Lorain Entertainment Page Ads – June 10, 1966

It's Friday and the weekend is here! Will you be dining out or heading to a favorite restaurant or bar?

If this was 1966, here are some of the choices that were available to you back on June 10th of that year as seen on the Journal's entertainment page. Of course, I have to feature this ad for Sandy's, featuring my favorite lassie, Miss Sandy. Sandy's Hamburgers still symbolizes the Lorain of my youth, although hardly anyone remembers the small national burger chain any more.

Other 'fast food' choices included Chicken Delight (remember, no Kentucky Fried Chicken in Lorain yet at that time) and local favorite Mister S. I guess everyone was thinking of chicken back then.

For family fun, there was Cedar Point, which was catering to local teenagers by holding a teen dance, with Bud Davies of CKLW as the dj, and music by The Back Group.

For adult dancing, there was old reliable Lincoln Park Night Club (singles welcome) with Ronnie and the Rainbows; the Dewey Road Inn, where The Jet Tones were performing on Friday and Saturday; and Executive Club at 1788 E. 28th Street, featuring the Chantelles. Hey, that's our old pal Ed in the ad!

Here's the entire page, in case you'd like to peruse some of the other ads and read the Minute Movie Reviews. 

Hmmm... seems like movie mash-ups of the Old West and monsters were definitely 'in,' since two of the choices were Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula!

It's hard to believe, but Billy the Kid vs Dracula features some well-known Western actors and actresses who appeared in John Wayne movies, including Harry Carey, Jr., Olive Carey (The Searchers); Bing Russell (Rio Bravo, The Horse Soldiers); and John Carradine (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Stagecoach) who plays Dracula!

Weekend Musings

Terry's Dairy For Sale
I noticed there's a FOR SALE sign in the window of Terry's Dairy on East Erie Avenue recently.

It's not too surprising. It's pretty tough as an independent to compete with national chains like Dairy Queen (its former franchisor) and the various other popular frozen treats out there now, such as Menchie's Frozen Yogurt.

The spouse and I tried to do our bit to help out, by favoring Terry's Dairy over its competitor K-Cream Corner. I just figured that the store at the intersection of Oberlin Avenue and East Erie Avenue always seemed to be packed, so Terry's Dairy needed all the help it could get.

But too often we were the only ones there.

Anyway, here's wishing the Haines family good luck with the sale, along with my thanks for decades of great soft serve at that location.

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The Great Mister S and Gyro House Debate

There's a Facebook group that I'm sure many of you are familiar with that's called You Know Your From Lorain. (I know there's a typo in its name, but that's part of its charm.)

The Facebook group has almost 5,000 members, and the comments are a lot of fun to read if you are indeed from Lorain. (UPDATE – for some reason, the moderator for that group has made it a closed group – so if you're not a member already, you can't read the posts.)

Every once in a while I drop in for a visit, and occasionally I've seen my namesake blog mentioned in some of the current postings. It happened recently, and it reminded me that I'm not perfect in my research.

The discussion was about when the Mister S Drive-in had become Gyro House, and someone mentioned that on my blog I had said that it was around 1985. Then a lively discussion followed in which there were a few claims that I was wrong and that it was a few years earlier than that. (One person even thought they had worked at Gyro House in the 1970s.)

As it turns out, I was a couple years off, so thanks to those who noticed and pointed it out.

While rechecking the city directories this past weekend, I saw that the last appearance of Mister S in the city directory was 1982, and the first appearance of Gyro House was in the 1983 edition. The phone book (which I didn't consult at the time) had Mister S last appearing in its 1981 edition and Gyro House in the 1982 edition.

I was probably just a little sloppy in my research that day. Sometimes I'll stop at the library on the way home from work (half-starved), dash inside, quickly paw through the available books to look up something, scribble some notes, and then head for home – and dinner. Later on, I try to decipher what I wrote.

The whole thing reminded me that although I try to be thorough in my research, I do make mistakes. And feel free to point them out – there are plenty of them out there already in books and articles about Lorain, I certainly don't want to add to them!

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My Rosie's Pizza

Why isn't Rosie's caricature on the box?

This past Saturday night was a 'girl's night out,' and the spouse left me to fend for myself for dinner. I was tempted to hit Mutt & Jeff's by myself, but I wasn't ready to join the regulars at the end of the bar just yet.

Anyway, I decided to treat myself to a Rosie's Pizza while I watched my John Wayne DVD from the library. Although I love Yala's Pizza (the pizza I grew up on) and Selenti's (the pizza we get most often), I really think Rosie's is my favorite now.

It's such a unique pizza that if you've never had one, you don't know what you're missing. It's a totally different mixture of cheese and spices than the rest. The crust is great too.

See for yourself (below).

I ordered a large (shown above) and had no trouble inhaling half of it even before John Wayne had left the fort with the cavalry on their big mission into Injun country. But I managed to use remarkable restraint and save half for the spouse for a later snack.

The View from 17th & Broadway - Then & Now

While scrounging around in the photo files of the Black River Historical Society this past Friday, I found this view of Broadway from about 17th Street looking north. (I think this area was formerly known as the Devil's Elbow because Broadway makes such a harsh dogleg as it heads north)

The photo caught my eye because the Mister S sign was visible in the distance. The photo was labeled as being from the late 1960's.

