Lorain County Fair 1954 – Part 2

We'll linger at the 1954 Lorain County Fair one more day.

Above is the front page of the August 24, 1954 Lorain Journal with the story of the opening day of the 1954 edition of the fair. Apparently it set an opening day record with more than 10,000 attendees.

In her report, Molly Maloy crafts a nice description of the Fair. She notes, "The Lorain County Fair is underway and the Wellington fair grounds have been turned into a combination carnival, amusement park, rodeo and grand exhibition.

"It promises to be a great week. People from all over the county are invading the grounds and every imaginable club, organization, and business is represented with a booth of some sort. You can buy anything from a fine bone china cup and saucer to a cup of salty french fries.

"The fair is alive with sounds, smells, sights and children. On stepping on the grounds your ears are greeted by the gay music of the merry-go-round, the blaring of a polka played over a loud speaker, and the excited hum of many voices.

"The barkers' deep, husky callings dominate the scene, telling you to "Step right up and try your luck" or "Get your ticket now and see the monkey drive his own automobile."

"Every five minutes a man's voice drones over the microphone announcing the next event, paging someone or summoning Officer Jones to Police Headquarters.

"You are attacked with odors from all sides. The smell of the stock mingles with that of hot food. The tempting odor of hot buttered popcorn or onions on a foot long hot dog is wafted beneath your nose.

"The midway is a gala sight to see. There are gaily painted rides, the tilt-a-whirl, midget racers, a huge ferris wheel, hundreds of try your luck booths, a merry go round, monkey hot drivers, fun houses, innumerable concession stands.

"The stands were packed with spectators watching the horse show and they cheered and applauded the high stepping parade horses and the thrilling rescue races."

These are just a sampling of Maloy's charming descriptions of the Fair. Many of the sights and sounds of the Lorain County Fair haven't changed in the 70 years since her article. That's why the Fair is so great – it's timeless, old-fashioned fun.

However, some things – such as monkey speedways – seem lost to the vagaries of time. What's a monkey speedway? Visit the Curbside Classics website (here) for a well-researched article about the popular fair attraction.

Courtesy CurbsideClassic.com

Lorain County Fair 1954 – Part 1

Ad for the 1954 Lorain County Fair

It's Lorain County Fair week! One of my favorite weeks of the year (I know, I always say that.) I'll be out there later in the week.

The Fair has some great grandstand shows this year, including Sara Evans tonight and the Marshall Tucker Band on Tuesday. Seventy years ago, the entertainment for the 1954 Lorain County Fair was a lot different, as you can see in the ad above, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on August 18, 1954.

On Tuesday, August 24, 1954 the stage show included Midwestern Hayride, the famous WLW TV show. As noted in the promotional piece below that ran in the Journal on August 11, 1954 it was "one of the most popular radio and television shows on the air today."

"The Hayride Show, which has been on WLW, Cincinnati, for many years features such outstanding hillbilly artists as beautiful Bonnie Lou, Swiss yodeler and ballad singer; Buddy Ross, accordionist; the Geer sisters, Mary and Jo Ann, harmony singers; the Kentucky Boys and the Pine Mountain Boys.

Bonnie Lou had a long, successful career as a recording artist, as well as a television performer and host. Here's the link to Bonnie's Wiki entry, which refers to her as an American music pioneer, "recognized as one of the first female rock and roll singers." She had a wonderful life.

Here's Bonnie Lou performing Just Out of Reach (1953). I'll bet she performed this at the Fair.

The August 11th Journal page also includes some information about the Fair appearance on Friday, August 27, 1954 of the Jimmie Lynch thrill show featuring the Death Dodgers and the Death Dodgettes. Here's a 1955 souvenir program for the automobile stunt team.

(Hey on that same page of the Lorain Journal is a mention of a chalk talk given to the Avon Lake Players by my old boss Franc Powell, who I profiled here).

On Wednesday, August 25 – Lorain Day at the Fair – the entertainment included an appearance by the Four Evans. 

