Route 18 Wellington Businesses Then & Now

Courtesy www.wellington.lib.oh.us

While I was out in Wellington during my vacation recently, I thought I would shoot a "then and now" for my blog.

The problem was, there weren't too many vintage Wellington postcards on Ebay, and I had none in my file. But I found the below above on the Herrick Memorial Library website, which has a terrific collection of vintage photos of the town.

The caption for the photo read, "Businesses on the northeast side of Wellington's Business district during the 1960's. Identifying signs such as Wellington Hardware, Furniture, Dry Goods, and Bevier's are shown."

Route 18 runs from east to west in front of the buildings, which are on the north side of the street across from the Herrick Memorial Library. In the foreground is Route 58.

Here's the "now" shot.

It was a busy traffic day when I shot this, and it was a challenge to get the shot without a bunch of cars in the foreground. I'm surprised my hanging around the square with a camera didn't attract too much attention.

Anyway, I still remember a great store – the Goodie Barn – that was a lot of fun to explore during the late 1980s. It used to be in the second or third building from the corner and was packed with good deals.

Shoreway Shopping Center A&P Opens – August 1959

I don't get to post too much about my current home – Sheffield Lake – in this blog, so when I do find something of interest, I try to get it up here pronto.

The Sheffield Lake store in the 1960s

Here's a full page ad that ran on Tuesday, August 18, 1959 in the Lorain Journal – 53 years ago – heralding the opening of the new A&P in the Shoreway Shopping Center.

From the ad, it looks like the store gave away a lot of goodies during the grand opening celebration. Also notice in the ad that Lake Breeze Road was designated Route 301 back then.

It's strange that the mighty A&P grocery store chain seems to have faded away, except for stores in New York and the surrounding states.

My mom shopped at A&P in Lorain for years. I still remember seeing those Ann Page products in the cupboard, never realizing that the name's initials stood for A&P!

It's Lorain County Fair time!

Readers of this blog know that Lorain County Fair time is just about my favorite time of year. It's one last blast of fun before the end of summer, and a great kick-off to fall.

The photo above from August 12, 1953 is courtesy of the Herrick Memorial Library's website, and shows Lorain County Fair secretary C. L. Hill observing Doc Caywood, who is painting a large sign advertising the fair.

That's some great lettering. Sign painting is a real art, with a distinctive look that just can't be duplicated by a computer. In fact, some of the most popular fonts with designers are those that resemble those hand-drawn fonts, such as many of the fonts produced by this company.

Anyway, I'll be heading out to the Fair after work tonight for some good eatin' – so it looks like Midway Oh-Boys on the Midway tonight! Not to mention Rutana Apple Dumplings (hold the ice cream)...

See you there!

*** UPDATE ***

A welcome sight for hungry apple dumpling lovers

Well, I didn't have my usual Midway Oh-Boy at the fair tonight – the spouse talked me into a stromboli (which was terrific) – but I did get my Rutana's Hot Apple Dumpling. It was delicious as usual – fresh and flakey and with that great sauce. Of course the stromboli filled me up so much I was too full to enjoy my usual french fries drenched with salt and vinegar. Wahhhh!!

Cedar Point Revisited

The space spiral in early retirement

I made it out to Cedar Point during my vacation last week. It had been decades since I had been there just to ride the rides, and not attend some company picnic or corporate function at the same time.

I must confess, though, that it was with some trepidation that I went, knowing that I was 53 years old and not a high school kid any more. Would my middle-aged carcass survive the park's modern, intense rides? Sure it would!

As usual, however, my most humble goal was to be denied. I knew that the Space Spiral – one of the last holdovers from the 1960s – was going to be gone after this season, and I wanted to catch one last nostalgic ride on it. Alas, the park management must have deemed it too much of a snoozer for today's park patrons to worry about; the ride was not even operating and it was enclosed behind construction walls. I knew something was up when from outside the park, I could see that it wasn't going up and down. Oh well.

