Tim Hortons 60th Birthday

Anyone who has spent time in Canada over the years is familiar with Tim Hortons, the ubiquitous restaurant chain founded by the great Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman and Hall of Famer Tim Horton. 

From the chain's humble beginning as a coffee shop in a remodeled gas station in Hamilton, Ontario in 1964, Tim Hortons has grown to more than 5,000 restaurants today. It's the largest quick service restaurant chain in Canada. And it has more than 800 locations in the United States, including more than 100 in Ohio.

The first outlet in Hamilton

And today, Tim Hortons celebrates its 60th Birthday.

In honor of the occasion, and since I had a hankering for some Timbits (the small 'donut hole' delicacies), I headed down to Ashland, Ohio last weekend to visit that city's Tim Hortons, located on Main Street not far from I-71. Since I only make it up to Windsor, Ontario once a year, it's nice to be able to visit a Tim Hortons whenever I want.

The sign outside the Ashland, Ohio restaurant

Many people aren't aware that Tim Horton was a well-known professional hockey player that played in the NHL for 24 seasons. So it's nice to see that the store has a framed reminder of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs hanging on the wall.

I love Tim Hortons coffee (I drink it at home and at work) and I was happy to see that the paper cup it came in had some special 60th anniversary graphics.

I picked up my usual 10-pack of Timbits (Birthday Cake flavor, appropriately enough) in its little cardboard carrying case, and it too had some nice birthday graphics.

It was a nice surprise to see that Tim Hortons invited its long-retired Timbits mascot to the birthday party, giving him a place of honor on the side of the box. He has two big eyes (that look like olives) atop a body made of a Timbit, a small white nose, and two large, flat feet protruding out beneath him.

To many people (including me), Tim Hortons is Canada. I always feel like I'm enjoying a brief, pleasurable escape to our friendly neighbor to the north whenever I visit one of the Ohio restaurants, or sip a cup of the famous Tim Hortons coffee.

****

I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the passing this week of Toronto Maple Leaf forward Ron Ellis, who played 16 seasons in the NHL with the Leafs, many of them with Tim Horton. 

For the last month or so, I've been reading his autobiography, Over the Boards: The Ron Ellis Story. It's a great read, and not only covers his fantastic hockey career, but also his bout with clinical depression. By becoming a spokesperson about this particular disorder, he helped remove much of the stigma about it. He was quite a guy.

Ellis was on the cover of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey program I posted back here.

Arthur Godfrey Officially 'Opens' Pick-N-Pay Store at O'Neil's – May 24, 1954

Although he might not be very well known today among anyone under sixty, there was a time in the 1950s when folksy entertainer Arthur Godfrey was one of the nation's most popular TV and radio personalities.  And 70 years ago this month, Godfrey participated in one of the more unique promotional stunts associated with the grand opening of a grocery store. And it took place (so to speak) right here in Lorain County, at the Pick-N-Pay store at the O'Neil's - Sheffield Shopping Center.

The gimmick here is that Arthur Godfrey wasn't going to appear in person at the store. He was going to electronically unlock the door from his TV studio in New York by way of a historic telegraph key. This article from the May 17, 1954 Lorain Journal explains the whole thing.

To those who didn't know better, this ad from the May 22, 1954 Lorain Journal seems to imply that Godfrey was going to be there in person.

In the end, the promotion was a success and went off without a hitch. 

According to the front-page Journal article on May 24, 1954, "More than 5,000 persons jammed through the doors of the Pick-N-Pay store in O'Neil - Sheffield Shopping Center today at official opening of the store.

"Arthur Godfrey on his morning television show in New York pressed a telegraph key, the same one used by Samuel Morse in the first telegraphed message, automatically opening the door to the store.

"The key was pressed on Godfrey's television show at exactly 10:50 a. m. while Tony Marvin, announcer on Godfrey's show, stood by at the store and announced local proceedings.

"The entire affair was televised coast to coast.

"Godfrey's whole program today was devoted to the Pick-N-Pay opening here."

It was a pretty clever promotion, with the bonus of putting Lorain in the national spotlight.

Grand Opening of Hills in Lorain – August 18, 1960

The Hills Dept. Store in South Lorain closed back on July 31, 1982, replaced by a new store in Amherst. 

But when exactly did the Lorain store first open? I had never really covered it on this blog. So I hit the Journal's online archives to find out.

As it turned out, the Grand Opening was on August 18, 1960. There was quite a big build up in the Journal, as it really was a new kind of store. Here's some of the paper's coverage. Note that there are a few photos of the store. I had forgotten about those two large arrows with the blinking lights that seemed to memorize me as a kid.

