Thursday, July 31, 2025

Artist Paul Henschke in the News 1961 - 1978

Local artist Paul Henschke, touching up 
Lorain's Civil War Soldier in Washington Park, 1960
One of the memories that my siblings and I share from the 1960s is the summer that we took art classes on Saturday morning with local artist Paul Henschke

I've written about this a few times. At the beginning of the course we met in a classroom at the old St. Mary's High School to work on our drawing. Then we shifted to outdoor sketching at different park locations, including Century Park, Lakeview Park and Washington Park. Mr. Henschke would circulate around the class, checking our progress and offering suggestions. I remember that it was difficult to understand him with his thick German accent.
I still suspect that sending us to the classes was Mom's idea, part of her plan to keep us from being glued to the TV set on Saturday morning, watching cartoons.
Anyway, Mr. Henschke enjoyed a fine career as an artist, and as an instructor for the Lorain Parks Department. He must have had a good agent, because he seemed to be in the Journal with some regularity, in photos showing him instructing students in Lorain or Elyria, or donating paintings. He also wrote the occasional Letter to the Editor, advocating better support of the arts on a local level and promoting park access for children.
Here is a selection of articles featuring Mr. Henschke beginning with the earliest I could find. All are from the Journal unless noted.
August 2, 1961
March 12, 1962
May 25, 1962
May 30, 1963
(Mr. Henschke later crafted a whole new head for the statue in 1965.)
June 21, 1963
Oct. 5, 1963 (Chronicle Telegram)
April 2, 1964
May 29, 1965 (Chronicle-Telegram)
July 31, 1965
March 31, 1966
April 30, 1966
July 22, 1966
August 4, 1966
April 12, 1967
June 26, 1968
October 1, 1968 (That's my younger brother in the middle)
Nov. 7, 1969
Sept. 22, 1970
This 1970 article is my favorite. It includes Mr. Henschke's philosophy of how to stay young, and is a nice look back at his life and career.

October 4, 1970
July 13, 1978


Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Lorain Country Club in the News – Part 3

April 4, 1943
By the spring of 1943, the option of playing golf at the Lorain Country Club was no longer being advertised in the Lorain Journal. The City of Lorain was still mulling over the possibility of purchasing the golf course. The Lorain Country Club clubhouse, however, was still a popular nightclub, with regular ads in the paper.

In May, the Lorain City Council was not only tabling plans to buy the golf course, but – surprisingly – the Broadway Building as well, as noted in this article from May 4, 1943.

May 4, 1943
The Lorain Chamber of Commerce decided to get involved, forming a committee to study the possibility of the city making the purchase.

May 14, 1943
But – a year later – the city finally decided against buying the Lorain Country Club golf course and converting it to a municipal golf course and park. The article below from the June 20, 1944 Lorain Journal notes the various reasons why the proposal was rejected, mainly because of the expense of maintaining it, and the fact that there were already parks in Lorain that needed improvement.
Meanwhile, the clubhouse continued to host dance bands and offer fine dining and catering to its customers.
Feb. 3, 1945
But with the closing of the Lorain Country Club golf course, Lorain golfers needed a new local golf venue. So the Lorain Chamber of Commerce got involved again.
July 8, 1946
The Chamber determined the level of local interest in a new course, and ended up taking an option on land on Kolbe Road, bordering Jaeger and Oak Point Roads.
Feb. 5, 1947
Feb. 20, 1947
Meanwhile, the Lorain Country Club nightclub was still doing big business in 1950 – and the City of Lorain was still talking about buying the long-closed golf course.
March 8, 1950
Sept. 6, 1950
Sept. 8, 1950
Sept. 22, 1951
The proposed new golf course for Lorain championed by the Chamber of Commerce was still being talked about. The small item below appeared in the Lorain Journal on July 13, 1951. It noted that former Lorain Country Club operator and professional golfer "Curly" DeBracy had sold his tavern in Amherst so that he could purchase the acreage bordering Kolbe, Jaeger and Oak Point Roads.
"Curly" DeBracy followed through with his plan, as seen in this article from April 22, 1953.
Strangely, small items about the Lorain County Clubhouse appeared in the Lorain Journal sports pages as filler during 1954.
May 20, 1954
July 14, 1954
As for the former Lorain Country Club golf course property, the photo below revealed that it was to be the location of a new allotment.
May 21, 1954
Sadly, in early December 1954, the story of the Lorain Country Club drew to a close with the fire that destroyed the clubhouse.
And "Curly" DeBracy's golf course would undergo an ownership change and emerge with a new name: Oak Hills Country Club.
Dec. 7, 1954
By the spring of 1955, the Sherwood Allotment was celebrating its Grand Opening – and the new Oak Hills Country Club would hold one of its own around July.
May 7, 1955
June 9, 1955
June 25, 1955
The 125th Anniversary of Lorain special edition of the Lorain Journal included a nice, comprehensive history of the Lorain Country Club. The article even mentions Curly DeBracy and Oak Hills Country Club (today's FoxCreek Golf & Racquet Club) as well.
Fittingly, the Lorain Country Club golf course lives on in memory. Its name continued to be attached via advertising to various housing sites on the West Side of Lorain, which was growing rapidly in the early 1960s.
June 20, 1960
April 29, 1961

