Friday, September 30, 2016

That’s the Ticket! Cleveland Indians Tickets!

Illustration scanned from a Brilliant Electric Signs ad from a 1968 scorecard
The Cleveland Indians clinched the American League Central title this week. So naturally, I’m feeling kinda nostalgic about going to see the Indians play down at the old Municipal Stadium back in the 60s and 70s with Dad and my brothers.

I first wrote about going to those games back here.

Since that post, I discovered that I had a bunch of ticket stubs from those games.

As I explained before, the tickets were free as part of a Cleveland Press promotion that rewarded students who received straight A’s.

The seat locations of the free tickets were usually kinda crummy, but you could upgrade the tickets to better ones, which Dad always did.

It looks like we saw at least one game each year from 1968 to 1971, when we saw two.

The games were:
• August 29, 1968 – Indians vs Minnesota (a loss, 3-2)
• July 26, 1969 – Indians vs Minnesota again (a win, 6-3)
• August 29, 1970 – Indians vs California Angels (a win, 14-1)
• July 31, 1971 – Indians vs Oakland Athletics (a loss, 9-1)
• August 21, 1971 – Indians vs Chicago White Sox (a win, 9-4)

It turns out that the tickets from the August 29, 1968 game versus Minnesota correspond with the battered Indians scorecard that I saved all these years.
I scanned in a bunch of ads from the scorecard back here, here, herehere, and here.
But the best ad is still the one from radio station WERE that includes this illustration (below), in which Chief Wahoo apparently used a player from the opposing team for batting practice.
For more Chief Wahoo fun, you can revisit my post about the 1949 Cleveland Indians Sketch Book.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

A Tale of Two Miss Duskeys

Yesterday I mentioned how I instantly recognized my first grade teacher in the collection of photos of Lorain City School teachers and administrators. In the caption, she was identified as Miss Anita Duskey, but I knew her as Mrs. Pierce.

Mrs. Pierce’s family was well-known to many Lorainites. Her father was Walter Duskey, who with his brother Ed ran the Duskey Brothers service station at 19th & Broadway.

One of Ed’s daughters was an elementary school teacher too: Miss Delores Duskey.

Here’s a 1948 Lorain High School Scimitar yearbook photo of Anita and Delores when they were both juniors.

And here they are a year later as seniors.
Mrs. Pierce started her teaching career at Larkmoor in the mid-1950s, moving over to Jane Lindsay by 1960 and then Masson a few years later. Dolores Duskey ended up at Masson at the same time as well. It's nice that the two cousins could work together.

I ended up at Masson because my family moved from W. 30th Street to Skyline Drive in December 1965. It was right in the middle of first grade for me, so it was fairly traumatic to leave Charleston Elementary (and Miss Reiber) behind.

But Mrs. Pierce was very kind. She helped me adjust to my new school and classmates, and soon I felt right at home at Masson. So I have pleasant memories of her as my teacher.

Here’s my class picture.
****
Mrs. Pierce enjoyed a long career as a teacher in the Lorain City Schools system, retiring in 1998 after 42 years of service.

She passed away in May 2002 at the age of 70. You can read more about her and her family in her obituary here.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Lorain Gets Ready for School – September 1956

Here’s a photographic look at Lorain getting ready for the start of the school year 60 years ago this month.

It’s a full-page of photos with a back-to-school theme showing teachers, school officials and students that ran in the Lorain Journal back on September 1, 1956.

There are plenty of names that might ring a bell with my readers. Here’s a roll call of the people in the photos:

Students include: Janet and Joyce Vick of 3343 Reid Avenue; Bonnie Rae Leatherman of 3455 Reid Avenue; Janet and Tom Stafford of 2319 Cleveland Blvd.; Lorain High students Dennis Ferrence, Lenore Anthony, Barbara Beck and Walt Bandersky.

Larkmoor custodian Michael Gidich is featured.

Principals include: Larkmoor Principal P. W. Ryan and his secretary Kitty Sheen; Lorain High Principal Ralph Holder.

Larkmoor School Librarian Bertha Pekare and her friend Mrs. Pauline Rodgers appear in one photo.

There’s only one teacher shown in the photos, but I’m glad the photographer chose her. That's because a decade later, she was my first grade teacher at Masson Elementary. I immediately recognized her without even reading the caption.

