Monday, September 30, 2024

Missive from Miss America 1972

Laurel Lea Schaefer, Miss Ohio 1971 and Miss America 1972


It's not every day that you open your email to find that a former Miss Ohio/Miss America has sent you a message. But that's what happened to me, and it was very pleasant indeed to hear from Miss America 1972, Laurel Lea Schaefer.

I had devoted a post to Laurel that featured a few articles that were written about her when she was crowned Miss America in 1971. Today she is known as Laurel Lea Schaefer-Bozoukoff, and she was gracious enough to reach out to me.

"Many thanks for recognizing my Ohio legacy," she wrote. "I remember those 50+ years ago as a unique journey of exquisite memories, empowering lessons learned, and personal dreams and goals realized.  Over the years, the kindness, pride, and on-going support that I have received from fellow Buckeyes remains an integral part of my personal appreciation and gratitude for my many blessings.

"I am attaching the materials I submitted in 2021 to the Ohio Pageant in celebration of my Miss Ohio 50th Anniversary.  The write-up details many of the blessings I speak of." 
The biographical materials revealed that Laurel has had a pretty wonderful life. 
Besides all of the great experiences that were part of being Miss America, (traveling the country and logging more than 250,000 air miles, meeting the President, throwing out the first ball of the World Series), Laura also had several impressive careers. 
She enjoyed an entertainment career for more than 40 years, appearing on many TV shows including Three's Company, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, The Rockford Files, Matlock, Love Boat and had a regular role on Falcon Crest. Her vocal talents as a lyric soprano led to many theatre credits and even more appearances on television.

Laurel's other careers include working for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (Dept. of Defense) at the Intrepid Spirit TBI Clinic, Camp Lejeune (N.C.). There, she educated service members on strategies for overcoming the effects of traumatic brain injury. As a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS), she continues her educational outreach on brain fitness and wellness, preparing interactive presentations for community organizations. Laurel has also owned her own company (specializing in children's commercials and animated films) where she served as casting director.

But getting back to her Miss America days.


Laurel was the last Miss America to headline a USO Tour to Southeast Asia. During her three weeks in Vietnam and Thailand, she kept a journal of her experiences and observations.
Is a book in the air?
"More recently, I have been working on a book, The Last Miss America in Vietnam and in the process of writing the book, I also composed a story for Vietnam Magazine," she wrote. "The story caught the eyes of the Vietnam Veterans of America and this past August I was awarded their "Presidents Award for supporting the troops.” 
Laurel is philosophical about her being named Miss America
"Once the crown is passed to the next recipient, life takes on new meanings, challenges and opportunities. For me, the legacy left is not so much about a title but, more importantly, the personal testimony that the title afforded. "To whom much is given, much is expected.”  
Courtesy roadarch.com
Laurel is from Bexley, Ohio, and I
remembered from my days crisscrossing the Buckeye State with my camera that her hometown had a vintage Super Duper grocery store sign that was very popular with roadside enthusiasts. I mentioned to Laurel that I had taken a road trip to Bexley specifically to photograph it.
"Yes, I fondly remember the Elephant sign at Super Duper," she wrote. "Although the store was sold the sign remained, albeit, covered with a tarp. The elephant was there in 2015 but was gone by 2017. However, the Rubino’s Pizzeria sign and the restaurant are still there and operational in Bexley! Did you know that when I won Miss America the city installed signs at the entrance to Bexley saying, “Welcome to Bexley, Home of Laurel Lea Schaefer, Miss America 1972!”
I asked Laurel if she knew Jacqueline Mayer, Miss America 1963 and the pride of Sandusky, Ohio. I've devoted many blog posts to Jackie. It turns out they are good friends!
"Jackie and I stay in close contact," said Laurel. "When I celebrated my 50th Miss Ohio anniversary in Mansfield, Jackie attended. While making my remarks, I introduced her from the stage and said, “She’s MY Miss America." Jackie, and her mother, were instrumental when I was Miss Ohio and was preparing for the national competition. Jackie’s grace, eloquence, and elegance made a profound impact on me and she was my role model."
Laurel is very humble about her achievements. As her biographical materials noted, "With all her accolades, this woman of substance and humility takes no credit for her success but gives glory to Jesus Christ! Having lost her father to leukemia on her tenth birthday, Laurel learned early in life the value of time, obedience, and living in God's will."

I enjoyed my correspondence with Laurel and was happy to receive her gift of one of her archival Miss America postcards. "I only have a handful left but seeing you are all about nostalgia, it seemed fitting.
"Keep up the wonderful contributions that you are making with your own website!"
****
Here are some more photos of Laurel Lea Schaefer, from her Miss Ohio/Miss America days to today.