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Lorain Country Club in the News – Part 2

Vintage aerial view of the Lorain Country Club clubhouse.
That's Lake Erie in the lower left hand corner of the photo. A two-car
Lake Shore Electric train is heading west down Lake Road towards the railroad undercut.
(Photo courtesy of Dennis Lamont)

During the 1930s, the Lorain Country Club continued to be the subject of articles in both Lorain daily newspapers on the sports pages as well as the social pages. Sometimes it even figured prominently in a crime story. Below is the story from the Lorain Journal of Feb. 2, 1931 of how the Lorain police made an arrest by using the Country Club in a stakeout.

Most of the time, however, the Lorain Country Club was just mentioned on the sports pages.

Lorain Journal, April 29, 1931
Lorain Journal, August 12, 1931
The Women's golf teams were particularly good in 1931.
Lorain Journal, August 15, 1931
Lorain Journal, August 29, 1931
Unfortunately, the Lorain Country Club seemed to have bad luck.
Lorain Journal, May 31, 1932
The opening of the course each year always seemed to rate coverage in the newspapers.
Lorain Journal, April 15, 1933
Lorain Journal, April 9, 1934
Lorain Journal, April 21, 1934
Even when the season was over, the Country Club still made the sports pages.
Lorain Journal, October 17, 1936
But as the latter part of the 1930s unfolded, the Lorain Country Club golf course was suddenly offered to the City of Lorain for purchase.
Lorain Journal, Sept. 21, 1938 
Lorain Journal, Nov. 21, 1938
But the Country Club clubhouse was not part of the sales proposal. And while the city pondered the offer, the course remained open.
Lorain Journal, August 15, 1939
It seemed to be a time to look back at the Country Club's history.
Lorain Journal, July 26, 1939
Nevertheless, golf was still being played there and the clubhouse remained a popular gathering place.
Lorain Journal, August 17, 1940
Lorain Journal, Sept. 14, 1940
Lorain Journal, Oct. 19, 1940
Lorain Journal, Nov. 30, 1940
Lorain Journal, April 17, 1941
April 27, 1942
Even as the City was still trying to decide in 1942 whether to buy the Lorain Country Club golf course, another issue arose to complicated matters: the extension of W. 21st Street. The road was to be extended west from its ending at that time at Leavitt Road to meet up with Lake Road at the undercut. The article below from the Lorain Journal of Sept. 17, 1942, explains how the new road "slices off the extreme north edge of the golf course, necessitating the re-location of some of the greens."
Sept. 17, 1942
The Mayor of Lorain backed the proposal to buy the golf course.
Dec. 7, 1942
But it was not to be.

Next: The wrap-up