Nickoloff Builders "Heavenly Home" Ad – Sept. 11, 1965

 

Longtime readers of this blog know that I like to post old model homes ads. They're usually interesting because they provide a snapshot of what was important to home buyers at that time in history.

As you can see in the nearly full-page ad above for the well-known Lorain-based Nickoloff Builders, in this case it's the promise of a better lifestyle that's for sale. Remember, this was still a period of postwar prosperity with a lot of veterans working, earning a good wage and with young, growing families.

"'S Wonderful," reads the headline (channeling a bit of Gershwin) to describe two "Heavenly Homes" under construction on French Creek Road, just west of Abbe Road. It's a nice, rural area, close to French Creek Reservation, one of my favorite Lorain County Metro Parks.

The 5182 house still looks great. 

However, there is no 5172 French Creek address, so it's unclear just which home is the one in the ad. It's not the homes on either side of it.

But the rural lifestyle must have been appealing, since my parents almost built on Linda Lane just to the west. I often wonder what it would have been like living out there. But my parents weren't crazy about having a septic tank, and there was some confusion as to what school system we would have been part of. So they built on Skyline Drive in Lorain instead – and I'm so glad. It was a great house, perfect for our family (and even better for my parents when they became empty nesters). We had wonderful neighbors on both sides and my siblings and I were able to walk to school. 

I still dream about our house on Skyline Drive and probably always will.