More Van Roy Coffee Building Photo Fun

View of the building with Detroit Avenue in the foreground

Here are a few more vintage photos of the Van Roy Coffee Building in Cleveland that I didn't use on my post last week. Two of the photos might be of interest to the street car aficionados that read my blog.

Like I said, I work just a few minutes away from this building, and stopped there a few times to buy coffee when the company was still headquartered there in the 1990s.

I often wondered why Detroit Avenue was so wide just east of the building (see modern aerial below).

That is, until I saw this photo (below).

The road was wide so as to accommodate the subway as it made its approach to the Detroit-Superior Bridge at W. 25th Street.

Here's another vintage photo – showing history being paved over – taken in 1955, courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project website. You can see the Van Roy Coffee building in the distance.

Courtesy Cleveland Memory Project

The newspaper clipping that goes with this photo reads, "Old subway opening on Detroit Ave. at W. 29 St. was getting its final covering of asphalt today and should be ready for traffic this evening. Crews were also working at the old W. 25th St. subway entrance today and Friday will put the finishing touches on the covered up opening at the other end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge at Superior Ave. and W. Ninth St." 

Here's my photo of roughly the same area today, taken through my windshield last week.

To learn more about the Detroit-Superior Bridge Subway, visit this page on Drew Penfield's Lake Shore Rail Maps website.

Ted Jacobs (1921 – 2015)

Courtesy of the Chronicle-Telegram

The Downtown Lorain Store

I would certainly be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of Ted Jacobs, Lorain's legendary women's clothing store owner on this blog. He died Sunday evening, May 31, 2015 at the age of 93.

There are several wonderful online tributes to the man on both the Morning Journal website, as well as that of the Chronicle-Telegram's (here).

Ted Jacobs opened his first store in Downtown Lorain in March 1950. An outlet at Midway Mall was added in 1966, and another branch opened at Great Northern Mall in 1976.

Over the course of four decades, his namesake specialty fashion stores were an important stop on the shopping trips of countless women.  The quality merchandise and superlative, personal customer service were the reasons for the success and amazing longevity of the Downtown Lorain store.

I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to his family.

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Looking through the Lorain Journals from the time when that very first store opened reveals that Ted Jacobs was very creative when it came to marketing his business. Since his name was going to be on his stores, a very distinctive signature logo was developed that included the store's location.

The marketing around the opening of the flagship store was very unique. About a week before the store opened, a small teaser ad (below) appeared on multiple pages of the March 8, 1950 Lorain Journal.

A second teaser ad touting the store's upcoming opening appeared in the Journal on Monday, March 13 (below).

Then, on March 14, 1950 a large ad promoted an Open House at the new store.

Finally, on March 15, 1950 (the eve of the store's opening), a large Journal ad explained the thought and philosophy behind the new store (below). Part of the copy read, "Tomorrow's the day... your day... to see for the first time a store beautifully planned, delightfully modern designed as a background for the smartest fashions we could select in America's leading markets.

"Here is a store whose merchandise carries the hallmark of beauty, fashion and quality with common-sense price tags."

The store opened on March 16, 1950 and the first of many distinctive Ted Jacobs ads appeared in the pages of the Lorain Journal that day.

March 16, 1950 ad

Here are a few other ads from those early days.

March 19, 1950 ad

March 22, 1950 ad

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Like I mentioned, the Ted Jacobs stores were on the list of places to shop for countless women – including my wife and my mother.

My wife remembers buying a dress at Ted Jacobs to wear at her sister's wedding. And my mother shopped there for many years, often squeezing in a visit on a Saturday morning when we were already downtown for our weekly trumpet lessons.

My mother remembers Ted Jacob's parrot well. "You'd go in there and he'd be sitting on a perch," she said. "He'd talk to you. You could hold a conversation with him."

Courtesy Morning Journal

Van Roy Coffee Building Then & Now

Courtesy of the Chesler Group

Just a few minutes away from where I work in Cleveland is the historic Van Roy Building at 2900 Detroit Avenue. From 1935 to 2003, it was the longtime home of the Van Rooy Coffee Company. It's currently available for lease through the Chesler Group.

1949 ad from the
Cleveland Indians Sketch Book

For a long time I've wondered why the company name was Van Rooy and the products were branded Van Roy. Fortunately, the short history on the Chesler Group website (here) offers an explanation. Although one of the company's founders was Anthony Van Rooy, it was a marketing decision to gradually phase out the double o on the product lines to improve name recognition.

