March 20, 1965 – First Day of Spring Sampler

Well, Spring is finally here. In a few weeks we'll see if March truly goes out like a lamb.

Apparently it didn't seem to be going in that direction sixty years ago. Above is an editorial cartoon that ran in the Journal back on March 20, 1965 by the great cartoonist Vaughn Shoemaker. That's a terrific drawing of a lion, representing March.

Let's look at some other items found in that same edition of the Journal. Elsewhere on that page was a pretty good pair of editorials – one about the confusion caused by Daylight Saving Time, and the other one a charming homage to Spring.

Also on that same page was the daily dose of Dennis the Menace. 

I like him as he is here, young and saying outrageous things to adults (love the pained look on the old lady's face). But in later years, Dennis was drawn to be older and taller, like on the later Little Rascals when Spanky and Alfalfa weren't cute anymore, and were literally growing out of their clothes.

That same edition of the Journal also included a very early The Passing Scene, appropriately welcoming Spring in one of the panels.

Also on the cartoon circuit of the paper were two visits by our old buddy, Reddy Kilowatt. 

Reddy was still in his heyday in the mid-1960s, not yet rejected by hippie-types who preferred 'flower power' to the kind he promoted.

Another local utility with an ad in the March 20, 1965 paper was the Elyria Telephone Company. But its ad doesn't feature the anthropomorphic phone mascot. Instead, we get an elegantly dressed woman yakking on her phone in her fancy bedroom. Sadly, the days of a land line on a nightstand are over. Now we get to wonder where we left our cell phone, and if we remembered to charge it overnight. 

Elsewhere in the Journal was this ad for the well-remembered Steve's Shoe Repair on Oberlin Avenue, just a little down from Yala's Pizza. 

It was always interesting going into Steve's to drop something off or pick something up. The store reminded me of the one in the old fairy tale about the Shoemaker and the Elves, with every kind and size of shoe piled up in rows, waiting to be repaired. Some of them looked like they had been there for years.

If you were in the mood for dancing, there were several options to be found in ads in that Journal. For adults, my old trumpet teacher Alex Visci and the rest of the musicians that made up his Quartet were appearing at Lincoln Park. 

For the teens, there was an upcoming dance at The Hut at 3709 West Erie. Lee Abel's Red Ryders were the featured band.

Lee Abel and Walter Rothgary were leasing the restaurant at that address as "The Hut," as well as the Lorain Arena behind it for dancing.

The movie screens were also catering to the teens. The Lorain Drive-in was about to reopen for the season, with a triple feature of popular Beach Party flicks.

The Palace had the T.A.M.I. Show – Teenage Awards Music International – with "the Excitement, Entertainment and Music of Teenage America."

I see one of my favorites on the bill: Gerry and the Pacemakers. While I was at Ohio State, 610 WTVN played "Ferry Cross the Mersey" a lot on their "Million Dollar Weekend" radio program. The tune came to be a real reminder of my college days.