Entertainment Page Featuring Maynard Ferguson – August 7, 1964

Sixty years ago, the Entertainment page of the Lorain Journal had something for everyone.

For the Brady Bunch, that would have been jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson, who was appearing with his orchestra at Musicarnival near Cleveland. We were big fans of Maynard in our family (my brothers and I all played trumpet).

Dad was a fan too, which wasn't surprising, since Maynard used to be a member of Stan Kenton's orchestra in the early 1950s. Dad loved Kenton's bold, brassy style of jazz, and he had several Kenton 78 rpm records in his collection. It's kind of funny that Mom confessed to me in later years that she didn't care for the Kenton sound too much.

My older brother Ken, who was a very talented jazz trumpeter, was very much inspired by Maynard's exciting style of performing, especially with the emphasis on notes in the high register. Ken adopted that musical style and, as a result, the Admiral King Stage Band enjoyed some high-profile years in the mid-1970s, winning regional awards.

Although my family did not catch Maynard's August 1964 performance at Musicarnival, we collected his records and saw him many times in the 1970s (including a January 1977 appearance at Lakewood High School).

Elsewhere on the Journal Entertainment page – as usual – are several establishments and clubs that I've written about, including Vian's; Lincoln Park; Lorain Arena; Colony Bar; Maple Inn; The Note; and Mister S.

For a taste of what Maynard's performance at Musicarnival was like, here's a recording of him and his band circa 1963.

World's Largest Miniature Circus Comes to O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center – August 1962

Vintage Postcard of Ernie's Circus – "World's Largest Most Fabulous Hand Carved Exhibit"

Back in the days when people used to like to leave their homes to shop, merchants often utilized special promotions to entice people to visit their stores.

Sometimes these promotions could get pretty elaborate, such as the O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center bringing in the Paul Miller's Wild Animal Circus to entertain shoppers back in June of 1962 (which I wrote about here). 

On the other hand, sometimes something tiny was the drawing card – such as Ernie's Miniature Circus, which paid a visit to the O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center in late August 1962, just a few months after Paul Miller's Circus.

Below is an article that ran in the Journal on August 29, 1962. 

The miniature circus, a 'midget replica' of the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Show, was the brainchild of Ernest Palmquist. As the article notes, "All of the tumblers, all of the clowns, all the animals... all of the remarkable members of the "Ernie's Circus" troupe are laboriously hand carved of wood. Many of the figures are animated. All are accurately designed to scale.

"Several years ago, "Ernie's Circus" was a big attraction at the Brussels World's Fair. In 1964 and 1965, he will be booked for two years at the New York World's Fair.

"Ernie loves circuses. This is the reason he began whittling circus figures, back in the days when he had his own band, and later when he was a novelty tune writer with Ted Weems Orchestra.

Here's some black and white footage from June 1962 of some workers unpacking "Ernie's Circus" for an engagement in Roanoke.

And here's a poster for sale on the American Decay website.

And here are some photos of some of Ernie's creations, courtesy of the Daily Press.

I wonder where Ernie's Circus is today?

Avon Lake Landmark 'Spirit of St. Louis' Repaired – August 1964

Although my daily commute to work is now along country roads, for many years I drove to Cleveland – both Downtown and the near West Side. During that time I sometimes decided to enjoy the ride and follow U. S. Route 6, the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, all the way in. It took forever, but there were many interesting roadside sights to see – a lot of which have now vanished without a trace.

I've written about some of them, including the Harbor View Motel in Rocky River (here and here), as well as The Harts family sign. Both are long gone.

And then there was the Kekic Gas Station's iconic Spirit of St. Louis replica plane. I've written about it a few times, since I used to pass the small service station daily. This post featured a "Then & Now" photo study of its location, and this one has some vintage news articles.

As I noted, I drove by it for many years, and then suddenly the gas station – and the small plane on its pole  – were gone. Fortunately the Avon Lake landmark was born again (thanks to Nick Zangas of Avon Lake) which I wrote about here.

Anyway, I recently found another piece of the puzzle, an article from the August 24, 1964 Journal about the Spirit of St. Louis plane. It tells how the plane had been at that location at the Kekic Service Station since 1927, and was one of 150 replicas distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. 

The main focus of the article, however, is that the plane had been blown down in a bad windstorm and had been missing from its perch for about a year. At the time of the article it had recently been repaired and re-installed.

It's sad that so many roadside reminders of yesteryears are disappearing – but it's a wonderful thing indeed when steps are taken to hold on to local heritage, such as the installation of the replica Spirit of St. Louis at Miller Road Park.

