Jack Webb’s Views on TV Crime Shows – July 1971

Jack Webb is one of my all-time TV favorites, with his long-running Dragnet series. That’s why I had to post this article from the July 5th, 1971 edition of the Journal.

In it, Webb theorizes about the growing popularity of law and order TV series coinciding with the rise in crime in the country at that time.

With 20 law and order TV series in the 1971-72 lineup, Webb notes that “viewers are finding some semblance of order in the shows that can’t be detected in the warped sociological scenes this country is enmeshed in today.”

Ironically, Webb had just pulled the plug on his Dragnet revival at that time after four seasons. Contrary to accounts that the show had been canceled, NBC had wanted to keep the popular show going. But Webb had run out of steam, choosing to produce TV shows rather than continuing to play Joe Friday.

Today, I don’t think there's any correlation between the popularity of TV shows with a law and order theme and the current attitudes towards crime in society. Crime shows just seem to be most popular type of entertainment with the public.

****

Jack Webb has showed up on this blog before.

Lorain Gets an A&P Super Market – July 1951

A&P has a history in Lorain going back to July 1919, when the first two stores in the city opened – one at 859 Broadway and the other at 500 E. Erie Avenue.

Over the years, the chain had outlets all over Lorain. During the 1920s, thirteen A&Ps opened in Lorain. But these were the small, old-fashioned neighborhood stores that competed with the independent Mom-and-Pop grocery stores and small chains like Food Fair.

The first, modern A&P supermarket in Lorain was at 3809 Broadway, the subject of the teaser ad above. It ran in the Lorain Journal on July 12, 1951.

The ad is quite charming with its use of illustration. It has a children’s book vibe to it; you half expect to see Curious George floating over the building, holding a balloon.

It’s interesting that A&P selected that location for its first supermarket in the city. I guess the decision makers thought that it was centrally located, and would draw customers from the East side as well as South Lorain. 

Eventually, A&P opened more stores in the area, including the one on the East side on Kansas Avenue (1957), Shoreway Shopping Center in Sheffield Lake (1959); the main West Side store at Lorain Plaza (1960); and Vermilion (1961).

Perhaps because the chain became so ubiquitous in the area, the Broadway location was unable to attract enough customers. It was closed by the early 1970s. 

And today, the mighty Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (or A&P for short) is no more.

Own the Windmill on Kolbe Road

Courtesy of Howard Hanna

Want to own a longtime Lorain landmark? 

Here’s your big chance. The well-known windmill located on Kolbe Ro, converted to a residence as a labor of love by Tom Philipps, is currently for sale. It's listed with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. Alicia Parkinson, ABR, CNE, HOD, RRS is the listing agent.

Courtesy Bing Maps

Here's the link to the Howard Hanna listing. It includes some fascinating photos of the rarely seen interior.

As it notes, the 1.5 acres property (with an additional two acres available for purchase) "gently slopes to Beaver Creek, where you can enjoy fly fishing or hiking through the wooded 30-acre Kennedy Park. 

"Beautiful views of FoxCreek Golf add to its awesome location, about a mile from the shores of Lake Erie. 

"Set back off the road, an inviting herringbone brick walkway and circular drive bring you across a mill stone threshold, where you step into the fairytale tower and first floor living room, with gas fireplace and full bath. 

“Floor 2 houses a huge kitchen with custom cabinets, porcelain floors, tile counters, stainless appliances, and glass table looking down into the first floor. The second floor also offers a half bath, laundry, and French doors to balcony. 

“Floor 3 is master bedroom and bath, with outdoor deck encircling entire windmill. 

Courtesy Lorain County Auditor

“Floor 4 is a second bedroom with full bath and French doors to balcony. Floor 5 is a third bedroom or bonus room, with French doors to balcony. The attic is the roof, designed to rotate to keep the blades facing into the wind. 

The windmill's conversion to a home began in 2005, as seen on You Live in What? in 2015” (below).

The windmill has been the subject of two blog posts, including this one from 2012, and this post about its construction by Joe Ule in 1950. (There’s also an additional post about Joe Ule's Storybook house nearby, from when it was for sale in 2016.)

A recent view of the windmill from Kolbe Road

Lorain International Breaks a Record – July 3, 1971

Although Lorain canceled its International Festival early this year on account on the pandemic, it’s a good time to remember the "good old days" when the event was held in the May Company parking lot at the Sheffield Shopping Center. It was a huge event back then, and to miss it was unthinkable. Sometimes we went to the festival all three days. (It was free admission, too.)

Above is a nice reminder of those days. The article, written by Journal Staff Writer Marsha Nutter, ran in the paper back on July 3, 1971 – fifty years ago this month. It notes that the opening day crowd of 30,000 people was a record setter.

But it was a different Lorain back then. There were still many thriving ethnic organizations and clubs, so there really were authentic foods at the once-a-year bazaar that you looked forward to. I still remember getting great egg rolls at the Golden Dragon booth. And there was an out-of-town (I think it was in Lakewood) bakery that had a booth at the festival each year, with genuine German pastries and goodies. I remember that the family who owned the bakery all wore German outfits (including the cute daughters).