She’s identified as Miss Anita Duskey in the photo, but she had a brand new name by the time I became a member of her class.

We’ll learn more about her – and her cousin – tomorrow!


Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Lorain Junior High Schools Benefit Football Game – Sept. 27, 1946

Ad from the Wednesday, September 25, 1946 Lorain Journal
It was 70 years ago today that a special football game was played in Lorain. Lorain’s four junior high schools at that time – Longfellow, Whittier, Irving and Hawthorne – competed in the Junior High School Medical Fund Benefit football game.

The ad above appeared a few days before the game in the Sept. 25, 1946 Lorain Journal.

It was an intriguing idea designed to encourage community involvement for a good cause. Longfellow took on Whittier in the first quarter, and Irving battled Hawthorne in the second quarter. The losers of these two match ups competed in the third quarter, and the winners met on the gridiron in the four quarter.

Lorain High School’s marching band entertained at halftime.

The ad that appeared the day of the game made me chuckle. Unlike the first ad that depicted a fresh-faced young player, this one featured a more mature player with a five o’clock shadow to rival Fred Flintstone’s.
Seventy years later, a lot has changed in the Lorain school system.
Lorain is back to one high school again. There are no longer junior high schools. The Whittier and Irving names are no more. Hawthorne is now an elementary school (K-5) and Longfellow is a middle school (6-8).

Monday, September 26, 2016

What was playing at the Palace on Sept. 26, 1946?


Seventy years ago today, Lorain’s Palace Theater offered none other than the Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico and Harpo – starring in A Night in Casablanca

It was the comedy team's swan song, the last real Marx Brothers movie, and a pretty good one at that.

The above ad ran in the Lorain Journal on September 25, 1946.

The movie ads are kinda funny, with the middle-aged Brothers leering at Lois Collier, although it has nothing to do with the plot. It was just part of their "girl-hungry” shtick, which would probably be seen as politically incorrect today.

Here’s an amusing clip of the Brothers in action from the movie. Chico and Harpo are trying to “protect” hotel manager Groucho by making sure his dinner isn’t poisoned – by eating it for him, among other things.

I like the line in the movie ad about the film: “THE BIG LAUGH LORAIN NEEDS.” Lorain could use a few laughs now, too!

Friday, September 23, 2016

Brookside High School Gets a New Scoreboard – Sept. 15, 1966

Just in time for Friday high school football, here's an article and accompanying photo that ran in the Lorain Journal on September 15, 1966. Although the new Brookside High School would not be open for another year, the school had just purchased a new scoreboard for their new athletic field. Here's the story.

****
Brookside Students Start Drive for Scoreboard


SHEFFIELD – Brookside High School students will canvas the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake area this weekend to raise money for the new scoreboard in the athletic field.
They will sell a six-pack of Pepsi-Cola starting Friday in an effort to raise money to pay for the new scoreboard.
THE STUDENTS last year decided it was time for a new scoreboard. The old board could only be operated manually by students placing the score and quarter signals on the board.
Persons in the stand did not know how much time was left in a given quarter or what the down or yardage situation was.
Last spring the students formed a backers club to promote Brookside High.
JAMES SALISBURY, high school principal, purchased a Scoremaster scoreboard from the M.D. Brown Co. in Niles, Michigan.
Salisbury contacted several beverage firms in an effort to raise money to pay for the new board.
The scoreboard was installed by the Brookside Athletic Booster Club. Cost of the scoreboard was $1,649 plus $252 for cable.
IF THE STUDENTS sell all of the Pepsi on hand, they will raise some $1,500. Donations toward the purchase of the board will also be accepted and can be sent to Salisbury at the high school office.
Salisbury said the new football field was used for the first time last Saturday. The parking lot is almost complete and the fence surrounding the field has been installed except for a few feet.
The press box was built and paid for by the Brookside Athletic Boosters, Salisbury noted.
The next home game is on Sept. 24 against Buckeye. It is the first Inland Conference game and will start at 2 p.m., he added.

****
The 1967 Brookside High School yearbook included a photo and small blurb about the new scoreboard.
Pretty nice of Pepsi to donate the pop for the students to sell. I may have to toast the company with a Pepsi Made With Real Sugar (my one addiction) tonight!



