Construction Update – Taco Bell & Dollar General

Well, Taco Bell has been open in Lorain now for several weeks, and appears to be doing a brisk business on Oberlin Avenue (above).

It was only about a year ago that the same location looked like this (below).

Out on Colorado Avenue in Shefffield, the new Dollar General is now open as well. It's a nice looking building, but it seems out of place in that church and cemetery setting to me.

Here's the view from last Saturday morning (below).

And here's roughly the same view from last February (below). You can barely see the Root house hidden behind the trees.

By George, these development companies didn't waste any time getting their new buildings up!

I suspect that both of these "before" views will be quickly forgotten.

I'm still glad I was able to participate in Dr. Charles Herdendorf's "guerilla archeology" team's visit to the house.

September 1961 – Fallout Shelters Part 2

Illustration courtesy of the book Bomboozled: How the U.S. Government Misled Itself
and Its People Into Believing They Could Survive a Nuclear Attack (2011)

Here's the second article about fallout shelters that ran in the Journal in September 1961. This one profiles Price Brothers Co., an Amherst firm that took advantage of the local concern about nuclear attack to announce that they were manufacturing the shelters for the general public.

The article ran in the Journal on September 23, 1961.

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Amherst Firm Is Making Family Fallout Shelters
By CHARLES GRAY

NUCLEAR SHELTER – Harry Brecha, office manager of Price 

Brothers Co. at its Amherst location, demonstrates the size of 

an eight-door section of concrete steel-reinforced drainage 

pipe. Its walls are nine inches thick. Individuals have been 

buying such sections and converting them into bomb shelters. 

Now the company has announced that it is manufacturing 

and selling bomb shelters, using its own pipe in the fabrication. 

This section of pipe sells for $500 and is the largest size pipe 

made at the Amherst location.

AMHERST – The people of Amherst and vicinity who wish, may now order a bomb shelter without leaving the area.

The Price Brothers Co., manufacturer of concrete pipe, who located one of its plants in Amherst three years ago, has announced that it is now manufacturing fallout shelters for the use of the general public.

Concrete pipe made by Price Brothers is used in the manufacture of the shelters which are being designed and fabricated for Price Brothers by Lifemaster, Inc. of Columbus, O. Lifemaster will also distribute the shelters in Ohio for Price Brothers.

Here and there an individual may be found who has started to build or is building a shelter for himself and his family. The Price Brothers Co. was awakened to this fact by the purchase of large sections of concrete pipe by individuals in the Cleveland area.

The people were buying sections of pipe eight feet in diameter and converting them into nuclear bomb shelters by sinking them into the ground and adding detail work in the form of floors, ceilings, entranceways, bunks, storage space, etc.

Harry Brecha, office manager at the Amherst office of Price Brothers, said that no sales of prefabricated bomb shelters had been made so far from the Amherst location but that many inquiries were being received.

A typical shelter, Brecha said, has an eight-foor inside diameter, is eight feet high, contains 402 cubic feet of air space and has more than 50 square feet of usable floor space.

The entranceway is 30 inches in diameter and has a full-length ladder for fast, easy ground-level entrance and exit. On the top of the shelter are two feet of dirt, covering a nine-inch thick radiation shield.

The unit is equipped with a hand-operated blower system for replacing stale air with fresh by means of exhaust and air intake vents.

Brecha pointed out, however, that fallout shelters can be as elaborate as the owner wishes and that many different types are available.

That the Federal Government of the United States is interested in fallout shelters is indicated by FHA law which provides complete financing assistance to purchase, install and equip the shelter.

The Ohio State Legislature has also shown that it approves the shelters. In 1957 the Assembly provided tax exemption by passing an act providing that no burden of state or local taxes shall be incurred "as a consequence of measures taken for the better protection of persons and property against enemy action."

Leo A. Hoegh, director of the Office of Mobilization, Civil Defense, stated: "In the event of nuclear attack on our country, fallout shelters offer the best, single, non-military defense measure for the protection of the greatest number of people."

Christian A. Herter, former secretary of state said recently, "A capacity to retaliate will be reinforced by an effective capacity to survive. And only thus can our defense posture serve as a convincing deterrent."

