Lorain Journal Front Page – Dec. 24, 1963

 

Sixty years ago, this was the Christmas Eve edition of the Journal on Dec. 24, 1963.

The big news, of course, was the impending merger of Thew Shovel Co. and Koehring Co. In 1964, Thew would become the Thew-Lorain Division of Koehring Company.

Otherwise, the front page of the Journal was dominated by a beautiful illustration of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. Beneath it is a seasonal poem written by news editor William E. Scrivo entitled The Christmas Star, with the two Christmas stories from the Bible on each side.

Also of interest is the sidebar with Christmas stories from around the world, including reports from Bethlehem, Berlin, Washington, D. C., Korea, Dallas and Cleveland.

Thew Shovel Articles – Feb. 1952 & 1972

Thew Shovel has been the subject of a few posts on this blog over the years.

I posted a 1949 ad celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary back here; featured photos of the demolition of former Thew Shovel buildings here; and shared some photos of the Thew Mausoleum here.

Well, here are a few more bits of Thew Shovel history, both from the Lorain Journal in the month of February.

First up is an article from the Feb. 21, 1952 Lorain Journal about an old timer visiting Thew Shovel to reminisce about his experiences with Captain Thew and the company, and how he had the honor of testing two early models.

Operator of Shovel No. 1 Returns to Plant

Marvels at Thew Development

J. W. Taubler of Westlake recently visited The Thew Shovel Company here and reminisced with officials concerning his early experiences with Captain Thew and the first Thew shovels.

When Taubler went to work at the age of 14 on the docks of the M. A. Hanna Company in Cleveland it was shortly after Captain Thew had invented the first full revolving shovel, in 1895, and was using it to handle ore on the Hanna docks.

•  •  •

SHOVELS USED TO LOAD RAILROAD CARS

In order to get an acceptance for his invention, Captain Thew contracted with M. A. Hanna Company to load ore on a basis of five cents per ton. The Captain also operated the shovel and it was during this period that Taubler became acquainted with the Captain and was permitted to operate “No. 1.”

Later, when Captain Thew built and installed his third shovel with M. A. Hanna Co., Taubler also operated it.

At that time, the shovels were used to load railroad cars from stockpiles on the docks. The daily production per shovel was about 1,500 tons. Taubler also recalled that his wages at that time were $3.40 per 10-hour day.

Taubler visited the shops and inspected today’s models of Thew Lorains. He commented on the many design and construction changes and improvements that have been made over the years. He cited one point in common between the first Thew and today’s in that Thew “No. 1” shovel was powered by a single engine and “No. 3” was powered by three engines while today’s modern machines are again all powered by a single power source.

Taubler is now retired and resides at 901 Columbia Road in Westlake.

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Fast forward twenty years and Thew Shovel was now the Lorain Division of the Koehring Company. But sadly, the announcement had just been made to move the division’s headquarters and part of the production of the Lorain Division to Chattanooga, Tenn.

Here is an article from the Feb. 2, 1972 Journal making the announcement.

And here is the Journal editorial from the next day.

Restore a 1953 Lorain Crane!

I received an interesting email a couple of days ago from a gentleman named Guido.

No, he wasn’t threatening to break my legs over something I wrote. Actually, he’s associated with a transport company called G-Force Enterprises located in South Range, Wisconsin. The company has a variety of construction equipment for sale. Guido was inquiring if I knew anyone interested in restoring a piece of Lorain history.

He wrote, "I saw your blog. I have a 1953 Lorain Crane. It was an Air Force issue. It runs and works.

"I hate to scrap it. I was just wondering if you knew anybody that collected or restored them. Let me know if you do. Thanks for your time.”

I told him I would see what I could do to help. If you know of anyone that would be interested, Guido can be reached at gforce_enterprises@yahoo.com.

Anyway, Guido’s email was a nice reminder of the days when Thew Shovel products made the name “Lorain” known throughout the world.

Thew Shovel Demolition

Undated aerial photo of Thew Shovel
(Courtesy Dennis Lamont)

Courtesy P. C. Campana

I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the demolition of many of the original Thew Shovel buildings that’s been going on at the P. C. Campana complex on E. 28th Street since last year.

I happened to pass by it on the way home from Oakwood Park on Sunday and thought it was strange to not see the buildings that were so familiar to generations of Lorainites.

Thew Shovel is sometimes overlooked when it comes to celebrating Lorain’s glory years as an industrial powerhouse. Perhaps that’s because after a merger in 1964 the name was changed to the Thew – Lorain Division of Koehring Co.

Nevertheless, Thew Shovel was an important part of making the name ‘Lorain” known all over the world.

July 1949 newspaper ad

Anyway, I took a few photos from my car as I proceeded west on E. 28th Street. 

The intersection of Fulton and E. 28th Street

For great and poignant photos documenting the gradual demolition of the former Thew Shovel buildings, visit the always interesting Lorain365.com website.

