Gray Drug Christmas Ad – 1954

Remember Gray Drug Stores?

You might not. There weren't very many of them in our area. The first one was located in the O'Neil - Sheffield Center when it opened in 1954. Eventually there was one at Oakwood Shopping Center, and finally, at Midway Mall. In the late 1980s, the chain was sold to Rite Aid (my least favorite drug store).

One thing's for sure: Gray Drug had some offbeat Santa Claus characters in its newspaper ads.

Here's one, from the Lorain Journal of December 13, 1954 – 70 years ago today.

Santa's got those pie-eyes that the early Mickey Mouse had. Speaking of the famous rodent, the Walt Disney Target Set is one of the toys shown in the ad. Since the package graphics are hard to decipher in the ad, at first I thought the Disney characters (specifically Donald Duck) were the target. But a look at a target set currently on eBay shows the beloved characters as merely spectators at target practice. 

A close look at the cartoon menagerie reveals that Mickey brought along his "nephews" of unknown parentage. However, he should be paying more attention to poor Pluto Pup, who is in the line of fire (and in danger of ending up like Old Yeller).

The toy buyer for Gray Drug must have been thinking green, because there's two different frog toys in the ad – Peeper the Frog from Rempel, and Jolly Jumper pull-toy. Both are on eBay right now.

And if you weren't in the mood for froggie fun, there was Mr. Potato Head "in his own li'l house." The famous spud's cardboard domicile is on eBay as well.

Erie Apartments Christmas Decorations – Dec. 1940

Driving around town to see Christmas lights has always been one of the most special activities of the holiday season. 

We did it just every year when I was growing up in the 1960s, mainly sticking to the West Side neighborhoods. It seems like everyone put up some kind of lights. 

We had our favorite houses during our drive. There was a house near Masson School (at the intersection of Edgewood Dr. and W. 40th) that put a big Santa Claus figure in their picture window each year. We always watched for it. (It was not unlike watching for the big Pink Panther doll in the window of a vacation house that was on the tram tour of Put-in-Bay, described by the tour guide as a "big Hollywood star living in the island.")

Even as an adult, I still enjoy seeing the Christmas lights as part of my holiday fun, especially the display at Finwood Estate on Abbe Road.

Although checking out Christmas light displays might seem like something from the modern era, it's been going on for a long time. Case in point: the small blurb below from the "Log of Lorain" column of the Lorain Journal of December 28, 1940.

I wish I had a photo of it because it sounds nice, especially since it was created by the residents of the Erie Apartments. I still like to see homemade decorations (such as big, painted wooden cutouts) since they were made to make kids happy and have a lot of heart. 

Speaking of the Erie Apartments, I've driven by them thousands of times, since I lived along that stretch of Route 6 for almost thirty years. 

I always thought the building had a lot of charm, and was just the right size, with only four apartments there. I even considered trying to get an apartment there a couple years ago before I bought my condo. But I ended up in the Overlook Apartments instead (which I wrote about in a four part series starting here, and continuing with parts 2, 3 and 4).

Oddly enough, both the Erie Apartments and the Overlook Apartments were advertising in the March 10, 1928 Lorain Journal – in the same ad.

Central Bakery Burns – Dec. 11, 1963

Lorain and the surrounding cities have been lucky to be served by many great bakeries over the years. While we still have some very good ones (such as Kiedrowski's), there are many that are no longer around. Some of the well-remembered ones include DeLuca Bakery, Spang Bakery and Hough Bakery, among others.

Also on that list was Central Bakery, which suffered a devastating fire on this day back in 1963. Above you see the front page of the Journal of December 11, 1963. And here's a photo (below) of the fire that ran in the paper in its end-of-the-year edition.

From the Dec. 31, 1963 edition of the Journal

The bakery, which specialized in several varieties of bread, dates back to 1915, as noted in this full-page ad that ran in an anniversary edition of the Lorain Journal on June 21, 1955.

This short article that ran in the same edition of the paper provides some background information. 

As noted, "The founder, Edward Kowalski, established the bakery in its present location in days when virtually all work was done by hand and a lone oven was used for baking.

"Kowalski, a native of Poland, owned a horse and wagon, had a stack of unpaid bills, $50 in cash and loads of confidence in the future of the city when he began working 16 and 18 hours a day in developing his business.

"Central Bakery in 1915 occupied a building with less than 1,500 square feet of space.

"Today, the bakery assets amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The machinery, ovens and production methods are ultra modern. There are 25 trucks for speedy deliveries."