The Stash Box Ad – August 27, 1973

For you Baby Boomers that lived in Lorain during its heyday, here's one of those articles (in reality a paid ad) shining the spotlight on a well-remembered business: The Stash Box. The page below is from the Journal of August 27, 1973. (Note the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park ad.)

For the uninformed, the Stash Box was a head shop, a term that I haven't heard in a while. 

At the time of the 1973 article, the store was located at 1065 Broadway. Later, it moved to Eighth and Broadway (which is the location I remember). Here's a December 1976 ad mentioning the move. Note the illustration of its building (now the home of Marzavas & Son Jewelers).

With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio last year, maybe head shops will make a comeback. The Wiki entry suggested that cannabis dispensaries more or less double as head shops.

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It may seem strange, but I never tried marijuana in my life, although it was definitely in use in the dorm at Ohio State. When I came back to Lorain one year for the summer break, all of my old high school friends were using it too – which upset me and probably cost me some friendships. 

I guess if I wanted to get a buzz on, I preferred the 'old fashioned' way: alcohol. Nowadays, I literally do it the old-fashioned way sometimes: with an old-fashioned! I like all the fruit in it, although to many it's sacrilegious.

I know several people at work that were downright excited about the legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio. I know the State will make a lot of money of it. But at what cost?

So no thanks. I'll stick to my Hamms and my old-fashioneds, the way dear old Dad used to make. 

Oakwood Shopping Center Back-to-School Ad – August 26, 1959

I feel sorry for kids nowadays. Starting school before Labor Day still seems kind of cruel to me. 

In Lorain this year, the first day back is August 26th, which I suppose is better than the middle of the month. But it's a long way from the way it used to be.

Back then, those ubiquitous back-to-school sales used to take place in late August, and above you see an example. It's for the stores at Oakwood Shopping Center in South Lorain, and the ad ran in the Journal on August 26, 1959.

It's an odd ad. Instead of school supplies being touted, the items being promoted in the ad include traveler's cheques, bicycles, a Scotts lawn product to 'blast' crabgrass, feminine hygiene products, and Canada Dry pop. There's also a free back-to-school dance advertised, with beatnik phrases like "Real cool" and "The Most" utilized.

At least the ad features the Thrifty Squirrel shopping center mascot. For years I thought the name of the squirrel was Oakie, since early Oakwood ads made reference to a rodent by that name. I even named my first website Oakie's Treehouse (featuring local ad mascots) for that reason. But eventually I learned that the girl squirrel with the purse was named Pearl, in honor of Pearl Avenue, the street on which the shopping center was located.

Lorain County Fair 1974

I'll close out Fair Week here on the blog with a look at the 1974 Lorain County Fair.

Here's the full page ad that ran in the Journal on August 19, 1974 promoting the Fair.

With so many big name country music stars scheduled to perform at the Grandstand, a series of individual ads promoting specific acts began running weeks in advance of the Fair.

Here's one for Buck Owens and Susan Raye that ran in the paper on July 31, 1974.

Mel Tillis and Judy Kester were featured in this ad that ran on August 2, 1974.

Those are some pretty big names. The Journal highlighted all of the performers in this article that ran on August 18, 1974.

As noted in the article, also appearing at the Fair was the Dan Fleenor Auto Thrill Show. Dan Fleenor had also been featured at the 1969 and 1972 editions of the Lorain County Fair.

But not all of the Journal articles about the Fair were concerned with upcoming musical acts. Longtime Journal Staff Writer Lou Kepler provided some charming reminisces about Fairs of the past in this report that ran in the paper on August 18, 1974.

Here are a few more 'tall' ads that ran in the Journal for the 1974 Lorain County Fair. I like the groovy clip art of the young couple in the second ad. No fedoras or boater hats there!

And finally, the Journal provided a nice review on August 25, 1974 of the Buck Owens and Susan Raye performance.

Lorain County Fair 1964 – Part 2

The Harmonaires were the headliners at the 1964 Lorain County Fair, as noted in the ad above, which appeared in the Journal on August 25, 1964. As the photo from the August 21, 1954 Journal notes, the singing and recording group had appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The group was based out of Columbus, Ohio. Here they are on one of their few recordings, which consist of a few 78 rpms.

You can read more about the history of the Harmonaires on musician, historian and author Arnett Howard's blog here.

As for the other entertainment highlight of the 1964 Lorain County Fair, what would a fair be without an auto thrill show? But instead of the Hurricane Hell Drivers, the Fair featured the Rotroff All-Girl Auto Thrill Show, as noted in the ad below (from the August 27, 1964 Journal).

This photo and caption from the same edition of the Journal tells a little about one of the thrill show drivers, Pat Jackson.

