Thomas A. Edison Birthplace To Be National Landmark – Jan. 14, 1965

Sixty years ago today, the birthplace of Thomas Alva Edison in Milan was declared eligible for National Historic Landmark status by the U. S. Secretary of the Interior. Below is the article making the announcement that ran in the Journal on January 14, 1965.

I would have thought that since the small brick home of the inventor had been a tourist attraction (and subject of picture post cards) for decades, that it had already had such a designation. But that's not the case.

Postmark 1908

Postmarked 1943

1950s

1966

1970s

It did receive approval of its official historic landmark designation fairly quickly.

January 18, 1965 Lorain Journal

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You might be wondering (like me) about those postcards that show Edison's home with a large, unsightly roof overhang. Apparently it was added some time between the early 1900s and the 1940s. So when was it removed? When the house was restored by the Edison family to its original appearance at the time of Edison's birth, just in time for the 100th anniversary in Feb. 1947.

This article from the Feb. 11, 1946 Lorain Journal explains.

Meyer Goldberg Promotion: Win a Mercury Comet – January 1965

If you grew up or lived in Lorain in the 1960s or 70s, then you probably spent some, or perhaps most, of your grocery dollars at one of the Meyer Goldberg stores. 

Living on the west side, we shopped at the store on Oberlin Avenue. It looked very different architecturally from the typical national chains (such as A&P), which tended to occupy space in the huge shopping centers being built at that time.

But it didn't start out as a Meyer Goldberg location. It was originally built to be Jay's Sparkle Market, operated by pioneer grocer Jay Jursinski. Here's the full-page ad that ran in the Journal on May 2, 1962.

But by January 1964, the store had become the third outlet in the Meyer Goldberg chain. It was announced very quietly in this ad, which ran on January 1, 1964.

A year later in January 1965, Meyer Goldberg celebrated the one-year anniversary of his new store on Oberlin Avenue with a very creative promotion: the opportunity to win a 1965 Mercury Comet, "built in Lorain by Lorain people."

Here's the promotional spread that ran in the Journal on January 12, 1965.

A few days later this article provided some of the details of the remodeling of the Oberlin Avenue store, as well as shining the light on some of the personnel working behinds the scene, including stockholder Jay Jursinski.

So who won the Comet? I knew you were going to wonder, so here is the announcement of the winner, which ran as part of a store ad on February 24, 1965.

A Tale of a Dog at Vermilion Lagoons – Jan. 13, 1955

Are there any dog lovers out there? 

If so, then this front-page story from the January 13, 1955 Lorain Journal might be of interest. It's about a dog named Pepper, living at the Vermilion Lagoons and owned by Mr. Samuel George.

The focus of the article is that Pepper might have been on his way to setting some sort of record for longevity as he was about 22 years old – equivalent to age 161 in a human.

The whole concept of aging in dogs and comparing it to humans is an inexact science at best, since so many factors are involved. And some smaller breeds are known to exceed the average dog lifespan of 10 to 13 years.

Nevertheless, the story of Pepper is a cute one. Like many other locals, she came to Lorain from McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Her owner noted that she had never been to a vet or been seriously ill and simply 'runs and jumps and enjoys life.'

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We never had a dog when I was growing up, although my siblings and I wanted one. I think Mom (who had a dog herself when she was a kid on Sixth Street in Lorain) said it would be too much work. So I ended up with a fish, and then a hamster. The first real pet came much later, when my older brother brought home a kitten from the steel mill in his lunch box. Although we didn't know it at the time, that cat would be my parents' beloved pet for about the next 20 years.

Lorain Journal Front Page – 100 Years Ago Today

One hundred years ago today, this was the front page of the January 10, 1925 Lorain Journal.

Of course, the headline is of great interest: "Amherst Has Booze Ring, Says Rum Runner." It seems that a bootlegger named Dave Brennin of Amherst "squealed" on George Bailey (another Amherst man) and fingered him as being the supplier of his liquor. Surprisingly (to me at least), Bailey was immediately arrested simply on Brennin's information.

It's kind of funny that George Bailey is the name of James Stewart's character in It's A Wonderful Life.

Illegal booze (it was Prohibition times, after all) also figured prominently in the article directly below the Amherst story.

Also of interest to me is the story about the "Hazard On Lake Road To Go." It notes, "Elimination of the grade crossing on Lake Road, between Lorain and Vermilion, of both the Lake Shore Electric and Nickel Plate Railroads, is included in the 1926 program of the state highway department for Lorain County, it was announced in Columbus today.

