Lake Shore Electric Accident – May 13, 1905

Usually when I post a front page of the Lorain Times-Herald from the early 1900s, you can expect to read juicy articles about various acts of local mayhem (murders, peeping Toms, etc.) with the result of many Lorainites being hauled off by the gendarmes to the pokey.

But the front page of the Lorain Times Herald of May 13, 1905 is different. It tells the tale of a Lake Shore Electric accident in which an interurban car was teetering over the edge of the Rocky River bridge. 

The article notes, “Hanging on the edge of the Rocky River bridge, and gazing at a sheer fall of 100 feet is the predicament a car load of passengers on the Lake Shore Electric found themselves in at Rocky River this morning. It was the most remarkable accident in respect to the possibilities of horror without doing any serious harm ever heard of in the history of electric railroading. Had the car gone a few inches farther it would have toppled over the edge of the bridge. Indeed, even after it was stopped, nothing seemed to prevent its falling, and why it did not fall is one of the mysteries of life.”

How did it happen?

As noted in the article, “Car No. 64 was running as the second section of the Limited and reached the Rocky River bridge at 7:30. Motorman Beebe was running the car and President Bicknell stood beside him in the vestibule. Hawkins was the conductor.

"After the conductor got his orders from the dispatcher the car started across the bridge as usual. It could not have gained much speed for it had only proceeded onto the bridge about 75 feet when the left hand wheels of the front truck jumped out of the flange groove. The car ran this way about its length until it forced the right hand wheels off the track and the trucks gave a sudden twist towards the edge of the bridge. 

"The car ran some distance along the edge of the bridge, all the time crashing against the iron fence and getting closer and closer to the edge. Finally it brought up against an iron lamp-post and stopped.

“The experience to all the passengers was like a horrible nightmare.”

“President Bicknell at once took charge of the wreck and was the coolest man in the party.”

Willis Leiter photograph of the wreck
(Courtesy of Dennis Lamont)

Car #64 teetering over the edge of the Rocky River Bridge
(Courtesy of the Cleveland Memory Project)

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To read more about this story, be sure to visit Drew Penfield’s Lake Shore Rail Maps website, the online home of all things related to the Lake Shore Electric.

Suburban Lorain Growth Spurt – May 7, 1951

Here’s an interesting article by Doug Moore that appeared in the Lorain Journal back on May 7, 1951 – 70 years ago this month. It provides an early 1950s snapshot of the area surrounding Lorain, when new houses were beginning to pop up everywhere.

As the article notes, “One of the fastest-growing parts of suburban Lorain is the area just west and south of the city.

“New houses there are springing up so fast that one can scarcely drive a mile on any of the roads south of the city without seeing the foundation or skeleton of a new house going up.

“A row of houses on Broadway past Penfield Junction or on Meister-rd west of Oberlin-av is not like the development type community where houses vary only in color and in minor construction details. Here as in some other areas south of the city, each house has its own personality – each is set apart from the house next door and each is one an American family will make into a dream home.

“Many of the owners are building their own houses. Among the others, seldom does one see houses side by side done by the same contractor.

“As these enterprising people build their homes, they are adding both beauty and value to suburban Lorain.”

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Today, the 1950s concept of 'suburban Lorain’ doesn’t seem applicable any more. Over the years, houses have replaced farmland to the point where it really is one big, continuous city.

The article does make a good observation about how families were building their own houses (as opposed to being part of a planned development) and consequently created neighborhoods with much variety in home styles. 

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I managed to come up with “now” views of two of the photos that accompany the 1951 article.

Here’s the row of homes described as being "on Route 254 at Middle Ridge.”

And here’s the recent Google Maps view.

Here’s the home at “461 W. Foster Park-rd.”

And here it is today – still quite lovely –  courtesy of the Lorain County Auditor website.

Gettin’ Reddy for Mother’s Day – May 1956

Well, Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and I’m looking forward to it.  As to what to get Mom, I’m not sure. 

But if it was 1956 – I’d know exactly what she’d like: a Dominion electric fry pan. At least, that’s what our old pal Reddy Kilowatt recommended in this ad, which ran in the Lorain Journal back on May 1, 1956.

And if Mom wants one in 2021, there’s a couple on eBay right now. This one (below) even comes with the book. Mmmm, those eggs and bacon on the cover look pretty good to me.

This one suspiciously has a copper-colored lid, which is at odds with the Journal ad, which touted a “beautiful silvercraft finish.”

But a look at the bottom of it reveals why Reddy chose this particular fry pan – it was made right in Mansfield, Ohio!

1963 Lorain City Directory Grocery Listing

As sort of a follow-up to my post about small neighborhood food stores a few weeks ago, here’s the listings of "GROCERS and MEATS – RETAIL” from the 1963 Lorain City Directory. It includes not only the single mom-and-pop stores, but also the big players such as Kroger and A&P, and the regional chains as well. The area covered includes Lorain, Sheffield Lake, Sheffield and Amherst.