And here's a souvenir program from 1960.

This spread from the program gives us a look at some of the comely drivers, including Sylvia Haynes.

The Rotroff All-Girl Auto Thrill Show was scheduled for two shows on the last night of the Fair. As an article from the Journal of August 29, 1964 noted, "a deluge hit the area just as the curtain was lowered on the second and final performance of the all-girl Rotroff auto thrill show."

Today's Lorain County Fair usually end with a Demolition Derby on Sunday night. I work with one of the demolition derby drivers, who had a busy summer at the various fairs. He's told me some fascinating behind-the-scene tales of what goes through the drivers' minds at these things, and how it gets pretty personal when you encounter drivers and teams from earlier derbies in the season! I wish him good luck this Sunday, and I hope he creams those punks who ganged up on him a few weeks ago at another metal-crunching ordeal!

Lorain County Fair 1964 – Part 1

Today we fast forward ten years from yesterday's post and take a look at the 1964 Lorain County Fair. Above is the full-page ad that ran in the Journal on August 22, 1964.

As usual, I love the clip-art used in the ad, especially of the family. Dad's got his suit and fedora on (I thought that JFK had made hats unpopular?) while Mom's wearing a stylish boater hat. And the sandwich-board-wearing stilt walker has a lit stogie with smoke wafting upwards.

In that same edition of the Journal, a photograph of the new main entrance gate of the Fairgrounds was featured.

The look of the Fairgrounds was slowly evolving into what we see out there today. The article below from the August 1, 1964 Journal revealed some of the new buildings, including new homes for the ponies and rabbits (a must-see during my visit to the Fair each year).

Tomorrow, I'll feature some of the entertainment from the 1964 Lorain County Fair.

Lorain County Fair 1954 – Part 2

We'll linger at the 1954 Lorain County Fair one more day.

Above is the front page of the August 24, 1954 Lorain Journal with the story of the opening day of the 1954 edition of the fair. Apparently it set an opening day record with more than 10,000 attendees.

In her report, Molly Maloy crafts a nice description of the Fair. She notes, "The Lorain County Fair is underway and the Wellington fair grounds have been turned into a combination carnival, amusement park, rodeo and grand exhibition.

"It promises to be a great week. People from all over the county are invading the grounds and every imaginable club, organization, and business is represented with a booth of some sort. You can buy anything from a fine bone china cup and saucer to a cup of salty french fries.

"The fair is alive with sounds, smells, sights and children. On stepping on the grounds your ears are greeted by the gay music of the merry-go-round, the blaring of a polka played over a loud speaker, and the excited hum of many voices.

"The barkers' deep, husky callings dominate the scene, telling you to "Step right up and try your luck" or "Get your ticket now and see the monkey drive his own automobile."

"Every five minutes a man's voice drones over the microphone announcing the next event, paging someone or summoning Officer Jones to Police Headquarters.

"You are attacked with odors from all sides. The smell of the stock mingles with that of hot food. The tempting odor of hot buttered popcorn or onions on a foot long hot dog is wafted beneath your nose.

"The midway is a gala sight to see. There are gaily painted rides, the tilt-a-whirl, midget racers, a huge ferris wheel, hundreds of try your luck booths, a merry go round, monkey hot drivers, fun houses, innumerable concession stands.

"The stands were packed with spectators watching the horse show and they cheered and applauded the high stepping parade horses and the thrilling rescue races."

These are just a sampling of Maloy's charming descriptions of the Fair. Many of the sights and sounds of the Lorain County Fair haven't changed in the 70 years since her article. That's why the Fair is so great – it's timeless, old-fashioned fun.

However, some things – such as monkey speedways – seem lost to the vagaries of time. What's a monkey speedway? Visit the Curbside Classics website (here) for a well-researched article about the popular fair attraction.

Courtesy CurbsideClassic.com

Lorain County Fair 1954 – Part 1

Ad for the 1954 Lorain County Fair

It's Lorain County Fair week! One of my favorite weeks of the year (I know, I always say that.) I'll be out there later in the week.

The Fair has some great grandstand shows this year, including Sara Evans tonight and the Marshall Tucker Band on Tuesday. Seventy years ago, the entertainment for the 1954 Lorain County Fair was a lot different, as you can see in the ad above, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on August 18, 1954.

On Tuesday, August 24, 1954 the stage show included Midwestern Hayride, the famous WLW TV show. As noted in the promotional piece below that ran in the Journal on August 11, 1954 it was "one of the most popular radio and television shows on the air today."