The Van Roy Coffee Company is still around today, having relocated to 4569 Spring Road south of Cleveland. Here is the link to its website.

And here is my "now" shot of the building, taken just a few days ago. As you can see, the painting of the Van Roy coffee package is still there.

There used to be another memorable Van Roy Coffee sign on this same side of the building, but at the northern end closest to the Shoreway. The sign was slightly rounded, and resembled a coffee can. It featured the Van Roy waiter mascot.

Here's a painting of that iconic sign (below). This artwork is used on a label found on current bags of ground Van Roy purchased at the Spring Road location.

And here are a few screen grabs (courtesy of Google Maps) showing where this sign was located near the Shoreway, below and to the left of the billboard on the Van Roy building.

It's too bad the coffee can sign had to come down. You kind of get used to seeing something year after year, and all of a sudden – it's gone – with no opportunity to take a picture of it.

The Van Roy Coffee Company's close proximity to the Shoreway made it possible for it to demonstrate a unique gesture of civic goodwill. My wife remembers that once back in the 1980s during a particularly bad traffic jam on the Shoreway, employees of the Van Roy Coffee Company were handing out free cups of their well-known coffee to stranded motorists.

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UPDATE (May 1, 2026)

The photo below, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, turned up on Facebook recently on the Ohio Memories page.

204 W. Fifth Street

During the last few weeks, I've noticed men working on the exterior of the building at 204 W. Fifth Street, removing the signage and materials that obscured the original facade. It's nice to see the original brick revealed once again.

As you can see from the inscription, the building is going to be the new home of the Loyal Order of Moose Lake Erie Lodge No. 552. (This item appeared in the Morning Journal last February here).

A view of the building from
the years before the current renovation
(Courtesy Lorain County Auditor)

I know that for the last 15 years or so, the building had been home to various businesses, including a recording studio and record company. But what had been in there before that?

I did a quick look through the city directories and phone books over the years to find out. The 204 West Fifth Street address appears to have first showed up in the books around 1925 or 1926. Lorain Baby Shop appears to be one of the first tenants, followed by the Kiddie Shop in the early 1930s.

Longtime tenant A. B. Sauer Music Company was in there quite a while, from the late 1930s all the way into the early 1950s. The building was vacant for most of the last half of the 1950s.

In the early 1960s, the building was briefly home to S&H Green Stamp Center. By 1965, General Electric Appliance Center had moved in and would remain for a few years. The building went vacant again around 1970.

The Greater Lorain Chamber of Commerce moved into 204 W. Fifth in the early 1970s and would remain there until the mid-1990s or so. That's the tenant that I remember the best, probably from going downtown every Saturday morning for our trumpet lessons.

Meet Woody Earnhart

Every once in a while, I run across a vintage ad that triggers my curiosity – and sends me on a wild goose chase that spans over several years. This is one of those occasions.

More than two years ago, I did a post on an ad for Ben Hart's Show Bar (here) . The ad (shown above) promoted an appearance by a comedian named Woody Ernhart at the nightclub in January 1963. At the time of my post, I wondered if Woody ever hit the big time – and if he was still alive.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time trying to find out whatever happened to him. I finally did, but it wasn't easy.

Apparently, the spelling of his name seemed to change with each appearance of it in a newspaper. I've seen it as Ernhart, Earnhart and even Earnheart. But for the purposes of this story, I'll just refer to him as Woody. I might as well be on a first-name basis with him. After all the research I've done, I feel like I know him.

First of all, how did he become a comedian?

It turns out that Woody got his big break while he was a fraternity brother at Ohio State. A two-page spread in the November 1951 issue of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Journal reveals how he started out as one half of a performing duo. It also mentions his real first name: Dean.

Here's the story. Ted Mack, host of Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour was televising his TV show from the Ohio State campus in spring of 1951. This provided a golden opportunity for Woody and John Crawford, his partner.

As the article in the Journal noted, "Comedian John Crawford and Singer Dean Earnhart from the Sig Ep house on Woodruff Avenue presented a hilarious comedy routine somewhat suggestive of the Martin and Lewis formula. They won by a wide margin of applause.

The duo actually won several times on the show. The article also noted, "Crawford and Earnhart were three-time winners of the year's Original Amateur Hour television programs. In all three appearances they broke the program record for total votes received. They were judged by the response of the viewing and listening audiences. Their success was partly due to the backing that the Ohio State fraternities, sororities, and other organizations gave them."

