Meet Burton Frye – Poet and Steelworker

I admire people who march to the beat of their own drum. These nonconformists live their life the way they want, without worrying about what other people think – and are probably happier for it.

It sounds like Burton Frye was that kind of person. How else would you describe someone who was a published poet that lived in Lorain, worked at the steel mill, and embarked on a 500-mile bike trek to draw attention to the preservation of the historic home of his idol, American poet Vachel Lindsay?

Above is the story about Frye that appeared in the Lorain Journal on April 13, 1954.

The article notes, "A Phi Beta Kappa steelworker turned part-time poet and ballad singer today launched a 500-mile bicycle trip to help save the historic home of America's "vagabond poet," Vachel Lindsay.

"Using the example of the roving poet who traveled across America on foot and read his verses for his board and lodging, Burton James Frye, 30, 610 Lakeside Avenue, plans to "read my way" to Springfield, Ill.

"There, in the home now occupied by Lindsay's sister, Mrs. Olive Lindsay Wakefield, Frye will end his journey. The house, more than 100 years old, is next door to the Illinois Governor's mansion. It will eventually be destroyed, Frye said, unless enough money is raised to preserve and repair it.

"The Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Miami University is a clerk at National Tube Company's Lorain plant.

"Frye, known locally as "The Moonsinger," has scheduled stops at the Cleveland Public Library, Western Reserve Campus, Oberlin College and Carl Miller's bookshop, Sandusky.

"At each stop he will read selection of Lindsay's poetry.

"He said he would refuse all offers of cash on this trip, but would accept food and lodging.

"Two years ago, Frye, author of three books of poetry, raised $1,200 to paint the Lindsay home.

"A native of Huron, Ohio, Frye will have his fourth book published in September by the American Weave Press. It is called "Moonsinger."

It sounds like Frye completed his bike journey – and promptly set even more goals in his quest to save the Lindsay home, according to this article from the Sandusky Register of July 28, 1954. 

It notes, "Burton Frye, a native of Huron and graduate of Margaretta High school, has a long and winding road ahead of him before he reaches his goal but he has two victories in sight, he told friends and relatives here during a brief visit to the city.

"Frye, a poet, ballad singer and Lorain steel worker, has two immediate goals. One, to hike from Boston to San Francisco. Two, save the birthplace of Vachel Lindsay in Springfield, Ill., as a national shrine to the late troubadour-poet.

"For many years, Frye stated, Mrs. Olive Lindsay Wakefield, sister of the late poet, attempted to preserve the home but is now 77 years old and almost penniless after a period in a hospital. She told the former Erie-co resident this spring when he rode to Springfield on a bicycle that she may be forced to sell the home in order to raise funds on which to live.

"Harry Albacker [featured on this blog many times], nationally known magician and medium, has joined Frye in the campaign. On Dec. 5, the birthday of the poet, Albacker and 75 members of the Brotherhood of American Mediums will travel to Springfield and attempt to contact the spirit of Lindsay, who formerly toured the nation reciting his poems and singing ballads.

Finally, this article from the Edinburg Courier of September 28, 1954, describes how Frye spent the summer. 

It notes, "A Lorain, O., steelworker turned troubadour tramped around the nation during the summer to interest Americans in the restoration of the home of the poet, Vachel Lindsay, in Springfield, Ill.

"Every summer, Burton leaves his work at the steel mills and follows the open road with a guitar and a knapsack over his shoulder, singing the ballads of the country and its folk wherever he stops.

"Burton sleeps beneath the sky, in parks, and sometimes in barns on his jaunts. His food is milk and bread; his clothing a corduroy shirt and rumpled grey trousers and he hasn't a care in the world.

"His fiancee in Lorain, O., wants him to quit troubadouring and enter the real estate business but Burton said: "I want all the real estate, the whole country, the sky."

****

Frye later married Virginia Chapin, who was a poet herself. Between the two of them, they published an impressive number of books of poetry. 

Image courtesy SanduskyHistory.blogspot.com

And what of Vachel Lindsay's historic home? 