Here are some vintage ads for the firm, all from 1935.

June 26, 1935

July 8, 1935

Aug. 28, 1935

Note this ad is for Home Leader Bread, baked by Central Bakery but sold at retail outlets.

Sept. 26, 1935

Nov. 29, 1935

(Note how the "Constipation" themed ad template for Honey Crushed Bread included a space for the layout artist to insert the name of the local bakery – but they didn't, in this case.)

Anyway, after Central Bakery burned, there was talk of the bakery continuing. There was even talk in Feb. 1964 of moving operations to the old Spang Bakery building at 22nd and Oakdale – but it never happened. 

Eventually the burned-out, rat-filled, gutted frame of the Central Bakery building became a dangerous eyesore, and it was finally torn down several years later. But it took a lot longer than anyone could have ever imagined – dragging into the 1970s.

Jan. 31, 1972

1954 Lorain Journal Christmas Gift Guide

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

If you haven't, then perhaps you'll get some ideas while perusing the Lorain Journal's "Your Guide to Christmas Giving," which was included as part of the November 25, 1954 edition of the paper. The cover is shown above. I like the illustration of well-dressed shoppers.

Here's an ample sample of some of the pages of the Gift Guide. There's something for everyone: manly gifts for Dear Old Dad, sensible gifts for Mom, and for the kids – a television! Many of the well-remembered businesses are there: Kline's; Louis Cohn's; Driscol Music; Harry's Men's Wear; Rudy Moc Photography; Cane's Surplus; Lorain Surplus Center.

I like the way Santa seems to be checking out the Lovely Gift Nylons.

Hey, there's a unique gift idea: a harmonica! Perfect for friends who are unhappy at their jobs and want to act out a 'prison' fantasy.

The Bell Tolls for Former Fire Station

It was kind of sad to drive by the former Lorain Fire Station No. 7 at the corner of Meister and Leavitt Roads and see it being torn down last week.

Why? For a couple of reasons.

While growing up on E. Skyline Drive in the 1960s and 70s, I always thought it was rather comforting to know that a fire station was only a couple minutes away. We could see it from our house. Of course, much later the station was moved over to W. 21st Street, and the building became part of the Lorain Police Dept. The police moved out a few years ago and since then the empty building has literally began to fall apart – necessitating its demolition.

But another reason to feel a little bad about the building is that it was it was the West Side's last link to its days before it became part of Lorain.

Back in the latter part of the 1800s, that corner was the location of a one-room schoolhouse that served Black River Township. After the school closed, the little red brick building was repurposed as the original administration building for Port Mills Airport in 1929.

But as the 1940s began, the corner of Meister and Leavitt Roads was going to be the location of a brand new Black River Township garage – and the former school would have to go. Bids for the new building appeared in the Lorain Journal in September that year.

By the end of November 1940, the contract had been awarded and the garage was under construction.

Nov. 23, 1940

With the purchase of new fire equipment, the garage – which opened in April 1941 – became a fire station.

As Lorain grew in the following years, and annexed township land, the Black River Township fire station found itself in a strange position. It was located in Lorain, but could not legally put out fires in that city. It was one of the reasons that the existence of Black River Township didn't really make any sense any more.

Black River Township fire station circa 1964

Black River Township fire station circa 1964

I wrote about this odd situation in my series on the End of Black River Township (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

Anyway, at the end of July 1964, the Black River Township fire station was officially taken over by the City of Lorain.

July 31, 1964

But with Leavitt Road about to be widened from two lanes to four, the small white frame house seen in the photos above – where the firemen slept when not on duty – had to go. But the State of Ohio was a little stingy in its offer to buy it from the city. 

Oct. 22, 1964

It took a little while, but the state and Lorain finally agreed upon a price.

Nov. 13, 1964

But now the firemen at No. 7 needed a place to sleep – so an addition to the station was built.

May 25, 1965

The station became a familiar, reassuring site on Lorain's West Side with the latest in equipment.

But all good things come to an end, and with Lorain rapidly expanding in population on the West Side, it made sense to move the station over to the city complex on W. 21st Street. The former No. 7 fire station became a storage facility for the Lorain Police.

But after the police moved out, the building went into further disrepair. A storm severely damaged the front left corner of the building facing Meister Road, and it was obvious it had to go, as it had become a safety hazard. Demolition occurred last week.

Now the site just needs to be cleared. But the history remains.