Happy 250th Birthday, America!

Here's wishing good old Uncle Sam a Happy 250th Birthday! By George (Washington), it's a day to celebrate! Here's hoping your July 4th is safe and happy.

Sixty years ago, you might have decided (like the Bradys did some years) to go watch fireworks at Hills Dept. Store. Here's the Hills ad from July 2, 1966.

And if you'd like a soundtrack to go with your celebration today, how's about John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever?" It still gives me goosebumps when I hear it, probably because when I was a member of the 1976 All-Ohio State Fair Band, we used to close our concerts with it.

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A few shots while passing through Wellington last weekend. I think we take it for granted that the Spirit of '76 Painting is so associated with that charming village.

Spirit of '76 Stamps

The special 1976 commemorative stamps

Fifty years ago on July 4, 1976, the United States was celebrating its 200th birthday, and it was a very big deal. Part of the observance was the creation of three 13-cent stamps featuring Archibald Willard's famous patriotic painting, "The Spirit of '76."

Since the Spirit of '76 Museum is located in Wellington, where Willard was living when he conceived the idea for his painting, someone had a great idea. Why not allow the Museum to accept orders for a special cancellation of a limited number of the commemorative stamps?

As noted in the Journal article below from June 28, 1976, the special cancelled envelope featured a picture of the painting and a portrait of Willard, along with some biographical information.

And here is one of the envelopes – the 'brown' version. (It's stamped 'First Day of Issue' but I'm not sure why the postmark is January 1st).

This is the card that came inside.

It was a nice promotion for the Museum. I haven't been there since 2009, but I'm planning another visit soon. (I wrote about my 2009 visit here.)

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The U. S. Post Office has some nice commemorative items for the nation's 250th birthday as well.

"Figures of the American Revolution Stamps"

July 4, 1956 Ads

By 1956, preparation for the Fourth of July – and even the holiday itself – wasn't front page news for the Lorain Journal. It wasn't mentioned on July 3 or 4th.

References to July 4th seemed to only occur in the ads that ran in the paper. Here's a not-so-ample sample from July 3, 1956.

Hot dogs seemed to figure prominently in these ads.

The air-conditioned movie houses were open on the holiday, as well as the drive-in theaters.

If you felt like straying away from Lorain, you could head to Crystal Beach in Vermilion, or take the kiddies to – what else? – Huron Kiddieland.

I didn't find a Grim Reaper sponsored safety ad, just this one featuring a Colonial Town Crier.

And only the Lorain Telephone Company went all out in a patriotic way.

Lorain Prepares for July 4, 1946

 

Detail of a July 2, 1946 Marshall's ad

Eighty years ago, Lorain was preparing to celebrate its first Post-War July 4th. But it was not going to be a raucous celebration, as noted on the front page of the July 3, 1946 Lorain Journal.

"America's first peace-time 4th of July in six years will be a quiet one in Lorain. If Dad and Junior plan to set off any firecrackers or skyrockets tomorrow, they're either going to be sorely disappointed or face a $500 fine.

"Lorain police are going to crack down on all fireworks – and that includes anything from Roman candles to cap pistols.

"For the first 4th in five years, however, local celebrators will take to the county's highways and byways without war driving restrictions for the traditional Independence Day festivities – picnics, outings, and automobile excursions. 

"Practically all industry except the steel and iron producing departments of the National Tube Co. will be closed down to give workers a holiday.

"Lorain park authorities anticipate the year's biggest beach crowds and will have an augmented staff of park police and life guards."

As in other years, traffic fatalities sadly were the headline.

Lorain Prepares for July 4, 1926

The year 1926 was the 150th Birthday of the United States. So it's not surprising that the City of Lorain had big plans for its civic celebration on July 5th (unlike 1936, which I wrote about yesterday).

An article in the July 2, 1926 edition of the Lorain Journal detailed the festivities.

As noted, the Central Lorain Business Mens' Association had planned "the most ambitious celebration ever staged in the city or in Lorain-co." which would take place at Lakeview Park. There was to be the raising of the Stars and Stripes; a bathing beauty contest; a "Missing Man" hunt; the reading of the Declaration of Independence; a band concert; a picnic supper; and a huge display of fireworks.

The observance was further detailed on the front page of the Saturday, July 3, 1926 Lorain Journal.

The editorial cartoon depicting the United States at 150 years as a big, fat baby is somewhat hilarious.

The celebration, of course, was overshadowed by the tragic death of a young boy on a scooter who was struck by a truck in front of his house. The death of the boy brought the number of traffic fatalities for the year to a total of four. So emotions would be running high.

On July 12, however, the driver of the truck ended up being exonerated of responsibility in connection with the boy's death. On the third morning of the trial, Judge H. C. Wilcox decided that there was insufficient evidence to bind the driver over to the grand jury. A neighbor witnessed the accident and her testimony 'was largely responsible for the exoneration.'

