Thursday, August 24, 2023

Lorain Gets a City Seal – August 1973

It was fifty years ago this week that the City of Lorain got a glimpse of its new official city seal, as noted on the front page of the August 23, 1973 Journal shown above.

"Here is the new city seal proposed for Lorain by Mayor Joseph Zahorec," reads the caption. "The date is the year the city was incorporated. In the center of the seal the new city hall complex is pictured underneath the symbol of the Lorain International Association. The work was commissioned by the International Association, and designed by Lorain artist William F. Smith."

The continuation of the article (just as now, it was not on the page indicated) reveals some of the symbolism in the seal. The blue field "stands for Lake Erie, where Lorain thrives." The white field "stands for the purity which the city strives for." The red field "stands for the blood shed by generations of fighting men throughout the world." The four stars "represent the four corners of the world that brought the citizens of Lorain together." The wreath's individual petals "symbolize the people and unity in Lorain."

The version of the city seal on the City of Lorain's website is a little different from the original color scheme.

Fortunately, I remembered that I had a sticker of the original design on my trombone case (below). If I remember correctly, the stickers were given to Admiral King Marching Band members for some performance at Lorain City Hall. 



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember when that first came out. It should have been the lighthouse on the seal, not the city hall building.

Don Hilton said...

What *are* the two red things in the seal? Sails? Klingon?

Would a local paper dig that far into police doings, today?

I wonder if the editor purposely placed the V.D. Cure next to the piece on Watergate?

Buster said...

Don,

The klingon is apparently the symbol of the Lorain International Association, which proposed the seal and ended up smack in the middle of it as a result. I'm not originally from around here, but my sense is that back then the association was promoting the city as a port. Now it seems to run an international festival. See here:

https://www.loraininternational.com/festival

Can anyone tell me who that creature is who is waving to us from the top of the site linked above? Looks like a bleached turtle with a beanie.

Don Hilton said...

I think it's a pierogi.

Buster said...

I don't like inanimate pierogis, let alone ones that can talk and wear a hat.