"The Hayride Show, which has been on WLW, Cincinnati, for many years features such outstanding hillbilly artists as beautiful Bonnie Lou, Swiss yodeler and ballad singer; Buddy Ross, accordionist; the Geer sisters, Mary and Jo Ann, harmony singers; the Kentucky Boys and the Pine Mountain Boys.

Bonnie Lou had a long, successful career as a recording artist, as well as a television performer and host. Here's the link to Bonnie's Wiki entry, which refers to her as an American music pioneer, "recognized as one of the first female rock and roll singers." She had a wonderful life.

Here's Bonnie Lou performing Just Out of Reach (1953). I'll bet she performed this at the Fair.

The August 11th Journal page also includes some information about the Fair appearance on Friday, August 27, 1954 of the Jimmie Lynch thrill show featuring the Death Dodgers and the Death Dodgettes. Here's a 1955 souvenir program for the automobile stunt team.

(Hey on that same page of the Lorain Journal is a mention of a chalk talk given to the Avon Lake Players by my old boss Franc Powell, who I profiled here).

On Wednesday, August 25 – Lorain Day at the Fair – the entertainment included an appearance by the Four Evans. 

You can read about them on the Journal page below from August 10, 1954.

As noted, the dance act consisted of pretty Maryetta, her brother Les and her parents Helen and Evan.

This Wikipedia page about the Four Evans tells how they toured U. S. military bases in war zones during World War II. It also notes that Maryetta kept right on dancing into her late 80s, even ending up in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Oldest Professional Show Dancer!

Jamie's Flea Market 50th Anniversary

A big anniversary quietly came and went a few weeks ago. Jamie's Flea Market in South Amherst celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its opening on Wednesday July 31, 1974.

Who doesn't love Jamie's Flea Market? For years, I was out there almost every Saturday morning, looking for vintage postcards, comic books, old toys, cereal box premiums and other collectibles. It was the thrill of the hunt that was fun, never knowing what I might find. (I bought so many things at Jamie's over the years, I could have my own booth there!)

A few months ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Lorna Ingersoll (below), General Manager of Jamie's Flea Market in preparation for an article I wrote for Leisure Living magazine. One of the things that she told me was pretty surprising – everyone has been pronouncing the name incorrectly for 50 years!

Lorna ought to know. Her grandparents Bill and Martha Jamie were the ones who opened the flea market. Lorna pointed out, “It’s pronounced ‘Ja-May.’ But because of the spelling, it was just easier to go with “Jamie’s” and not correct people every time.”

So how did Jamie's Flea Market get started?

“In the early 60's my Grandfather Bill Jamie started an auction house in the east building,” said Lorna. “He later added furniture and carpet. After visiting a flea market, he decided to turn the auction house into one in 1974. He built the center building and moved the furniture and carpet store into it."

Here's a Journal ad from July 7, 1974. As you can see, the furniture business was about to move, making way for the flea market that would open later that month.

Before the flea market opened, the Journal ran some teaser ads, like the one below from July 5, 1974.

Finally, the flea market opened on July 31, 1974.

Lorna explained why her grandfather had to construct additional buildings. "As the flea market grew, he built the west building and moved the furniture and carpet into it," she said. "The center building then became more flea market space.” Today the flea market’s indoor space is made up of the east and center buildings.

It's great that Lorna is still involved with the business her grandparents started, even though it is no longer owned by her family. As she explained, Bill and Martha Jamie sold the flea market to their daughter and son-in-law, Janice and Stan Ingersoll (Lorna’s parents) in 1976. The Ingersolls then ran the flea market until health reasons unfortunately forced them to sell. Ralph and Lolita Mock bought it in 1983, and Lorna stayed on as an employee. Owner Ralph Mock made her General Manager in 1996, and she’s been proud to keep her grandfather’s original dream alive.

Believe it or not, Lorna noted that online auctions like eBay have not hurt Jamie's. People still like to come out and shop, looking for bargains or hard-to-find collectibles. Food trucks give it a festive atmosphere as well.

But Lorna confessed to me that retirement can be tempting sometimes. However, she loves what she does and uses social media well to promote Jamie's.

What does the future hold for the beloved Lorain County business? 

“Jamie's Flea Market will continue to be the best flea market around, bringing buyers and sellers together, and providing a fun shopping experience for everyone,” says Lorna.

Jamie’s Flea Market is open 8 am to 4 pm, Wed & Sat. It’s located at 46388 Telegraph Rd. (State Route 113) in South Amherst, OH 44001. Visit its website at www.jamiesfleamarket.com

Claus Family Cemetery Restoration

I was contacted several weeks ago by the Colonel himself.

No, not the one with his face on buckets of chicken. That would have required a seance. I'm talking about Col. Matt Nahorn, well-known local historian and Amherst City Council member. He emailed me to share the story of the restoration of the Claus family cemetery on West Erie Avenue (U. S. Route 6) and provide some photos of the process.