The SOHIO sign from Sharrock's Sohio Service gas station at 1628 Broadway is visible, although the station itself is hidden from view. Also seen at left is the Journey Bar, which was at 1652 Broadway.

The current shot from yesterday (below) reveals that several buildings are gone. (Click on it for an enlarged view.) The former service station is now visible, and the SOHIO sign post minus sign remains. Mister S is now Gyros & More. A few more buildings on the east side appear to be missing as well, because the Gel-Pak building stands out more prominently.

Mister S Grand Opening – June 26-28, 1964

You might remember that a week ago I posted some of Sue Slutzker's reminisces about the Mister S Drive-In, the business that her father and some other family members and partners started.

Since she had mentioned that her family's involvement with the restaurant dated back to 1964, I decided to hit the newspaper microfilm at the Library and see what I could find out as to when the place actually opened.

It turns out that the informal opening of Mister S was the weekend of June 6, 1964. The small article above had a nice photo of the distinctive building and its memorable sign with the colorful, rotating S. What's interesting is that it says that it was the pilot store for the chain.

Also in the newspaper that same day was the very first advertisement for the chain. You can tell it's an early one, because the logo isn't quite the final version yet.

Almost three weeks later, the upcoming Grand Opening buzz began to appear in the Journal. An article that appeared on Wednesday, June 24, 1964 revealed that the chain had national aspirations, and that the franchise for the restaurant had been obtained from Commissary Corp in Wooster, Ohio, originators of Dairy Isle ice cream drive-ins.

"Plans are under way for nationwide coverage with over 35 locations already surveyed and approved in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and New York," stated the article. It also noted that negotiations were being completed for several more units to be built in the northern Ohio area.

On Thursday, the following full-page ad appeared, promoting the Grand Opening on Friday, June 26, 1964.

I'm impressive with all of the great promotional gimmicks that were employed, with free large drinks, the chances to receive one of 500 free chicken dinners, free balloons and a live broadcast by Bob Lee of W-WIZ.

Finally, on Friday this ad drummed up even more enthusiasm.

The ad was the first to feature the true corporate branding (can you tell I'm in advertising?) with line art of the sign, as well as the final logo design. It also explains that the S stands for Smiling Speedy Service.

On Saturday, this ad appeared. No wonder Sue remembered those chicken dinners in her reminisces – they were one of the main items on the menu.

All in all, a very impressive promotional campaign to launch the Mister S chain! It's a shame that the chain didn't take off (especially with the pilot store in Lorain), but it's not too surprising. Many other chains went up against the McDonalds and Burger King juggernauts and ultimately couldn't compete.

The Mister S brand disappeared in Lorain around the mid-1980's. Today, the restaurant building is home to Gyros & More.

From the E-Mailbag #7: Mister S

I recently received a very nice email from one of my old Admiral King High School Band-mates, Sue Slutzker, whose father (along with her uncle and some other relatives and partners) owned the Mister S Drive-In at 15th and Broadway.

(I first blogged about Mister S way back here in 2009.)

Sue filled me in on some of the background of the well-remembered restaurant with the distinctive rotating 'S' on its sign. She said that her father and his partners were involved with Mister S from 1964 through 1974. Her uncle and her cousin ran it.

"Since I was just a little kid when I'd go there, I always thought that Mr. S stood for Slutzker!" she laughs. "The only other one I knew about was on Lorain Rd. in N. Olmsted and the last time I saw it, it was a beverage store, but it was the same style building."

Sue has fond memories of the chicken served at the restaurant.

Growing up in Lorain as the daughter of one of the owners of Mister S had its perks. "My other great memory of Mr. S was that I always had a primo spot from which to watch any parade on Broadway."

But it had its drawbacks too.

"The flip side was that until I was 12, I was never allowed to go to McDonalds!"

Sue also mentioned that Mister S continued to have a presence in the Slutzker household long after her family's involvement with the restaurant ended. "I know for years in our house – even through the '80's – we were still using Mr. S order pads as scrap paper!"

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Special thanks to Sue for sharing some of her memories of Mister S, a Lorain original.

Forgotten Fast Foods: Mister S Part 2

Here's another ad from the Mister S Drive-in Restaurant. (Click on it to see a larger version.) Despite the fishy focus of this ad, the restaurant's real specialty was Treasure Chest Chicken. I'll bet the chicken came in a really cool pirate-type box!

   Despite much Googling and library research, I can't seem to find out very much about this restaurant. It apparently was a national chain, because in one of their logos you can just barely make out the words "coast to coast" under it (at right). At least we know that the 'S' scans for 'smiling speedy service.'

   According to the Lorain City Directory, Mister S became Gyro House around 1985. Then, around 2000 it became Gyros and More. Although I never ate at Mister S, I've gotten carryout from Gyros and More many times through the years and always enjoyed my meal.

   But I still want to know who the mysterious Mister S is!

Forgotten Fast Foods: Mister S Part 1

One fast food place that is sort of a mystery is the Mister S Drive-in Restaurant that used to be at 15th and Broadway. It appeared in the Lorain City Directory in 1968, with two gentlemen's names listed: Charles Bennington and Milton Slutzker.

   I haven't been able to find out anything about this restaurant chain, if indeed it was a chain. I seem to remember seeing one somewhere else in Ohio and being surprised.  At least one other Lorainite thinks there were others out there, specifically mentioning seeing one in Omaha, Nebraska on a retro fast food blog.

   Anybody out there have any ideas?