Blue Law Enforcement Confusion in Amherst – Nov. 1962

On Election Day 1962, Issue 1 – the amendment sponsored by Lawson's that would have enabled the chain to keep its stores open in Ohio on Sunday – was defeated by the voters. As a result, the various city police departments in Ohio began to enforce the existing blue law that outlawed Sunday sales.

It quickly turned into a big mess statewide, with spotty and selective enforcement. Some stores cooperated with the Sunday mandatory closing, others did not.

Here in Lorain County, there was much confusion, with shoppers not sure which stores were going to be open. The article below details how things were going for Amherst merchants.

As the article noted, "It was business as usual for those Amherst merchants who traditionally open for business on Sunday, but Sunday's business wasn't quite up to the usual volume most merchants reported.

"Ray Grocott, manager of Ray's IGA on Park Ave., which is open on Sunday mornings and part of the afternoon, reported that his business was not up to par and said he believed it was because of the uncertainty of the public that stores would be open.

"The Lawson Milk Co. store on Cleveland Ave. reported that business was poor in the morning and that the store received several phone calls from customers asking if it was open for business. But business picked up and was normal in the afternoon and evening, the store's manager reported.

"Mischa's Restaurant on Park Ave., an ice cream parlor which does a brisk Sunday trade, reported that business was slow Sunday night.

"The city's two drug stores, Lessiter's Pharmacy at 187 Park Ave. and Kamody Drugs at 101 Main St., open only a few hours on Sunday and then for the main purpose of filling prescriptions.

"Police Chief A. H. Koppenhafer said he visited stores in Amherst which opened Sunday for business and observed the businesses but did not take the names of the clerks or in any way try to enforce the Sunday closing law."

As we will see in an upcoming blog post, the situation in Lorain would soon get tense regarding the enforcement of the blue law.

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Strangely enough, the photo accompanying the article about the Amherst merchants is of Gang's Food Fair in Sheffield Lake, which has turned up a few times on this blog (including here and here).

Here's the building today, courtesy of Google Maps.