1958 Kline's Dept. Store Easter Ad

Keeping the Easter 1958 theme going, here's an ad from April 2, 1958 that appeared in the Lorain Journal. It's for the well-known Kline's Department Store and features more great rabbit clip art.

I'm sure most old-time Lorainites remember shopping at Kline's, and I'll be giving the store the proper historical treatment here in the blog in the coming months. My grandmother worked there for decades, so I want to do it up right!

Easter at Brady's Restaurant 1958

Here's a couple of newspaper ads from the pages of the Lorain Journal from April 1958, promoting Brady's Restaurant, the late, great eatery on Leavitt Road. The above ad invites you to have Easter dinner there, while the below ad suggests that if you decide to eat at home on the holiday, why not enjoy one of Brady's pies?

Both ads feature great Easter clip-art, as well as maintaining the distinctive Brady's Restaurant branding!

Loading up the Lakeview Park Easter Basket – 1958

Here's a classic Lorain holiday ritual captured on film in 1958. (Give it a click for a larger view.) Of course, it is the installation of the giant Easter eggs in Lakeview Park's famous Easter Basket. The photo appeared on the front page of the Lorain Journal on Saturday, April 5, 1958.

Here's a link to the equivalent 2011 scene on the Morning Journal's website, although the function is now performed by Lorain County Metro Park workers.

DeLuca Bakery Memories Part 3

Here's a few 'then and now' views of the two main DeLuca bakery locations of the 1960's, using illustrations from telephone book ads.

First, the one that I was most familiar with – the Oberlin Avenue location circa 1968.

Here it is today (below). By George, look what's right next door to the north – my favorite hangout: Mutt & Jeff's!

And here are a few renderings of the downtown location, followed by the 'today' photo.

8th and Reid circa 1968

8th and Reid circa 1973

8th and Reid today

DeLuca Bakery Memories Part 2

Here's a nice selection of DeLuca Bakery ads from over the years.

This first one is an attractive 1962 ad from the pages of the Lorain Telephone book, promoting their signature product: that great Italian bread that so many of us grew up with.

Here's another nice phone book ad, this time from 1968.

Lastly, here's a 1973 ad from when the bakery business began winding down and they were back to just the one location.

DeLuca Bakery Memories Part 1

1960's advertisement

Reading in the Morning Journal about Kiedrowski's Bakery's wonderful success in beating eight other bakeries nationwide to win the Best Bakery in America title reminded me of all the great bakeries that used to be so prevalent in our area.

I've mentioned Bob's Donuts in this blog many times, as well as Bill's Bakery, but this time I'd like to mention another local favorite: DeLuca Bakery.

I'm sure many of you are familiar with DeLuca's Place in the Park, but a whole generation has grown up that didn't have the privilege of stopping in at one of the DeLuca Bakery locations, where the whole present-day catering business started.

The main location was at the corner of Eighth and Reid Avenue, but the one my family went to was at W. 38th and Oberlin Avenue. It was probably the final stop on our weekly 1960's Saturday morning jaunt around town that included shopping and trumpet lessons in Downtown Lorain.

I remember one time going into the bakery with my mother on one of these stops. We noticed that on the counter next to the slicer were all these heels and ends that were left over after the bread and rolls had been sliced and wrapped.

To many people (myself included), those ends and crusts are the best part!

"What are you going to do with those?" my mom asked. I can't remember what the reply was, but the counter person happily offered them to my mother, sliding them all into a big bag. In the car, we munched on them all the way home, and they were great!

Anyway, the 1960's ad (above) shows the beginning of the company's shift in focus from the bakery to that of the catering business.

Elks Club Then and Now Part 2

While doing a little research at the Black River Historical Society back in March, I found this undated vintage photo in a collection of Lorain Elks paraphernalia.

Lorain Journal ad from January 1954

I feel kind of sentimental about the Lorain Elks, because my grandfather was a member of that lodge for many years and it meant a lot to him. According to my mother, her father was a "hail fellow well met" type of guy, who enjoyed stopping at the Elks lodge on the way home from work. (Maybe a little too often!)

Grandpa was also a Mason. Basically, he was one of that dying breed of men who, back in the 1940s and 1950s, belonged to several different fraternal organizations. It really seemed to be a necessity back then, career-wise.

Anyway, here is another recent shot of the Lorain Elks building at 203 Sixth Street. According to the City Directories, it was the address for a barber, as well as a few residents, in 1945. It wasn't listed as the address for the Elks until 1947 or so.

Recent photo of the Lorain Elks building