Fall Cavalcade of Color - 2026 Part 2

Vermilion Road

Although the fall foliage may have peaked in color in Lorain County, it's been a glorious autumn to remember.

Last week, I hit the road to check out the color around my area. Brownhelm Township, as usual, was gorgeous.

And since I hadn't been out to French Creek Reservation in years, I decided it was time. It was beautiful, but some of those trails running along the edge of the cliff overlooking French Creek were not designed for less-than-nimble aging bloggers.

And closer to home, I ended the day down in Bacon Woods on the Bluebird Trail Loop for my evening constitutional.

New Lorain County Freeway Dedicated – Nov. 3, 1966

Old highways and roads used to be my primary area of interest. I used to drive all over Ohio (and other states) just for the experience of driving certain old roads and trying to follow old alignments and bypassed segments using vintage maps. U.S. Route 66, the Lincoln Highway, the National Road... they all stirred my interest. And I've got the collection of old maps and photos I took to prove it.

Closer to home, my family spent a lot of time on the old 6 & 2 (U. S. Highway 6 and State Route 2) going to Vermilion, Huron and Sandusky. And in the mid-60s when Route 2 was in the process of being moved out to a limited access highway, I had a ringside seat. That goes the same for watching I-90 slowly march towards Cleveland. Both highways were built in chunks... one here, one there. And it took years to get them done – much longer than expected.

The news articles covering their construction have been the subject of many posts on this blog.

And here's another one. Sixty years ago today, a segment of State Route 2 from Baumhart Road east to State Route 58 (Leavitt Road) opened.

Here's the story that ran in the Journal on November 3, 1966.

It's interesting that the article notes, "Presently designated SR 2, the route will become IR 90 after 1972, according to Donald H. Timmer, deputy director for Division Three of the Ohio State Highway Department."

I remember shortly after the segment in the article opened, my parents pointed out to us that we would be able to get on that highway at Leavitt Road and take it all the way to Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota (which we had seen on a 1965 camping trip out west). As it turned out, the highway ended up remaining SR 2. But I-90 does indeed go to Rapid City, South Dakota, a little more than a 1/2 hour drive from Mt. Rushmore.

Lorain Journal Front Page – Nov. 1, 1926

Houdini

Well, it's the month of November already. When they said that time really flies when you get older, they weren't kidding. And we even had an extra hour today – go figure.

One hundred years ago, the nation was still talking about master illusionist, magician and performer Harry Houdini, who passed away in Detroit on October 31, 1926. The article about his passing on the front page of the Lorain Journal of Nov. 1, 1926 (below) isn't particularly big, being overshadowed by extensive local election coverage and some truly disturbing stories.

As the article notes, "In a bronze airtight coffin recently constructed for one of his myriad tricks, the body of Harry Houdini, America's greatest magician, will leave here tonight for New York.

"The "handcuff king," whose feats of legerdemain were known on both sides of the Atlantic, died here Sunday afternoon, a little more than a week after he became ill with appendicitis from which developed peritonitis.

"Until the end, Houdini confidently believed he would "get out of this the way I get out of everything else." It was that confidence which led him to go thru two stage performances after his illness took the turn which later proved fatal."

I remember my mother telling my siblings and me that for decades after Houdini's death on Halloween, there was an annual seance held on the anniversary of his passing to try and contact him from the Great Beyond. It was another creepy aspect of Halloween along with The War of the Worlds radio broadcast.

Here are a few clippings about the various attempts over the years by Houdini's wife and others to contact him. The date of the seances were apparently not confined to Halloween.

July 25, 1935

Nov. 2, 1936

Feb. 5, 1943

Oct. 16, 1948

Halloween in Lorain – 1966

Well, it's Halloween at last. Although it's a little late, here's a look at Halloween 1966 as it played out in the pages of the Journal from October 21 - October 31, 1966. 

Halloween goodies were promoted in several DeLuca Bakery ads, as well as Brady's Donut Shop and Lorain Creamery. Midway Mall held special festivities for the kiddies. And for the adults, there were special nightclub parties and social club events with a Halloween theme.

Best of all, there's a charming front yard Halloween display near LaGrange that the Journal deemed photo-worthy. Quite a contrast from the ubiquitous store-bought stuff that everyone has.

Oct. 21, 1966

Oct. 25, 1966

Oct. 26, 1966

Oct. 26, 1966

Oct. 26, 1966

Oct. 27, 1966

Oct. 28, 1966

Oct. 28, 1966

Oct. 28, 1966

Oct. 28, 1966

Oct. 29, 1966

Oct. 29, 1966

Oct. 31, 1966

Oct. 31, 1966

Halloween in Lorain – 1976

We'll close out this look at Halloweens of the past by making the rare (for this blog, at least) trip to the 1970s to see how the holiday played out in the Journal in 1976. There weren't very many Halloween-themed ads that year (which happened to be my senior year in high school); indeed, I had a difficult time finding enough ads and articles to fill this post. 

But there was something new that seemed to surface about that time that is still popular today: the interactive 'Haunted House' experience that sometimes served as a fundraiser for some charity or group. You'll see a couple ads like that in this collection; surprisingly, both feature appearances by none other than Hoolihan and Big Chuck! 

(I didn't go to that type of thing until the 1980s, when I made a few trips to the Haunted Forest of Carousel.)

As usual, there are ads for local businesses, and one for a national fast food chain that features artwork by the great Jack Davis of Mad Magazine. And there's one great sign of the times: the mention of how some CB radio operators were helping to keep an eye on the streets to keep them safe for trick or treaters. 

Oct. 8, 1976

Oct. 12, 1976

Oct.. 15, 1976

Oct.. 21, 1976

Oct. 22, 1976

Oct. 22, 1976

Oct. 22, 1976

Oct. 22, 1976

Oct. 29, 1976

Oct. 31, 1976