An article that I posted about the cemetery from the November 9, 1956 Lorain Journal provided some information for Matt and the team to go on. Here's the photo that accompanied the 1956 article, showing the sad state of the cemetery at that time.

As Matt noted in his email, "When the 1956 article was published, two stones were standing and clearly visible, while a third had broken, and its pieces were laying nearby. Mrs. Florence Claus, noted to be a granddaughter-in-law of the early owner of the land, Adam Klaus, recounted that Klaus had purchased the property from the William Hershing family. 

"Mrs. Claus noted an interesting story that was passed down over generations, regarding that of Lucy Morgan, an aunt of Hershing’s. Morgan’s grave still stands, and the story goes as this: “She had come here all the way from England to visit Bill,” said Mrs. Claus. “The morning after her arrival she was out on the back stoop looking over the farm, and when she turned to come in she fell and broke her hip. She never recovered.” 

1986 Map showing the Claus properties
(spelled 'Clause' here)

"Other stones in the cemetery are of infants or very young children, such as: a 21-day-old infant, Armine Klaus (a child of “Martha”); a third stone is carved in German from 1866, possibly believed to describe the death of an 11-month-old infant, Anna M. Heideloff. “Mrs. Claus believes this may have been a child of one of the Klaus daughters living in the vicinity.” 

"The article further notes some of the genealogy of Mrs. Florence Claus: “Owner of the property after Adam, was his son Bernhardt, then Bernhardt’s son, Henry who was a brother to Mrs. Claus’ late husband Adam, namesake of the grandfather. Henry’s son, the second Bernhardt, was the last holder of the property, selling out not long ago to the real estate firm from whom the Ford company bought its site.” 

"As a life member of the Brownhelm Historical Association, and having worked with Kate Rivet, of the BHA, assisting in the restoration of Brown’s Lake Road Cemetery, I appreciate the importance of cemetery documentation and restoration. 

"In May 2024, I contacted Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, regarding restoration of the cemetery. He put me in contact with Jim Sutter, of the Lorain Utilities Department.

Before restoration. Only two gravestones were visible.

"Kate Rivet, Jane and Ron Crandall, all of Gravestone Restoration Services, along with my father Bill Nahorn, and I met on July 13, 2024 to begin the cemetery restoration, in cooperation with the City of Lorain. Only two gravestones were visible, one of which was badly leaning."

"We began by probing for lost gravestones, soon finding a footstone for Lucy Morgan’s grave," said Matt. "Her gravestone was one of two still standing, before our restoration project began. Next, we located the gravestone of Carl H. A. Braun, who only lived to be two years old. His stone is entirely in German."

"We then found the stone of Wm. Henry Herschin(g), also an infant who lived only a few months. His footstone was also located. Only the base and a fragment of the gravestone of what is believed to be that of Armine Catherine Klaus can be seen. We have probed for the remainder of the stone, but unfortunately, this is the only stone we were unable to fully locate. All stones were re-set, with new foundations, re-mortared to straighten them, and in two cases, we had to completely rebuild the sandstone base.

The restoration team after a job well done

"On July 21, 2024, our team worked on final cleaning and restoration of the gravestones. We are proud that we have successfully restored this tiny family cemetery, which once was lost."

"I am proud to have initiated the restoration project of the Claus Family Cemetery. I thank Kate Rivet, and her Cemetery Restoration Services team of Jane and Ron Crandall for making this restoration happen.

After restoration

Click here to visit the Gravestone Restoration Services by Kate & Jane Facebook page to see some of their other impressive restoration projects. They have certainly been busy in Lorain County.

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Here is the final listing of the five known and located graves in the cemetery, courtesy of the Colonel.

• Carl H. A. Braun (Dec. 8, 1860 – May 12, 1862)

• Anna Margarita Heideloff (Aug. 10, 1865 – July 31, 1866)

• William Henry Herschin(g) (April 15, 1860 – Oct. 17, 1860)

• Armine Catherine Klaus (May 5, 1866 – May 26, 1866)

• Lucy Morgan (? – April 9, 1855) Aged 80 years

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Here's a photo of the cemetery (from my 2015 blog post) before the 2024 restoration. It was pretty much in the same shape as it was in 1956.

And here's my recent 'after' shot. It no longer looks so forlorn.

And finally, I've written about the Claus family before. This 2015 post covered the story of the Claus Farm on Lake Road and its 'hole-in-the-wall' leading to Lake Erie; and this post highlighted one of the houses (now gone) that used to be located on former Claus property.