August 15, 1960

August 17, 1960

August 17, 1960

August 18, 1960

August 18, 1960

August 18, 1960

August 18, 1960

August 18, 1960

August 23, 1960

Hills had a new concept for its time – a standalone department store. It was different from a downtown store or one occupying a space at a shopping center along with competitors. So it's not surprising that hundreds of Lorain area shoppers were in line for a half hour before the ribbon cutting took place.

It was kind of sad when the store closed in 1982. I had only come home from college about six months earlier, and it seemed like Lorain was falling apart, with Downtown stores closing and the steel mill laying off thousands. It was a depressing time indeed.

A 2011 view of the former Hills store on Route 57

A 2022 view

****

UPDATE

The Amherst Hills store opened the week of November 5, 1981. So it was open for about 8 months before the store in South Lorain closed.

Ad from the Journal of November 5, 1981

And Ames Department Stores, Inc. purchased the Hills chain in mid-November 1998. Ames itself went out of business in 2002, although there are plans for a comeback in 2026.

Sherwood Allotment Aerial View – May 1954

Ad from the May 7, 1955 Lorain Journal

One of the nice things about growing up on the west side of Lorain in the 1960s is that you knew where many of your fellow elementary school classmates lived. How did we know? I guess from playing or walking to school with them, or socializing with them in some other capacity (like Cub Scouts or church). It seems quaint today.

But there was one group of kids who didn't walk to Masson School. They lived over in the Sherwood Allotment, and had to be bused, since it was too far to walk to school. Thus those of us who walked didn't know where they lived over there, and we didn't play with them, since they were across Leavitt Road/Route 58). I can look at a Masson class photo from the 1960s, and still tell you which ones road the bus. They may have been slightly more affluent too.

Anyway, the Sherwood Allotment was sort of a mystery to those of us who lived in the numbered and perfectly perpendicular-to-each-other west side streets. That's why I found the photo below so interesting. It appeared in the Lorain Journal on May 21, 1954, and shows the early stages of construction of the Sherwood Allotment, which was just getting underway. The caption even mentions that the streets were going to be winding, rather than straight.

Here's a labeled view so you can get your bearing.

And here's the area today. (Disregard the yellow border inflicted by Bing Maps.)

I've written about the area before. This post is about the uniquely named streets with a golf theme that are linked (pun intended) to the property's Lorain Country Club heritage; this blog post concerns the portion of the allotment fronting on Meister Road.

Empty Eagles Nest – May 5, 1964

It's pretty amazing how the American Eagle has bounced back from being practically wiped out decades ago. 

According to the eagles.org website, "By 1940, the decline of Bald Eagles compelled Congress to pass the Bald Eagle Protection Act, which outlawed the killing and disturbing of eagles, as well as the possession of eagle parts, including feathers, eggs, and nests.

"Bald eagles once teetered on the brink of extinction, reaching an all-time low of 417 known nesting pairs in 1963 in the lower 48 states. Now, the bald eagle population has climbed to an estimated 316,700 individual bald eagles, including 71,400 nesting pairs."

It wasn't all that long ago that if you wanted to see an eagle in Ohio, you had to drive a bit, or at least have some insider knowledge of where there were nests. I remember driving out to the Old Dutch Tavern in Sandusky to see the nest behind the building.

Nowadays eagles are getting so common in Lorain County that eagle enthusiasts have a selection of where to go to see them, from Avon Lake to Lorain to Vermilion and beyond, including the southern part of the county. 

But that wasn't the case back in May 1964, when the above article appeared in the May 5, 1964 Journal. Eagles were still newsworthy, and this article focuses on a nest in Sandusky that apparently had been abandoned after the eaglets that called it home had died.

It's interesting that the article points out that at that point, there were only 487 active nests in the whole country. And I like the puckish placement of a Kentucky Fried Chicken ad right below the eagle article.

****

Eagles have shown up on this blog a few times, and I don't mean the lodge brothers kind.

This 2014 post told the story of the Eagles of Brownhelm and the Great Nest; this one highlighted Avon Lake's history of eagles living in that community.

I reminisced about eagles on this post, telling how my Dad often mentioned seeing the Great Nest as a toddler in the mid-1920s.

Two 2020 posts (this one and this one) were devoted to local nests and eagle sightings.

Hills Mother's Day Ad – 1964

Here's wishing all mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day!