There were other differences between the International Festivals of the past and the current version. There was plenty of nearby parking at the Sheffield Center. The huge festival tents there insured that rain or shine, the show would go on (although it could get pretty hot in there). The picnic tables were a convenient place to take a break; there was also the grassy hill overlooking the festivities where you could catch a breeze and relax under the trees.

The Admiral King Marching Band used to have a booth selling pop, and it was fun to work there during the weekend and people watch. It was always a bummer when a syrup tank was empty and we’d have to have it replaced.

Anyway, I haven’t been down to the modern Festival at the riverfront for years. The last time I went, the festival weekend coincided nicely with the annual arrival of the lake flies. 

But I’ll give it another try next year.

****

I wrote about the very first Lorain International Festival back here.

Lorain Contractor Builds City’s First Bomb Shelter – July 1951

Civil Defense has been a regular topic on this blog since its launching in 2009. 

Why do I find it interesting? Because I was born at the end of the 1950s and civil defense was still very much on the minds of Lorain’s citizens. 

I’ve mentioned many times how my parents came very close to building a fallout shelter in our backyard in collaboration with some neighbors.

Anyway, I’ve devoted many posts to civil defense as a topic, including (and most recently) a 1956 comic book featuring “Mr. Civil Defense” (with a cameo by Al Capp’s beloved Li’l Abner character); Lorain’s air raid signal test (May 1951) as well as a new civil defense siren (May 1954); Lorain’s Civil Defense tower that used to sit behind the old City Hall; a 1968 Emergency handbook; a 1961 Fallout Protection book; and two September 1961 articles about area fallout shelters (here and here).

Well, here’s another article about Lorain’s preparation for a nuclear attack. This one is pretty interesting, because it features Sam Pavlovich, a contractor who apparently built “Lorain’s first atom bomb shelter.” 

The article ran in the Lorain Journal back on July 2, 1951.

It’s interesting that the article points out that “The shelters are being built, not because customers have ordered them, but because Pavlovich thinks it is time someone took some precautions.”

How big was the shelter he was building at the time of the Journal article? The article notes, “Approximately five feet by 11, it has ample space to accommodate an average family, according to its designers.”

As for construction, Pavlovich was “insulating his bomb room with concrete on all sides, installing a steel door opening onto the basement and a steel-shielded window for ventilation. The window will serve as an exit, if necessary, in case the door is blocked by the ruins of the home collapsing into the basement.” A cheery thought indeed.

What’s really interesting is that the article provides an address for the home Pavlovich was working on at that time: 2112 W. 11th Street. According to the article, the shelter “lies under the front porch in order to get topside protection from the porch’s concrete floor.”

I wonder if the family living there now knows about the bit of Lorain history right under their front porch?

Ohio Edison Ad – July 4, 1951

Here’s an interesting ad from Ohio Edison from the pages of the July 4, 1951 Lorain Journal with a theme that probably resonates with many people: limiting the powers of our government.

The ad beseeches Americans to think about the words of the Declaration of Independence and answer them with a declaration of their own: to declare that government is responsible to its citizens (rather than for them); to declare that freedom is more important than survival; and to declare that our God-given rights may not be taken away by our government.

It's hard to imagine such an ad running today, when corporations are focused on protecting their bottom line and avoiding controversy. 

But for many Americans, the thoughts and beliefs outlined in the ad ring just as true today as they did in 1951.

As for me, I’m surprised Ohio Edison didn’t feature our old pal Reddy Kilowatt in the ad, dressed up like a Minute Man.

Vacation Spots – July 1, 1938

July 4th is only a few days away. 

And if you were wondering how to have fun on that holiday, eighty-three years ago today, you might have taken a look at your edition of the Lorain Journal for ideas. That’s where you would have seen the above group of advertisements under the banner of ‘AN ARRAY OF VACATION SPOTS FOR HAVING WONDERFUL TIME OVER THE FOURTH.’

There are some familiar suggestions: dining at Pueblo; having dinner followed by dancing at Helfrich’s (operated by Charlie McGarvey); enjoying the fireworks at Crystal Beach Park; dancing at Elberta Beach in Vermilion; taking in a movie at the Warner Brothers Palace Theatre.

And there are some new (at least to this blog) establishments listed as well, including two in Lorain: Silver Grille at 1726 Broadway, and Blue Grill at Oberlin Avenue and 8th Street. Nash Boat House in Vermilion, where you could rent canoes, row boats and cabins, completes the roll call of where to have fun.

But what about Country Home Tavern, shown above in its Grand Opening ad?

I had never heard of it before. According to advertisements found on one of the newspaper archive websites, it was located on Elyria Avenue at Dunton Road. 

Based on those vintage ads, Country Home Tavern seemed to be around from 1938 until about the summer of 1947. Since it was located between Lorain and Elyria, it was not included in very many city directories, and it had no numerical address.

Joe Celano was the manager, with his home phone number matching that of the business. A later city directory revealed the Celano address was 4597 Elyria Avenue, and vintage aerials shows only one building has ever been at that spot. So I have a hunch that the home at that location today was Country Home Tavern.

4597 Elyria Avenue today

It looks big enough, and somewhat special; more than just a house. Does anyone know for sure?

Vintage aerial photos also show a possible parking area in front of the building as late as 1952.