To my surprise, I had a great time at the park. It had something to do with the fact that the spouse had her young, high-school age niece with our party, and we were able to see and experience the park through her eyes. In fact, with her encouragement, I rode many more of the newer rides – maXair, Raptor, Wicked Twister, Mean Streak, Iron Dragon, Power Tower and Mantis – than I ever expected or intended to. I even rode the Top Thrill Dragster, as well as the WindSeeker (twice)!

The WindSeeker was my favorite, although I'm relatively scared of heights. It was a relaxing ride in a way (once I managed to suppress my panic attack), reminiscent to me of the Space Spiral with the fantastic view of the park.

One of the views from the train

The park crowds were light the day I went, and most of the waiting times for the rides were 15 minutes or less.

Of course, any visit to Cedar Point puts me in a nostalgic mood, and I had to point out to the niece that there used to be a Pirate Ride, and that at one time, the Blue Streak was the park's signature roller coaster. (By the way, the Blue Streak was still an intense ride!)

After spending more than ten hours at the park, we finished up with an old favorite: a ride on the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad. I'm happy to report that the train still goes through Boneville.

This sign just reeled me in for dinner

Dinner at Pink's was very good too. I'm a sucker for a good chili dog with cheese, and that was my dinner fare there. It was air-conditioned too, which was a plus.

So even though I got a little nostalgic remembering my family's fun trips to Cedar Point in the 1960s, I had to admit that I had a good time there in 2012.

The park was impeccably clean and tidy, the landscaping was flawlessly manicured, the lines were short and the number and variety of rides was incredible. The ride operators were friendly, talkative and focused on safety and fun. What more could you ask for in an amusement park?

We're lucky to live so close to the best one in the country.

So after a day of fun, I bid adieu to Cedar Point, and – more or less – vacation time and summer time as well. It was a bittersweet feeling, not unlike leaving the park as a kid and knowing it was going to be a while before you went back.

The end of a long day

1965 South Dakota Vacation Revisited Part 5

That's me in front of the entrance to Wind Cave National Park – 1965

One of the goofier aspects of that 1965 South Dakota trip was my personal contribution: suggesting that we stop at Wind Cave National Park. Now why would a six-year old suggest that?

Blame Tennessee Tuxedo.

That's right, a cartoon penguin planted that thought in my brain. You see, earlier that year, General Mills ran a promotion on its boxes of Kix cereal for a Tennesee Tuxedo National Parks coloring book & stamp album. (The company also sponsored the penguin's cartoon show on TV.)

I really can't remember whether we sent away for the book or not. But right there on the Kix box, there was a picture of Tennessee Tuxedo and his pal Chumley driving around the United States. Near the very stylized drawing of Mt. Rushmore was a sign for Wind Cave National Park.

That sign apparently intrigued me enough to bug my parents to go there, with the result that we ended up making a side trip to that park. I even got my picture taken at the entrance (the photo's at the top of this post).

The park itself was great and worth the trip. The cave tour was pretty memorable, and a maybe even a little creepy, as it seemed we just kept going further down into the ground. We also enjoyed the buffalo (appropriately roaming about the park) as well as the prairie dog town.

I even saved my little souvenir book all these years (below).

And the brochure from the place as well (below).

I always liked the simplicity of the design of those National Park brochures of the 1960s.

Finally, I wondered if the park sign looked the same after all these years. A quick look online confirmed it: yup, it does pretty much – except the arrowhead logo is now crowded onto the updated sign.

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Anyway, hope you didn't mind this "vacation" from my regular topics. I'll be back from vacation next week with some more nostalgic treats from Lorain and the surrounding county. Plus it's Lorain County Fair Week – one of my favorite weeks of the year!

1965 South Dakota Vacation Revisited Part 4

My father poses with my siblings and me; I don't think I've worn red socks since.

Like I said at the beginning of this special "vacation" blog series, my family's trip to South Dakota in August 1965 was my favorite of all of the family vacations. Seeing Mt. Rushmore left such an impact on us that when we made another trip West a few years later, we made a slight detour to stop and see it again.

I hope to see it again myself one of these years.