Perhaps seeing the list will jog some more memories.

I chose 1963 because it was still part of this area’s “Golden Age,” as well as being a time that would include stores that many of this blog’s readers probably remember.

There are plenty of names on the list that I’ve written about, including A&P, Bazley’s Cash Market, Fisher Foods, Fligner’s, Gang’s, Meyer Goldberg, Jay’s Sparkle Market, Jeancola Food Fair, Kroger, Manhattan Market and John Pfaff.

It’s kind of sad that many of the large chains are pretty much gone from our area, including IGA, Sparkle and Kroger. I’ve never been a big fan of Giant Eagle; I can still remember when the chain first arrived in our area, with their “The Eagle Has Landed” TV commercials. Ugh.

Anyway, here’s a very old post of mine (from 2011) in which I reminisced about going grocery shopping on Friday nights. It still seems like the night to go, so there’s a fresh stock of sugary sweet cereal to enjoy on Saturday morning!

Black River Township Schoolhouse Revisited

Since I’ve been hanging around the intersection of Meister and Leavitt Roads here on the blog for the last two days, I might as well loiter there a little longer.

One of the topics that I’ve revisited several times is the old red brick schoolhouse that used to be at that very intersection on the northeast corner. It first appeared on the 1874 map of Black River Township. 

After serving its educational purpose for decades, it was abandoned by the late 1920s. It found new use as the administration building for Lorain’s new Port Mills Airport in 1929.

It was later torn down and replaced by the Black River Township fire station. When Black River Township ceased to exist in 1964, the station became Lorain Fire Station No. 7. (Today the building is a storage facility for Lorain Police.)

Aside from the images in the newspaper clippings from the time of the Port Mills opening, I’ve never seen an actual photograph of the old schoolhouse – until now.

I had received a collection of photos from historian and archivist Dennis Lamont that were identified as “Somogyi Aerials.” The belief is that the company was stationed out of the Port Mills Airport.

Anyway, while I was reviewing the set of vintage photographs of old airplanes both in the sky and parked on the ground, one caught my eye.

Right there in the background at the far left is what I’m pretty sure is the old schoolhouse. 

It’s in the right location at the edge of the airfield, and everything corresponds to the newspaper photos –the number of windows, the chimney, the trees close to the building, etc.

It’s a good illustration of why sometimes the things in the background of a vintage photo are more interesting than the actual subject.

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I did a five-part series on this schoolhouse back in 2017. I also wrote about the one on East River Road (here and here), as well as the Brownhelm Township one.

Meister Road Telephone Exchange – May 2, 1956

One of the things I remember as a kid growing up on E. Skyline Drive was seeing the little brick building at the intersection of Meister Road and Leavitt Road. Was it a house? Did someone live there? Why did the windows look so funny?

That’s it at the top of this post as it looks today, as seen from Leavitt Road.

Of course, I later learned it had something to do with the Lorain Telephone Company. Specifically, it was an exchange, and back in the late 1950s it enabled the company to handle the increasing demands of both residents and businesses on the western edge of Lorain, which was growing in leaps and bounds. 

It went into service on May 6, 1956, with this informative ad appearing in the Lorain Journal four days earlier on May 2nd.

Over the years, the building was expanded into the sprawling structure it is today. Here’s a Google Maps view. Note that the original entrance was relocated as a result of the remodeling.

At least they made it pretty symmetrical.

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I wrote about this building before. This 2013 post showed it under construction in January 1956. 

Meister Musings

I spend a lot of time reading old newspapers on microfilm at the Lorain Public Library, and it’s always interesting when I see a mention of one of the area’s pioneer families of Black River Township. 

In this case, it was the obituary of Mrs. Gus Meister, which appeared on the front page of the Lorain Times-Herald on May 20, 1920.

What’s interesting is that she was a member of the Jaeger family, and married into the Meister family.

Before marriage she was known as Frances Jaeger. Both the Meister and Jaeger families are remembered with their names assigned to roads on the west side of Lorain today.

It’s easy to see that Meister Road was likely named because the Meister farm was located at the western terminus.

Portion of 1857 Black River Township Map

Portion of 1896 Black River Township Map

Portion of 1912 Map

Note that the adjoining property was owned by the Fulmer family; it’s not surprising that today’s Meister Road ends where it meets Fulmer Drive, which then runs north to West Erie Avenue.

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Although I wasn't planning on researching the Meister family, they are well represented on the FamilySearch website. At least two of the children of Gus and Frances Meister have well-written biographies on the website: F. W. Meister and John A. Meister.

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Meister Road is a frequent topic on this blog. Besides the fact that it used to represent the southern city limits of Lorain, it was also important because two of the city’s airports bordered on it.