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!

Kellogg's Jumbo Assortment Ad – June 1966

What, another post about cereal, Dan? Cerealously?

Sixty years ago this month, Kellogg's was promoting its Jumbo Assortment of 18 individual packages of its cereal favorites. Below is the ad that ran in the Journal on June 1, 1966.

The elephant pushing the shopping cart is a nice touch. That's because there was a world famous elephant named Jumbo, whose name eventually became "an informal adjective meaning extremely large, or much larger than the usual size of its kind."

I've written before about Kellogg's Jumbo Assortment (on this 2019 post). Mom used to buy various assortments of small cereal boxes (usually Kellogg's but sometimes Post) primarily for when we went camping. For several years, we would eat right out of the Kel-Bowl Pac. That is, we would cut along the perforated lines on the small cereal box to open it up and use it as a bowl. (It had a lining that could hold the milk without it seeping into the cardboard box.)

The idea apparently dates back to World War II.

I was disappointed when Kellogg's stopped manufacturing its small boxes this way, since I was still eating out of the Kel-Bowl Pac when camping, just for old time's sake. Oh well.

But back to the Jumbo Assortment in the ad.

If you look closely at the illustration, you can just barely see Quick Draw McGraw on the Sugar Smacks box. I remember as a kid seeing him on the box. Here's a better look at the box in the ad.

And here's a cute commercial for Sugar Smacks with both Quick Draw and his faithful pal Baba Looey.

If you had to pick one cereal out of the Kellogg's Jumbo Assortment, which would you choose?

Lorain Journal Front Page – June 24, 1926

One hundred years ago today, the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn – General Custer and the 7th Cavalry's massacre and defeat at the hands of the Sioux nation – was being observed on the front page of the June 24, 1926 Lorain Journal.

(It seems so odd to me that it was only fifty years earlier than 1926. Fifty years really doesn't feel all that long ago to me, especially since I'm a year short of being fifty years out of high school.)

Anyway, the occasion was commemorated with a huge gathering of American Indians on Custer battlefield in Montana, to "pledge anew peace with the white man on whose chosen representatives they inflicted in this setting the worst defeat ever suffered by a unit of the American army."

We stopped at Custer Battlefield in Montana during one of our Brady Family camping trips Out West around 1970 or so. I remember it being a very somber experience. Here's the brochure and postcard I saved from the trip.

As a kid I remember thinking that Major Marcus A. Reno (top row, right) reminded me of Major Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes.

Oh yeah, back to the front page.

Other articles include a follow-up to the story of Mrs. Bogart, the South Amherst woman who inherited part of a multimillionaire's estate. 

Happy the Clown is Not Happy... Schwebel Bakery is Closing

The shelves at Discount Drug Mart in Vermilion
 has already experienced a run on Schwebel buns  

It was kind of sad last week to hear that Schwebel Bakery in Youngstown is going out of business after 120 years.

As noted on the WEWS Channel 5 website, the firm "will begin winding down operations and expects to initiate a liquidation of its business."

"The closure will include bakeries in Youngstown and Hebron, as well as retail stores and distribution centers across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York."

"In a press release, the Youngstown company cited "operational and financial constraints," adding, "These challenges include aging manufacturing facilities and equipment, costly labor contracts and pension obligations, and consumer trends depressing demand for traditional bakery and bread products."

Lorain Countians will no doubt miss the various Schwebel products, which have been a staple in our bread drawers for decades.

I don't eat a lot of sandwiches these days, so I hardly ever buy a loaf of bread. But when it came to hot dog or hamburger buns, I always looked for the clown on the label before I bought.

By the way, his name is Happy. The Cleveland Historical website notes, "Dora Schwebel created Happy the Clown in 1932 to serve as a positive, uplifting symbol during the Great Depression. His familiar face has graced the company's labels ever since. 

Before clowns became a symbol of pure evil thanks to Stephen King and his novel It, they were seen as lovable, childlike friends to kids everywhere. Happy apparently was very popular in his day, since there are so many items emblazoned with his friendly visage, including signs, cups, a tote bag, apparel and even a bobblehead.

There was even a Happy costume that could be worn for personal appearances.

Courtesy ClevelandHistorical.org

Since clowns have been demonized, you don't see them too often these days (except in kid's nightmares). That means that just like Ronald McDonald, Happy is out of work. And he was probably the breadwinner in his family.

I just hope he doesn't end up in the bread line.

Here's hoping the genial clown has a happy retirement.

Homewood Shopping Center 1954 - 1958

Homewood Stores Co. was ahead of its time. What else can you conclude about a Lorain store that sold everything from major appliances to clothes to groceries – in 1954?

I've posted ads for the store before, but wasn't sure if it was a shopping center or a single store. It turns out it was both: Homewood Shopping Center consisted of just the building that was home to Homewood Stores Co., a department store.

Interestingly, Homewood Store's parent company – Union Supply Company – was a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. Perhaps the store's proximity to the steel mill had something to do with the decision to locate it there, on Grove Ave. (what was considered then as 'new' Route 57) at Homewood Drive.

The odd thing is that Homewood Stores wasn't around for very long. Here are the articles and mentions in the Lorain Journal that tell its story.

This November 27, 1952 article observes that the construction of the shopping center was coinciding with the beginning of the latest addition to the Homewood housing development.

This February 25, 1954 photo provided a progress report on the Homewood Shopping Center, as well as the O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center.

On April 22, 1954,  the eve of the much-anticipated opening, several articles and advertisements appeared on the Lorain Journal. 

On the day of the Grand Opening, April 23, 1954, this article appeared on the front page of the paper.

And then – only four years later – on July 5, 1958, it was announced that the Homewood Shopping Center would close. The Union Supply Co. division of U.S Steel decided "to eliminate the retail merchandising function of the Homewood Stores Division."

The former shopping center was used by U.S. Steel for some office functions but there was still the question of what would become of the building. This article from March 11, 1960 was one idea.

But in the end, it was the perfect building for the Hills Department Store chain to located an outlet there – with some remodeling, of course. This article from June 18, 1960 tells the story.

June 18, 1960

The Hills store would hold its Grand Opening only a few months later, on August 18, 1960.

Aug. 17, 1960

Aug. 17, 1960

I wrote about the Grand Opening back here.