Thursday, January 18, 2024

Lorain Journal Front Page – Jan. 18, 1954

We're due for some more snow on Friday, so I thought I'd post another Lorain Journal front page from January 1954, since Lorain was dealing with the white stuff back then as well. But as you can see, seventy years ago today, the city was putting on a happy face and indulging in some wintery fun.

As the caption for the charming montage notes, "Skating enthusiasts have been promised a few days of continuous cold by the weatherman. Lorainites, quick to take advantage of the cold spell, crowded the skating pond at Lakeview park around the clock Sunday."

The photographs really capture an innocent time, of kids just being kids, playing with their friends with no parents hovering over them. It almost makes you feel a little wistful.

Reading the addresses of the children as listed in the photo caption, I think it's interesting how they're from all over the city. I remember Mom telling me how she and her friends walked down to Lakeview Park from Sixth Street to ice skate; they pretty much walked everywhere – something today's kids don't do (for various reasons, including greater availability of rides, and safety).

Elsewhere on the front page: an item revealing Lorain achieved a record-breaking $1,700,000 in liquor sales in 1953. Now that's something to celebrate - perhaps with a drink! 

The article mentions the state store on Seventh Street in Lorain. I'm betting fewer and fewer people remember State Liquor Stores, and having to go to one to get their favorite bottle of booze. 

The former State Liquor Store at 201 Seventh Street