Lake Erie Oil Ad – October 15, 1954

Lake Erie Oil, located at the intersection of Route 254 and Pearl at the railroad tracks, has been the subject of many blog posts over the years. It was a frequent advertiser in the Journal, promoting its Fleet-Wing products and later, Sinclair.

Above is a great seasonal ad for the company that ran in the paper on October 15, 1954, featuring yet another squirrel (a critter that pops up on this blog again and again, like in this recent post). It's kind of an odd ad that seems to have been cobbled together with different pieces of clip art, with some of it coming from a fire prevention collection. 

Is the squirrel hoping to roast his nuts while he warms himself? (By the way, one of the things that I like about the Lorain Country Fair is the nut booth that sells cinnamon roasted pecans, cashews, etc. in the little paper cones. I recently discovered that Poppin Around in Vermilion sells them year round.)

Anyway, the ad copy does a good job of tying together the whole 'get ready for winter theme.'

It's appropriate that the Lake Erie Oil ad features a squirrel, since there was a huge sign featuring Pearl, the shopping center squirrel. at that same intersection. I can still see it in my mind's eye – and would love to see a photograph of it.

Lake Erie Oil Anniversary Ad – Nov. 12, 1946

Here's a handsome ad for the Lake Erie Oil Company, which was located on Ohio Route 254 near the railroad tracks. It appeared in the Lorain Journal on November 12, 1946 – 71 years ago this month – and celebrated the company's first anniversary at that location. It also promotes Fleet-Wing gasoline being good at 20 degrees below zero.

I first wrote about Lake Erie Oil back in 2012 (here). I also featured some of the firms’ large, vintage holiday ads for  Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It's interesting to think that the company's plant there provided Fleet-Wing gasoline (later, Sinclair) for local gas stations. The firm also produced fuel oil for heating purposes.

Anyway, it looks like Fleet-Wing Gasoline kinda got the marketing jump on Sohio and its Double Ice Guard guarantee.

Merry Christmas from Lake Erie Oil Co. - 1956

On Thanksgiving, I featured Lake Erie Oil's newspaper ad, so it's only fitting that I post one of their Christmas ads. This one appeared in the Lorain Journal on December 24, 1956 (and is a not-so-subtle plug for Sinclair Power-X gasoline).

I love that Santa is wearing a fez while he's relaxing at home. (One of these days, I'm going to have to get one, so I can look like a 1950s lodge brother. Maybe I'll order this one from Dennis Miller.)

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the cute little girl in the photo reading The Night Before Christmas is related to H. D. Murphy, the man who started the company.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lake Erie Oil Co.

From the pages of the November 22, 1956 Lorain Journal, here's a Thanksgiving-themed ad for the Lake Erie Oil Company, local manufacturers of Sinclair gasoline back then for the Lorain area market.

Besides the fact that the pilgrim bears a strong resemblance to musician Huey Lewis, the ad is interesting because you don't see this kind of ad today too often. The politically correct police now frown upon the Pilgrims. (Here's a Washington Times article explaining that particularly nauseating point of view.) Too bad.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

Lake Erie Oil – Then & Now

Here's a photo (above) that may bring back some memories of traveling down Route 254 in the 1950s and 60s.

It was part of a full-page ad for the Lake Erie Oil Company that ran in the Lorain Journal on June 21, 1955. The photo shows the company's complex that was located at Route 254 and Pearl Road, consisting of the Fleet-Wing Bulk plant, and warehouse/office.

Remember when that area looked like that?

According to the ad, there were 16 Fleet-Wing gas stations around Lorain County. By 1959, the brand of gasoline produced by the company had changed from Fleet-Wing to Sinclair (which I had explained back here on this blog).

Besides the gasoline, the Lake Erie Oil Company also provided fuel oil for heating purposes for domestic and commercial accounts.

According to the city directories, it looks as though Lake Erie Oil was at that location until around 1972, when its address was listed as "vacant."

Here's the "today" shot of the same property.

Another photo (below) from the ad shows a close-up of the office building. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it was previously an old train depot, considering its proximity to the tracks.

I believe the office building is still in use today (below) – although it has been extensively renovated. It sure looks like the same building to me, especially since the doors are still raised above ground level.

Sinclair Gas Stations – Part 2

Dino the Sinclair Dinosaur from a 1959 newspaper ad in the Lorain Journal

A full-page ad in the Lorain Journal from July 18, 1959 gave a nice capsule history of the Sinclair brand of gas stations in Lorain County.

According to the ad, Mr. H. D. Murphy started out in the oil business in Lorain in 1922 with a bulk plant at West 14th Street. In 1945, he formed The Lake Erie Oil Company with one service station and a bulk plant located at the intersection of Route 254 and Pearl Road, by the railroad tracks. By 1959, there were 18 Sinclair service stations in Lorain County.

They were spread out far and wide in the late 1950's and early 1960's. On the east side of Lorain, there was Thomas Sinclair Service at E. Erie and Iowa (now the location for Whittguard Security & Patrol Services); Swanson's Sinclair Service and later, Clem's Sinclair Service at 717 E. Erie (now the location for Mr. Hero).

1960 Lorain Telephone book ad for Clem's Sinclair Service

1961 Lorain Telephone book ad for Clem's Sinclair Service showing new dinosaur marketing campaign

Out in Sheffield Lake at the corner of Abbe and E. Lake was Hal's Sinclair Service. 

1960 Lorain Phone Book ad for Hal's Sinclair Service

In Downtown Lorain at Broadway & 9th was Muzik Brothers Sinclair Service. Over on Reid at 17th Street was Whitey's Sinclair Service. And in South Lorain was Dick's Sinclair Service at Pearl and E. 29th Street.

There was also Bob & Bill's Sinclair Service at the corner of State Routes 58 and 113 in South Amherst, and Ray's Sinclair Service at State Route 254 and Elyria Avenue.

But it was only a matter of time before the Sinclair stations went extinct in Lorain County. According to this wiki entry, Sinclair was acquired by the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in 1969. Thus many stations by the 1970's were selling ARCO gas. Some stations switched to a different brand around this time as well.

Out in Sheffield Lake, the Sinclair service station at Abbe and East Lake became Abbe Road Arco Service by 1975. The new brand of gas must not have caught on, because by 1978 the location became Donutville and then Fraam's Restaurant after that. Today it is the location for the Spin Spot internet cafe.

Although you can no longer find a Sinclair service station in Lorain County, there are more than 2,600 of them in 20 states in the Western and Midwestern United States (according to that Wiki entry). If you are ever motoring Out West, you can look for the sign of the green dinosaur and fill up with Dino (regular) or Dino Supreme (high-octane).