Thanksgiving in Lorain – 1965

At Thanksgiving time in 1965, the Vietnam War was worsening with 240 Americans killed in one week, as noted in the lead story on the front page of the holiday edition of the Journal on November 25, 1965 (shown below).

As in the past, preparations for the Mary Lee Tucker Christmas Benefit Show were announced. The emcee for the benefit was revealed to be Don Webster, host of the Big Five Show on WEWS Channel 5 in Cleveland. Acts scheduled to perform included Dave C. and the Sharptones, teen-age singing idol Bruce Scott, and Coral Recording vocalist Bobbi Martin.

The Journal Page of Opinion was rich in Thanksgiving sentiment. The editorial provided a history of the holiday and encouraged Americans to display the flag as part of the observance. A column by Ralph McGill retold the story of the arrival of the Pilgrims and their first, terrible year.

The "Other Years" feature noted that ten years earlier on November 25, 1955, the longtime bottleneck in Vermilion (caused by US 6 zigzagging its way through town) was finally eliminated (which I wrote about here).

The traditional full-page holiday ad with a list of sponsors was on page 17, providing us with a roll call of local businesses. (As usual, only public utilities and successor banks are still around from the list today.)

Not a lot of choices to eat out in 1965. I saw only two ads: Amber Oaks and 333 Bar.

As for the preparation of a Thanksgiving feast at home, local shoppers had a wide variety of stores at which to select their turkey (or ham). 

And where did Mom get her birds? I've mentioned before that she used to fix a duck and a capon rather than a turkey. I'm guessing they were from A&P at the Lorain Plaza, as I distinctly remember her shopping there when I was a wee lad in the 1960s. Why do I remember? One of the A&P cashiers used to pinch my cheeks!

Speaking of A&P, it's amusing that the two-page spread contained not just the names of the A&P Bonus Bingo winners, but also their photos – and addresses! Unheard of today, that's for sure.