Happy Birthday, Lorain – Part 6

Here’s the Grand Finale of that April 5, 1924 50th Anniversary edition of the Lorain Journal that I’ve been posting on this blog.

There are several articles to recommend.

At the top of the page is a well-written editorial by David Gibson that takes a look at what Lorain had accomplished in a mere fifty years of existence. It’s pretty impressive, thanks not only to the many industries that called Lorain home at that time, but to the city's civic-minded citizens.

Photo of Lampman House, courtesy of
Lorain Historical Society

Elsewhere on the page is a capsule history of the Thew Shovel Company; a tribute to George Wickens, Sr. and his many contributions to they city he loved; a photo of one of the city’s first hotels, Lampman House, operated by M. Z. Lampman; a funny story about Mrs. Angeline Brooker of 10th Street and her reminisces about her childhood; a story about the oldest store in Lorain at that time, Weigand’s Shoe Store; and the charming poem below by John Milburn Harding about Lorain’s Erie Avenue.

****

ERIE AVENUE

On East Erie avenue
Folks, as people elsewhere do,
Live in homes where vines and trees
Whisper with each gentle breeze
Here the flowers and grassy lawns
Glisten when the morning dawns,
Decked in dewy diamonds; here
Wafts Lake Erie’s atmosphere;
Here the songs of many birds
Reach the ear in Nature’s words;
And from almost everywhere.
Rolling by on compressed air,
Tourists pennants flaunt in view,
On East Erie avenue

I, in more nomadic days,
Lived by many public ways;
Dwelt at beach and camped near stream;
Watched the stars and moonlit gleam
Over solitudes; I’ve been
In the cities’ moils, where men,
By the thousands, night and day,
Wore their little lives away;
Laughed on deck, to later pray
In my berth storms to allay;
But nowhere have I e’er found
Landscape, water, air or sound
Better far to hear or view
Than on Erie avenue

– John Milburn Harding

George Wickens Home to be Auctioned Off

It’s kind of sad that the Walter A. Frey Funeral Home on W. Erie next to Lorain City Hall will be going up for auction in early November, as reported in the Morning Journal by Richard Payerchin (here).

Why? Because it’s one of those landmarks in Lorain that we’ve all gotten used to seeing, year after year, for decades. It’s somehow comforting seeing it there.

A 1945 Phone Book Ad

At least the business will continue, and soon celebrate its 75th annniversary. (Here is the link to the company website.)

Longtime readers of this blog know that the Walter A. Frey Funeral Home building is special for another reason as well; it was the home of Lorain Mayor George Wickens, a gentleman who made beautifying Lorain a priority.

His home was even featured on a postcard (which I wrote about here, featuring a Then & Now comparison).

It will be interesting to see what happens to the house after it changes ownership.

I would hope that the historic structure would play a role in a Downtown Lorain that is trying to make a comeback. It’d be ideal for a restaurant or B&B.

I have the perfect name for it too: Wickens’ Place.

“Civic Beauty” Home – Then & Now

I saw the above postcard recently on Ebay, identified as one in a series of 20 promotional postcards produced by the Lorain Times Herald.

The back of the postcard had the instructions as to how to acquire the whole set of 20 cards. It read, “A Post Card Coupon cut from the Times-Herald gets you one card; 18 coupons get you the entire series. No charge.”

The typeset caption of the postcard – “South View, a “Civic Beauty” Home – made me think that the house was somewhere out in South Lorain, and I groaned at the thought of driving around looking for it. But then I peered closely at the handwritten caption in the photo and recognized part of a name, “Wick.”

Then I knew exactly whose house it was and where it’s located (below).

Former Lorain Mayor and Councilman George Wickens lived there. It’s appropriate that his house was featured on a postcard, as he was one of the city’s champions when it came to promoting civic beauty.

You can find a sampler of my posts about George Wickens by clicking here.

But it’s kind of sad, and a little ironic, that this “civic beauty home” (now the home of Walter A. Frey Funeral Home) now sits on a four lane federal highway, wedged uncomfortably between Lorain’s monstrous City Hall and Muzik’s Auto Care.

Walter A. Frey Funeral Home Open House - June 15, 1958

I've written about Walter A. Frey Funeral Home a few times.

Back here, I did a "then and now" feature on the building using a photo from a 1945 ad, and back here, I mentioned the home as being the former home of Lorain Mayor George Wickens.