Frye was undoubtedly happy that the house was sold to a non-profit foundation by Lindsay's heirs, and opened as a museum in 1960. Click here to visit the Vachel Lindsay Home page on the HistoricIllinois.gov website.

Total Eclipse 1970

Well, today's the long-awaited day of the total solar eclipse! Are you ready?

I hadn't even thought about getting glasses to see it, since I get off work at 3:00 and figured I would be in my car driving home from work when 'zero hour' hits. But on Saturday, during my stop at the Lorain Public Library, an employee kindly fixed me with an official pair of LPL glasses. So I'm probably going to loiter in the parking lot of my place of employment for twenty minutes to be part of the hoopla. 

After all, this might be one of those "Where were you?" moments in our life. 

I've been asked a few times about the 1970 total eclipse. My memory of it is a little fuzzy (I was 11 at the time). I remember being on the side of the house with the little box I made, with a pinhole in it. How did I know how to make it? Maybe it was featured in "Cappy Dick."

Anyway, for those of you who weren't born yet in 1970, as well as those who wonder how the media covered it back then, here's the front page of the Lorain Journal of March 8, 1970. I like how the headline makes reference to 2024. It sure seems futuristic in that context!

And here's the continuation of the front page story.

I know we had saved that particular newspaper for a while. But when I checked the large plastic container full of crumbling Journals that my parents saved, it was not to be found.

Getting Ready for Total Eclipse 1970

Fifty-four years ago – just like now – Lorain County was getting ready for a total solar eclipse.

Unlike now, however, back then we weren't in the path of totality. This map, which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on March 6, 1970, shows the swath cut by the total eclipse through five Southeastern states.

As the article notes, "Tomorrow, millions of Americans will witness an event that would have plunged our ancient ancestors into panic – the awesome spectacle of a total darkening of the sun.

"The Moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun. The shadow cast by the Moon will bring mid-day darkness to a 100-mile-wide strip from Northern Florida's Apalachee Bay to Norfolk, Va., and Massachusetts' Nantucket Island.

"A total solar eclipse is a cosmic coincidence in which the distances between the Earth, Moon and Sun cause the 2,160-mile-diameter Moon to block out most of the 864,000-mile-diameter Sun as seen from certain portions of the Earth. All that remains visible is a pearly white, irregular ring which is the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. This is the only time that this part of the Sun can be seen."

Looking directly at the sun is a bad idea at any time, but especially dangerous during an eclipse. Here's the safety warning that appeared in the Journal on March 5, 1970.

The only memory I have of the 1970 event is that I made a pinhole project box so that I could safely see the solar eclipse. (No freebie glasses given away back then). I can't remember if it worked very well.

It's interesting that the Chinese originally thought that an eclipse was caused by a dragon eating the sun. That belief is explored in the article below, which appeared in the Journal on March 6, 1970.

David J. Howat, 1972 - 2024

I was saddened to learn recently that David J. Howat had passed away. (Here's the link to his obituary). Although I never met him in person, we exchanged many emails over the years about topics related to my blog, and I came to feel like I knew him. And he was a very nice guy.

David first reached out to me back in 2017, when he was looking for pictures of Woolworth’s and Harvest House cafeteria at Midway Mall. I provided a few leads for him, including the name of the last manager of Harvest House before it closed, as well as a woman who was a waitress at Woolworth’s. David was extremely grateful, and regularly updated me with news of his progress towards his goal. 

He next turned his attention to the old Westgate Mall in Lorain. This eventually led to his quest to acquire an old Fazio’s sign from the former store there. It took him several years and a lot of effort, but in the end he was successful. (I wrote about this in a two-part post here and here.)

As a collector and nostalgia buff, I came to admire David’s enthusiasm and persistence as he went about trying to obtain some item of interest to him. And it paid off. In one email, he noted, “I've acquired a huge collection of Pick-N-Pay memorabilia and I am going to have it put in a shadow box and displayed somewhere in my house. I also have a ton of Woolworth’s memorabilia, as well as some Fazio's memorabilia.”