Thursday, September 22, 2016

The Head on Dad’s Work Bench

Back in the days before the idea of luxurious man-caves was even hatched, the men of the Greatest Generation had no private oasis at home to which they could retreat in solitude. The only place where they could get a little peace and quiet away from their family was a corner of the garage or the cellar, where they could putter in peace at a workbench.

For years (at least until he and Mom became empty nesters), that’s all Dad had – his workbench in the basement. That was his private space. And that’s where many of the few personal items and knick-nacks that he accumulated during his life ended up.

Dad just didn’t have a lot of stuff. He didn’t collect anything, and never bought stuff just to have. The few items he saved were mostly things that had been given to him, or items he didn’t know what else to do with. Almost all of it would have fit in a shoebox.
One of the things he did save was this unmarked, grinning clay bust (above and at right). Dad told me that it belonged to Grandpa Esterle. It sat on or near his workbench for years.

For a long time, I had no idea what it was or what you were supposed to do with it. What was that hole in the top for, anyway? Eventually I figured out it was a predecessor of the popular Chia pet of the 1970s.

As he got older, Dad eventually starting giving away his stuff to us kids, and I ended up with the grinning head. From time to time, I display him on my bookshelf. Recently, I wondered: Where’d this thing come from originally? Who manufactured it?

Well, thanks to the internet, I now have a few ideas. Recently on a few different websites, I found the ad below for Paddy and his growing hair. There are other ads where he’s identified as Paddy O'Hair.

Dad’s bust isn’t identical to Paddy, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s his new name. They’re similar, but Dad’s has an indented ridge above his upper lip for a grass mustache. Dad thought that perhaps he’s supposed to look like Clark Gable.

Canadian illustrator Ian Phillips collects these “seed heads” and also has accumulated some cool vintage ads for them. This ad (below) from his blog shows some similar novelty items, which were manufactured right here in Ohio by the Robinson-Ramsbottom Pottery Company of Roseville, Ohio. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dad’s seed head was manufactured in Ohio as well.

Anyway, unlike Dad, I have way too much stuff and need to downsize, as a move is in my future. But somehow, I think I’ll always make room for Paddy.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

What was playing at the Tivoli on Sept. 21, 1966?

Fred Flintstone looks a little like Inspector Gadget to me in this ad.
Fifty years ago today, Lorain moviegoers heading for the Tivoli could expect to see a fun double bill with an espionage theme: The Man Called Flintstone, and Birds Do It starring our old pal Soupy Sales in his only starring vehicle. The ad above ran in the Lorain Journal on Sept. 21, 1966.

Here's the ad that ran in the paper the previous day. I wonder if any moviegoers who saw Modesty Blaise came back the next day to see Fred and Soupy?
The Man Called Flintstone was the big screen debut of the popular Flintstone gang. The movie was a parody of the popular James Bond spy thrillers, with Fred (Alan Reed) pressed into service as a secret agent.


Here are the stylishly designed credits from the beginning of the movie. Not exactly Saul Bass, but still fun to look at.


Although my parents took my siblings and me to most of the Walt Disney feature cartoons (I remember watching Dad fall asleep during The Jungle Book), I don't recall seeing The Man Called Flintstone in the theater. I know we saw it on TV later, probably during one of those day-after-Thanksgiving cartoon marathons. But like Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear, there were too many songs for us fidgety kids.

(I've mentioned Fred Flintstone before on this blog, including here.)

As for the other half of the double bill, Birds Do It featured Soupy Sales as a janitor in a NASA facility who accidentally gets involved in an anti-gravity experiment with the result that he can fly!

Here’s a few lobby cards to give you an idea of the comic hijinks.

I’m a little too young to have watched Soupy’s TV shows; I remember him more from his various game show appearances in the 60s and 70s.

I was really hoping that I could post the movie trailer or the movie itself, but for some reason there’s not a scrap of Birds Do It online (for free anyway). Sorry about that, Soupy fans. I guess I’m going to have to wait until it shows up on Turner Classics!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

The Plank Road Revisited – Part 4

There’s still one last aspect of this myth-busting topic left to discuss: what involvement Russell Penfield had with the plank road that justified naming the small park containing the monument after him (as requested by the Nathan Perry chapter of the DAR).