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I did take a few photos on another Sunday morning back in 2013. I’m kind of glad I did.

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Speaking of the Thew Shovel buildings, it didn't take long for the company to expand its operations in Lorain in the early years. As this news item that appeared in the Norwalk Reflector of December 12, 1901 explains, a 100-foot extension to the shop on the west end was planned.

(Courtesy Drew Penfield)

Also, according to the May 26, 1913 edition of Industrial World, a 125 x 60 extension to the Thew Automatic Shovel works main building was being pushed to completion.

6th and Broadway – Then & Now

Add caption

I haven't done any 'Then and Nows' lately – probably because I've used up all of the most obvious (and easily obtainable) ones! (Either that or everything else that I have an old photo or postcard of has been torn down – so there's no "Now" to shoot!)

So that means that I have to start scraping the bottom of the barrel and really dig to find some to do – which leads me to this one. It's a photo of the Lorain Banking Company from an ad that ran in The Lorain Journal back on Saturday, July 18, 1959.

Accompanying the photo was this copy providing the history of the Lorain Banking Company:

1905

54 years ago a former lake captain founded the Lorain Banking Company. He was Richard Thew, also vice-president and general manager of the Thew Shovel Company. It was natural that Mr. Thew should draw on his marine experience in selecting a trade-mark for the new bank, a ship's wheel and a lighthouse. The part that the bank will play in The Lorain of the Future is told best by the success of the many pioneer industries aided by it. The young Lorain Banking Company gave generous aid to individuals as well. Richard Thew was president of the Lorain Banking Company from 1905 to 1923, and the Thew Shovel Company grew during this time to be one of the leading companies in the United States.

The Lorain Banking Company merged with National Bank of Lorain to form Lorain National Bank in 1961.

And here's the uncropped "now" shot (actually from last year – before the snow hit).

The building looks to be in great shape (although I am not crazy about the sign obscuring the original inscription). It houses several attorneys and law firms, including Anthony Baker, Javier H. Armengau, J. Anthony Rich, Zachary B. Simonoff, Paul A. Griffin Co., L.P.A., John P. Kilroy, James J. Paterson, Susan Cruzado Burge and Bevan & Associates L.P.A., Inc.

The Thew Mausoleum in Elmwood Cemetery

This past Sunday, I detoured on the way to the grocery store to grab a shot of the Thew Mausoleum in Elmwood Cemetery. It's an imposing, but beautiful structure.

The Thew Mausoleum after
being vandalized
(Photo courtesy of the Morning Journal)

It's too bad there isn't a historical plaque or something to educate cemetery visitors about the story of Captain Thew and his company. It's an important part of the history of Lorain.

It's still hard to believe that it was vandalized back in November 2011 along with several other mausolems. (Here's the link to the story and its aftermath.)

Sadly, unlike the other buildings, the Thew Mausoleum did not receive new doors. Apparently it was sealed and then covered with a sandstone overlay.

Here's the link to the Captain Richard Thew page on the Find A Grave website.

Thew Shovel Ad – July 17, 1949

Here's a reminder of the good old days when Lorain was truly an industrial giant, and its name was known all around the world thanks to Thew Shovel. It's an ad commemorating the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of the company, and it ran in the Lorain Journal on July 17, 1949 – 64 years ago today.

The ad gives a nice snapshot history of the company.

Our Town – The Story of Lorain (July 1953) included a few paragraphs about the company and the man behind it. It noted, "Another industry responsible for Lorain's tremendous growth in the last ten years of the Nineteenth Century was the Thew Shovel Company. The inventor of the first successful commercial shovel was Captain Richard Thew. Captain Thew was a lake captain and he got the idea of the full revolving shovel while he was sailing. He gave up sailing and settled in Cleveland. The shovels were manufactured there from 1892 to 1899. In that year the company was moved to Lorain and became the Thew Automatic Shovel Company."

Part of the former Thew complex on W. 28th Street today

"Captain Thew took an active interest in community life in Lorain. He was active on many committees and boards in the city. He helped establish and was the first president of the Lorain Banking Company. After he sold the controlling interest in the company in 1920, he divided his time between Lorain and California. In 1923, while out in California, he contracted pneumonia and died. His body was returned to Lorain for burial. It rests in the Thew Mausoleum in Elmwood Cemetery."

The Thew Shovel Company was purchased by the Koehring Company in 1964. The facility closed in 1974.

In 1987 Koehring was acquired by Northwest Engineering, which later changed its name to Terex.

Today the former Thew complex is home to P. C. Campana.

Here's a link to an excellent article about Thew Shovel on the Construction Equipment® website.

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Greg Holcomb – who is a regular reader of this blog – found this old Thew-Lorain envelope while assisting his mother with the cleaning of his grandmother's house a few months ago. (She had passed away and I extend my belated condolences.)

Greg's grandfather had worked at Thew, and the envelope was in a pile of old paper work. Greg figured the envelope was at the very least 37 years old. Thanks for sharing, Greg!