Monday, January 8, 2024

Lorain Sunday News Front Page – Jan. 3, 1954

It's always fun to take a look at Lorain's other local newspaper, the Lorain Sunday Times for an alternate view of what was going on in the city during the 1940s and 50s. The above front page from January 3, 1954 reveals that the paper had its own baby contest to coincide with the New Year. The difference was that the Lorain Sunday Times celebrated the last baby of 1953.

Judith Ann Visco, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Visco, was "the recipient of a horde of loot donated by business firms in Lorain" according to the article. It's interesting that some of the gifts (such as a photographic portrait and a deposit to a bank account) are the same as what the first baby received, but with different Lorain businesses. And a few of the companies (Ideal Dairies, Schwartz Home for Funerals) worked both sides of the street, supplying gifts to both babies.

Elsewhere on the page is an article about state liquor enforcement agents making arrests for after-hour sales at Richi's Tavern, Club 10 (at Routes 10 and 301 in Carlisle Township) and Timbers Cafe (at State Routes 58 and 113).

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Timbers has always interested me, as it resembled a log cabin and it's way out there in the country by itself. For a while in the 1990s, I was somewhat acquainted with the then-owner. But I've long wondered: how long it had been there?

A look at the Morning Journal's online archives reveals that the Timbers Night Club opened in November 1940.

November 15, 1940 ad from the Lorain Journal

Within a few years, it seems to have been in the news for various liquor violations, and even an almost-fatal stabbing in the parking lot in October 1944.

Anyway, here are some more Lorain Journal ads from the early days of the Timbers Night Club.

May 29, 1941
October 30, 1941
October 23, 1942
November 15, 1947
June 29, 1950
And here are some fairly recent photos of how the Timbers looks today. It's currently closed for business. It's kind of sad, because it sounds like it was a real happening place when it opened.
2016
2019
2023
Courtesy of the Lorain County Auditor Website

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UPDATE (March 15, 2024)
The formers Timbers Nite Club has been demolished and the property cleared.

3 comments:

Mike M said...

Years ago a few of us stopped in at Timbers for a beer after playing golf down the street at Deer Track (now Whiskeyville). My brother went up to buy a round and came back with the beers and threw us all a timbers t-shirt. They were selling them behind the bar for like $8. I still have mine............not sure why. It just lives in my closet.

Don Hilton said...

The Timbers has been "due for demolition" for quite a while, now.
I always wanted to stop in for a beer, never did, and now never will.

I like the idea of the "last baby" of the year.

Anonymous said...

Back in the "40s -"50s these types of bars/restaurants were a cool place to go to.Even attracting families for business.They were the original "roadhouse" type place to hang out with original entertainment to boot.Then as they all got run down they just turned into the same old biker type greasy spoon joints.And the same old regulars visited them.Then people traveling through the area would see all these motorcycles in front of the place and that would scare off any new business.A place can only stay in business for so long with money coming in from the same 4-5 people week after week.