The Men of Company H – Part 2

Ex-Lorainite and history buff Paula Shorf has a wonderful collection of RPPC's (Real Photo Post Cards) pertaining to Lorain that she has assembled over the years, and many of them feature the men of Company H, both at work and at play.

Paula has generously made these photos available to me to help tell the story of these men. The photos are both fascinating and poignant, in view of the fact that a majority of the soldiers lost their lives in World War I.

Below are some of the photos – uncropped, not color corrected, and with most of the original scratches and specks intact.

Here's Company H doing some marching drills near the lake (below). I couldn't quite figure out where the photo was taken. Lorain acquired Lakeview Park in 1917, but I couldn't positively identify the park as being Lakeview.

Here's a photo (below) of Company H's camp on West Erie Avenue.

In the photo below, Company H is shown in front of the Kresge Company 5 and 10¢ Store at 356 - 358 Broadway. The building housing the store was apparently used as an enlistment center for Company H recruits judging by the sign. To the north of the Kresge Co. is the Bretz Book and Music Store at 353 Broadway, and at 348 Broadway is Hurst's Dry Goods.

John Robinson's Circus was coming to Lorain on Friday, May 25, 1917 according to the poster in the background of this shot (below) of some of the men in front of the Lorain Block.

And here's John Robinson's Circus parading down Broadway (below). (If you're interested in knowing more about this particular circus, click here.)

And here's the men of Company H (below) in their own parade down Broadway.

Special thanks to Paula Shorf for the great story suggestion, as well as her help with the text of the newspaper articles and use of some of the vintage photos from her collection. As World War I rapidly recedes in our nation's history, it's nice to bring to light the story of some of the local heroes who fought in the "war to end all wars."