Easter Parade of Ads – 1953

Well, Easter is only a few days away, so I'd better serve up this final helping of warmed-over holiday fare, circa 1953.

Easter used to mean (and still does, I guess) lots of flowers and corsages, so it's not surprising to see that the local florists sponsored this nearly full-page ad. It appeared in the Journal back on March 31, 1953.

It's good to see that at least one business – Zelek's – is still around. I remember going to Marge's and Carek's for flowers for my date for the music formals and the Prom at Admiral King High School.

I like that wheelbarrow wabbit, er, rabbit clip art.

At least one jewelry store decided to offer an Easter promotion. Seymour's at 633 Broadway offered this large, 24 inch Easter Bunny available on a layaway plan. "Hmm.. should we spend the money on a ham or a stuffed bunny this year?" some families may have had to decide. The "big, huggable" bunny doesn't have a name; but since he's almost as big as Big Georgi in the Marshall's ad, we'll just call him Big Guido.

Journal ad from March 25, 1953

And speaking of ham (and its affordability), here's an ad for a grocery store that I'd never heard of: Henry's Food Center, located at 22nd and Reid. The ad ran in the Journal on April 2, 1953.

And lastly, while some stores today feature a live-action costumed Easter Bunny for kids to have their photo taken with, back in 1953 apparently that idea hadn't quite caught on yet. Instead, Penney's in Downtown Lorain offered up Peter Cottontail.

Like many of you, I remember the little song about Peter Cottontail. Here's the hit version by Gene Autry.

I assumed it was the same character as Peter Rabbit in the stories written by Beatrix Potter.

Not so. According to this Wiki entry, the name 'Peter Cottontail" was a name "temporarily assumed by a fictional rabbit named Peter Rabbit in the works of Thornton Burgess."  

But Gene Autry's song version came out in 1950 and designates Peter Cottontail as the Easter Bunny, so he became the de facto holiday hare, for at least a little while.

Zelek Flower Shop Grand Opening Ad – July 19, 1951

Lorain is lucky to have so many family businesses that have been around for decades. 

It isn’t easy to sustain an independent store. You have to deliver quality products and services at a reasonable price consistently over the years, and build up a loyal customer base that wouldn’t dream of taking its business anywhere else.

One of those longtime successful businesses is Zelek Flower Shop at 1001 Reid Avenue. 

Here’s an ad showing the company at its very beginning, when it was at its original location at 12th and Reid. The three-quarter-page ad ran on the eve of the store opening in the Lorain Journal on July 19, 1951 – 70 years ago today.

And, here’s a great photo of the store at the time of the Grand Opening, courtesy of longtime blog contributor and good guy Jeremy Reynolds.

Jeremy sent me the photo back in the summer of 2016. At the time he noted, "Found this cool picture at work announcing Zelek Flower Shop grand opening in 1951 at their original location at 12th and Reid. I’m not sure of the exact date. It might make for a cool post if the newspaper announcement/ad can be found.”

Well, it only took five years, but I found it – and it’s nice to finally be able to feature the photo here on the blog. Thanks, Jeremy!

And congratulations to Zelek Flower Shop for seventy years in business!

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I wrote about the distinctive building at 12th and Reid before in this 2012 post.

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And by the way, I’ve taken antique ceramic planters to Zelek Flower Shop a few times over the years (as recently as last summer) to have decorative flower arrangements put in them, and the Zelek designers always do a terrific, creative job.

What used to be in that building?

I've driven by this building at 1206 Reid Avenue for a long time, always wondering how long it had been there and what business it had housed. It's at the southwest corner of 12th Street and Reid Avenue, just south of the railroad tracks.

I kind of assumed it had been a gas station, but with the cute little cottage-like building on the right, I wasn't sure.

Anyway, using the city directories as a guide, it appears to have first shown up in the 1933 book as a Sunoco filling station.

In the 1937 book, the only name associated with the station was Leo S. Bransztet. The 1940 book had a new person associated with it: Walter L. Clites. Both of these listings had no brand name or oil company listed.

By 1942, it was back in the Bransztet family, listed as Paul Bransztet, again with no gasoline brand name.

In 1945 it was listed as vacant. Then in 1947, it was Ken & Phil's Gulf. (Lorain sure used to have a lot of Gulf stations!)

By 1950, it was listed as the Webb & Cavanaugh service station.

The only real surprise or interesting aspect of all this for me is the 1952 listing for this address: Zelek Flower Shop. I had no idea they used to be in there. Actually, without the gas pumps, the building looks like a flower shop!

Zelek Flower Shop was in there until about 1966 or '67, when they moved up the street to 1001 Reid. They are still located there today (here's a link to their website).

The 1206 Reid building went vacant for many years. Today, the building is home to A Clean Ride Car Wash, a car wash and detailing company. Here's a link to their Facebook page.