Lorain Country Club in the News – Part 1

Vintage postcard postmarked 1923.

The Lorain Country Club may have only been in existence as a local golf course for about 25 years, but it leaves behind has a rich legacy. Its lakefront clubhouse on Lake Road opposite the Pueblo is also well-remembered, as a setting for a variety of social events, and later, as a popular nightclub. 

Back in 2017 I did a single post on the Lorain Country Club, focusing on the fiery demise of the Clubhouse on Dec. 6, 1954. I indicated then that I had some additional clippings in my file. Here they are.

On March 26, 1919, a small article in the Lorain Times-Herald revealed the plans for the club's creation. 

It noted, "A country club will be formed in Lorain. This was determined yesterday when a meeting of a number of Lorain men was held at the farm of D. D. Deeds west of the city.

"The tentative plan is to organize a country club company with a capital of $100,000. It is proposed to buy 13 acres of land on the lake shore. This would include part of the farm of D. D. Deeds and the Nichols farm, west of Lorain. Slater's grove would be included in the tract.

"A club house would be built on the lakefront with a modern bath house nearby.

"An eighteen hole golf course, tennis courts and a landing place for aeroplanes would be included in the project."

Another article appeared in the Lorain Times-Herald on April 3, 1919, provided additional details of the ambitious plans for the country club.

The intention was to build a three-story clubhouse with "a lounge, dining room and a modern kitchen, sleeping rooms and accommodations for week-end parties.

"There will be broad verandas overlooking the lake, screen dining porches and sun rooms for use on chilly days.

"In the club house will be a large well-built dance floor for the use of members. All of the equipment will be modern and intended to provide comfort during the time members and their families will spend at the club.

"An 18 hole golf course will be laid out on the property south of the shore road.

"Plans now provide for a gun club with a shooting range, for a yacht club and a boys' and girls' summer camp. Jetties will be built at Slater's grove for the accommodation of yachts.

"A large aeroplane landing field will be provided on the south side of the property.

It didn't take long for financial backing to materialize, according to this small article from the April 15, 1919 Lorain Times-Herald.

And the news spread quickly as well. This small item appeared in the Sandusky Register on June 28, 1919. 

The goal of a brand new clubhouse was apparently put on hold, as the article notes that "the house standing on the grounds will be converted into a club house."

The impending opening of the Lorain Country Club's clubhouse is mentioned in the March 20, 1920 Chronicle-Telegram in a small item mixed in with other Lorain news tidbits.

Once it opened, the Lorain Country Club and its members seemed to be in the Lorain Journal sports section every day.

August 27, 1924

May 14, 1925

June 30, 1925

August 3, 1926

Dec. 28, 1927

The Lorain Country Club was also regularly mentioned in the society pages nearly every day, as various social clubs and fraternal organizations enjoyed the clubhouse as a place for their meetings and dances.

Dec. 29, 1927

The big news for the Club in 1929 was the proposed addition of nine new holes to make it an 18-hole course. The Cleveland Plain Dealer printed two small items in 1929 making the announcement.

April 21, 1929

Nov. 17, 1929

The Plain Dealer also gave it a headline on one of its sports pages on May 25, 1930 (below). It provides a nice description of many of the holes, and describes the course itself as "a pleasant little layout on rolling terrain and cut by a winding and high banked creek, deep enough to fish in. It has trees, hills and water, but not any of them to excess."

May 25, 1930

The eagerly anticipated opening of the back nine was featured prominently in the Lorain Journal on July 3, 1930.

However, disaster struck in the early hours of July 4, 1930 with a fire that destroyed the golf shop/caddie house – along with thousands of dollars' worth of golf clubs. The big July 4th event went on as scheduled, however.

Lorain Journal, July 5, 1930

Lorain Times-Herald, July 5, 1930

Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 5, 1930

Plans to rebuild the caddyshack were announced immediately.

