What was playing at the Palace on Aug 1, 1960?

After the special appearance of the Three Stooges at the Palace Theater on July 31, 1960, it was back to business as usual for the Lorain movie house.

And what was playing on August 1? None other than the Bowery Boys in Spook Chasers.

In a way it was kind of appropriate for the Bowery Boys to follow the Stooges, as they were both popular comedy teams that had somehow lasted longer than anyone could have imagined.

Much like the Three Stooges, who were forced to hire a new 'third stooge' to keep the act going, the Bowery Boys had to replace Leo Gorcey, who had retired from the movies. The Boys made seven more movies with Stanley Clements as "Duke Coveleske," the leader of the gang, but it was Huntz Hall who had become the star of the series by then.

Here's the trailer for Spook Chasers.

I like the way all of the Bowery Boys films used the "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" theme song in their movie credits and trailers. It's a nice way to tie them all together through the years despite all the cast changes.

Also on the Palace bill with the Bowery Boys was a Ma and Pa Kettle comedy, Ma and Paul Kettle at Waikiki (1955). Hawaii would become a state on August 21, 1959 so the movie was actually fairly topical.

Here's the trailer from the movie, featuring Marjorie Main as Ma.

Hearing Marjorie Main's voice reminds me that it was her that June Foray was imitating on all of those Fractured Fairy Tales cartoons on Rocky and Bullwinkle.

I wonder if the popular Ma and Pa Kettle comedies paved the way for the success of The Beverly Hillbillies on TV?

When the Three Stooges Visited Lorain - Part 2

This photo and caption appeared on the front page of the Lorain Journal on August 1, 1960

So what were the Three Stooges doing in Lorain at the Palace anyway?

Although their movie career at Columbia Pictures had come to an end in late 1957, their comedy shorts had been made available to TV stations beginning in 1958. Thus a whole new generation of kids were introduced to the Stooges, and they loved them. So the trio experienced a happy comeback.

Courtesy www.threestooges.com

But with both Curly and Shemp gone, and Joe Besser unavailable to travel, Moe and Larry needed a new third stooge. So Moe recruited movie and burlesque comic Joe DeRita, due to his vague resemblance to the original Curly.

He was dubbed "Curly Joe" and would star with Moe and Larry in several popular full-length features.

The "new" Three Stooges also began touring in 1958, and thus ended up in Lorain on July 31, 1960.

The Stooges performed in 4 shows that day, all for the price of 90 cents for an adult and 50 cents for a child.

If anyone out there was lucky enough to catch their show at the Palace, be sure to leave a comment!

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UPDATE
Click here to read about Kevin Conley, who was lucky enough to see the Stooges at the Palace – and have his picture taken with them that day!

When the Three Stooges Visited Lorain - Part 1

Did you know that the Three Stooges once made a personal appearance at the Palace Theater in Lorain?

They "sointinly" did (as Curly would say it).

Yes, it was during the last week of July 1960 that special ads began to appear in the Lorain Journal announcing the upcoming special appearance of the "Original Three Stooges."

The ad above appeared on July 29, 1960.

Sadly, Jerome "Curly" Howard – often considered the most popular Stooge – had passed away in 1952. Nevertheless, he appeared in the Palace ad (in his costume from 1942's What's the Matador?)

The day before the appearance, this ad (below) appeared on July 30, 1960 – 53 years ago today.

So who appeared on stage at the Palace with Larry and Moe? Tune in tomorrow here to find out!

Bud Bowman Ice Cream Bars – July 1962

With all the writing here about ice cream and spaghetti lately, this is almost turning into a food blog!

I've mentioned a few times that I remember a huge, painted sign for Bowman's Ice Cream on the side of Whalen Drugs in the 1960s. Well, here's a Bowman Ice Cream ad featuring Bud Bowman that appeared in the  Lorain Journal on July 12, 1962.

Courtesy of Ebay

The smiling cartoon archer advertising mascot not only appeared in Bowman ads, but also was featured on other items such as the promotional button shown at left that was recently on Ebay.

Online research reveals that the Bowman Dairy Company was based in Chicago with roots in that city dating back to the 1880s. By the late 1940s, the company had grown to become the largest distributor of milk in that city and employed 4,000 people. 

Bowman expanded into other Midwest cities by acquiring ice cream companies and small dairies in neighboring states. This included some companies in Cleveland, and that's why Bowman had such a big presence in Lorain despite all of the local dairies such as Lorain Creamery.