Above is an ad that ran in the Lorain Journal announcing an Open House of the newly redecorated building on June 15, 1958 – 56 years ago yesterday.

Every guest that took the tour of the new building received a free gift. I wonder what it was?

Anyway, it's great to see two of Lorain's oldest businesses – Walter A. Frey Funeral Home and Muzik Brothers side by side on U. S. 6 next to Lorain City Hall.

George Wickens Wrap-up

Although I concluded my series on George Wickens last month, I now realize I have a few more things mention – thanks to some great comments that were posted at the time, as well as some other loose ends that I had left hanging.

George Wickens' Home
One anonymous (but well-informed) commenter believed that the Walter A. Frey Funeral Home at 700 West Erie Avenue was the former home of George Wickens. The commenter was quite correct and I thank him (or her) for pointing it out.

At the time of Wickens' death, he was living at 142 West Erie, which was right next door to his undertaking business located in the Parkside Chapel at 140 West Erie. As Drew Penfield pointed out in his comment, Lorain's streets and house numbering system all changed in the early 1900s – with the result that the Parkside Chapel ended up with the address of 600 West Erie. To the east was City Hall at 500 West Erie, and right next door to the west was 700 West Erie, current home of Walter A. Frey Funeral Home.

An article in the Lorain Journal from August 15, 1968 about George Wickens' contribution towards the acquiring of the Civil War soldiers statue and fountain mentions that it was located "in the park across from his home" and that he "lived in the home which is presently the Walter A. Frey Funeral Home next to City Hall."

I haven't confirmed it with any research, but it also appears (thanks to a recent commenter's observation) that George Wickens' daughter Elizabeth lived in the house for a number of years until the early 1920s.

****

Wickens Place

I was unsuccessful in my attempt to locate some sort of newspaper article about the dedication of this short road in honor of George Wickens. I scoured the newspapers on microfilm for almost a year immediately following his death in March 1908, hoping to see some front-page mention of the naming of the street in his honor but it was not to be – for now, anyway.

I can say with certainty that in May 1908, Lorain introduced its new street renaming plan, which included specific instructions for how it would be implemented. One part of the plan called for "Short and blind streets running north and south to be named Places."

Although the library is missing quite a few city directories between 1900 and 1920, the 1912 edition did indeed  include Wickens Place. Thus that street has been named for George Wickens for at least one hundred years, and it was wise not to rename it last year.

****

Wickens, Herzer, Panza, Cook & Batista Co.

The law firm's Avon offices

Although the Wickens funeral and furniture businesses in Lorain are long gone, today the Wickens name lives on locally via the law firm of Wickens, Herzer, Panza, Cook & Batista Co. with its offices in Avon and Sandusky.

As the law firm's website points out, its roots are traced to the law firm founded in 1932 by William G. Wickens, grandson of George Wickens. William G. Wickens wrote an excellent history of Lorain – Early Days of Lorain – in 1927 that was published in the Lorain Journal in 1981. Its sequel – Birth of a City – appeared in the newspaper in 1985. Both articles are fantastic historical resources and are conveniently available online (for free!) in PDF format on the law firm's website here.

George Wickens and the Civil War Soldiers Monument

I first became interested in George Wickens when my research revealed that he was the original driving force behind Lorain's long-gone Civil War soldiers monument and fountain (shown above in a vintage postcard).

In May 1901, Lorain's Public Square was a weedy, unkempt mess – and George Wickens, the former mayor and now a member of City Council, was unhappy about it. As reported in mid-May in the Lorain Times-Herald, Wickens stated that the park was a disgrace to the city, and he felt that it should be fixed up before the Fourth of July. At Wickens' urging, a motion was passed by City Council to take money from the park fund to accomplish this goal.

Work began on the Public Square at once. The grass was mowed, and plans were prepared by Chief Engineer Loofbourrow for paths to be built, curving from each corner of the square and meeting at the bandstand in the center.

The soldiers monument and fountain
as it appeared in the J. L. Mott catalog

But Wickens thought something else was needed for the Public Square: a fountain. He began to try to get Jason B. Hoge, a former resident of Lorain (and later a director of the Lake Shore Electric Railway Company) to donate one. Hoge was about to order a fountain when the Lorain Post of the Grand Army of the Republic made it known that they wished to combine the fountain with something they also felt was needed: a soldiers monument.

