Stove Works Closing Announcement – August 1954

In a sharp contrast to the dramatic newspaper coverage of the 1907 fire, the announcement of the stove work’s upcoming December 1, 1954 closure merited only a small article on the front page.

The one-column announcement above ran on the front page of the Lorain Journal of August 4, 1954.

As it notes, the Lorain plant – owned by Magic Chef – had employed 500 as recently as the previous year; at the time of the announcement, there were about 230 employees.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that the announcement did not warrant a big headline.

At that same time in Lorain, the Lorain division of the American Shipbuilding Company was turning out the largest freighters on Lake Erie; the National Tube division of the United States Steel Company employed about 12,000 people; the Lorain plant of Thew Shovel was employing about 600 people; numerous other industries such as Nelson Stud Welding, Steel Stamping Company and American Crucible were taking advantage of Lorain’s excellent water, rail and motor transportation.

However, Lorain’s Mayor Jaworski did contact Magic Chef in an attempt to keep the plant operating and the jobs in Lorain. Here’s the story which appeared in the Lorain Journal on August 6, 1954 (below).

Unfortunately, Magic Chef would not reconsider its decision.