At the time of the monument’s dedication, the Lorain Journal & Times-Herald noted that the name was “in honor of the late Russell Penfield, the one-time prominent Lorain civic leader who was organizer and president of the association which built the old plank road between Lorain and Elyria.

“Believing that some honor should be paid to the man who built the road, the Nathan Perry chapter officials requested permission from the Lorain Park commission to give the name of Penfield to the park.”

The question, of course, is whether or not Russell Penfield really was “the man who built the road.”

T. Derby doesn’t think so, but admits that his research is still a work in progress.

As he notes, "I am not sure that Mr. Penfield was the man in charge of its planking, although Mr. Penfield was apparently the man directly responsible for enabling/establishing the section of present Broadway south of that boulder-plaque. But that "Penfield Road" era is somewhat later than the "Plank Road" era of the 1850s.

"I checked the incorporation documents, and they mention nothing about Mr. Penfield. And because the roadway itself had been established long before Penfield had even owned any of that land, therefore it is safe to say that he was not the man who should have been credited with the Plank Road.
"But Penfield Park is perfectly-aptly-named. It is at the very north end of the old Penfield Road.”
Mr. Derby acknowledges Penfield’s prominence as a major landowner in central Lorain.
As he states, "I checked the County tax-records for Penfield's ownership of that land – about 800 acres! Penfield didn't start paying taxes on it until about 1863. But it was still under Chas. Olmstead's name prior to 1863, so I am not even sure why the 1857 map shows Penfield as owning it, that early."
Mr. Derby did discover one link to Russell Penfield’s involvement with the plank road, although apparently with a portion of it south of Elyria. He consulted History of Lorain County Ohio (1879) as compiled by the Williams Brothers, which stated, "In 1850, a saw mill was built and operated by R. H. Penfield, Horace Penfield, Orrin Starr, Lyman Hayes and Almond Lindsley, for the purpose of furnishing lumber for the plank road leading north through Lagrange.”
The History of Lorain County Ohio did identify one person involved with the construction of the plank road – Artemas Beebe. The book notes, “In 1849, becoming a stockholder in the Plank-Road running from Black River, Lorain Co., to Homer, Medina Co., he was largely instrumental in bringing the advantage of said road to his fellow-citizens, and in completing it, being appointed superintendent of its construction.”
****
My other history pals weighed in on this Russell Penfield aspect as well.

Seeing as Lake Shore Rail Maps webmaster Drew Penfield (mentioned on this blog all the time) is related to Russell Penfield, at least one of my contributors was hoping Drew could help clear up the plank road timeline.

Dennis Thompson humorously observed, “Maybe Drew will come forward with a signed and dated plank handed down through the generations to settle the date issue!”

Unfortunately, as Drew noted, Russell Penfield was not one of his direct ancestors, and the plank road topic was really outside the area of his focus (the Lake Shore Electric Railway).

****
I hope this online discussion about the plank road was interesting to my regular readers, as well as providing a little window into the world of local history buffs. These are people who care about perpetuating local history and getting it right, and consequently are only too happy to help out with research.

By no means do I wish to be seen as finding fault with the good ladies of the Nathan Perry chapter of the DAR regarding the date on their plank road monument. Who knows? There may yet be some document or news item out there that led them to their conclusions. But thank goodness they erected as many monuments in Lorain County as they did, or much local history would be simply forgotten. Their contribution to making sure Lorain history is remembered is impossible to measure.

Rick Kurish put it best in an email to me a few days ago. He wrote, “While it would be great if all historical plaques were 100% accurate, the plank road itself is the focus of the monument. Since at least a few of us are still talking about the plank road in 2016, or including it in a blog, the plaque has fulfilled its purpose.

Amen to that.

****
Thanks to T. Derby for his suggestion to write about the plank road, and for sharing his research.

For more myth-busting fun, be sure to download T. Derby’s fascinating online booklet, “Lorain City’s Earliest History: A New Look at the Old Myths and the Truth (2015). 

Monday, September 19, 2016

The Plank Road Revisited – Part 3

I’ve been getting a lot of emails in the past few days about my posts featuring T. Derby’s challenging of the long-accepted 1833 timeline of the plank road and tollgate.

The question most often posed to me is: “Where did the Nathan Perry Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution get that 1833 date on their memorial tablet anyway?”

That’s a good question. We may never know.