I wrote about this dangerous crossing (with photos) back here (in 2010) and here (in 2020).

Alas, the bridge over the railroad tracks would not be completed until September 1938.

August 31, 1938

Sept. 17, 1938

As I've noted before, that overpass is literally outside the window of my condo. Of course the bridge there now is the one that replaced the 1938 one. I remember the old bridge, because it was more ornate than the present, boring one.

Also on that 1925 front page: a story about an unfortunate racial attack; a report about the booming business at the Post Office; and the addition of William E. Ashbolt as a reporter covering news in the state legislature.

Travelodge's Sleepy Bear: Hibernating?

One of the most visited posts of this blog is one I did on Travelodge's Sleepy Bear mascot back in 2013. The post featured a lot of vintage Sleepy Bear promotional items, and tracked his evolution over the decades through his use on postcards, brochures, matchbooks and other marketing pieces.

Google "Travelodge Sleepy Bear" and you'll see that my 2013 post about the beloved bruin shows up first – thus demonstrating that a lot of people remember him and are wondering what he's up to these days.

The answer: not much. And for fans of the original bear, that's rather, uh, unbearable.

After a series of redesigns, by 2012 Sleepy had evolved into a largely unappealing character. Sleepy had lost his nightshirt and cap, and wasn't sleepy any more; he was tall and dopey-looking, wore a Travelodge vest and was now an adventure guide. His transition from cute, sleep-walking cub to his present grisly grizzly appearance was documented on the Travelodge website at that time.

Today, Sleepy is nowhere to be found on the Travelodge by Wyndham website. The Travelodge Wiki entry notes, "The Sleepy Bear mascot has largely been retired, but can be seen on some older Travelodge signs and is still used on some advertising."

Sleepy Bear does still appear on the Travelodge Facebook page, but all of the photos are from 2012. There is a short video from last year that seems to be a half-hearted attempt to keep him 'working.' Here's a screen grab showing how he looks these days.

That's a long way from this (below).

If Wyndham was smart, they would return to the original, charming Sleepy Bear design. Give him a website and/or presence on TikTok, YouTube etc. and give the youngest kiddies a stuffed Sleepy Bear doll when they stay at a Travelodge. There's still a lot of life left in that bear even if he is sleepy.

The Ice Rink in the Attic

While cleaning out my mother's house to sell it a few years ago, I found all sorts of things in the attic.

Anything valuable had been removed years earlier. But there was still a lot of interesting junk up there: old records, aluminum garbage cans, some of my Dad's old college books, an old bait box, a bucket, some milk crates, some 'Fool's Gold' (a souvenir of our 1965 South Dakota trip) a First Federal Savings of Lorain frisbee, and a few baseball bats.

And a backyard ice skating rink. 

The box was very old and falling apart, and the lid (above) split into a few pieces when I opened it. It contained a huge piece of plastic and a roll of corrugated aluminum – all unused.

How old was that thing? 

I looked for an old newspaper ad that might have given my parents the idea of having a backyard rink. There was only one year – 1957 – when a few ads ran.

Here's one that ran in the Lorain Journal on December 19, 1957. 

A backyard ice rink for my sister (an only child at the time) probably seemed like a fun thing to do. So what happened to throw cold water on the whole idea?

I'm not sure but I think my parents just forgot about it. Between three boys being born in short order, and two moves to new houses – all in winter months over the span of only a few years – I'm guessing they were just too busy. 

The ice rink ended up in the attic during the last move, remaining there for more than 50 years. 

I think this sort of thing happens a lot. A few similar ice rinks have turned up on eBay – unused, like ours. 

So maybe other families thought it sounded good as well, but for a variety of reasons ended up putting the idea on ice.

I did finally learn to ice skate at Ohio State, where I took it as a physical education requirement (where you either passed or failed). I passed, but was no Hans Brinker. And aside from one visit to Winterhurst in Lakewood in the 1990s, I haven't hit the ice since.

First Baby of 1975

The Journal continued its "First Baby of the New Year" contest right into the 1970s, which is pretty impressive if you think about it, with all of the cultural changes taking place. The prizes supplied by local merchants that were awarded to the proud parents, however, continued to shrink.

But it didn't take too long to announce the winner. Christen Ann Stauder, daughter of Richard and Daisy Stauder, was the first baby born in 1975 in the Golden Crescent. Here's the cute photo and accompanying article that ran on the front page of the Journal on January 2, 1975.

The article also includes the names of the 'First Babies' born at Elyria Memorial, Willard Hospital (in Huron County), Good Samaritan Hospital (Sandusky) and Memorial Hospital (also in Sandusky).

