The ad announcing the Grand Opening of the Clark Super 100 Station at 1999 Cooper-Foster Park Road in Amherst appeared in the Journal on July 15, 1971.
I like the ad. It creates a spirit of fun and excitement, with lots of freebies (glasses, balloons, suckers), an appearance by Bobo the Clown (hopefully not the one at the dunk tank at the Ohio State Fair) and a nice photo of James Manser, the Clark dealer in charge.
Back in the 1970s, Clark was one of the biggest independent oil refiners and marketers, even as it competed with the major brands of gasoline (such as Sohio, Sunoco, Texaco, etc.) that spent a lot of money on advertising.
But while many major brands have simply gone away or abandoned Ohio entirely, Clark is still around. You can find stations in Cleveland, as well as smaller rural communities such as Shelby and Fostoria.
2 comments:
If I remember correctly, Clark's gimmick back then was that it only sold high-octane gasoline. I don't think that is currently the case.
Hi,
I am familiar with Clark Gas Station - the one that was on the SW corner of East Erie and Arizona Avenue in Lorain. It was constructed in 1967. Until that time that whole corner only had the little white building that was a dry cleaners for years -- all the time I was growing up from 1948 to 1967. Just to the west of the driveway leading to East Erie was the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Tackas. They left when the gas station was built. They had sold their home and property to Clark. So we lost them as neighbors. The gas station didn't want or need our house and property, however.
I lived behind the Clark Gas Station at 208 Arizona Avenue; our distinctive shiny yellow brick ranch with dark green trim with my parents who moved there in 1948. My father had mowed the grass on that property until the gas station was built. He had his horseshoe court there, and we had a long hedge separating our property from that large corner empty lot with only the small white dry cleaner building on the front along East Erie Avenue. I believe there was a propane tank behind it.
Naturally, my parents and I were not happy to see the Clark Gas Station come. For awhile we had to endure a big billboard that completely blocked our view of East Erie. Then finally one day the billboard came down and a chain link fence replaced it.
There was already another gas station across from it on the South East corner of Arizona & East Erie Avenue which was I believe a Gastown at the time. Earlier that one was a Marathon back in the 1950s when I was younger.
Where this East Side Lorain Clark Gas Station stood now is a Pure Gas station. Behind it instead of my childhood home stands a storage unit. Ironically, the outline of the driveway next to our home on Arizona is alongside that storage unit. The storage unit too, is a long one floor structure similar in shape like our house was; but not someone's home unfortunately. Sad to see the whole neighborhood on Arizona Avenue demolished. Where the storage units stand now the property had been empty for years. My childhood home was town down in 2003. Our neighbors at 210 Arizona were Angie and Liz Catalano.
So yes, when I read about Clark Gas Stations in the Lorain area, I do remember so well what it was like for me and my parents when one was built next to our house.
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