Vermilion to Buy L.S.E. Right-of-way – July 1938

Last week I posted a July 1928 newspaper article announcing that construction bids were soon to be accepted to replace the highway bridge over the Vermilion River.

Ten years after that article appeared in the Lorain Times-Herald, Vermilion’s main east-west highway through town (Liberty Avenue, U. S. Route 6) was in the news again. This time, the focus was eliminating the two crazy curves that the highway took at the western border of town.

The plan to eliminate these two turns, and create a straight route for Liberty Avenue through Vermilion, required purchasing the right-of-way of the defunct Lake Shore Electric. 

As you can see on this page from the July 13, 1938 Lorain Times-Herald, it was pretty big news.

As noted in the article, “the tracks of the now unused traction line go down the middle of the Main Street.” Acquiring the land on which the tracks were located and using the properties for a relocated Liberty Avenue made sense.

Elsewhere on that same page of the Lorain Times-Herald, the Lake Shore Electric was also in the news in Avon Lake. An article at the bottom of the page notes, “The stone waiting room at Stop 56 by the L. S. E. tracks was no sooner deserted by the commuters than its possibilities for a No. 1 clubhouse was realized by a group of boys who had just organized themselves into what the community now knows them by, the Doodtlebug [sic] club.

“Six boys who lacked an outlet for their ambitions now hold their meetings regularly in this exclusive clubhouse and have as their aim the spreading of happiness for some one else.”

Unfortunately, the Doodlebuggers couldn’t send any sunshine out to Vermilion to help expedite its road proposal.

As noted on this blog post, by 1940 the State of Ohio was still talking about and studying the highway plan. By March 1952, the two curves still hadn’t been eliminated and the Lorain Journal was calling it a deathtrap.

It wouldn’t be until November 1955 when the new 4-lane highway would finally open, providing a straight shot through town and ending the decades-old bottleneck.

Zelek Flower Shop Grand Opening Ad – July 19, 1951

Lorain is lucky to have so many family businesses that have been around for decades. 

It isn’t easy to sustain an independent store. You have to deliver quality products and services at a reasonable price consistently over the years, and build up a loyal customer base that wouldn’t dream of taking its business anywhere else.

One of those longtime successful businesses is Zelek Flower Shop at 1001 Reid Avenue. 

Here’s an ad showing the company at its very beginning, when it was at its original location at 12th and Reid. The three-quarter-page ad ran on the eve of the store opening in the Lorain Journal on July 19, 1951 – 70 years ago today.

And, here’s a great photo of the store at the time of the Grand Opening, courtesy of longtime blog contributor and good guy Jeremy Reynolds.

Jeremy sent me the photo back in the summer of 2016. At the time he noted, "Found this cool picture at work announcing Zelek Flower Shop grand opening in 1951 at their original location at 12th and Reid. I’m not sure of the exact date. It might make for a cool post if the newspaper announcement/ad can be found.”

Well, it only took five years, but I found it – and it’s nice to finally be able to feature the photo here on the blog. Thanks, Jeremy!

And congratulations to Zelek Flower Shop for seventy years in business!

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I wrote about the distinctive building at 12th and Reid before in this 2012 post.

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And by the way, I’ve taken antique ceramic planters to Zelek Flower Shop a few times over the years (as recently as last summer) to have decorative flower arrangements put in them, and the Zelek designers always do a terrific, creative job.

Buy a Summer Cottage at Lake Breeze – July 8, 1921

Have you ever been the unwilling recipient of a sales pitch for a timeshare or some other investment? Perhaps you were bamboozled into this unfortunate scenario by accepting a free meal, or some other sneaky incentive.

Apparently this kind of thing has been going on for a long time. That’s what I was thinking when I saw this ad in the Lorain Times-Herald from July 8, 1921 – a hundred years ago this month. 

The ad promotes a “Free Prize Contest and Grand Picnic” at Lake Breeze at Stop 86 on the Lake Shore Electric. It promises 41 prizes to be awarded to winners of a variety of contests to be held at Lake Breeze. Prizes to be donated included a ‘gent’s suit,' ladies dresses, 50-piece dinner sets, one chest of silverware, boy’s and girl’s bicycles, an electric lamp, a coffee percolator, $25 in credit at The Bailey Company Stores, $10 in cash, a $500 lot, a set of cottage furniture, bathing suits, a Brownie camera, and more cash prizes.

The ad also reminds you to bring your bathing suit to enjoy the bathing beach at Lake Breeze. You are also encouraged to enjoy the 20 degrees cooler temperature there.

It isn’t until the very end of the ad that the ad notes, “You are sure to be delighted with LAKE BREEZE you will want to spend all of your summers here. We are making this possible for you. Without placing you under any obligation we will be glad to tell you next SUNDAY just how you can have a pleasant summer cottage at healthful LAKE BREEZE.”

Lake Breeze had been a resort area since the 1870s with the opening of the Lake Breeze House. (Click here to read about it on Drew Penfield’s Lake Shore Rail Maps website.) But by the 1920s, a summer cottage community with convenient access by the interurbans was planned and lots were being sold – the focus of the ad above.