In addition to the four giant heads of the Presidents up on the mountain, there was the "fifth face" of Mt. Rushmore – namely a Sioux Indian named Ben Black Elk. He was sort of an unofficical ambassador for his Lakota people. According to this story, for more than 27 years until his death in 1973, he posed for photos in front of the monument. It was a way of providing for his family, and the tourists loved having their picture taken with him.

Here's our shot with Ben Black Elk. I really do remember that day!

He was such a celebrity that you could even get a postcard with his face on it.

I remember feeling bad when it was announced in the Lorain Journal that he had died.

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Another attraction on our South Dakota trip included our trip through Badlands National Park. And for a change, my mother managed to get in front of the camera instead of always being behind it!

Incidentally, I asked my mother recently why she tended to dress us in like colors on these trips. She told me it was so she could pick us out in the crowd easier if we got separated.

But next to Mt. Rushmore, the best thing about the South Dakota trip was Deadwood – home to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Now in 1965, there were no casinos, modern motels, etc like there is now. Deadwood was still kind of a rough place and a really authentic Western town.

There were a lot of touristy things to see, including the Ghosts of Deadwood Gulch Historic Wax Museum (below).

I remember that we saw the Trial of Jack McCall live stage show (below).

And we even went up to Mount Moriah Cemetery to see where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane were buried (below).

My siblings and I in front of Wild Bill's grave. Calamity Jane's is right behind it.

By the way, I still have that bolo tie. I'll probably be buried in it someday!

And for the climax of the trip, we saw an authentic rodeo: the Days of '76, held in Deadwood on August 6, 7 and 8 in 1965.

Here's the program to prove it (below)!

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UPDATE (Jan. 24, 2021)

Has reading this post got you a-hankering to visit the Badlands yourself?

Then be sure to visit “An Ultimate Guide to Badlands National Park, South Dakota” on the www.10adventures.com website. The well-written Guide includes all the information you need to plan a Badlands vacation including directions, a downloadable park map, where to stay, where to eat, things to do, nearby attractions and how to enjoy a safe trip, as well as a sample of the beautiful scenery that you will enjoy once you’re there. Be sure to check it out!

1965 South Dakota Vacation Revisited Part 3

Even though Mt. Rushmore was the highlight of our August 1965 trip to South Dakota, there were a few things to see on the way, including the Corn Palace in Mitchell on US 16. Here's the brochure from that trip.

According to the brochure, the original Corn Palace was built in 1892. There was another constructed in 1905, and the third one (which we saw) dates from 1921. The building covers almost one half of a city block. The brochure notes, "In a series of panels, there are pictures, composed entirely of corn, depicting a theme on wild game, hunting, pioneer history, etc. Along its roof are Moorish minarets and towers, which, with their bright colors, add greatly to the design and appearance of a palace."

Rockerville Postcard

Another place right on US 16 on the way to Mt. Rushmore that we stopped at was Rockerville. It was originally a mining town, named for the "rockers" (that looked like a baby's rocking cradle) that miners used to sift their gold from the gravel.

By the 1960s when we passed through, Rockerville was a tourist trap, er... uh... attraction that resembled a Western town movie set. It had a bunch of small shops as well as places to eat or see an old-time melodrama show.

I don't remember if we spent much time there or not; my parents only took one picture – and none of us were in it. There's a few strangers in the shot, though (below).

I looked on the internet to see how Rockerville was doing today. To my dismay, two-lane Highway 16 – which ran right through the center of town – was widened in the years after our visit. As a result, the "new and improved" divided highway bypassed the town and the attraction – stranding it in the middle like the hole of a donut.

As a result, the small town virtually "died", as well as almost all of the businesses.

Here's a look at the abandoned Western town attraction today (below). Sadly, it's become a real ghost town.

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UPDATE

Here’s an updated photo (circa 2018) of the former Rockerville property, courtesy of Google Maps. As you can see, the site has been cleared.

And here are a couple vintage postcards of the attraction in its heyday, in case anyone wondered what was once there.