Much like the merger of Lorain's St. Joseph Hospital and Lorain Community Hospital, Sandusky's two hospitals merged to form Firelands Community Hospital (known today as Firelands Regional Medical Center).

So what about the goodies? Here's the ad with the prizes that ran in the Journal on January 4, 1975.

Although Gaylord's and National Pharmacy are long gone, it's good to see that Drug Mart (with only one local store in 1975) is still with us and doing well. The Vermilion Drug Mart outlet is my favorite store (and is about two or three minutes from my condo).

Januzzi's is still around as well, and right across Route 58 (Leavitt Road) from Drug Mart. It's focus now, however, is on "expert shoe fitting for people who have special needs due to feet that are hard-to-fit or for those who suffer from foot ailments or conditions that can not be satisfied by shopping at typical stores or online."

Yala's Pizza Grand Opening – Jan. 1957

Whenever one of my out-of-state siblings visits me here in Vermilion, there's always one thing they'd like to experience during their visit: a Yala's Pizza.

Yeah, I know. It's now called Fran's Pizza. But despite the name change, it pretty much tastes the same as it always did to my siblings and me. We should know – we had it every Friday for years during the 1970s.

Anyway, it's fun to look back at the early days of the pizzeria and how it was advertised.

Above you see what is probably one of the very first ads for Yala's that ran in the Lorain Journal. It appeared on December 29, 1956. Note that it mentions, "Watch for Our Grand Opening."

Then, in January this tiny teaser ad (about an inch or two wide) ran several times.

Finally, the 'Grand Opening' ad ran on January 23, 1957.

A week later, this ad ran on January 30, 1957. It's interesting because it lists the names of the people behind the pizza: Mrs. Yala Armelie and Marian Fuervando.

Then about a week later on Feb. 6, 1957, this ad ran – adding the name of Jay Telloni to the list of 'food experts.'

And as a reminder that Yala's served more than just pizza, this ad ran on Feb. 22, 1957.

One aspect of early Yala's advertising that has always interested me is the mention in its ads of "wonder dough." It's front and center in this ad from March 28, 1957.

Promoting 'Wonder Dough" must have worked, as it was still being mentioned in ads two years later. Here's an ad that ran in the Journal on July 18, 1959.

It's interesting that the ad boasts "Lorain's Most Popular Pizza – 1954-1959." There really weren't too many pizza places in Lorain in 1954. A look at online Journals from that year reveals that with the exception of Lusca's and Capy's, pizza was mainly a novelty item offered at established restaurants like Vian's Barbecue and the Showboat.

Anyway, one factor that contributed to Yala's early success was its regular ads in the Journal. They were often very small, like the trio of ads below that ran in the fall of 1960, but they seemed to run almost every day.

Sept. 27, 1960

Nov. 1, 1960

Nov. 24, 1960

At some point around early 1961, however, Yala's must have determined that it was popular enough that it didn't need to run so many ads. Its sponsorship of various sports teams kept its name in the paper regularly. Here's one of the last ads for the pizzeria that I could find from the 1960s.

First Baby of 1965

Ten years after the events of yesterday's posts, the Journal (it had dropped the 'Lorain' in its name by then) promoted the First Baby of 1965 Contest with this front page article.

As you can see, the rules had been adjusted since the 1955 contest. "To qualify for the prizes, 1965's First Miss or Master must be born in St. Joseph Hospital, with the time of birth certified by the attending physician," it noted. "Parents must be residents of Lorain County."

(So much for having a baby at Lorain Community Hospital, which had opened in 1964. And if the expecting parents lived in the Erie County portion of Vermilion, I guess they'd be out of luck.)

There were some pretty creative prizes mentioned in the article, including a ride home for the infant in a 1965 Thunderbird, and an oil portrait.

Unlike the 1955 announcement, the revealing of the First Baby of 1965 didn't make the paper until January 2nd. As the front page article below notes, "Baby Boy Potts 'shocked and surprised' his parents, Virginia and Robert Potts, when he became Lorain's First Baby of 1965. "He wasn't due until the 19th," Mrs. Pott explained."

It's kind of nice that the first name of the mother of the First Baby was actually reported this time. 

And here are the goodies awarded to Baby Boy Potts. Only one page of freebies this time!

According to the ad copy at the top of the page, babies born in Lorain Community Hospital weren't snubbed after all, which is good. But what happened to the oil portrait mentioned in the article? Looks like it was actually an 8 x 10 color photograph by Michaels Studio – still a nice gift.