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.