When reminiscing with other Baby Boomers about the Lorain we remember from the 1960s and 70s, I often find that it's the incredible selection of small family-owned-and-run stores that make up some of the more pleasant memories. Much of what you were looking for (with some exceptions of course) was available at such a store within city limits, where you very likely dealt directly with the owner or possibly a member of the family.
While there are still many family businesses that are serving their customers and creating new memories for the current generation, we all have our favorites of the ones that are long gone. These might include Steve's Shoe Repair, Bob's Donuts, Rudy Moc Studio, Andy's Hardware, Paul's Auto Body, Garwell's Bait & Tackle, Harry's Men's Wear, Driscol Music Co., etc. The list goes on and on.
One business that many of us remember was Broadway Feed & Supply, located at 1605 Broadway. The business dates back to 1945, as noted below in the article written by Staff Writer Jeff Kades that appeared in the October 11, 1972 Journal.
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| A June 12, 1945 Journal ad |
"The pizza arrives cold but the Rogers' – C.E., 47, wife Marianne, 45, and son Gary, 18 – gulp it down in between the usual Saturday rush of customers at their Broadway Feed and Supply store in Lorain.
"Those who drop in are no longer the farmers of Lorain County who came to buy hay, straw, horse and chicken feed, back when the store was first established by C.E.'s mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Rogers, in 1945.
"True, they still come around every once in a while, but Lorain County is now more urban than agricultural.
"Broadway Feed today primarily sells pets. Customers are little kids, big kids, animal lovers, and those who just want to talk about their German Shepherd's feeding habits, or the castration of somebody's cats.
"C.E. took over in 1954 after his dad, now 75, retired and moved to Florida. But C.E.'s pocketbook kept telling him the feed business wasn't what it used to be.
"He diversified. He started hawking hamsters, parrots, monkeys, mice and tropical fish, along with chicken remedies, insecticides, and feeds."
****
In 1973,
Joseph and
Irene Ceh became the owners and operators of Broadway Feed and Supply.
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| An April 27, 1973 Journal ad |
The Cehs received their own business profile in the Journal on Feb. 24, 1974.
The Cehs were the owner/operators of Broadway Feed and Supply until its 2005 closing.
That's a pretty impressive run for a small, local business; sixty years, same location and only two different family owners.
I remember going in there every once in a while to buy a bag of niger thistle seed for Dad and his bird feeder. It was always interesting to look around, and there was an old-time atmosphere.
I did a "Then & Now" of the streetscape outside the building looking north on Broadway back
here.
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The ominous view of the former Broadway Feed and Supply
building from yesterday afternoon |
4 comments:
Soon as I saw the title of today's blog, I could smell it. Cedar and wood chips, barrels of seed and bags of grain. It was a mini trip to the petting zoo.
I used to go there with my dad and he would buy me a bag of feed for my pet rabbit.For awhile after they closed up the building used to house a old car restoration shop as there would be a few older hot rods around in the back of the parking lot plus one or two in the showroom of the building.
I too can smell the cedar chips and see the birds and pets at Broadway Supply - and wistfully recall the old wood floors and displays that so many of the old stores often had. Each shop unique, with it’s own quirks - not laid out like todays stores, according to some corporate marketing team. This article brings to mind another old family owned downtown Lorain store - L&O Paints, where kindly old Elmer sold drawing pads, charcoals and pastels for our art classes and later on, I purchased the paint for our first home.
I also remember that huge parrot, with the beak that looked like it could take your finger off.
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