring Paulette Goddard as the 'saucy strumpet.'

Not too surprisingly, these ads from Feb. 11th, 1956 stressed wholesome Valentine gifts: candy and flowers. Advertisers include Brownell Pharmacy, Faroh's Candy Shops, and Rusine's (again).

Feb. 12th was a Sunday – so no Journal. But the Feb. 13th edition continued with the gift ideas. How about an exquisite gift from Ted Jacobs?

But if something from Ted Jacobs was too rich, our old pal the Thrifty Scot from Muir's had some ideas.

But in the end, ya can't go wrong with candy, as this Kutza's ad suggests.

Abraham Lincoln's Birthday – Feb. 12, 1926

One hundred years ago today on Feb. 12, 1926, the Lorain Journal commemorated the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln on its front page (above), juxtaposing the cabin in which he was born with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.

The caption notes, "Down in Kentucky, in a distant, secluded district of the rolling foothills, there stands a rude, primitive log cabin. It is a desolate little building, almost a hovel; and yet it is one of the greatest buildings in the world.

"In Washington, fronting a wide, placid pool of water, rises a building which is everything the log cabin is not. It is spacious, stately, beautiful, built of marble to endure for centuries. And it was raised to honor the memory of the man who born in the squalid cabin.

"The log cabin was Abraham Lincoln's birthplace; the building at Washington is the Lincoln Memorial most beautiful of all the capital's monuments." 

The cabin in which Lincoln was born is the subject of many postcards. The earliest show the cabin outdoors; later versions show it indoors at its location in the Memorial Building at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

Here's an ample sample of postcards depicting the cabin. They're not necessarily in order; a few include the postmarked date found on eBay samples or close equivalents.

1941

1942

1945

1956 & 1958

It's odd how the proportions of the cabin (or the angle at which it was photographed) changed in the more recent photos.

Later research revealed that the cabin is not really the actual birth cabin but a reconstruction of sorts. But the "Symbolic Birth Cabin" accurately depicts the kind of structure that the Great Emancipator was born in.

Thomas A. Edison Birthday Tidbits

Today's the birthday of the great inventor Thomas A. Edison, who was born in Milan, Ohio on Feb. 11, 1847.

I'm not sure if his birth is even acknowledged any more in the media. The Lorain Journal used to occasionally honor the great man with front page news stories on his natal day, but not every year. The 100th anniversary of his birth in 1947 was a big deal, which I wrote about in a two-part post here and here.

Nevertheless, the seven blog posts I wrote about him have pretty much covered the big anniversaries (his 100th, and his 125th) and the restoration of his birthplace. But he still popped up in the Journal now and then, and I collected a few of these items and present them here today.

Edison was still alive on January 17, 1923 when this small item about him appeared on the editorial page as part of a series entitled, "Poor Boys Who Became Great."

Edison passed away in 1931. A mere five years later, his birthday was being commercialized to sell light bulbs! (The 'Mazda' brand here was a trademarked name used by General Electric.)

Ten years later, Ohio Edison ran this ad on Feb. 9, 1946, featuring some interesting quotes by the great man.

And ten years after that, Edison popped up in two unlikely places: the "Stranger than Science" column by Frank Edwards, and humorist Bennett Cerf's "Try And Stop Me" column!

Aug. 27, 1966

Nov. 1, 1966

I celebrated Edison's birthday by replacing not one, but two bulbs in the overhead light/fan in my bedroom. They both burned out yesterday. Weird!

Rescue of the Antinoe – Feb. 10, 2026

It's another "100 Years Ago Today" post (they're very convenient to generate when I'm stuck for a topic). But today's post features a major news story: the rescue of the sinking British cargo ship Antinoe by the S. S. President Roosevelt.

Surprisingly, it didn't even make the front page – it's at the top of page 2. But here are both pages, since they're fun to look at and packed with news items.

The photo caption reads, "The photograph shows the sinking British steamship Antinoe just after the last of her crew of 25 men had been saved in mid-Atlantic by the American liner President Roosevelt. The view is from one of the rescue ship's gangway entrances. To reach the reeling water-logged, and doomed Antinoe, the President Roosevelt fought for 84 hours a nerve-wracking battle with hurricane-like winds and mountainous seas. Two of the President Roosevelt seamen paid for the gallant victory for their lives. King George of England awarded decorations to Captain George Fried of the President Roosevelt and the other rescue heroes, and their courage was acclaimed around the world.

Press photo of Captain George Fried

To read a truly excellent account of the heroic rescue, click here to visit the Mariners' Museum and Park website. Jeanne Willow-Egnor, the Curator of Maritime History and Culture, tells the exciting story in detail, including great photos and even vintage newsreel footage of the crew of the  President Roosevelt  receiving a heroes' welcome.

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Also of interest (to me, at least) is the article on page two reporting that the plans for the Lorain Overlook Apartments were now complete. The article notes, "The 10 summer cottages now located on the site are to be moved and grouped around a small park on the lake shore.

"A large house on the site will also be moved a few hundred feet east."

Lorain Journal Front Page – 100 Years Ago Today

Let's see what the news was, 100 years ago today, on Feb. 9, 1926. Above is the front page of the Lorain Journal from that date.

