Early Vermilion Article – May 14, 1965

Back in the 1950s and 60s, a lot of change was taking place in Lorain County and the surrounding area. Farms were giving way to new housing subdivisions, old houses and other buildings were being torn down to make room for commercial development and sadly, old timers with links to the previous century were passing away.

But not all of them. Fortunately, some of these crusty senior citizens were sharing their memories and recollections in creative ways, such as speaking to civic groups.

And here's one of them: Robert Parsons, who was a lifelong resident of Vermilion and a captain on the Great Lakes. He spoke to the Rotary Club of Vermilion back in May 1965 on a favorite topic – old Vermilion.

This article from the May 14, 1965 Journal tells the tale. It's a pretty good story of Vermilion's fishing industry circa 1910, as well as wooden sidewalks, kerosene street lamps, saloons, blacksmiths and milk that came from the Baumhart farm west of town.

****

After finishing this post, I attempted to try and research Mr. Parsons – only to discover that I'd already posted this article a few years back! I guess if you do a blog long enough (16 years), you're bound to have a re-run. 

Sorry about that, Chief.