Today, leave us turn back the hands of time to exactly 100 years ago today to see what was going on in my hometown. So above you see the front page of the Lorain Journal of January 25, 1924.
I'm sure you're probably wondering if that's a typo in the headline: KIDNAPED CHILDREN LOCATED. But it's correct. Several dictionary websites point out that 'kidnaped' is the American spelling, while those crumpet-eating, tea-drinking chaps across the Big Pond use two P's.
The story about the kidnaped children is a sad one. Their parents had been having 'domestic difficulties,' and two of the children (both boys) had been living with their mother in Lorain at the home of the gentleman for whom she was a housekeeper. The boys' 16-year-old sister, who had been living with their father in Kendallville, Indiana was the one who 'whisked' them away from their mother. The article notes that they were being returned to Lorain and that the court would decide where they should live.
Elsewhere on the front page: at the Lake Shore Electric crossing at Kansas Avenue, a group of boys were tricking cars into stopping (making them believe an LSE car was coming ) and then tying their sleds on the back of the stopped cars to hitch a ride; several fires caused havoc in town, including an entire house and its contents destroyed on E. 23rd street; a restaurant on E. 28th Street was robbed of $12 worth of nickels; and the superintendent in charge of operation, traffic and purchases of the Lorain, Ashland & Southern railroad was preparing to retire after a career of more than 46 years.
One handy feature at the bottom of the page – SAFE TO SKATE – noted that while Highland Park, the marsh near the viaduct, and the pond behind Fairhome school were all safe, the river was not.
And let's not overlook the popular comic panel featuring cartoon philosopher Abe Martin. (Read about it here and here.)
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Longtime blog contributor and local historian Dennis Thompson left a comment on this post in which he was wondering where the 'marsh near the viaduct' was located. I'm guessing it's the one shown in the early map of Lorain shown below, as it is specifically tagged for skating.
11 comments:
Old Abe...
"Shiverin' like a Ford fender"
I'm stealing that for a book I'm writing based in the 1920s.
Thanks, Dan!
Wow, bumper riding in the 20's on a rail car. We used to send a pal up to cars at stop signs to distract the driver by asking for the time. Meanwhile, the rest of us would run up to the rear of the car and hook up to the bumper for a nice little sled ride in the snow covered streets. Sounds pretty dangerous now, but it sure was fun. I foolishly tried it again in my 30's coming home from Grandma's on Christmas Eve (sounds like the song). I latched on to the Wife's bumper and that's about all I remember. Alcohol may have influenced me a bit that night.
Great page of information. The most popular crime would seem to have been making, selling or drinking liquor.
Buster:
Ohio voted itself "dry" in late May of 1919, a half-year before the national act.
Booze crimes became so prevalent that the county's criminal court actually bought a rubber stamp to mark the top of the related case docket pages with "Violation or Liquor Laws." It was the only type of crime to be blessed with its own time-saving device!
Where was "the marsh near the viaduct"?
I like how the paper published about people getting divorced.They even included how the people left each other for other people.Now a divorce is as common as anything.
Anon:
Divorce and breakups were always big news. Front page stuff. Reasons for, rebuttals, all that stuff. Poor people and regular folks got the treatment, yes, but if you were well-to-do, then it was -big- news!
Are you old enough to remember the old "Divorce Court" television show? One of my Gramma's favorites, along with soaps like "Edge of Night," and "Secret Storm," and "Guiding Light."
Like that, only in print!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133300/
DIVORCE COURT, DAY IN COURT, and THE VERDICT IS YOURS.
...I'm curious about the theatre that was to be built on Vine Avenue. Any idea which one that might be? cinematreasures.org is oddly silent - the only ones I can find in that neck of the woods were the Lorain and Pearl, but they were both on Pearl further east.
That Vine Ave theater had to have been in that area where the city did an urban renewal type deal.I think I remember reading on this blog a big article on it a few years back.The city kicked out and stole and red lined a whole bunch of houses and businesses and then didn't really improve the area.The city just lined their pockets and left the residents out in the cold as all cities do.
Mike, it looks like it was Friedrich's Park Theatre, which opened in the Andorka Block on Vine Street on April 19, 1924.
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