Stevan Dohanos 1948 Red Cross Poster – Part 2

Here’s the rest of the article that appeared in the February 6, 1948 Lorain Journal about Lorain artist Stevan Dohanos and his painting that was used for a Red Cross poster (shown above). In this part of the article we learn about the background of Dohanos and how he became an artist.

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Lorain Rooftops Part Of Red Cross Poster (Part 2)
By JEAN WEAVER

Dohanos, who has gained widespread fame with his Saturday Evening Post covers, was born in Lorain, the son of a steelworker and one of nine children.

He had always liked to draw but his first real glimpse of the artistic world came when he was asked to play the lead in a play for the Hungarian folk theater.

Soon he was “messing around” with paints and allowed to work on the backdrops and scenery. After two years of high school he entered the steel mills here but continued his homework for the International Correspondence school courses in art in which he had enrolled.

These courses led to his only formal study at a Cleveland art school where he spent three terms of evening classes. When 20 years old, he became an apprentice in an advertising studio in Cleveland where he spent six years, learning the business of commercial art in all its phases, lettering, design and layout.

His first recognition as an artist came after he had won first place twice for drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art and in 1933 he moved to New York to work for the Fawn studios.

His fame as an artist has grown rapidly since that time and he was one of six artists assigned by the government as members of the treasury art project to spend six months in the Virgin Islands, painting what they saw.

On his return to the states, Dohanos’ tropical-style paintings were a great success and it was in 1938 that he began to work for the Saturday Evening Post, illustrating a serial story.

This led to many more story illustrations in other magazines and then he began to narrow his work down to the Saturday Evening Post alone.

Dohanos’ work is done in a rambling home and studio in Westport, Conn., where he lives with his wife, Margit, and two sons, Peter and Paul.

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You might remember my 2011 post (which began here) in which I tried to locate the mysterious house in Lorain that Dohanos featured in a painting that ran on the cover of the July 20, 1946 issue of the Saturday Evening Post.

The mystery was later solved in a three-part blog series (which ran here, here and here) in which it was revealed that the house on that cover was the house on First Street in which Dohanos was born. Unfortunately it had been torn down.

Anyway, a close look at the 1948 Red Cross poster – in which Dohanos is said to have included some Lorain rooftops – makes me think he snuck his old homestead into a painting once again.

Take a look at this detail from the Red Cross painting (below).

What do you think?

Stevan Dohanos 1948 Red Cross Poster – Part 1

Sixty-eight years ago this month, well-known Lorain artist Stevan Dohanos was featured on the front page of the Friday, Feb. 6, 1948 Lorain Journal shown above. He had just completed a painting to be used as a Red Cross campaign poster.

He even included a bit of Lorain in his poster artwork. You can read all about it in the article by Jean Weaver, which I have transcribed below for easier reading. (I’ve had to bust it into two parts; today’s part is the story behind the poster, and in tomorrow’s portion, the focus is on Dohanos himself.

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Lorain Rooftops Part Of Red Cross Poster
By JEAN WEAVER

The remembered rooftops of his hometown, Lorain, the spire of a little church in Connecticut and the strong green shaft of a lamp post in Conshohocken, Pa.

All these contributed to the intensely American theme of the 1948 Red Cross fund campaign poster, designed by Steven [sic] Dohanos, son of Andrew Dohanos, 5070 Elyria-av.

The story of how he came to paint the poster was told by Dohanos himself, in a recent interview at his Connecticut home.

Dohanos began working on sketches for the poster early last fall in his studio in Westport, Conn. The suggestion had been to show a Red Cross worker extending help in time of disaster.

Turns to Notebook
He had chosen a young woman worker from a neighboring Red Cross chapter, had photographs made of her against a background of destruction, sheltering a child in her arms and it was from these photographs that he was working.

But his artist’s mind kept searching for a simpler theme which would better represent the Red Cross as a basic part of American life.

In an old notebook filled with impressions of a sketching tour thru Pennsylvania several years before, he found one particular sketch which stood out in his memory.

On a street corner in the industrial town of Conshohocken near Philadelphia he had been struck by the symbolism of two flags, American and Red Cross, unfurled from the height of a lamp post.