Lorain Prepares for July 4, 1936

Nothing says 'the Fourth of July' like bathing beauties
posing in front of a 5-ft. tall firecracker

Ninety years ago, my hometown of Lorain, Ohio was getting ready for July 4, 1936. But unlike other years, there wasn't going to be a big celebration, as noted on the front page of the July 3, 1936 Lorain Journal.

"Lorain to Mark 'Fourth' Quietly," reads the heading for the article. "With no civic celebration scheduled for Lorain tomorrow, the city's annual observance of the July 4th holiday will consist largely of private outings, either motor trips or picnics in the park.

"If weather holds, park officials said they expected a record turnout at both Lakeview and Century park bathing beaches. The weatherman's predictions were not too optimistic, however, offering the possibility of cloudy weather and showers."

One article entitled, "INVASION! BUGS, UGH!" reminded us that times haven't changed too much for the cities located along the shores of Lake Erie. "Cleveland got a bad storm last night and Lorain got lake bugs," it noted. "Glowering clouds that swept over the lake off the Lorain shore brought little more locally than a scare and a fair-sized shower; and then went on to take a 60-mile-an-hour whack at the Great Lakes exposition.

"But from some place, in the wake of the storm, came the lake bugs. And then more lake bugs. And more lake bugs.

"This morning the streets were filled with piles of the winged pests from the deep, and the air was filled with the odor of fish."

Perhaps the most interesting article is about the 42 Revolutionary War veterans buried in Lorain County cemeteries.

As the article notes, "More than two score of Revolutionary war heroes – a total of 42 – sleep in cemeteries of Lorain-co.

"One was at the Boston Tea Party; two fought at Bunker Hill; two were at Yorktown and two at Lexington; and one was a member of the famous Bigelow artillery, which helped Ethan Allen at Fort Ticonderoga.

"Lorain-co's 42 Revolutionary war figures are buried in wide spread cemeteries. Some of the graves are marked; of others there is only a written record."

The article contains many interesting stories of veterans and their burial places.

"In a humble graveyard in Brownhelm-twp lies George Bacon, patriot. He is believed to have been the only Ohioan known to have taken part in the Boston Tea-Party. He settled in Brownhelm-twp in 1817, and founded a family now prominent in Brownhelm.

In the Brownhelm cemetery lies Col. Seth Morse, a carriage-builder who supplied the Continental army with 120 wagons in record time. For this he was commissioned a first lieutenant and later was made a captain following gallant service in various campaigns. He moved to the Western Reserve in 1823 and took up a tract of 1400 acres around what is now Brownhelm.

"John Ferris, whose grave is in Huntington cemetery, fought in the two battles of Saratoga, the turning point in the American Revolution. He was member of the Continental army commanded by Gen. Gates and later General Benedict Arnold, before the latter turned traitor. It is believed that Ferris moved to Lorain-co in 1818." 

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On Sunday I thought it would be interesting to visit a few of the graves to pay respects. I managed to find two of them in the limited amount of time I had.

In Brownhelm Cemetery on North Ridge Road, I visited the grave of Col. Seth Morse. His grave was appropriately decorated.

A smaller stone inscribed with his name (and signifying that his family was buried there also) was located behind it.

When I arrived at Huntington Cemetery on State Route 58, I was sure that John Ferris' grave would be similarly decorated with flags, as well as a marker from the local chapter of the D. A. R. But I was mistaken. I walked a good portion of the cemetery before locating his stone.

His stone did have a nice Sons of the American Revolution seal affixed to it. But oddly enough, there was also a G. A. R. marker (for the Grand Army of the Republic, the fraternal organization made up of Union Army Civil War veterans) next to his stone.

Maybe someone got their wars mixed up.

Journal Announces Admiral Ernest J. King's Passing – June 26, 1956

Admiral Ernest J. King, the first man ever to hold both the posts of Commander in Chief of the U. S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations – and Lorain's most famous, important and accomplished son – passed away seventy years ago on June 25, 1956.

He's been the subject of more than two dozen posts on this blog, so there's not much more I can say about this man (who sadly is well on his way to being forgotten in his own hometown).

Below is the front page of the Lorain Journal of June 26, 1956 reporting his death, along with the other pages of that edition paying tribute to him. There are articles about his life; his accomplishments; his personality (which was reportedly pretty crusty); his friends' thoughts about him; the home he was born in; the failure to name a highway after him; his relationship with President Roosevelt; and how Lorain was planning to honor him.

As I mentioned, I've featured the Admiral in more than two dozen posts on this blog. Click here to revisit them. There are posts about the house he was born in, his visits to Lorain during WWII, the 'mystery' painting of him – and more!