Circa 1979
Laurel and her husband, Michael

Friday, September 27, 2024

Oberlin College Rocks! – Part 2

Oberlin College's two famous boulders on Tappan Square made it into the Lorain Journal a few times beginning in the late 1950s.

The article below, which appeared in the paper on October 3, 1958, features the charming reminisces of A. C. Norris, a member of the Oberlin College Class of 1898. Norris was one of the seniors who moved the seven-ton boulder under cover of darkness from the bank of Plum Creek to its final resting place where it still sits today, opposite the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. It's quite a story.

Note that the article makes no reference to the boulder being painted yet. But by 1962, it seems to have been a common occurrence, judging from the article below, which appeared in the Journal on December 5th of that year. It notes, "The giant boulder placed on Oberlin College's Tappan Square by undergraduates of the Class of 1898 has been the target of many campus pranksters in recent years, but it was not until Tuesday that it became the head of the "Jolly Old Fellow," Santa Claus."

The following year both rocks on Tappan Square were transformed into Easter eggs, according to the article below, which appeared in the Journal on April 15, 1963.
The Class of 1898 boulder became Santa Claus again for the holidays in December 1966. The photo below appeared in the paper on December 14, 1966.
Interestingly, the college artist who transformed the boulder into Santa 'confessed' to the Journal. The small item from the January 20, 1967 edition tells the story.
Lastly, Oberlin College President Robert Carr and Dean of Men Walter Reeves got into the act of painting the rock – and brought along their wives as accomplices. The story below, which appeared in the Journal on October 25, 1967 explains. 
(It appears to be the 1898 rock, judging by the size of the plaque.)

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Oberlin College Rocks! – Part 1

Directly across the street from Bibbins Hall, Oberlin Conservatory's main classroom building, is a large boulder on Tappan Square. Apparently it's a longstanding tradition for it to be repainted regularly by the students, who decorate it with various designs and color schemes to convey a message or just have fun. 

Just a short stroll to the east in the same area is another huge boulder facing the storefronts along W. College Street.

I've passed these boulders regularly during my commute for the past two years, and have often wondered. How long have they been there? What did they originally commemorate before becoming a creative canvas on which the students can express themselves?

Fortunately, author and regular blog contributor Don Hilton did my research for me. In an email, he pointed out that the Oberlin Heritage Center website provided some history for each boulder. 
"The two largest boulders were placed on the square in 1897 and 1933," it notes. 
"The Oberlin College Class of 1898 removed one boulder from Plum Creek and put it on the square in 1897. The plaque reads “Glacial boulder of granitoid gneiss from eastern Canada, excavated from 10 feet below the surface of the northwest corner of Professor and Morgan streets and placed here by the class of ’98 during the night of Dec. 3 1897.”  
That's the boulder across from the Conservatory that it's talking about, the one that's painted like the Palestine flag (red, green, white and black) in my photo. Here is a photo (courtesy of Col. Matt Nahorn) of the boulder being excavated from Plum Creek by the Class of 1898.
But what about the boulder in front of the 'Oberlin' carving?
The Oberlin Heritage Center website notes, "The other, known as the Founders Boulder, was taken from Erie County and reads “In Memory of John J. Shipherd, Philo P. Stewart, Dedicated June 17, 1933.” 
The Founders Boulder was dedicated during the festivities surrounding the city of Oberlin's centennial celebration. Oberlin was founded in 1833 by two Presbyterian ministers, John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart.
Here's a Cleveland News photo currently on eBay of the rock being prepped for the big event. 
The caption reads, "George W. Ernst, a workman preparing the "Founders Tablet" to be dedicated Saturday."
The Oberlin Heritage Center website also notes, "Plaques on the boulders have been covered by hundreds of layers of paint and are barely legible. The rocks became public billboards in the 1960s and soon even college officials joined in the tradition of painting the rocks. Today, anyone can paint them on a first-come, first-served basis. 
"Visit oberlinrocks.com to see more images of the painted rocks."
The plaques on both boulders are pretty much illegible these days.
There are a few vintage photos on the internet showing the 1897 rock in the 1960s. 
This photo from 1967 apparently pokes fun of the campus inventory system.
And this photo from the fall of 1968 celebrates the World Series victory of the Detroit Tigers over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Here are a few more recent shots.
Thanks to Don Hilton for his suggestion of the Oberlin College boulders as a blog topic. By the way, Don has been busy adding additional tomes to his body of work. Visit his website to find out more about his two newest books. 

