Waiting for a Sign – Part 1

One of the best things about doing this blog is that I’ve met a lot of nice people with a similar affection for local history. Many of them have fond memories of growing up in Lorain County, which they’ve shared with me via email. 

Sometimes a memory, however, just isn’t enough. Often a reader embarks on a personal mission to find an old photograph or piece of memorabilia of something that no longer exists (which isn’t easy).  

One of these nice people is David Howat. You might remember from a past blog post that his quest is to find photographs of the Midway Mall Woolworth’s and its Harvest House cafeteria, as well as locate former employees. 

David has had another ongoing project for the last ten years that recently came to an end. But in this case, he wasn't searching for something; he could see it – behind a locked door, beyond his grasp. 

So what's the story?

“About 10 years ago, retail photographer Nicholas Eckhart did a blog on Flickr and had some photos featuring Westgate Shopping Center," said David. "I was instantly intrigued.

“He had some photos of the old Fazio's store and a picture of this sign." It was inside, near the entrance to the store.

"From that point on, I was determined to do what I needed to do to get that sign.  

"I did internet searches to try and find the owner and I was able to find the owner who was in Ashtabula. 

"After numerous emails, phone calls and even a letter via U. S. mail, I never got a response – so I had given up," explained David.

During this time, the shopping center was still trying to attract new tenants, especially since the Family Dollar store had moved out.

"When the 'Bargain Bargain Bargain' store was open on the east side of the shopping center, I stopped there one day when they were open," said David. "I had a nice chat with the gentleman that was working there. 

"By luck, he was friends with the owner and I expressed my interest in acquiring the old Fazio's sign. He said that he would relay my interest to the owner, but I knew that nothing would transpire from it. This was during the point where the owner and the city were battling with each other [see below] so I took it for face value."

  

"Nothing would come from it – and I was right."

But the story's not over yet. 

****

Fazio's was the successor to Fisher Fazio, which itself was predated by Fisher Foods. Fisher Foods had a long history in Lorain dating back decades; it was also an original tenant of Westgate Shopping Center when it opened in 1958. By the late 1960s, however, after a merger it had become Fisher Fazio.

But by the 1980s, it was just Fazio's. And David wanted to preserve that Fazio's sign representing a piece of Lorain grocery store history.

Tomorrow: Hand me that hacksaw.