Givner's School Jackets Ad - Sept. 16, 1976

Remember the classic high school jackets?

If you grew up in the 1960s and 70s, these wool jackets were pretty important items in a high school student's wardrobe. In a town like Lorain with three public high schools (plus one Catholic high school), these jackets helped define who you were. They were part of your identity.

If you saw a crowd of kids gathered at a public place like McDonald's or Burger King, the school name on their jackets immediately let you know if you were in enemy territory or not. It was one way of communicating whose hangout it was.

Nowadays, Lorain has just one high school. So I'm not sure if the jackets serve the same function – or if they are even manufactured and sold at all.

But back when my siblings and I were students at Admiral King, we all had the school jackets with 'Admiral King' on the back. They were our fall and winter coats. And if I remember correctly, my parents bought them at Givner's in Downtown Lorain. Here's an ad that ran in the Journal on September 16, 1976.

I had forgotten all about Givner's. 

A short history of the firm in the June 21, 1955 Anniversary edition of the Journal noted that at that time, it was called Givner's Tuxedo Rentals and was located at 1706 Broadway. "Founded 38 years ago by Joseph Givner," it said, "the store is operated by Givner's son-in-law Marvin H. Lieberman, a World War II veteran, who served with the U. S. Navy and is a past commander of the Lorain County Jewish War Veterans, Post 222.

"The founder still owns this store and another one at 962 Broadway."

Over the decades the two stores apparently merged into the one at Tenth & Broadway shown in the 1976 ad that offered luggage, jewelry and some apparel.

Here's a photo of my younger brother and me wearing our jackets during the bad winter of 1976-1977. As you can see, we're standing in front of one of the many Brady Cutlasses.

Of course, after I went away to Ohio State, my Admiral King jacket went into the closet for good. I came home that fall of my freshman year wearing so much Ohio State gear (a red school jacket and a baseball cap) that my best high school friend (who was still residing in Lorain) teased that I looked like Woody Hayes.

But what about my Admiral King jacket?

Looking for it in the closet during one of my visits home, I discovered that Mom had gotten rid of it! When I asked her why, she replied that "You weren't going to wear it again, anyways."

I was somewhat upset. 

I guess I was unhappy because it really drove home the point that my high school days were over, and gone forever.