Happy Mother's Day!

Panel from The Passing Scene – May 7, 1966

Here's wishing all of my readers a Happy Mother's Day! 

If you're lucky enough to still have your mom with you, I hope you can celebrate the day with her. If your wife is a mother herself, I'm sure you will be treating her royally, like my two brothers are no doubt doing with their respective spouses.

And if your mother has passed on, then it's a good day to honor her and recall all the unconditional love and support she gave you. That's what I'll be doing – not spending the day being sad, but remembering the good times with Mom over the years.

In honor of Mother's Day, here's an ample sample of Lorain Journal clippings and ads from over the years.

H. P. Nielsen Jewelers suggested buying Mom a diamond in this May 7, 1926 ad.

Sadly – Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day wasn't doing too well on Mother's Day 1946 as noted in this clipping from May 11, 1946.

The Style Center recommended giving Mom the royal treatment in this ad from May 8, 1953.

Old Stone Villa had a great menu for Mother's Day 1956.

May 12, 1956

The Citizen's Home and Savings Association's ad depicted Mom relaxing in a chair and reading her 'favorite book' – a savings bank book!

May 12, 1956

Mother's Day 1966 played out against the backdrop of Vietnam in this well-written 'letter to Mom.' It was written by a war veteran to sum up the feelings of every soldier that wished he could be home on Mother's Day, rather than fighting in a war.

May 7, 1966

And here's the whole "Passing Scene" panel of May 7, 1966 with the Mother's Day acknowledgment.

Not everybody could afford an expensive meal out on Mother's Day 1976. So Burger Chef came up with a great promotion: The Rancher Dinner™ – consisting of a three-quarters sirloin, golden French Fries, a crisp salad and Texas toast! Hey, where's Burger Chef and Jeff? Celebrating with their respective mothers, I guess.

And Midway Mall reminded shoppers that the stores there had a great selection of fashions and gifts for Mom in this ad from May 5, 1976.

Nielsen Jewelers Part 2

1939 newspaper ad

With Harry Nielsen launching his own jewelry and optometry business in 1937, the original H. P. Nielsen Sons business carried on for a few years before adopting the Walter S. Nielsen name in the early 1940s.

Both Nielsen stores coexisted throughout the 1940s and 50s. Harry Nielsen's 1951 phone book ads stated that he was "Lorain's Oldest Jeweler," while in the same book, the ad for Walter S. Nielsen mentioned that the firm was "Established 1877."

Sometime in the 1950s, the Walter S. Nielsen store became known as as Nielsen Jewelers, and moved to its present 753 Broadway address.

Harry Nielsen passed away at the age of 71 in January 1960. He had been retired from active participation in his business.

Dr. Walter S. Nielsen passed away in early March 1971 at the age of 78. He had retired in October 1968, having turned the business over to his son Carl.

Today, Nielsen Jewelers carries on in its attractive building at 753 Broadway.

The company enjoys a fine reputation for quality work, and have created beautiful custom jewelry for both my mother and, more recently, my mother-in-law.

It's great to see what I'm assuming is the oldest established business in Downtown Lorain still thriving after more than 135 years.

Visit the company's Facebook page by clicking here.

Nielsen Jewelers Part 1

Last month, Mark Hicks emailed me a photo (left) of an old eyeglasses case that he found while cleaning out his garage. He wondered if I had any information about Dr. Walter S. Nielsen, the optometrist's name on the label.

Turning to vintage Lorain City Directories for information, I was surprised to learn that Dr. Nielsen's business was the predecessor of Lorain's present day Nielsen Jewelers.

****

The original Nielsen jewelry company – H. P. Nielsen – was one of Lorain's oldest businesses, appearing in the oldest city directory (1891) at the library. According to later ads, the company dates back to 1877.

In the 1903 directory, the business was located at 307 Broadway.

The 1912 directory listing gave a detailed description of the business, advertising "Watches, diamonds, jewelry, cut glass, fine china and watch repairing." In that same directory, son Harry was listed as a salesman at the store, and son Walter was still a student.

By 1919, H. P. Nielsen had retired, and the business became H. P. Nielsen Sons, with sons Harry and Walter in charge of the business.

Here's a city directory ad from 1931. Note that 'optometrists' was now listed as part of the firm's description.

In 1937, Harry Nielsen opened his own jewelry store, with the end result of Lorain having two Nielsen jewelry stores, both offering optometry.

Here's the listings for both stores as they appeared together on the same page of the 1937 city directory.

Next: The rest of the story