Mr. Hoge offered to contribute one quarter of the amount of a fountain and soldiers monument costing not more than $1,000. The balance of the sum would have to be raised by the citizens of Lorain and turned over to the G.A.R. for the actual purchase.

It took a summer-long community effort to raise the money, but the fountain was finally ordered from J. L. Mott & Company.

With much fanfare and an onlooking crowd of 5,000, the combined soldiers monument and fountain was dedicated on the Public Square on Labor Day, September 2, 1901.

****

Undated photo of the statue
after the fountain had been removed

The fountain was removed in 1933 because it had become a safety hazard due to corrosion, and it was feared that it might topple in a storm.

The Civil War soldiers statue was then placed on a pedestal at ground level surrounded by flowers, where – for the next thirty years – it suffered abuse at the hands of vandals as well as the elements. The soldier had his rifle stolen, the brim of his cap broken off and he even lost his head when he was knocked off his pedestal in 1959.

Repaired and repainted for many years, the soldier was finally removed from the park along with the Honor Roll in 1967 when both were replaced by the new veterans monument.

In 1968 he was sent out to his final home: the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry in Sheffield Lake.

At that time, the Lorain Journal acknowledged George Wickens' contribution towards the acquisition of the civil war statue and fountain with a simple statement describing why he felt it was important.

"Because he wanted to do something to beautify the city."

****

I forgot to mention that since I began this blog, I have posted several times specifically about this statue – with this post being the first, followed by this one, and then this one.

It's taken a while, but I feel that I finally have the statue's timeline documented from its installation in the park to its removal.

Meet George Wickens Part 2

When former Lorain mayor George Wickens passed away on March 19, 1908, it was a major event in Lorain, even though today – 104 years after his passing – his name is never mentioned when the honor roll of Lorain's greatest and most famous citizens is read. And that's a shame – because it isn't necessary for someone to have achieved national prominence to have been of great importance to Lorain.

Excerpts from the newspaper coverage surrounding his funeral provide a glimpse of how beloved he was to the city.

On the front page of The Lorain Daily News of Friday, March 20, 1908, the funeral arrangements were described. "The funeral arrangements for the burial of George Wickens have been completed and indications are that the funeral will be the largest ever held in Lorain," the lead article stated. "All business houses of the city will be closed from 12:30 until 2:30 on Monday out of deference to the deceased."

A public viewing was scheduled for Saturday between the hours of two and nine. "At this time Lorain and vicinity will be permitted to look upon his face and render this tribute of respect," the article stated. Sunday was reserved for the family to be alone with the body.

The family had a special wish regarding floral arrangements. "Carrying out the habit of our beloved one, we have arranged that a vast number of floral contributions be delivered to as many of the sick and unfortunate of the city as can be found," they asked.

Elsewhere on the same front page under the heading WICKENS IDEAS BE CARRIED OUT TO THE LETTER,  it was noted that Wickens' final ideas "as to beautifying the cemeteries and the city will be carried out as far as possible by the service board, and improvements inaugurated by Mr. Wickens and now under way will be carried out to the letter."

In addition to the cemetery improvements, there was a specific idea that George Wickens had for the area around City Hall. As the same article stated, "The comfort station to be erected on the square, another improvement which Mr. Wickens fathered, will no doubt be carried through, as the service board has already asked that an appropriation be made for the construction of the station."

The business community also made their feelings known by passing resolutions of respect that were printed on that same page. It noted, "George Wickens, our fellow citizen was a true American, actuated by noble impulses and desirous of performing in full his duties to society, loved by all his friends and appreciated by all who knew him.

"The City has lost a valuable citizen whose place cannot be easily filled, and we, his associates feel that in thus publicly recognizing his worth and merit, we do but extend him his just due.

"His memory too, will be an inspiration to all those who work for the uplifting of our City."

The Lorain Daily News of Saturday, March 21, 1908 continued the coverage. WHOLE CITY WILL MOURN FOR WICKENS was the heading under a front page article. Every business house was to be closed on Monday afternoon for the funeral, as well as city offices. Schools were to be closed Monday afternoon. The shovel works was even working on that Saturday so that the plant could be closed from twelve to four on Monday.

Willis Leiter photograph of George Wickens' funeral procession

Members of the fire department planned to attend the funeral services as a body, as well as the police department.

The trustees of the public library issued a special resolution that was part of that same article. It stated, "Resolved that in the death of Mr. Wickens this Association has lost one of its most useful members. Identified with the earliest efforts to establish a free public library in Lorain, Mr. Wickens gave his time and thought most generously to promote the cause. He was never called upon to assist in the work that he did not promptly respond, often at great inconvenience and sometimes actual loss to himself.