This sketch was the starting point for a strong and simple poster chosen almost instantaneously from those submitted to the Red Cross.

At first Dohanos thought the lamp post and flags should stand alone against a plain background. But then he realized that “America” should be sketched in to give the touch of Main Street detail.

Thus the resulting poster gives a sum total of American, the gingerbread eaves and the quaint but homely cupola, the circling pigeons, the spire of the church and the squat water tower of a small industrial plant.

The hands of the clock on the church tower which point to seven after 11 suggest a mood and time of day and the flags suggest the whole way of life.

Tomorrow: The rest of the story

329th Infantry Returns Home to Lorain County – Feb. 15, 1919

Ninety-seven years ago today, the Lorain County soldiers of the 329th Infantry were welcomed home from the “great world war,” arriving in Wellington at the Big Four Railroad depot early on the morning of February 15, 1919.

They were treated to a wonderful reception in Wellington, as described on the front page of the Feb. 15, 1919 Evening Telegram, including a sumptuous breakfast. They also marched in a parade before boarding a car for Oberlin, and then Elyria.

As eloquently stated in the caption below the illustration, “Elyria’s welcome home to the soldier boys in the blowing of whistles, the ringing of bells, the acclaim of the populace, and given expression in speech and song, not only cheered their hearts, but the hearts of fathers, mothers, and sweethearts, as they have not been cheered since they left the city many months ago in response to the country’s call, to perform a patriotic duty, to win the fight for democracy and make the world safe.

“Having performed that duty without flinching, but at the sacrifice of long separation from friends, and the privations suffered, which is the lot of the true soldier, they have now returned to again mingle with those they love, and pursue the avocations of peace.

“And so, in extending these boys, 36 in number, members of the 329th Infantry, and comprising 12 from Elyria, 19 from Lorain, two from Wellington, including the gallant Lieutenant F. L. McDermott, and three from Oberlin, we speak not alone for the Telegram, and the people of these four cities, but Lorain county in its entirety; and may the best wishes of the community as a whole be ever with them, and God’s richest blessings ever rest upon them. That is our thought and wish and will ever be our prayer and the prayer of this community.”

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It’s interesting how Lady Liberty is drawn in the Telegram illustration.

Like many women on World War I posters, she’s drawn wearing Roman garb and clutching the flag. But unlike many of the stuffy women in other renderings, the Lady Liberty here – joyous and triumphant – is attractive, almost like a pin-up.

The soldiers marching by her seem to approve.

Quite a difference graphically from what had been used as Lady Liberty only a couple of decades earlier (below).

Vintage 1880s engraving
(Courtesy the GraphicsFairy.com)

Sparky's Coming to Food Center – January 1957

I’ve done several posts about the Lorain grocery store operated by Frank “Jay” Jursinski on Oberlin Avenue at Meister Road. It was an early tenant of the shopping center there that later included Willow Hardware.

Jay’s opened in March 1952 and was affiliated with several different national grocery store chain over the years. It was an I.G.A. Food Liner in March 1953, and by March 1955 was a Food Center.

Back here, I posted a March 10, 1955 ad (below) that ran in the Lorain Journal featuring a nameless grocer mascot that looked an awful lot like good old Sparky of the Sparkle Market chain.

At the end of April 1955, the store celebrated a Grand Opening in a larger space in the shopping strip.

But it wasn’t until late January 1957 that the Food Center officially became a Sparkle Market.

In the weeks leading up to the change, a series of full-page ads announcing prizes, gifts and great deals drummed up interest. This ad (below) ran on January 16, 1957.

A week later, this ad ran on January 23, 1957. It features the now-familiar rendering of Sparky.

Finally, on January 30, the big announcement of the opening celebration as Food Centers officially changed their name to Sparkle.

From then on, Sparky made regular appearances in the ads, such as this one (below) on March 20, 1957.

Here are some more great Sparky illustrations from 1957.

From a February 6, 1957 ad

From a June 19, 1957 ad

From a July 1957 ad

Jay later moved his Sparkle store further south on Oberlin Avenue to a brand new building that would become the home of Meyer Goldberg’s.