Both Drew Penfield and Rick Kurish noticed that the 1833 date is found in Early Days of Lorain, a written history by William G. Wickens, written in 1927. Writing about early storekeepers, Wickens mentions Naham B. Gates. Wickens wrote, “In 1850 Gates became superintendent for the Lorain-Elyria Plank Road Company.

“The plank road to Elyria has been built in 1833. It had been a great and progressive undertaking. That road, made of split logs, was projected to the county seat by local capital and various toll houses were erected along the way about two miles apart to assure a return to the builders.

“This was the first “paved road” out of Lorain, if one will so call those crude rough-split open logs. No other efforts at paving were made after 1833 for almost sixty years.”

Although the Wickens history is well-written and includes some sources and references, there are none listed for the 1833 date. It’s just presented as fact.

But in view of the claim that “no other efforts at paving were made after 1833 for almost sixty years” – which we know is simply not true based on the articles I posted on Friday – it doesn’t make sense.

There had been planking going on around Penfield in southern Lorain County around 1836, according to History of Lorain County (1879); perhaps that's the root of all this confusion.

But if you’re still not convinced that the first plank road between Elyria and Lorain wasn’t built until the late 1840s, our history pal Rick Kurish came up with the ultimate evidence over the weekend.

In an email, he wrote, "Here is the definitive timeline on the Lorain Plank Road. The information is found in Google Books, Acts of the State of Ohio, years 1848 /1849. The bill to incorporate the Lorain Plank Road Company was passed by the Ohio Assembly on January 28, 1848. An amendment to their charter was passed February 10, 1849. The amendment not only authorized the company to construct and extend a plank road from Elyria to Charleston, but also authorized them to construct and extend branches to any point they may see fit in the Counties of Lorain, Medina, Wayne or Ashland.”

Rick also found an article that makes reference to Elyria’s dire need for a plank road. The article, which ran in the March 4, 1845 edition of an Elyria newspaper called the Buckeye Sentinel, states, “Plank road Companies have been incorporated upon all sides of us, until we of Elyria have become almost environed with charters for such roads. Perhaps when the best trade to this place, shall, by these easy conveyances be taken elsewhere, the uncommon amount of public spirit which prevails our citizens will be aroused in vain efforts to recover their lost bread.”

Thus we can pretty much accept that Elyria had no plank road yet as of 1845 – but would have one leading to Lorain within a few years.

Next: The Penfield Connection

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Plank Road Revisited – Part 2

Mr. Derby is convinced that the timeline on the tablet (above) honoring the plank road and its tollgate are incorrect.

In an email, he wrote, “The 1833 date on that boulder-plaque seems to actually refer to the first attempted “turnpiking” of “Elyria Road” in 1833.” He noted that “turnpiking” was not necessarily the same as planking, and that the construction may not have even started until the late 1830s. Most importantly, he revealed that his research showed that the actual planking didn’t occur until after 1848.

I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Derby on that, as I found a few vintage newspaper articles that support his theory.

One article ran in the Elyria Courier in March 1849, and mentioned the Lorain Plank Road Company and its stockholders (below). It gives the impression that the company was relatively new.

The other article (below) ran in the Elyria Courier on July 23, 1850 and indicates that the tollgate was still relatively new as well. The article was primarily about the annoyance of local farmers due to the fact that the Lorain Plank Road Company had recently erected a tollgate on what had previously been a public highway.

During his own research, Mr. Derby came up with two more articles to support his timeline of the plank road and tollgate. The first clipping, from the Elyria Courier of July 30, 1850 humorously describes how the tollgate and shanty had been recently toppled.

The second Elyria Courier article from Sept. 16, 1851 reveals how getting rid of the tollgate on the plank road was a, er, plank in the political plan of John B. Robertson in his effort to get elected to the Ohio Legislature.

It must have worked, because according to some online sources Robertson did indeed serve in the General Assembly of the State of Ohio beginning in January 1852.

As far as Mr. Derby is concerned, the articles are proof enough that the 1833 tollgate date was incorrect, with the July 1850 story about the unhappy farmers being the strongest evidence. As he noted, "That ‘complaint' news item pretty much clinches it that there was no tollgate there prior to the installation of the planking about 1849.