"It should therefore be known to all the people of Lorain that the Public Library as it now stands is in a sense a monument to the public spirit and noble character of George Wickens."

George Wickens' grave in Elmwood Cemetery

Meet George Wickens Part 1

In the history of Lorain, George Wickens was a giant of a man. It's a shame that in 2012, I'll bet that very few people in Lorain even know who he was.

Quite simply, he was a mayor of Lorain and a successful businessman who loved the city and worked tirelessly to improve it. He was one of the city's biggest supporters and most beloved citizens.

As is often the case, the best way to get a measure of a man is to read his obituary, and George Wickens' was quite extensive. I present it below as it ran in the Lorain Daily News on Thursday, March 19, 1908.

After reading it, I'll think that you'll agree that, sadly, Lorain probably has had no one to compare with him since.

****

GEORGE WICKENS, CITY'S LEADING CITZEN, DEAD
PASSED AWAY AFTER ILLNESS OF FOUR DAYS

End Came at 7:45 This Morning, Caused by Pleuro Pneumonia
A BIG LOCAL FIGURE
George Wickens Was Lorain's Most Active Advocate of Optimism for Its Future

March 19, 1908 front page

George Wickens, Sr. died at his residence, 142 West Erie Avenue at 7:45 o'clock this morning after a four days illness with pneumonia.

Mr. Wickens, whose death came as a great shock, was one of Lorain's most highly respected and prominent men and his demise is mourned by all. In his death the city loses a man who took a great interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of the city and her citizens and whose place Lorain will be unable to fill.

Mr. Wickens was as prominently identified with the growth and development of Lorain as any man now residing in the city and for years has been prominently connected with the public life of the town. He was a self-made man, one who from absolutely nothing had, by intelligence, energy, business acumen, and unquestioned probity, worked his way from the bottom rung of the ladder to prosperity and comparative affluence. He was a leader in both branches of his business and was well and favorably known throughout the state. In all local matters he was always to be found on the right side, aiming constantly to build up and improve the interests of his fellows and his city.


A MAN OF ACTION
Mr. Wickens was one of the few of Lorain's citizens who was able to accomplish what he set out to do where the interests of the city was at stake and was a man of action. While working for the interests of the city from all standpoints his one great hobby was civic improvement, and towards beautifying Lorain he has done more than any other man. He was an enthusiastic member of the Civic Improvement league, and only yesterday, with the welfare and beautification of the city still uppermost in his mind, he called City Engineer Schickler to his bedside and gave him instructions towards improving several of the city parks and changes that he desired to be made in the plans for the new cemetery to be opened adjoining Elmwood.

In municipal affairs as well as in his private life he was a staunch advocate of Roosevelt's policy of a "Square deal for all" and his life was lived on those principles.

A SHORT ILLNESS
Taken ill on Sunday, Wickens' illness was not thought to be serious, but on Monday he grew suddenly worse and sank slowly until he passed away this morning. Yesterday it was thought that his condition was slightly improved.

The deceased, who was fifty-five years of age, was born in Basingstoke, South England on July 19, 1852. At the age of ten years, he commenced working in a furniture store learning the trade of cabinet maker and joiner. Completing his apprenticeship he came to America in 1871 and for a time lived at St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. He came to Lorain in 1872.

For ten years he was engaged in carpentry work, contracting and building, and in 1883 embarked in the undertaking and furniture business, with which he was identified at the time of his death.

While engaged in the carpentry business in Lorain, Mr. Wickens built many of the older houses now located on the east side and was the contractor that built the old lighthouse which now stands at the end of the west pier of the river. In 1886 he became a member of the Funeral Directors' association of Ohio and on June 2, 1892, he was elected its president.

In 1875 Mr. Wickens married Miss Celia E. Chapman and one child was born, George B. Wickens. This wife died the following year. In 1877 Mr. Wickens married again and this time in England to Miss Mary A. Colly and three children were born, William A., Elizabeth and Edward M. A little over a year ago, Mr. Wickens was married to Miss Elizabeth Wallace. Surviving him other than his wife is his three children, George, Edward and Mrs. L. M. Lewis.