So why did he collect all this stuff? It think it reminded him of happy days. 

As David explained in an email, “I do not know if it's a good or bad thing, but I am very sentimental and I try to hold onto memories as long as I can. The memories I have – from shopping at Pick-N-Pay in the 70's with Mom as a little kid, to spending the whole day at Midway Mall – are things that I will always cherish. 

My sincere condolences to David’s family and friends.

On Area Movie Screens – April 3, 1954

There's plenty of things of interest on this movie page from the Lorain Journal of April 3, 1954 – seventy years ago today. 

Reaffirming my observation that Lorain moviegoers loved the Bowery Boys, there's two of their movies on the big screen : Paris Playboys (1954) at the Ohio, and Loose in London (1953) at the Tower Drive-in.

I've mentioned before how our first exposure to the Bowery Boys movies was on Sunday mornings in the mid-1970s on Channel 43 (billed as the Dead End Kids). Soon my brothers and I were walking around with baseball caps with the brim turned up, trying to work up a good vocal imitation of Huntz Hall's "Sach" character. "Hey Chief!"

What really leaps out at me on the page is the article and photo of Judy Holliday, as well as the ad for her movie It Should Happen to You! at the Tivoli. She was such a pretty and appealing actress, with a natural flare for comedy and an irresistible vulnerability. It's so sad that she had such a short career, passing away in 1965.

It's odd to see future Rat Pack member Peter Lawford as the male lead in It Should Happen to You! The movie also is the first for actor Jack Lemmon.

Surprisingly, there aren't too many Westerns playing. There's Gun Fury with Rock Hudson and Donna Reed at the Avon Lake Theater.

Conquest of Cochise was at the Tower Drive-in, and The Great Sioux Uprising with Jeff Chandler (who's always good) at the Grove. GRIT-TV does a Jeff Chandler marathon once in a while.

Grandma Brady's favorite actor, Robert Taylor, was in Above and Beyond, also at the Tower Drive-in.

Elsewhere on the same page are ads for Castle-on-the-Lake, Vians, and Avon Isle Park.

Donald Duck Orange Juice Squeezed Out of the Picture

Everyone's familiar with Walt Disney's famous cartoon character Donald Duck. Thanks to his comical temper tantrums, during which he quacks angrily (and unintelligibly), the sailor-suit-wearing waterfowl is arguably more popular than Mickey Mouse.

Well, here's something that's really going to ruffle Donald's feathers: his same-named orange juice – first introduced in 1940 – has been quietly discontinued. 

It disappeared from shelves in the Lorain area more than a month ago – first the cartons (available at Fligner's) and then the small bottles at Dollar Tree. An online search showed that it had been available at Walmart, but was out of stock.

Since Donald Duck Orange Juice was my favorite, I contacted Florida's Natural Growers, the manufacturer, to ask where I could find it.

A Consumer Affairs representative responded. "Unfortunately, we have discontinued our line of Donald Duck products, including the Donald Duck Orange Juice No Pulp, Donald Duck Orange Juice with Pulp, Donald Duck Orange Juice with Calcium, Donald Duck Apple Juice, Donald Duck Kiwi Strawberry Juice Cocktail and Donald Duck Fruit Punch Juice Cocktail. 

"This elimination of Donald Duck products was undertaken in order to focus on our flagship Florida’s Natural brand of juices, lemonades and drinks as well as other existing and emerging brands in our portfolio," she concluded.

Ah, there is no joy in Duckburg tonight.

Anyway, I first wrote about Donald Duck Orange Juice here and here. It had been one of the longest running products featuring a popular, licensed character. Most of all, it tasted good. But for Florida's Natural, eliminating the product was probably a way to save a lot of money. 

And so a mighty brand ducks out.

In happier times, when a statue of Donald Duck
greeted visitors to the orange juice plant

****

Do you start your day with a glass of orange juice? I do, but it wasn't always like that. 