"So even if there had been any success with any of the prior attempts at “turnpiking,” they never had a toll on that stretch until about 1849."
Next: More plank busting

Thursday, September 15, 2016

The Plank Road Revisited – Part 1

Back in March of 2012, I did a post about the memorial tablet located in the small green space between Broadway and Elyria Avenue at the Devil’s Elbow (right across from the Journal). The tablet honors the old plank road that was built between Lorain and Elyria back in the 1800s, as well as the tollgate that stood at the entrance.

My original post featured the content of an article (at left) that was published in the Lorain Journal & Times Herald on July 18, 1934. (You can read a transcribed version of it here on the original post.)

Well, in July of this year I received a very interesting email from a Mr. T. Derby concerning some inaccuracies in that article, as well as on the monument tablet itself.

You see, Mr. Derby is a historical records researcher. He really cares about local history, and wants to make sure it’s recorded correctly.

He's not afraid to challenge long-held beliefs, and fearlessly pokes holes in the most sacred of local legends using facts gleaned from meticulous research. Sometimes, taking on what has been long accepted as the truth can be a challenge – but in the end, his research results in historical wrongs being made right.

Tomorrow, Mr. Derby and I will bust up some myths about the timeline of the plank road – plank by plank!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

1969 Sohio Ad Featuring Forest City Auto Parts "Max"

I mentioned the other day how my original post on Ontario stores was one of my most visited ones over the years. Well, another topic that has proved extremely popular are my posts on the long-necked bespectacled mascot of the well-remembered Forest City Auto Parts chain of stores.

It seems a lot of people remember the guy, and are interested in the story behind him. Fortunately, several ex-Forest City Auto Parts employees took the time to post their reminisce about how he became the mascot and even what his name was: Max.

Which brings me to today's topic: a vintage ad that I found the other day featuring Max (seen at the top of this post). What's interesting is that the ad is for Super's Sohio on Oberlin Avenue in Lorain.

The ad ran in the 1969 edition of the Lorain phone book.

Max had appeared the year before in another Lorain phone book ad for Hageman Auto Parts (below).
It wasn't until a few years later that Max began to officially appear in phone book ads for the Lorain outlet of Forest City Auto Parts (which Hageman apparently became). By then, he had been redrawn and apparently registered as a trademark (judging by the ® by his bow tie).
Here he is in the 1974 phone book ad.
Google "Forest City Auto Parts" and you'll find long-gone photos of Max painted on the sides of the stores, as well as some vintage store printed materials. Here's one of Max that I found recently. It's slightly different from some of the others.
And here's one taken from a flyer, proving that his name is indeed Max.

By George, some enterprising novelty manufacturer should “stick their neck out” and market a retro-style bobblehead of Max – they'd clean up!

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Economy Sales Company – Part 2

Here are some more pages from that 1959 Economy Sales catalog. It’s fun to see some of the things that were offered.

Some of the managers associated with the original Lorain store included: Robert A. Dobosz (1960); Bernard L. Barak (1962); and Fred M. Belch (1964).

By the time of the 1966 Lorain phone book, Economy Sales had made its move to its new location at 4360 Oberlin Avenue. Patricia Gerhardt was listed as the manager at that time in the city directory.

New locations for Economy Sales included the aforementioned Mayfield Heights, Brunswick, and Akron stores.

Here’s a 1963 catalog, currently on Ebay.

I first mentioned Economy Sales in a March 2010 post about 1960s Oberlin Avenue businesses. At the time I wrote, "There was Esco (or Economy Sales, if you prefer) at 4630 Oberlin Avenue, where my family bought an awful lot of gifts and presents through the years. The gimmick was that the whole place was a showroom. After you found what you wanted to purchase either in the showroom or the catalog, you filled out a small order form with the item's number and handed it to an employee. A few minutes later, your item would appear like magic on a conveyor belt from the warehouse in back.

"Esco was a great place because it was minutes from our home and really simplified shopping.”
I think that with its no-frills shopping experience and large selection of merchandise warehoused on-site, the store was ahead of its time – anticipating later stores like Sam’s Club.
****
Economy Sales Company was in business on Oberlin Avenue until around 1984, finally disappearing in the 1985 edition of the phone book. In one of its last phone book listings, its name was “ESCO FLEA MARKET.”
Today the former store building – after much remodeling – is the home of Murray Ridge Center of Lorain.