Not many Americans, who have breathed free air all their lives, are in a hurry to spend money so that they can burrow into the ground. However the necessity of the times may soon make the fallout shelter as commonplace to the landscape as the cyclone cellars of the Midwest region of the United States.

****

Price Brothers Company was acquired by Hanson Pipe & Precast in March 2007 according to this article.

September 1961 – Fallout Shelters Part 1

Here are a few Journal articles from September 1961 about fallout shelters that reveal the ongoing concern back then in Lorain about a nuclear attack. My parents seriously considered building a fallout shelter along with some neighbor friends that lived right behind our house on W. 30th Street.

(Back here and here on the blog, I presented some amusing government handbooks about how to survive a nuclear attack.)

Anyway, the first Journal article (below) ran on September 1, and points out that fallout shelters were going to present some possible building code headaches for the city.

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Fallout Shelters Are Not Covered in Building Code
By GEORGE KUEBLER

Fallout Shelters may be violating city building codes if they are built outside the setback lines in front yards, City Building Inspector Jay Boey believes.

Boey made this observation after studying a booklet put out by the federal government called "The Family Fallout Shelter." It is available at the mayor's office at no charge.

Because of recent interest in shelters to protect persons from the results of atomic blasts, the structural aspects of the buildings have been brought to light.

Boey says he doesn't know whether the shelter should be classified as a dwelling unit or an accessory building.

Nevertheless, the inspector points out, Lorain's present laws would require the shelter to be placed at least 40 feet back from the front property line in new allotment sections.

Older section setback lines are determined by the average setback of existing dwellings, and new dwellings must stay behind the line.

Boey thinks it is up to the Civil Defense director to take the initiative in determining what should be done as far as shelter construction limitations are concerned.

He indicated City Council could pass legislation which would allow shelters in setback limit areas.

If fallout shelters are built in back yards, they probably would meet city codes, Boey explained. He could only put them in a class with swimming pools, which now don't need permits for building in the city.

Dwelling units must meet certain specifications for light, area, heat and the like, Boey said. He isn't sure whether these would apply for shelter dwellings.

Meanwhile, Nickoloff Builders, 1688 E. 28th St., has been advertising that it will build shelters in basements for $895. The response hasn't been heavy, the firm reports. Only one all has been received.

Illustration courtesy of the book Bomboozled: How the U.S. Government Misled Itself
and Its People Into Believing They Could Survive a Nuclear Attack (2011)

September 1, 1946 Back-to-School Ad

Here's another one of those full-page, sponsored Safety ads with lists of both well-remembered and long-forgotten Lorain companies. It appeared in the Lorain Sunday News of Sunday, September 1, 1946 – 68 years ago this month.

Happily, a few of the 1946 ad's sponsors are still around, including Griffith Black Top (now M. J. Griffith Paving), Lorain Glass, and Schwartz Home for Funerals (now Schwartz, Spence, Boyer and Cool Home for Funerals). But that's about it, that I can see.

The illustration of the pretty young mother getting her children dressed for school says a lot about how times have changed since then. Recently while driving to work on Route 6, I've seen lots of kids waiting for school buses in Avon Lake. Most of them (the boys, anyway) were wearing untucked T-shirts and long, baggy gym-style shorts – something that would have been unthinkable when I was a kid.

I guess I'm showing my age.

Have a Safe Labor Day!

It's Labor Day, so you know what that means here on the Brady Blog – yet another in my long-running series of ghoulish reminders to enjoy a safe holiday, whatever it may be.

This particular photo above feature ran on the front of the Journal on Saturday, September 2, 1961. The gruesome photo creatively depicts the normally unseen "hand of death" that rests on the shoulders of too many drivers during the holiday weekend.

By the way, the photo is identified as a Unifax photo. United Press International pioneered electronic transmitting of photos through the development of its Unifax machine, the first automatic picture receiver.

Anyway, the photo also appeared on the front page of the Mansfield News-Journal (below), which shared common ownership with the Lorain Journal at that time.

Domonkas Library Article – Sept. 20, 1963

The Domonkas Branch of the Lorain Public Library in Sheffield Lake (my town) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Hard to believe it's been there that long.

Many people in Sheffield Lake may not know the story of Stephen and Ruth Domonkas and how their generosity and love for the city made the library possible. That's why I'm posting this article (below) written by Ron Royhab that originally appeared in the Journal on Friday, September 20, 1963. It tells the whole story of the "big reveal" of the previously unidentified donor.

