The Passing Scene – Nov. 12, 1966

I haven't posted any of Gene Patrick's "The Passing Scene" comics for a while, so here's the strip for November 12, 1966 – as it appeared in the Journal, sixty years ago today.

As you can see, it included a few controversies. 

Lorain's Fire Chief Dale Sheridan had proposed purchasing a new Rescue Squad ambulance built by the Cadillac Division of General Motors – but was quickly slapped down by City Council, who reminded him that Ford Motor Company had a large assembly plant in Lorain. (Never minds that Ford did not manufacture a chassis specifically for ambulances, according to the article below from the front page of the November 8, 1966 Journal.

That front page also includes another story found in "The Passing Scene" strip: the proposed Lake Erie Causeway. 

I had never heard of this proposal (unlike the bridge to Canada) so it was news to me. It would have been a lake-level scenic causeway that started just west of Oberlin Avenue, carrying Routes 6&2 out into the lake beyond the entrance to the harbor, and then looping back to shore at Colorado Avenue.

It's kind of a kooky idea because causeways normally are built to reach something (like Cedar Point). 

Another controversy in the cartoon was the fact that Sheffield Lake had been left off of the front of the listing of cities on the cover of the new Lorain Telephone book. 

Nov. 8, 1966

I could swear that in later editions, Sheffield Lake was always on the front cover, despite the explanation as to why it was not on the 1966 book cover. But Gene's comic puts a happy face on it.

The panel with the Lorain Eagles dart game player was a little confusing to me until I read the actual story from the Nov. 5, 1966 Journal. The guy bending over in the comic is signaling, like a baseball umpire, that there are two strikes – which doesn't please the dart ball player at all.

Nov, 5, 1966