You can read about them on the Journal page below from August 10, 1954.

As noted, the dance act consisted of pretty Maryetta, her brother Les and her parents Helen and Evan.

This Wikipedia page about the Four Evans tells how they toured U. S. military bases in war zones during World War II. It also notes that Maryetta kept right on dancing into her late 80s, even ending up in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Oldest Professional Show Dancer!

Jamie's Flea Market 50th Anniversary

A big anniversary quietly came and went a few weeks ago. Jamie's Flea Market in South Amherst celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its opening on Wednesday July 31, 1974.

Who doesn't love Jamie's Flea Market? For years, I was out there almost every Saturday morning, looking for vintage postcards, comic books, old toys, cereal box premiums and other collectibles. It was the thrill of the hunt that was fun, never knowing what I might find. (I bought so many things at Jamie's over the years, I could have my own booth there!)

A few months ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Lorna Ingersoll (below), General Manager of Jamie's Flea Market in preparation for an article I wrote for Leisure Living magazine. One of the things that she told me was pretty surprising – everyone has been pronouncing the name incorrectly for 50 years!

Lorna ought to know. Her grandparents Bill and Martha Jamie were the ones who opened the flea market. Lorna pointed out, “It’s pronounced ‘Ja-May.’ But because of the spelling, it was just easier to go with “Jamie’s” and not correct people every time.”

So how did Jamie's Flea Market get started?

“In the early 60's my Grandfather Bill Jamie started an auction house in the east building,” said Lorna. “He later added furniture and carpet. After visiting a flea market, he decided to turn the auction house into one in 1974. He built the center building and moved the furniture and carpet store into it."

Here's a Journal ad from July 7, 1974. As you can see, the furniture business was about to move, making way for the flea market that would open later that month.

Before the flea market opened, the Journal ran some teaser ads, like the one below from July 5, 1974.

Finally, the flea market opened on July 31, 1974.

Lorna explained why her grandfather had to construct additional buildings. "As the flea market grew, he built the west building and moved the furniture and carpet into it," she said. "The center building then became more flea market space.” Today the flea market’s indoor space is made up of the east and center buildings.

It's great that Lorna is still involved with the business her grandparents started, even though it is no longer owned by her family. As she explained, Bill and Martha Jamie sold the flea market to their daughter and son-in-law, Janice and Stan Ingersoll (Lorna’s parents) in 1976. The Ingersolls then ran the flea market until health reasons unfortunately forced them to sell. Ralph and Lolita Mock bought it in 1983, and Lorna stayed on as an employee. Owner Ralph Mock made her General Manager in 1996, and she’s been proud to keep her grandfather’s original dream alive.

Believe it or not, Lorna noted that online auctions like eBay have not hurt Jamie's. People still like to come out and shop, looking for bargains or hard-to-find collectibles. Food trucks give it a festive atmosphere as well.

But Lorna confessed to me that retirement can be tempting sometimes. However, she loves what she does and uses social media well to promote Jamie's.

What does the future hold for the beloved Lorain County business? 

“Jamie's Flea Market will continue to be the best flea market around, bringing buyers and sellers together, and providing a fun shopping experience for everyone,” says Lorna.

Jamie’s Flea Market is open 8 am to 4 pm, Wed & Sat. It’s located at 46388 Telegraph Rd. (State Route 113) in South Amherst, OH 44001. Visit its website at www.jamiesfleamarket.com

Claus Family Cemetery Restoration

I was contacted several weeks ago by the Colonel himself.

No, not the one with his face on buckets of chicken. That would have required a seance. I'm talking about Col. Matt Nahorn, well-known local historian and Amherst City Council member. He emailed me to share the story of the restoration of the Claus family cemetery on West Erie Avenue (U. S. Route 6) and provide some photos of the process.

An article that I posted about the cemetery from the November 9, 1956 Lorain Journal provided some information for Matt and the team to go on. Here's the photo that accompanied the 1956 article, showing the sad state of the cemetery at that time.