At the time of the above 1962 ad, Bowman Ice Cream was sold at more than 60 dealers in the Lorain County area. Besides Whalen Drug, the dealer list in Lorain included Bob's Donuts, National Pharmacy, Fligner's Market, Reagan Grocery and Middendorf Pharmacy. In Sheffield Lake, you could find Bowman Ice Cream at the Sheffield Grill (now Dock's Tavern). In Elyria, it was available at the Hess & Hess Drug chain, Ed's Cigar Store, Serfozo Grocery and at Foodway stores.

Unfortunately, the Bowman Dairy Co. experienced some legal problems during the 1950s, being charged with violating anti-trust laws. A declining home delivery market also contributed to its downfall, and in 1966 the company was sold to the Dean Foods Company.

Gang's Food Market Grand Opening – July 28, 1950

Here's an ad promoting the Grand Opening of a well-remembered Sheffield Lake business: Gang's Food Market. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on July 27, 1950 – 63 years ago tomorrow.

A 1966 view of the expanded building

I've written about this business before, back here and here.

What's interesting to me is the photo of the building as it looked when the business opened. It's pretty small, and was obviously expanded to the east at a later date (see photo at left).

It's depressing to drive by the empty building today. It didn't make it as an internet cafe, which is just as well since they are being forced out of business anyway.

But what's really sad is that the era of the small grocery store chains is pretty much over. It's too hard to compete with the huge chains like Giant Eagle with their loyalty card programs.

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A current controversy in Sheffield Lake is that Dollar General wants to build a new store just to the east of the empty former Gang's building on an empty lot. Nearby residents are understandably upset although the property is already zoned for commercial use. (Here's the story).

But considering the fact that the neighborhood had the Gang's grocery store for decades, followed by the appliance stores and the internet cafe (as well as a few other small businesses), I'm not sure that a Dollar General is going to look all that out of place there. But I can appreciate that many residents are against it (including the spouse, who grew up in this town).

Vermilion On-The-Lake Clubhouse Then & Now

Yesterday I posted the 1955 ad for Fior's Spaghetti House, which also included the above photo of the Vermilion On-The-Lake Clubhouse and Dance Hall. Apparently Dick Fior operated the Clubhouse in addition to the Spaghetti House.

Vintage postcard

The Clubhouse was originally built in 1919 as a private community center for the Vermilion On-The-Lake lakefront development. The Vermilion-on-the-Lake, Ohio website (here) includes an interesting history of the Clubhouse through the years.

During the 1950s, the Clubhouse hosted a variety of popular bands. The two upcoming bands mentioned in the ad yesterday were Big Jay McNeely (spelled wrong in the ad) and Rusty Bryant.

Today, the Clubhouse is owned by the Vermilion on the Lake Historic Community Center Charitable Trust. It's available for lakefront wedding receptions or as a meeting place. Click here for more information.

Oh yeah, before I forget, here's my obligatory "today" shot.

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I played at the Clubhouse several times in the 1980s for either wedding receptions or dances with various big bands. It's a beautiful, rustic building, and the Vermilion-on-the-Lake website notes that the very trees that were cleared to make way for the Clubhouse were used in its construction.

Fior's Spaghetti House Ad – June 21, 1955

The former Fior's Spaghetti House
(Now the Driftwood Inn)

I first mentioned Fior's Spaghetti House on Lake Road just east of Vermilion back in June (here) as part of my series on the various businesses on Routes 6 and 2 on that 1957 Vacation Map. Unfortunately, I didn't know very much about the restaurant. This ad, from the June 21, 1955 Lorain Journal, fills in a little more of the story.

The ad notes, "Fior's Lake Road Spaghetti House was started in 1948 by Mr. Jacob Fior and Mrs. Anna Fior, featuring home style cooking with spaghetti as a specialty."

I'll have something about the Vermilion On-The-Lake Clubhouse and Dance Hall tomorrow. (I gotta dig out my shot of that thing!)

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It's funny that you don't see many restaurants any more that feature spaghetti, at least around here. I used to go the Spaghetti Warehouse when I lived in Columbus, and never realized that it was part of a chain. I thought it was the only one.

I know there's a restaurant in Port Clinton called Phil's Inn that's supposed to have excellent spaghetti. It's very well-known for its sauce.

I don't know about you, but reading all this about spaghetti reminds me that we haven't had it for dinner for months, and I'm going to have to do something about it (providing that have some garlic bread to go with it).

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Be sure to visit this additional post on Fior’s Spaghetti House.