Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Lorain Journal Front Page – Jan. 23, 1934

 

Ninety years ago today, this is what greeted readers of the Lorain Journal on January 23, 1934.

Now that's a front page. It has two headlines and each one is a humdinger: a daylight robbery at gunpoint that took place at the Hotel Antlers, and the tragic death of Earl R. Morris, the mayor of Oberlin, due to pneumonia.

There's an interesting article about the decision to delay widening Oberlin Avenue. It reveals that at that point, the street had four different widths: 33 feet wide from West Erie to the Nickel Plate railroad tracks; 28 feet from the tracks to 19th Street; 21 feet from 19th to 22nd Street; and 18 feet from 23rd to the city limits (at Meister Road). The same article notes an intention by the county to extend Oakdale Ave. from the city limits to North Ridge Road. (That never happened.)

As was often the case, there's a juicy story with pictures on the front page: "Another Woman Doctor on Trial." The story asks, "Did Dr. Sara Ruth Dean, comely 33-year-old specialist, knowingly serve Dr. John Preston Kennedy, her former medical associate, a poisoned highball while he was a midnight guest in her home last July?" Dr. Dean was going on trial for murder that week. It would take five weeks to finally convict her. Her sentence, however, was commuted years later by the governor.

From Virginia, there's a sensationalized story of a 'gas man,' so called because he supposedly attacked homes in this region by unleashing clouds of deadly chlorine. You can read more about these gas attacks – which eventually were determined to be a classic example of epidermic hysteria – here, here and here.

Lorain was experiencing some sharp lake winds, after a weekend with spring-like weather. The thermometer dropped 20 degrees in less than 24 hours.

And from Cleveland came the story of a taxicab driver who received a ten-cent tip from the father of a baby born in his cab while they were rushing to the hospital.

3 comments:

LHS Blazer Man said...

It is interesting that the typesetting, font and layout of the Journal back then is the same as that which is used by the New York Times to this very day!

Don Hilton said...

Interesting article on Judge Thompson running for reelection. He was born in 1863 and raised in Columbia Township and was the tax assessor, there. He was the last Common Pleas Judge to become an attorney the old way, by "reading" it with an established lawyer instead of attending law skool. He moved to Lorain and in 1890 was elected mayor, established the Chamber of Commerce and the Central Bank. His first run for C.P. judge resulted in a tie against the first non-Republican Lo.Co. judge, incumbent H.G. Redington (4,985 votes each). Redington retained the office after a legal battle that went all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. Less than a year later Ohio's Republican government appointed Thompson judge to a newly created second bench where he sat for 20 years.

The picture in the paper is from his youth. He was white-haired old man in 1934. There were 7 candidates in the Republican Primary that year. Thompson came in 5th. Daniel A. Cook, g-grandfather of present C.P. Judge D. Chris Cook ended up winning the election.

Shameless plug: If you're interested in such small histories, I wrote a book on Lo.Co. county-level judges. It's listed on my webpage. www.dhiltonbooks.net

Buster said...

A lively page - two different "alienation of affection" stories along with Dr. Sara Ruth Dean, "the comely 33-year-old specialist" and her dangerous cocktails.