As Memorial Day approaches, I’m reminded how the holiday (especially back when it was known as Decoration Day) used to mark the traditional opening dates of the local summer resorts.
It was a regular ritual for city dwellers to spend a day picnicking, an evening dancing or even a longer vacation at one of the many lakefront resorts.
I wrote about one of the resort communities – Vermilion-on-the-Lake – in this multi-part series.
And here's a page from the Lorain Times-Herald of May 28, 1924, featuring the earliest ad for dancing at Vermilion-on-the-Lake that I’ve ever seen. Note the ad reads, “Official Opening."
Due to the size of the ad and inclusion of a photo of the clubhouse, I believe it's a pretty good indicator that 1924 was the inaugural season for entertainment there. (This is at odds with some of the commonly accepted historic timelines.) I’ve scoured the previous years of the Times-Herald for any mention of VOL in the summer resorts, and this is the first that I’ve been able to find.
Anyway, the newspaper page also includes ads for Beaver Park, as well as Riverview Park in Elyria.
3 comments:
I couldn't help but notice that, within a mere month, devastation would drop from the skies upon the area.
Thanks for observing that, Alan!
And in the post WWII "March Of Progress," air conditioners would devastate the cooling summer lake resorts such as Vermilion-on-the-Lake.
Post a Comment