As Matt noted in his email, "When the 1956 article was published, two stones were standing and clearly visible, while a third had broken, and its pieces were laying nearby. Mrs. Florence Claus, noted to be a granddaughter-in-law of the early owner of the land, Adam Klaus, recounted that Klaus had purchased the property from the William Hershing family. 

"Mrs. Claus noted an interesting story that was passed down over generations, regarding that of Lucy Morgan, an aunt of Hershing’s. Morgan’s grave still stands, and the story goes as this: “She had come here all the way from England to visit Bill,” said Mrs. Claus. “The morning after her arrival she was out on the back stoop looking over the farm, and when she turned to come in she fell and broke her hip. She never recovered.” 

1986 Map showing the Claus properties
(spelled 'Clause' here)

"Other stones in the cemetery are of infants or very young children, such as: a 21-day-old infant, Armine Klaus (a child of “Martha”); a third stone is carved in German from 1866, possibly believed to describe the death of an 11-month-old infant, Anna M. Heideloff. “Mrs. Claus believes this may have been a child of one of the Klaus daughters living in the vicinity.” 

"The article further notes some of the genealogy of Mrs. Florence Claus: “Owner of the property after Adam, was his son Bernhardt, then Bernhardt’s son, Henry who was a brother to Mrs. Claus’ late husband Adam, namesake of the grandfather. Henry’s son, the second Bernhardt, was the last holder of the property, selling out not long ago to the real estate firm from whom the Ford company bought its site.” 

"As a life member of the Brownhelm Historical Association, and having worked with Kate Rivet, of the BHA, assisting in the restoration of Brown’s Lake Road Cemetery, I appreciate the importance of cemetery documentation and restoration. 

"In May 2024, I contacted Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, regarding restoration of the cemetery. He put me in contact with Jim Sutter, of the Lorain Utilities Department.

Before restoration. Only two gravestones were visible.

"Kate Rivet, Jane and Ron Crandall, all of Gravestone Restoration Services, along with my father Bill Nahorn, and I met on July 13, 2024 to begin the cemetery restoration, in cooperation with the City of Lorain. Only two gravestones were visible, one of which was badly leaning."

"We began by probing for lost gravestones, soon finding a footstone for Lucy Morgan’s grave," said Matt. "Her gravestone was one of two still standing, before our restoration project began. Next, we located the gravestone of Carl H. A. Braun, who only lived to be two years old. His stone is entirely in German."

"We then found the stone of Wm. Henry Herschin(g), also an infant who lived only a few months. His footstone was also located. Only the base and a fragment of the gravestone of what is believed to be that of Armine Catherine Klaus can be seen. We have probed for the remainder of the stone, but unfortunately, this is the only stone we were unable to fully locate. All stones were re-set, with new foundations, re-mortared to straighten them, and in two cases, we had to completely rebuild the sandstone base.

The restoration team after a job well done

"On July 21, 2024, our team worked on final cleaning and restoration of the gravestones. We are proud that we have successfully restored this tiny family cemetery, which once was lost."

"I am proud to have initiated the restoration project of the Claus Family Cemetery. I thank Kate Rivet, and her Cemetery Restoration Services team of Jane and Ron Crandall for making this restoration happen.

After restoration

Click here to visit the Gravestone Restoration Services by Kate & Jane Facebook page to see some of their other impressive restoration projects. They have certainly been busy in Lorain County.

****

Here is the final listing of the five known and located graves in the cemetery, courtesy of the Colonel.

• Carl H. A. Braun (Dec. 8, 1860 – May 12, 1862)

• Anna Margarita Heideloff (Aug. 10, 1865 – July 31, 1866)

• William Henry Herschin(g) (April 15, 1860 – Oct. 17, 1860)

• Armine Catherine Klaus (May 5, 1866 – May 26, 1866)

• Lucy Morgan (? – April 9, 1855) Aged 80 years

****

Here's a photo of the cemetery (from my 2015 blog post) before the 2024 restoration. It was pretty much in the same shape as it was in 1956.