Above is an ad with that theme for the late, great Hills Dept. Store, located on Route 57 in South Lorain, that ran in the Journal back on April 30, 1964. It's a cute ad, with the three generations of mothers depicted. They're fairly stereotypical (the middle-aged mom is greying, the senior citizen mom has completely white hair). I wonder what a similar ad circa 2024 would look like?

Anyway, Hills Dept. Store continues to trigger strong feelings of nostalgic for many local Baby Boomers. There was the interesting drive out to that part of town, whether you took E. 28th Street, E. 36th Street (with its accompanying ditch) or Route 254; the sights across from Hills in Oakwood Park (the train, the 'other' Easter Basket, the Armory); and the Hills store itself with the blinking, chasing lights on its storefront.

Inside there was a big toy department for kids to roam in, and the possibility of Mom buying us a treat (a Frozen Coke, or popcorn) when it was time to leave.

I seem to recall that in the 1960s, we would go there on Saturday afternoon, since that was Mom's designated shopping day. Dad was insulated from these trips, since he was always busy with the lawn or taking care of the cars. Mom would shuttle us all over the place, including to Downtown Lorain, the Nickles Bakery outlet store, Deluca Bakery, etc.

It's funny that I never really liked being dragged along shopping all that much as a kid, but now I look back at it all with fondness.

****

Years after Dad died, when Mom started to slow down a lot, it was my turn to shuttle Mom around town on Saturday afternoon. After lunch (often at Chris' Restaurant, where she would say hi to her favorite waitress), we would go to Dollar General, where she would enjoy chit-chatting with the manager; sometimes, we'd stop at Big Lots, sometimes at Kmart, her favorite store. Our trip always ended with her weekly grocery shopping at Apples on Meister Road, where she would visit with her friend who worked behind the lunchmeat counter. It was cute and nice to see that Mom still had a social life in her 80s and into her 90s.

I treasure the memories of those Saturdays spent with her.

Food Fair Ad – May 6, 1954

It's Friday – the traditional Brady grocery-gathering day when I was growing up – so I'll close out the week here with this full-page Food Fair ad. It ran in the Lorain Journal back on May 6, 1954.

It's been a while since I wrote about Food Fair. The small independent grocery chain once had a strong presence in the county, with stores in Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Lorain, Sheffield Lake, and Vermilion. It's pretty impressive, as they were up against other local giants (like Meyer Goldberg) as well as the national and regional big boys (like A&P, Pick-n-Pay, etc.). But Food Fair had a nice niche as the small, friendly Mom and Pop store.

The Journal ad from May 1954 is kind of offbeat. It's a Spring sale, but the clip art showing the typical, idyllic 1950s outdoor gathering looks a Summer shindig. I guess the apron-wearing head of the household just barbecued a delicious chocolate cake. (Is that a young George H. W. Bush on the left forefront?)

The ad interestingly downplays the brand names of the sale items, which appear in tiny type, while the items themselves (Goose Liver, Peanut Butter, Sweet Pickles, etc.) are in large, bold type. Only a few brands such a Kraft are highlighted.

That approach to selling is right at home in today's world. I think most consumers largely ignore brand names in favor of what is cheapest more than ever on a majority of their purchases. Many major brands don't even bother to advertise anymore. Thus our pantries have brands like Clover Valley™and Great Value. But it's all about just trying to save money for more important purchases.

It doesn't look like the Food Fairs in our area were part of the same-named regional giant that had stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland and Florida. The local stores seemed to disappear in the early 1970s, with longtime owners retiring or selling out, and the remaining stores becoming Eagle Super Markets.

The final version of the logo, circa 1960s-1970s

****

UPDATE (May 12, 2024)

Here's an article from the April 5, 1970 Journal about Gilbert's Food Fair changing hands.

On Area Movie Screens & Vicki Leigh at the Showboat – May 1954

There's plenty to look at on the movie page from the May 1, 1954 Lorain Journal.

Strangely enough, there's no John Wayne feature, or even a Bowery Boys epic for those Lorainites with refined tastes (like me). For Westerns, the one that leaps out at me is The Boy From Oklahoma, starring Will Rogers, Jr. Here's a clip.

What's interesting about this film is that it was the template for the TV series Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins as the mild-mannered cowpoke named Tom Brewster who was studying to be a lawyer. He wasn't your regular cowboy hero; he was shy around women, didn't wear a gun and only drank sarsaparilla (with a dash of cherry). But despite his naive demeanor, he was mighty good with his guns and his fists.