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Library Benefactor Revealed
Stephen Domonkas Donates $100,000 To Sheffield Lake
By RON ROYHAB

SHEFFIELD LAKE – The "great mystery" of the unidentified donor who has offered to give $100,000 for the construction of a library in Sheffield Lake was revealed Thursday night at the Lorain Public Library.

The donor, Stephen Domonkas, 3719 Lake Rd., agreed to donate the money under two conditions – that the library be built on the Kennedy F. Green property, adjacent to the present Community Park, and be given his name.

In April Sheffield Lake City Council authorized the purchase of the Green property for $36,000 when it learned of Domonkas' offer.

At the meeting, C. Paul Stocker, president of the Lorain Library Board, gave the reasons for keeping the name of the donor unpublished.

"This pleasant occasion took months of behind the scenes work," Stocker said, "and there were so many things to settle before we could take this gift for the Sheffield Lake Library."

Monday night City Council passed an ordinance authorizing Mayor Frank Duguid and Service Director Jack Schaffer to sign and execute, on behalf of the city, a contract of lease with the Lorain Library Board.

The contract stipulates that the Lorain Library Board Trustees of the Lorain County Extension Center will lease the city-owned property for 99 years at the rate of $10 per year.

The library will be called "Domonkas Public Library."

According to Stocker, the library should be completed by next September. The donation should cover the cost of the building, but books and materials will be purchased by Lorain Library Fund.

Alfred L. Fauver, Lorain architect, drew up the master plans for the library.

The whole plan started when Domonkas contacted Stocker and asked, "How do you get a library in this town." Domonkas held a meeting of the board in his home and announced his donation to get a library in Sheffield Lake.

Domonkas, born in Hungary, came to the United States in 1896. He was the owner and operator of two car lots in Cleveland. One was on the East Side and the other was on the West Side. He was with the General Motors Co. for 42 years.

He and his wife, Ruth, have traveled the world six times. They have been in every country in the world. They just recently came back from Alaska.

This 75-year-old man told the group why he made this donation.

"I have always been interested in education. A library is the best medium for educating youngsters and adults – you're never too old to learn."

"Actually," he went on, "the motive in back of this whole thing is that I am glad to do this for the group of people I live with."

The Domonkases have lived in Sheffield Lake for 40 years.

Mrs. Domonkas said, "We don't have a family, we found Sheffield Lake, watched it grow and wanted to do something good for it."

She remarked that her husband always enjoyed reading. "When he was a boy," she said, "he would spend his allowance on books and pay for them by the week."

Mayor Duguid remarked, "There is no statement that could show our appreciation. This library will benefit our community – children and adults alike.

Miss Marion M. King, who has been with the Lorain Public Library for 26 years, said that the new library would be able to house 25,000 volumes, but would not be stocked with that many at first.

Sheffield Lake City officials including the mayor and Council President Earl Barnhart were present at the meeting.

****

To find out more about the history of the Domonkas Library, as well as information concerning some special 50th anniversary events, click here to visit the library's website.)

Hoolihan & Big Chuck at Brookside High School – August 1975

Heather Feather
(Courtesy gulfcoast.prorasslin.net)

I already covered Ghoulardi's 1963 appearance in Lorain (back here) so it makes sense to do a post on a personal appearance of his late night TV successors – Hoolihan and Big Chuck. They appeared at Brookside High School as part of a night of big time wrestling action on August 24, 1975 – 39 years ago this month.

Headlining the show was Flying Fred Curry versus "Mad Dog" Zarnoff. Also on the card was "Wild Bull" Curry going up against former Ohio State football star Bob White.

A special tag team match featured female wrestlers teamed with midgets: 389-pound Heather Feather and Little Joe versus Marcia Rainbow and Pat Kennedy.

The McGuire Twins – listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Heaviest Twins (each weighed more than 700 pounds) also made a special appearance, taking on The Assassins.

The McGuire Twins

Pound for pound, it sounds like quite a night of entertainment for a measly one dollar general admission ticket. Plus, you had the comic stylings of Hoolihan and Big Chuck.

Did anyone out there attend this gala event? If so, be sure to leave a comment!