Here is the November 1951 Journal spread (below). It has some great photos of Woody in action with his partner – and posing with his mother as well. (Click on it for a readable version.)

As a result of their three wins, Earnhart and Crawford were invited to compete against all of the other three-time winners at Ted Mack's gala show at Madison Square Garden in June. Unfortunately, they did not win in the final competition.

But Woody was apparently bitten by the show biz bug, because a few years later he was on the road, performing a solo act as a comedian, as well as performing emcee duties for various lodges.

The August 27, 1954 Altoona Tribune had an article about an upcoming variety stage show and ball put on by the Cooties of Altoona Pup Tent No. 18. The article noted, "Woody Earnhart, three-time winner on the Old Gold Ted Mack show, will be master of ceremonies." It identified him as a comic and impressionist.

As the actual event approached, the paper mentioned Woody again. The October 14, 1954 Altoona Tribune stated, "Woody Earnhart, a superlative comedian, will act as master of ceremonies throughout this big two-hour stage show. He is a three-time winner of the popular Ted Mack amateur hour, now appearing professionally."

The Sandusky Register Star of October 15, 1955 had another Woody sighting. An article about the annual fall stag of the Prophets of Sinatra Grotto stated that the prime rib dinner was to be followed by "an hour and a half floor show by Columbus talent headed by "Woody" Earnhart, "The Campus Jester," who will MC the fast moving program."

Eventually, Woody seemed to stop touring and found a new outlet for his talents: radio.

A few months after Woody's appearance in Lorain at Ben Hart's Show Bar, the March 2, 1963 Evening Independent included an item about a basketball game sponsored by the Band Boosters of Jackson school between a group of faculty members and the staff of radio station WHLO, Akron. Woody Earnhart was listed among the radio station's staff members.

Woody didn't make the newspapers again (at least the ones whose archives are online) for a long time until he changed careers in the 1970s. And what was his new career?

He became a magazine publisher that catered to a very specific market segment: fishermen.

An article that was distributed nationally by the Associated Press told the story. Here's how it appeared in the Nevada Daily Mail on Feb. 18, 1979 (below).

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Fisherman Turns Love Into Magazine Career
By Michael Hoffman
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Woody Earnhart likes to fish. He likes to fish so much that he had to start publishing a magazine about it.

Actually, Earnhart publishes two magazines. The first, "Ohio Fisherman," is now three years old. "Great Lakes Fisherman," is going on three months of age.

The first issue of "Ohio Fisherman" hit the newsstands in January, 1976. Now, three years later, the average circulation is 40,000 copies said Earnhart, 50 this month, who knows the reason for the magazine's success: "I found a hole."

"There's an old saying that 90 percent of the fish are caught by 10 percent of the fishermen," Earnhart says. "And I thought, 'Why not let the other 90 percent know how the top fishermen are doing it?'"

The "Fisherman" is strictly about angling in the Buckeye State.

"Great Lakes Fisherman" circulates 80,000 copies in an eight-state area around the lakes. It is devoted to coverage of fishing not only on the Great Lakes, but also the waters nearby.

How did Earnhart find his hole?

"You know what really did it? It was gummed labels," he explained. "All those outdoor magazines, they had labels on the cover saying 'News of Your Area' and inside I'd find only a column.

"Well, I walked the riverbanks. I talked with people and I asked them, 'Would you buy a magazine about fishing in Ohio?' I talked to boat owners and bait dealers. I spend two years researching the idea before getting the backing," he said.

"I feel very fortunate to be able to turn my hobby, really more than my hobby, into a profession," he said.

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So here's the rest of the story.

Once I finally learned to Google all of the various ways that Woody's last name was spelled, I seemed to keep finding more and more online mentions of him.

He served as the President of Outdoor Writers of Ohio in 1979. He was also asked by Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes to help with the "Fish Ohio" program by serving on the Executive Committee as an advisor. I even found a column written by the Outdoors Editor of the Pittsburgh Press that recounted his July 1983 fishing trip on Lake Erie with Woody.

But the one thing I did not find was an online obituary for Woody.

So I had great hope that he was still out there somewhere. Based on his age at the time of his appearance on Ted Mack's show, he would be about 85 now.

Last week, I had an idea. I contacted his old fraternity at Ohio State. Surely they would have some information about how to get a hold of him. They emailed back that they would see what they could find out for me.