Reidy Scanlan/St. Joe's Demo Update

By George, this is the third post this week related to demolition!

Late last November, when the former Reidy-Scanlan building was about to be torn down, I scanned old newspaper microfilms at the Lorain Public Library in an unsuccessful attempt to find out some of the early history of the building.

So, last week – while looking for something else, of course, I finally found what I was looking for: a nice architectural rendering of the building (below). It ran in the Lorain Daily News on August 5, 1913.

The caption reads, “Work is progressing rapidly on the new block building being built at the corner of 21st street and Broadway, for the Reichlin, Reidy, Scanlan Furniture and Undertaking company. The building will be of brick construction and its dimensions will be 58x110 feet. The south side of the building facing Broadway will be used for undertaking parlors and chapel. The bloc will be completed about December 1st and will cost approximately $37,000. The building will be strictly modern and when completed will be one of the finest in the city.

I’m still scratching my head as to why this building couldn’t have been rehabilitated. 

Anyway, here’s what the now-empty corner looked like last weekend.

Across 21st Street, the work cleaning up the demolition of the oldest part of the former St. Joe’s is progressing nicely. A handsome new outside wall camouflages the unsightly seams that were exposed as a result of the demolition.

Quite a difference from the view back in August 2013.

Johnny Risko and Joe Friday

I’m a big, big fan of Jack Webb, well-known as the creator of Dragnet and for his portrayal of no-nonsense Sergeant Joe Friday on radio, TV and even in a theatrical movie. I have the whole 1960s TV revival of Dragnet on DVD.

However, you might not know that Webb also produced, directed and starred in several movies in which he played other characters. I happened to pop one of them – Pete Kelly’s Blues – in my DVD player this past Saturday night.

Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955) is about a bandleader and cornet player (played by Webb) in Kansas City during the 1920s. He gets mixed up with a party girl (Janet Leigh) who loves him, and a gangster (Edmond O’Brien) named Fran McCarg. The movie also features Martin Milner (later of Adam-12) in a small role as the band’s hot-headed drummer.

Not surprisingly, it’s hard to watch Webb as the stiff, straight-laced band leader who is good with a gun without thinking of Joe Friday. Time magazine thought so too. In its review, it said the movie might as well have been called Young Cop With a Horn (in a reference to a similar 1950 movie called Young Man With a Horn.)

By now, you’re probably wondering. “But Dan, what the heck does this have to do with Sheffield Lake's Johnny Risko?”

Well, early in the movie, the gangster character McCarg stops in at the nightclub at which Pete Kelly and his band are performing. McCarg summons the bandleader into the nightclub’s office to tell him he’s taking over management of the band, as well as a cut of their earnings.

When Kelly enters the room, McCarg is studying a photo on the wall with his back to the movie audience. While looking at the photo, he murmurs, “Quite a fighter, Johnny Risko.”

Webb replies, “He’ll do.”

When McCarg turns around, you can see the photo of Johnny Risko just over his left shoulder.

Anyway, it’s a nice tribute to Johnny Risko, who had only passed away in 1953, and a reminder of his success as a heavyweight boxer in a career that spanned 1924 - 1940.

Bringing Down the Sveden House

Another day, another demolition.

I was out by Midway Mall over the weekend. It’s very strange not to have to drive over the 49th Street Bridge (which was demolished last November) to get across Route 57.

It’s an improvement, but as a result, there are a lot of new traffic lights. But that’s progress.

There’s other changes going on out there as well, including the ongoing demolition of the former Sveden House Smorgasbord.

You might remember that I did a two-part post on the well-remembered buffet (here and here) and another about its promotional postcard (here).

Anyway, here’s a photo of the building from about a year ago, when winters actually brought a little bit of snow.

And here’s the view from sunny Saturday afternoon.

Looks like the excavator has been customized with a unique sunshade (below). Either that or the operator was watching me as I took my photograph.

So it’s goodbye forever to memories of the Sveden House, a reminder of the good old days when we used to get all dressed up with suits and ties (the males, that is) to go out to dinner on Sunday afternoon.