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

New Oberlin Conservatory of Music Opens to the Public – Sept. 27, 1964

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the world-class music conservatory of Oberlin College, was founded in 1865. It's the second oldest conservatory in the United States, as well as the oldest continually operating conservatory.

And sixty years ago, the conservatory was about to unveil its new home to the public. It had just moved into its beautiful new four-building complex at College and Professor Streets. It had previously called Warner Hall (shown in the vintage postcard above) its home for 80 years.

The transition to the conservatory's modern new home played out over much of 1964. I posted an article about some buildings on Main Street being cleared to make room for it back here. And I posted the article below about Warner Hall (accompanied by some personal reminisces about the new conservatory) back here in 2015.

On September 26, 1964, the photo below appeared on the front page of the Journal.

This full page of photos of the new complex appeared in the same edition.
Several postcards depicting the various buildings were produced.

And here are a few photos from last weekend.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Ore Carrier George M. Humphrey Prepped for Christening – Sept. 1954

Vintage postcard
Seventy years ago this month, the ore freighter George M. Humphrey, built at the Lorain yards of American Ship Building, was being readied for its early October christening.

Below is the full-page of photos that ran in the Lorain Journal on September 6, 1954. 

As the article notes, "The 710 foot freighter, largest ever built on the Great Lakes, is scheduled to be christened October 5. Ceremonies will be witnessed by George M. Humphrey, secretary of the treasury for whom the vessel is named.

"Humphrey is a former president of the M. A. Hanna Co. which will operate the new ship for the owners, National Steel Corp.

"The celebration will be in direct contrast to that day in June when the new vessel rode high and majestically into the water for the first time.

"Too large for the traditional side launching, the ship was built in dry dock." (I posted a photo of the then-unnamed ship under construction back here.) 

"The drydock was flooded June 19 and the ship took to the water without fanfare or crowd.

"When put into use, the Humphrey will carry more than twice as much iron ore in a season than possible on the standard 600 foot vessel which was the lakes giant of a few years ago.

"The carrier will take its place among 750 vessels, which makes up the lakes fleet with a total trip carrying capacity of 5,000,000 tons."

The George M. Humphrey was christened on October 5, 1954. Here is the front page of the Lorain Journal the following day with the story. That's Mrs. Humphrey christening the ship named after her husband with the traditional bottle of champagne. 

In addition to Secretary of the Treasury George M. Humphrey, there were quite a few members of President Eisenhower's cabinet on hand for the big event.

Here's the continuation of the above article. That was a big day for Lorain.

Courtesy greatlakesships.wordpress.com
Here's the link to the George M. Humphrey's page on shiphotos.com, which includes some history, and information about the ship's eventual scrapping in 1986.


Monday, September 23, 2024

S. Amherst Church 150th Anniversary – Sept. 1974

Commuting to Oberlin to get to work means that I take a lot of country roads. Although I don't get to see very much in the morning, I do a little sightseeing on the way home.

Many of these country roads, such as State Route 113, have a lot of very old churches on them, which provides some interest. (That's one thing nice about churches – they don't seem to get torn down too often.)

One of these churches on 113 is the Sandstone Community Church, located a little bit east of Quarry Road. Fifty years ago, the church was the South Amherst First United Methodist Church and was celebrating a major anniversary. The article below, which appeared in the Journal back on September 21, 1974, tells the story.

The article notes, "The first meetings of the South Amherst First United Methodist Church were held in the homes of this town's early settlers, and most often, in the home of Reuben Webb, South Amherst's first settler.

"The year was 1824, a century and a half ago. Next Sunday, members of First United Methodist Church will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the church.

Church cornerstone
"The earliest records of the church show it dates back to 1824, when the first meetings were held. The minister of the congregation was the Rev. Charles Eliot Clerk.

"During the late 1800s and early 1900s, families from England migrated to South Amherst to work in the sandstone quarries. Since many of these people had been "Free Methodists" in their native land, the Methodist Church in South Amherst became their new church home.

"The first church building was erected in 1838. Four years later, another building, on West Main Street, was built. This building was the beginning of the present church site.

"Some of the church's prominent families in the early days were the Durands, the Pettys, the Rices, the Blackmans and the Peabodys, church records show.

"On August 16, 1942, the church held its centennial celebration of the construction of the building. Former ministers reminisced with the congregation throughout the afternoon, the church history reports."

From the August 13, 1942 Lorain Journal