Meister and Kolbe Roads in the News – Sept. 1963

The West Side of Lorain was growing rapidly in the early 1960s, and consequently there was much attention paid to the condition of the roads on that side of town by the Journal (which back then was a watchdog for that sort of thing). 

The Journal’s Jack LaVriha penned front page articles in September 1963 about two well-known roads: Meister Road and Kolbe Road. Meister Road had recently been resurfaced but was starting to fall apart. And two fatal accidents had occurred on Kolbe Road in August (one was at the south end of the road, where it is known as N. Main Street).

The article on Meister Road’s recent resurfacing appeared in the paper in Sept. 5th, 1963 and the one on Kolbe followed a day later on Sept. 6th.

While I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s, Meister Road was sort of a country road. If you followed it west of Leavitt Road to the end, you went past Surf Avenue and Pickett Road and it seemed like you were out in the boonies.

Today, of course, Meister Road is an access way to several modern housing developments that make up what I think of as “New Lorain.”

Strangely enough, I drove it this past weekend in preparation for this post and even though there are apartment buildings out there now, it still seems like you are out in the middle of nowhere when it winds around and becomes Fulmer.

It’s too bad that there isn’t easier access to that area from West Erie Avenue – like there was before the highway was widened in the 1950s and the various frontage roads were created.