When I was a kid, orange juice was something we only had on Sunday mornings, along with a Sara Lee coffee cake or Hough Bakeries küchen. And it was always the frozen, canned variety. But later, after I came home from Ohio State (where we had it every day at breakfast in the dormitory cafeteria), Mom started buying it regularly for me. And she and Dad drank it everyday from then on.

I've had house guests who preferred freshly squeezed (something I only did once in my life). I actually like the concentrate version better myself. As long as the container has a picture of an orange on it, I'll drink it. 

Guess I'll have to find another brand now. Hey, maybe I should consider the longtime choice of Der Bingle.

April Fools' Day – 1939 & 1949

Today is April Fools' Day, the day traditionally associated with practical jokes and pranks. 

Most of us, however, probably won't be expecting a hoax or joke played on us any more than any other day. (Thanks to social media, practical jokes are played on unsuspecting victims all year round now, and are promptly unloaded to TikTok, YouTube, etc.)

On April Fools' Day, we're much more likely to encounter a lame 'fake' news story on our local TV news broadcasts (mixed in with the real fake news stories).

Similarly, over the years, the Lorain Journal has occasionally observed April Fools' Day in the form of phony news stories, made all the more convincing when accompanied with retouched photos. There was the article about the High Level Bridge collapsing on April 1, 1947. And then there was the story on April 1, 1953 about the freighter running aground at Lakeview Park.

For this year's April Fools' Day blog post, I went a-hunting for more of that kind of thing. Alas, those two stories were the exception. But here are a few April 1st front pages that do acknowledge the day.

First up is this front page from April 1, 1939. 

Note the small article entitled, "Lest Ye Forget." It states, "Lorain pranksters today were having their annual All-Fools' day circus – yes sir, just a circus!

"The old reliable, soap-center candy made its appearance early in the day. Morning rain somewhat hampered boys who specialize in tricking pedestrians with purses tied to strings.

"Sgt. Chester Deeter, on duty at the police station desk, reported 30 calls in one hour from persons who thought it would be fun to ask the police silly questions, such as: "Is this the Whitehouse?" or "Can you tell me whether it's raining in Oskaloosa?"

It's hilarious (and quaint) to think of young Lorain street urchins, fooling people on Broadway with purses being pulled along by a hard-to-see string. But the prank phone calls to the police would be a big no-no today.

I like the story about "You Bring Ducks, Chief Will Do the Cooking." Most people don't know that "You bring the duck," was a saying by none other than Popeye's pal, Wimpy long before his "I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Wimpy would invite someone for a duck dinner at his house – and then add the comical stipulation!

But what about the row of photos at the bottom, with several familiar faces? Why was it a big day for them? The continuation of the story had the answer.

Under "Here's Why," it is revealed that all of the photos were of regular people who happened to resemble a famous person (like Eleanor Roosevelt).

Note that by posting the whole page, I snuck in an early Reddy Kilowatt ad! Reddy offers tips about safely flying kites (something he did here too).

Ten years later on April 1, 1949, the front page of the Lorain Journal mentioned April Fools' Day – but only in the context of a prank by nature "as she hurled a final wintry attack at midwest and eastern areas of the nation.

"Snow flurries were all that Lorain received of a light snow which fell over much of New York State, Pennsylvania and W. Virginia as the leading edge of a vast storm area moved into the Atlantic coast and New England areas."

Probably the most interesting thing on the page is the article about "It's Rose Time For City Park Emploes." It notes, "Also at Lakeview the big concrete flower basket will soon get its spring coat of paint and in two weeks – the night before Easter – will be filled with big bright concrete Easter eggs.

But it's the next sentence that's most important. "Taller than the Lakeview basket and round instead of oblong is a new three and a half ton basket made by park employes during the winter. It is on skids now ready to be moved to the corner of Clinton-av and 31st-st at Oakwood Park.

So we finally have a timeline for the installation of Lorain's "other" Easter Basket.

And a final note (and this is no joke). Today is the fifteenth anniversary of this blog! Who'd a thunk it would last this long?