I like Will Hutchins' interpretation of the Tom Brewster character better than the way he was depicted in the movie. (I bought a DVD of the first season of Sugarfoot earlier this year and am really enjoying it.)

Another movie that seems to dominate the page is the musical Rose Marie, with Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Fernando Lamas and Bert (the Cowardly Lion) Lahr. 

Looks like my kind of movie, seeing as I'm such a big fan of Canada, with plenty of good scenery. Bert Lahr as a funny Mountie looks like a riot.

Elsewhere on the page are ads for businesses I've featured on the blog over the years, including Vian's Barbecue and the Charcoal Pit.

I said there was plenty to look at on this page, and one of the main sights is lovely Vicki Leigh, who was appearing at the Showboat. The ad copy notes, "She's beautiful, she's talented, she is 22 years old and she has a figure that puts Venus de Milo to shame.

"She stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, she has blonde hair, blue eyes, with a 38 inch bust, 25 inch waist and the rest of the measurements in keeping to add up to a gal you can't take your eyes off.

"Vicki is starting Monday at the Showboat with Hank Young and the Tunesters. Look for her, she is worth seeing."

Here's Vicki in an ad that ran in the Journal on May 3, 1954. I like the simple, "WOW."

Like many other performers that passed through Lorain during the 1950s, Vicki is difficult to track down today. Vicki was mentioned in the Feb. 3, 1954 edition of Variety, which noted that she and her trio would be appearing at the Seven Seas, Omaha's 'top downtown nightery' on Friday, Feb. 5th.

In the May 13, 1955 copy of the The Globe, which appears to be the official newspaper of Camp Lejeune, N.C., Vicki is featured in an article and photo about her upcoming performance with a new trio.

Vicki continued to show up in newspapers for the next year or so, performing in or near Chester, PA. (which is about a half hour from her native Philadelphia). Show dates included Dec. 1955 (with the Sensations), Feb. 1956 and April 1956. After that she seems to have disappeared.

Here's hoping that Vicki continued to perform and achieve some measure of success and ultimately, happiness. Perhaps someone familiar with her will leave a comment at some future date.

She Baked Over a Million Pies – May 1954

When the internet gradually began replacing newspapers as the main way that many people got their news, cutbacks were the result. Newspapers had to cut costs just to stay in business; having a large pool of reporters to ferret out news would soon be a thing of the past.

We lost a lot when that happened. With a bare bones staff, newspapers can't afford to employ very many reporters to poke around in a community and tell human-interest stories about unsung heroes.

But back in 1954, happily that wasn't the case – and the Lorain Journals of the 1950s were crammed with great profiles of people that deserved to have the spotlight shone on them. Above you see one of those stories, about a woman who, according to the article, "baked over 1,000,000 pies – most of them apple – in the past 40 years.

"She is Mrs. Sally McCutcheon, 2167 Elyria Avenue. Sally has been in partial retirement the past year and celebrated her 75th birthday yesterday.

"Specialist in apple pie at Heilman's Restaurant, Sally recalls baking as many as 201 pies in one day. With help, she turns out 30 every day at the restaurant.

"Sally insists she has baked at least one pie every day since she first learned back in 1911. Born in Franklin County, Va., Sally learned to bake pies in Bluefield, W. Va., from a "lady who let me waste her ingredients."

"She worked for a Columbus restaurant after that and went to Tiffin's Shawn House in 1914. In 1915, she began working for Heilman's Restaurant in Willard. She came to Lorain in 1916 and worked in the National Tube Company cafeteria.

"She returned to the Heilman family in 1922 and has baked pies there every since.

"Figuring an average of 80 pies each day for 40 years, Sally has baked well over 1,000,000 pies.

"After today, Sally, who has no intention of ceasing pie-baking operations, can rest easier. She will receive full social security benefits and be allowed to work full time if she wishes.

""I feel better now than I did 20 years ago," she said. Moving confidently in the restaurant kitchen, Sally attributes her good health to "an herb medicine I found years ago."

"She presently lives with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Nellie Calloway. She had no retirement plans, professing she is going to work, "until I can't work anymore."

"Rolling dough and taking loaded trays out of high ovens presents a small problem to Sally, whose right arm "isn't what it used to be." It doesn't affect her daily quota, however, and she may bake the second million before too long."

****

UPDATE

Regular contributor Don Hilton found this news clipping about Sally that ran in the Sandusky Register on Sept. 19, 1928. 

It tells us a little more about Sally, including her early career, her marriage, and her divorce (which cost her two-bits).