Often when I do these '100 years ago today' posts, I wonder what the most interesting news item will be. In this case, there were a few contenders: the synthetic 'gin mill' story ('synthetic gin' being defined by Google AI as 'cheap, often dangerous illicit alcohol made by mixing pure alcohol with water and juniper oil, sometimes causing poisoning'); the Morgantown, West Virginia man who 'conducts a small lunch wagon' and set some kind of record for consumption of his own lunch fare; the West Dover man who was 'so anxious to see the super-highway between Lorain and Cleveland become a reality that he has offered to raise a million dollars single-handed towards the financing the project.'

I finally decided that the story of the South Amherst couple hoping to inherit part of the estate of a multimillionaire was the most interesting. 

To set up the story, this item appeared in the paper the previous year on June 22, 1925.

But then, as noted on the Feb. 9th front page, their hopes were dashed.

"An aged couple on Vivian-av have heard with sinking heart the news that a Michigan state prison convict may receive the entire estate of the late Edward B. Jennings, Chicago multimillionaire, which a court once said they would share.

"It meant to them that they may never see a penny of the $625,000 which a Chicago probate judge ruled eight months ago was to be theirs.

"Together they planned how they would build a nice home in Elyria and settle down to a life of ease and happiness for the remainder of the years.

"The couple is Mr. and Mrs. James C. Bogart. He is 72 and she is 68. They continue to toil and sacrifice as they have all their life.

"Mrs. Bogart was a relative of the Chicago recluse who died leaving an estate of $6,000,000. Like a bolt out of a clear blue sky came the announcement that she was one of the eight who would share in the money.

"Now Edward C. Koester, a convict at the Marquette, Mich., prison has filed in the Chicago court a will purporting to be that of Jennings.

"Koester alleges that his mother, now dead, was a sister of Jennings' wife."

It was a heartbreaking story – until I followed it to its conclusion.

The convict's claim fell apart fairly quickly, it would seem. The court case – Koester v. Jennings – is well documented online. The first will that Koester submitted revealed "discrepancies in the paper's production" which resulted in its denial by the pronate court. Koester then claimed that the first will was a forgery and that the original was lost. The second petition was also denied by the probate court. It dragged out in the Chicago courts until 1928.

But – justice prevailed and the Bogarts did get their money. I like a happy ending!

June 23, 1926

June 24, 1926

Mr. and Mrs. Bogart celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December 1928. Sadly, he passed away in mid-January 1929; at least he was able to enjoy a few years of wealth and medical care courtesy of his wife's inheritance. 

Mrs. Bogart (her first name was finally revealed as 'Cassie') ended up remarrying in October 1930, to Milo Moulton, a retired farmer. She lived to the age of 87 and passed away after an illness of six weeks in October 1946. Upon her passing, her husband waived his rights to the money he was entitled to, as well as his dower rights. The estate was then shared by his wife's four children by her first marriage as well as the family of a deceased son. 

Mr. Moulton celebrated his 90th birthday in Feb. 1948. He passed away in June that year.

All in all, an interesting story.

Robinson Building in Elyria Then & Now – Feb. 5, 1966

Elyria – the county seat – probably isn't represented very well on this blog, which is supposed to be about Lorain County. So when I find something interesting about Elyria, it's nice to move it to the front of the line.

Above is a vintage postcard of Broad Street in Elyria, looking east. Right in the middle of the postcard is the intersection with Washington Avenue. The building with the Ohio Public Service Sign on the roof is the Robinson Building.

Here's another vintage view of the Robinson Building. Note that the Ohio Public Service sign has been replaced with one bearing the utility's new name: Ohio Edison. Hey, if you look closely, there's a big Reddy Kilowatt on the sign! And next door is Muir's Cut Rate Drug Store.

Today, the Robinson Building is still on that corner. But it was dramatically remodeled in the early 1960s, as noted in these two photos that appeared in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 5, 1966. The actual remodeling had been done about five years before.

Here's another vintage postcard showing the remodeled building. Ohio Edison is still there too.

And here's a modern look, courtesy of Google Maps. The building still looks great, with a retro charm.

But the neighborhood's been thinned out a bit.

Atkinson & Williams Ad – Feb. 3, 1956

I couldn't resist posting this huge ad for Atkinson & Williams Ford, seeing as it features our old pal "Ed," the little clip art man who appeared in multiple newspaper ads in the 1950s and 60s. He could show up just about anywhere, in an ad for Atkinson & Williams Ford or even the competition, such as Bob Beck Chevrolet.

This ad ran in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 3, 1956.

"Ed" finally found a home at Ed Tomko ads in the Morning Journal running around 2013, which is where he picked up his name. But a couple of years ago, the Tomko family retired so I guess Ed did too.

Otherwise, I really like the ad. It does a good job capturing the excitement of the new '56 Fords with that huge car graphic. Do people still anticipate the new car models? I guess they do, judging by attendance at the annual Cleveland Auto Show.

Atkinson & Williams has been a regular topic on this blog, with these posts providing a history of the dealership and its much-heralded move to 1530 Kansas Avenue.

As some of you know, the dealership eventually transitioned to become George May Ford, the subject of many posts as well.

The deserted 1530 Kansas Ave. location circa 2008
(Courtesy Google Maps)