There's some great items there, but they weren't cheap when you compare their 1953 price to what they would cost in today's sad, inflated greenbacks. The Westinghouse Roaster Oven sold back then for $42.95. Today, that same roaster would burn through your hard-earned cash to the tune of $470!
But there's good news tonight if you wanted to cook a meal retro-style in the very same roaster that Reddy was recommending. It's on eBay right now for only $60!
I like the bespectacled dog in the ad, helping to trim out the Valentine heart. (But I'm not sure why the artist is flashing us.)
According to an article in the Journal by Ron Vidika from August 16, 2014, the company was the first stationery store in Lorain, having opened its doors on March 17, 1889.
And my own research noted that Eldred's became Trotter's Office Supply around 1957, moving to 515 Broadway by 1960. It's not surprising, since the Trotter family had been involved with Eldred's.
"The 1891 directory, a copy of which is retained in The Journal's files, was the first ever published for Lorain and was issued by the firm of Mains and Disbar," the article noted.
"The 1891 directory is a paper backed pamphlet type of publication – that for 1952 a hefty book.
"Way back there before the Spanish American War, Lorain had only 43 businesses, professional men and firms. Today it has 48 full "yellow" pages of ads for merchants. And it has 59 pages of businesses, three pages of businesses for every single business firm or professional man in Lorain in 1891!
"In 1891 there was only one attorney in Lorain, W. B. Thompson, who had Room One in the National Bank Building. Today's directory lists more than half a hundred.
"The Lorainite in 1891 didn't have much choice either, when it came to getting a haircut. There was just one barbershop in town, that owned by H. J. Groene at 227 Broadway!
"In 1891 there were two hotels, the Mentel House and Schoff House, to cater to travelers. Today there are nine listed in the directory, eight of which are in Lorain proper.
"There were two dentists, one baker, two boot and shoe stores, two coal dealers, one clothing store, two hardwares, one jeweler, one laundry, two meat markets and one tailor in 1891."
The rest of the article examines other categories, including banks, insurance men, millinery stores and churches. Not surprisingly, there were no auto sales or repair shops in Lorain in 1891 – just a livery stable.
What's interesting about the ad is that Kellogg's was basically staging a tryout to see who would secure a place on the Sugar Frosted Flakes box as its mascot: Tony the Tiger (and son) or Katy the Kangaroo. It would seem that Tony had the advantage, since the ad copy was already stressing the clever G-r-r-reat tagline.
Anyway, the ad directed the Journal reader to "ask your grocer for a free sample," and then to "get ready to buy whole box featuring Tony, the tiger, or Katy, the kangaroo."
Obviously, Tony won the gig and Katy hopped right out of the picture.
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I've written a lot about cereal on this blog. There have been several posts dedicated to Kellogg's and one post specifically about Tony, which included a Journal ad that appeared a month after the one shown above.
I still start my day with a bowl of cereal. Currently I'm working on a box of Rice Krispies, as opposed to my normal geezer diet of Spoon Sized Shredded Wheat.
When you're a kid, you see a lot of things from the vantage point of the back seat of the family car.
If you grew up in Lorain County, there were a lot of unusual things to gawk while driving past the city parks: giant Easter baskets; a steam locomotive in Oakwood Park; a huge letter V with a statue of a sword-wielding angel nearby; a fountain that changed colors. But most of these (except for the train) are still around today.
And then there were the commercial signs that indeed are no more: the old-style McDonald's sign with the walking Speedee mascot down at the restaurant that was located on West Erie near Leavitt Road; the animated bowling sign for Broadway Lanes on the back of the Broadway Building; the sign for Oakwood Shopping Center on Route 254 with Pearl the Squirrel (clutching her purse) advising you to "Shop at the Sign of the Thrifty Squirrel; the women's heads on the front of the Northern Institute of Cosmetology building.Add to this list the sign for Cavalier China out on Route 6 (Liberty Avenue) in Vermilion. When I moved to Vermilion in 2018, memories of this sign on the store building (with a woman gesturing as if to say, "Pssst, look at this!") were rekindled – and I wished that I could see a photo of it.
Well, I no longer have to wish – I scrounged up a photo of it just a few nights ago while using the Lorain Public Library's online Journal archives. Here it is, from the pages of the May 1, 1965 Journal, accompanying an article about the store's move from Lorain to Vermilion.
But sometimes the citizens win – and here's just such a case. The article above, entitled "Apartment Now Faces Opposition," which appeared in the Journal on Feb. 19, 1963, tells the tale of Barrows House, the former home of Oberlin College President John M. Barrows. The Oberlin College building was slated to be demolished to make way for a proposed retirement center.
And then a funny thing happened. As the article noted, "City Council was presented with a petition Monday night bearing the signatures of more than 160 citizens who object to the destruction of Barrows House, 207 S. Professor St., to clear the two-and-a-half acre site for the proposed retirement center."
From the article, it also sounds like there were critical variances that were needed to make the project happen.
Happily, Barrows House is still there on South Professor Street, sixty years later. Click here to visit its page on the Oberlin.edu website.
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| Courtesy Google Maps |
Where was it located? Since I had never heard of it, I assumed it was in Amherst or some neighboring community. Surprisingly, it is out in South Lorain. It's a little hard to tell, but it looks like the model homes were located on E. 41st Street, just west of the street's intersection with Clinton Avenue. Spot checking a home or two on the Lorain County Auditor website shows 1963 as the year constructed, so I think I have the right street.
Interestingly, two of the three model homes shown in the ad are named for businesses in some sort of promotional sponsorship deal: T. N. Molas & Sons, and O'Neil's.
A Google Maps 'drive by' shows a very nice neighborhood.
I think I found the three model homes. The three homes shown below were all built in 1963, and are on the same side of the street very near Clinton Avenue – two of them right next to each other.