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I wrote about the Lake Breeze resort area before. 

This multi-post series entitled, “Dr. B. W. Donaldson’s Lake Breeze Memories” tells how the resort was popular with Lorain’s early steel plant executives via a series of reminisces. This post shows how the Lake Breeze cottage allotment was still being promoted in 1927, this time by the Sykes & Thompson Company. And this post shows how in 1960, the Lake Breeze Estates housing development was continuing the tradition of trying to get people to build in that area.

Clark Grand Opening Ad – July 15, 1971

Here’s an ad for a gasoline brand that’s still around in Northern Ohio, although it seems to have disappeared in Lorain County: Clark.

The ad announcing the Grand Opening of the Clark Super 100 Station at 1999 Cooper-Foster Park Road in Amherst appeared in the Journal on July 15, 1971. 

I like the ad. It creates a spirit of fun and excitement, with lots of freebies (glasses, balloons, suckers), an appearance by Bobo the Clown (hopefully not the one at the dunk tank at the Ohio State Fair) and a nice photo of James Manser, the Clark dealer in charge.

Back in the 1970s, Clark was one of the biggest independent oil refiners and marketers, even as it competed with the major brands of gasoline (such as Sohio, Sunoco, Texaco, etc.) that spent a lot of money on advertising.  

But while many major brands have simply gone away or abandoned Ohio entirely, Clark is still around. You can find stations in Cleveland, as well as smaller rural communities such as Shelby and Fostoria.

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Today the former Clark station at 1999 Cooper-Foster Park Road in Amherst is one of those odd Pure Friendship stations I wrote about back here.

Perry Centennial Celebration – July 14, 1913

Photo of the Perry Centennial Celebration in Lorain, looking south from W. Erie Avenue
(Courtesy Lorain Historical Society)

One hundred and eight years ago, Lorain was celebrating the 100th anniversary of U. S. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie. The Lorain festivities included a big parade, band concerts in Erie Park, a boat launch, an address by Governor Cox, motor boat and swimming races, a G. A. R. Camp Fire and an appearance by Aviator Harry N. Atwood.

A major part of the celebration was the arrival of the raised and restored Perry flagship “Niagara” in Lorain on Thursday, July 15, 1913.

Here are the front pages of the Lorain Daily News from July 14, 15 and 16, 1913. Click on each for a larger, readable version.

New Bridge for Vermilion – July 13, 1928

Ninety-three years ago this month, the plans for a new bridge over the Vermilion River were in the bidding stages.

Below is the article that appeared in the Lorain Times-Herald back on July 13, 1928 announcing that bids for the various projects associated with the new bridge would be received at the office of the state highway department in Columbus on July 27th.

The article notes, “Bids of four different jobs in connection with the bridge will be received. The total work is expected to approximate $125,000.

“One proposal is for grading, widening and surfacing the new approach to the span. This improvement will be 984 feet in length and January 1 is the date for completion.

“Another proposal is for a new steel truss bride over the river to have a span of 243 feet with a roadway 36 feet wide and two sidewalks.

“The other two proposals are for the furnishing of brick and materials for the job.”

According to bridgehunter.com, Fort Pitt Bridge Works of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ended up building the bridge, which was completed in 1929. 

Here’s an early photo of the completed bridge, circa 1929, courtesy of Drew Penfield’s Lake Shore Rail Maps website.

Courtesy Lake Shore Rail Maps
(Pearl Roscoe photo)

Today, the still-charming bridge carrying U.S. Route 6 over the Vermilion River has long been a local landmark, featured on many postcards through the years.

Remorseful Reddy – July 12, 1971

Here’s something that you don’t see too often – an ad in which a public utility is expressing its regret for failing to meet its customers’ expectations. 

In this case, Ohio Edison was the utility that was apologizing. The ad ran in the Journal back on July 12, 1971.

Back in July 1971, the area had just experienced a massive heatwave, resulting in some widespread power outages.

As the ad notes, “Heat records were broken day after day. More than 50 neighborhood distribution transformers failed in our Lake Erie Division alone because of being overloaded. These overloads were caused by the effect on these transformers of the combination of intense heat and your greater use of electricity, perhaps for air conditioning units or electric fans.

“We know it is small consolation to know that our customers on the average have dependable electric service 99.9% of the time. We’d like to make it 100%, but that isn’t yet possible. And when outages do occur your cooperation, your patience and your understanding are greatly appreciated.”

It’s a well-written ad, subtilely pointing out that consumers did share a wee bit of the blame.

Our old pal Reddy Kilowatt looks pretty remorseful. I’m not sure whether he’s crying or sweating. The sun – drawn in a rather menacing style – is obviously depicted as the villain in this case.

Anyway, in the 2020s we seem to lose power a lot. The difference from fifty years ago is you never find out why.

And Reddy’s retired, so he can’t even say he’s sorry.