July 8, 1930 Lorain Times-Herald

Perhaps the replacement of the caddie house inspired the club trustees to resurrect the idea of building a new clubhouse, as noted in this small article from the July 20, 1930 Sandusky Register.

Wise Potato Chips Updates Peppy the Owl – Unwisely

Remember Peppy, the owl mascot of Wise Potato Chips? That's the beloved feathery symbol of the company above. He was on the Wise bag for years; I remember him from when I was a kid.

Peppy's been featured on this blog many times, most recently when the retired mascot made a special appearance on a specially designed Wise Potato Chip bags in honor of the firm's 100th Anniversary in 2021.

Well, Wise Potato Chips has brought him back, just in time for the snack firm's Golden Prize Sweepstakes promotion, which has daily cash prizes and a big $10,000 Grand Prize Drawing. It runs from July 1, 2025 to August 29, 2025.

Unfortunately, someone thought it was a good idea to update Peppy's design. Feast your eyes on the 'new' Peppy. I'm not wide-eyed with enthusiasm over his new look.  

The design of the bags themselves, however, is quite nice. Here's the whole flavor lineup.

But I don't understand why the firm that did the redesign didn't use the original Peppy design as a starting point. Peppy had a very specific structure to his face and body, and the shape of his head. Why not streamline it and render it in a modern, appealing style instead of just trashing it? 

Unfortunately, that seems to be the trend. We saw it with Travelodge's Sleepy Bear and his unbearable makeover. And Kellogg's made a soggy mess out of its whole cereal mascot menagerie, redesigning all of them – poorly.

Peppy doesn't even appear to partake of his own potato chips, judging by his trim physique.

The funny thing is, Peppy was redesigned once before. Remember this version of him with a red, rad mohawk?

He may have looked a little odd, but we knew it was still Peppy. He probably didn't like it either and was just bullied into it by a know-it-all suit. Pep should have dropped a few owl pellets in the adman's martini when he wasn't looking.

Oh well. To me, this (below) will always be the real Peppy.

And a thumbs down to this impostor, posing appropriately in front of bundles of loot – which Wise hope to make from this caper. He needs to be hooted down.

UFO Scrapbook 1960s - 1970s

May 11, 1966

Remember the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) craze that began roughly in the early 1960s and kept going right into the 1970s? It seems like everybody was seeing UFOs and wondering if these strange sightings were space crafts, piloted by visitors from another planet.

This all played out in the Lorain Journal. There were local and national sightings, as well as the never-ending debate as to whether or not the U. S. Air Force (or federal government as a whole) was holding back secret information that would confirm that we were being visited by aliens in flying saucers.

Then there was the daily panel on the Journal comics page entitled Our Space Age, created by Otto Binder for distribution by the Bell-McClure Syndicate. It had the effect of keeping UFOs on the public's collective minds constantly – and possibly contributing to some people thinking they saw one.

I remember all this, and being concerned as a kid that there were aliens out there that might invade us. (And it's all because of Mom and Dad telling me about the panic caused by the radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. 

It seems like there were sometimes UFO sightings that coincided with the Fourth of July. I recall one of my parents remarking that the fireworks probably attracted their attention, and they zoomed in for a closer look.

Anyways, here's an ample sample of clippings with some random panels from Our Space Age added to the Martian Mix. The first one is interesting to me because we knew the Lorain family mentioned. I went to school at Charleston Elementary with Bill Milks (who later serviced my lawn mower as well as my parents'). 

March 30, 1966

August 27, 1966

Sept. 10, 1966

Nov. 18, 1966

Feb. 10, 1967

May 3, 1967

May 8, 1967

May 18, 1967

Oct. 11, 1967

Nov. 24, 1967

Dec. 19, 1967

July 30, 1968

Feb. 6, 1969

June 14, 1969

Sept. 17, 1969

Sept. 23, 1969

Oct. 6, 1969

April 5, 1971

Sept. 12, 1971

July 19, 1974

March 11, 1975