In 1878 the deceased was granted a preachers license by the second London district of the Methodist church and for many years was a member and preacher in the Lorain M. E. church and superintendent of the Sunday school. He has visited his native land many times, returning at one time in England for four years. Only last summer he spent several months in Europe with his wife and daughter Elizabeth.

HIS PUBLIC CAREER
In public life Mr. Wickens was a most potent factor. In politics he was a Republican but not a radical. His ideas were broad upon public questions, which gained for him unbounded popularity. He was elected mayor of the city in 1894 and served the city as its chief executive for two years. He was mayor of the city when the plant of the National Tube company came to Lorain and had in his possession at the time of his death the first piece of steel ever turned out by the plant. In '97 Mr. Wickens was elected as a member of the council from the second ward and later was a member of the boards of cemetery trustees and water works trustees. He was elected a member of the first board of public service in 1903. At the last municipal election he was again elected to the office of member of the board of public service by a large majority. He was also a member of the board of library trustees.

HIS BUSINESS LIFE
In his business life Mr. Wickens has been most successful and in the last twenty-five years has built up one of the most extensive furniture businesses in this section of the state. In 1900 he erected the three story business block on Broadway now occupied by the Boston Store. In the spring of 1899 a branch store was opened on Tenth avenue. In 1904 the five-story building in which the business in now located was erected, the store opening for business on December 13, '95. The Parkside Chapel, identified with the undertaking business of Wickens and Ransom, was erected in 1903.

Vintage postcard showing the Parkside Chapel

Last summer Mr. Wickens was the delegate sent by Ohio to the International convention of funeral directors held in one of the southern cities and up to his death was one of the three members of International committee on embalming, representing the United States.

At a meeting of the Ohio Furniture Dealers' association held in Cleveland recently, he was elected president of the association.

Mr. Wickens belonged to many secret societies and was a charter member of the Ohio Anti-Saloon league organized at Oberlin a number of years ago. Among the numerous lodges of which he was a member are the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, K. O. T. M., Rathbone Sisters, Red Men, Protected Home Circle, National Union, Modern Woodmen, Woodmen of the World.

DEATH WIDELY REGRETTED
The death of Mr. Wickens has caused a wave of regret from one end of the city to the other. He was probably one of the most charitably inclined men of Lorain and there has been hundreds of little deeds of kindness that have gone unnoticed by those not intimately connected with him. No one wanted if Mr. Wickens was aware that help was needed and he did not wait until some charitable institution had taken up the case but furnished immediate relief.

Funeral arrangements have as yet not been completed.

****

On that same page, an article with the headline A WICKENS HOBBY MAY BE LOCAL INSTITUTION tells how an idea of George Wickens foreshadowed Lorain's modern Pride Day. The article stated, "If the suggestions of the board of trade are carried out, Lorain will have regular days set apart each fall and spring as holiday clean-up days. Health Officer Hug, at the meeting last night spoke of the necessity of such a move. "To those who have occasion to pass the alleys and back yards about the city it becomes at once apparent that the conditions are decidedly unsanitary, unsightly and very offensive to aesthetic natures. Clean-up days was a hobby with George Wickens, and a mighty good one, too, and I think it would be an advisable thing to have the city carry out his suggestions. Clean-up day should become a regular institution each spring and fall.""

The suggestion by Dr. Hug was to be presented as a resolution to Mayor King.

****

The Elyria Chronicle of March 19, 1908 also reported the passing of George Wickens in a front page article. GEORGE WICKENS, PROMINENT LORAIN CITIZEN IS DEAD was the headline. The article noted that he was a well known popular business man with "many friends in Elyria."

Wickens Place

The recent controversy regarding a new Family Dollar store across from Lorain City Hall once again thrust Wickens Place – that short stub of a road running along the eastern border of Veterans Memorial Park – in the news. One of the reasons the Lorain Zoning Board rejected the variance for extra-wide driveways (here) was because of the traffic safety concerns of people getting in and out of the store from West Erie Avenue and Wickens Place.

Wickens Place was last in the news last September (here) when Lorain City Council considered renaming the street in honor of Airman 1st Class Eric Barnes, who was killed while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Iraq. According to the Morning Journal's article, the idea was dropped when Mayor Tony Krasienko noted that the street was named for "a founding family of Lorain" and that the proposal could face some opposition.

I think it was a wise decision not to rename Wickens Place. It's a link to a part of Lorain's history, and a memorial to a civic leader – George Wickens – who doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

Who was George Wickens? Stop back here next time to find out!