I anticipated a hilarious phone call with Woody, in which I would tell him about all my detective work. I was sure he'd be amused. I also wanted to ask him: just what was he doing in that photo from the ad for Ben Hart's Show Bar?

Alas, I'm sad to say that it looks like I'll never know.

Yesterday, I did a little more research – and found the listing below in the Deaths notices of the October 29, 1989 Columbus Dispatch.

EARNHEART - Dean E. "Woody," 60, Thursday; service 10 a.m. Monday, Rutherford Funeral Home.

There was no obituary either. So this post may very well be the most comprehensive record of the life and times of Woody Ernhart.

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I don't know if any of Woody's friends or relatives are still around. If they are, I hope they find and enjoy this little online shrine to him.

It took a lot of guts to try and make a living as a comedian, working the lodge brother circuit and performing for groups like the Cooties of Altoona Pup Tent No. 18. It took even more guts to launch two magazines and keep them going successfully for more than a decade.

So here's to you, Woody Ernhart – or Earnheart – or however you spell your last name!

Brookside Boot Scraper

Last week on my post about the "retirement" of the Sheffield Middle School building, I forgot to mention an interesting sidelight. Several doorsteps on the east side of the building have these old-time boot scrapers attached to them.

Could they have been part of the property since the school opened in 1923 as the Brookside School? My spouse attended Sheffield Middle School in the 1970s and remembers the scrapers were there then.

I hope that the boot scrapers get a good home before the school building is eventually demolished; either in a display at the new school or at the Sheffield Village Historical Society.

Bob Vila's website has a little bit of information about boot scrapers. It notes that they date back to the days when horse-drawn wagons were a standard (and often messy) mode of transportation, and slowly disappeared as cars replaced horses, and dirt roads began to get paved.

I guess it makes sense that the school had these scrapers. As the photo below shows, Colorado Avenue was still a dirt road in front of the school back in the 1920s.

To see a nice collection of photographs of vintage boot scrapers assembled by another blogger, click here.

Pleasant View Sanatorium Then & Now

I was sent this postcard of the Pleasant View Sanatorium by the webmaster of the Oberlin In The Past Facebook page, who thought it might make a good subject for the "then and now" treatment. I thought so too, so my thanks to her for her suggestion.

The facility opened in December 1931. A front page photo and caption from the Lorain Times-Herald from December 15, 1931 (at left) stated, "The event awaited for many weeks by residents of Lorain County will take place Wednesday, when the Pleasant View sanatorium between Lorain and Amherst is opened to the public for the first time.

"The new structure, which cost the county $425,000, will be open for inspection by the public between the hours of 2 to 4 p. m. and 6:30 to 9:30 p. m. tomorrow. At that time visitors will be shown through the building, which is modern in every detail and has the most advanced facilities for treatment of tubercular patients.

"The first patients will be admitted to the sanatorium Thursday and it is expected that about 50 men and women will be housed by the end of the week. The sanatorium has a capacity of 76. A staff of between 25 and 30 attendants began their duties in the building Monday."

According to one online source, by the end of the 1930s, more than 800 TB patients had been treated at the facility.

Pleasant View Sanatorium closed on January 16, 1967. Today, the facility is home to Golden Acres Nursing Home.

Here's my "now" shot to correspond with the vintage postcard.

As you can see, since the time of the vintage postcard, a large addition east of the main entrance has altered the building's exterior view. 

You can see the addition better by comparing two aerial views from two time periods. Below is an undated vintage aerial shot of the facility from the Amherst Images of America book.

And here is a modern view, courtesy of Bing Maps.

Special thanks to Rick Kurish for sharing his research for this post.

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Of course, many of us local Baby Boomers remember sledding on the property just east of the sanatorium. We also mistakenly thought the building was an insane asylum!

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UPDATE (June 8, 2015)
I received a nice email from Peg H., whose father was employed at the Sanatorium. She also sent me a nice digital "souvenir" related to his employment.

She wrote, "My father worked as a custodian at Pleasant View in the late 50's/early 60's.  I have attached an old pay stub (at left) found that was being used as a bookmark when we sold our old home."

"I recall stopping here with him on his days off if he needed to check something or drop something off."

Peg also reveals something that I didn't know about the building. She noted, "I recall there being an underground tunnel from the garage building (furthest building from Leavitt Rd where my dad's "office" was) to the hospital building."

Thanks, Peg, for taking the time to email me with your reminisce!