And here's my recent 'after' shot. It no longer looks so forlorn.

And finally, I've written about the Claus family before. This 2015 post covered the story of the Claus Farm on Lake Road and its 'hole-in-the-wall' leading to Lake Erie; and this post highlighted one of the houses (now gone) that used to be located on former Claus property.

Protecting Inscription Rock at Kelley's Island – August 18, 1967

Have you ever been to Kelley's Island?

I think it's sometimes overshadowed as a Lake Erie islands destination by Put-in-Bay. My parents took my siblings and me there when we were kids, to see the Glacial Grooves. I'm assuming we saw Inscription Rock during the same visit, since my parents were always interested in history.

Inscription Rock has more than 100 native petroglyphs carved into its limestone surface.

Here's a vintage postcard of Inscription Rock, postmarked 1911.

(Speaking of inscriptions, the one on the back of the postcard, written by Ralph R. White to Miss Pauline Pownall, notes, "The island is beautiful now and it seemed like coming back to another world. Notice the Indian hieroglyphics on the inscription rock. A crowd of us are going to Toledo Sunday on the "Arrow." The trip on the lake is great.")

Here's another postcard of Inscription Rock.

Due to its proximity to Lake Erie and its harsh waves and winds, there was concern about the preservation of Inscription Rock. Thus, in August 1967, steps were taken to protect it from further erosion with the construction of shelter over it, as noted in this article that ran in the Journal on August 18, 1967. The article also provides a nice history of the rock through the decades, noting that young lovers often added their own initials to the surface of it, while kids played 'king of the mountain' on it.

Of course, a protective roof held up by a distractingly geometric structure sort of wrecks the natural beauty of the scene, as this newer postcard  demonstrates. Oh well. I'm surprised kids don't play 'king of the mountain' on the roof!

I think it's time for a redesigned all-season enclosed structure that really protects the rock and makes it accessible to visitors and tourists. It could add to the beauty of the scene, and ideally tell its story better, perhaps with other displays. What do you think?

A Bomb at the Aut-O-Rama Drive-in Theater – Aug. 16, 1967

I've seen many movie 'bombs' at the Aut-O-Rama Drive-in Theater out in North Ridgeview by the Ohio Turnpike over the years. (Spaceballs and Walk Like a Man are two that come to mind. They might even have been a double feature.)

But how about finding a bomb at the Aut-O-Rama?

That's what happened back in August 1967. Below is the story that ran in the Journal on August 16, 1967.

The article written by Staff Writer Charles Gray notes, "It's a dud – they think.

"The bomb, two-feet long with four fins in the back end and the fuse and firing pin intact in the front, is painted Army olive-drab.

"It was found in the middle of the parking lot directly in front of the movie screen at 1 a.m. today by stagehand Charles Perozek of Elyria.

"Explosive disposal detachment officers Lt. Charles Carson and Sgt. L. C. Lowell Barnes viewed the bomb this morning. Their preliminary opinion contained these points:

"The Bomb is either a World War 1 American bomb souvenir or a World War II French or Italian bomb.

"It definitely was not dropped from an airplane or it would have been more extensively damaged.

"The large dent in the side of the bomb was probably caused by a car running over it.

"It probably came from someone's attic and was placed in the parking lot as a crank gag.

"If it had gone off while there were cars in the lot those in the cars immediately around it would have been killed, the shock wave would have broken the windows and the next surrounding area and in the concession stand 250 feet away. Anyone walking in the area would "have become part of the landscape."

"Theater owner and manager Thomas J. Sherman of Cleveland was notified of the bomb last night. He went to the theater and watched the bomb until 3 a.m. He was joined by a number of law officers.

****

It kind of looks like this WWI Mark III Aerial Bomb that was listed on the Heritage Auctions website.

Amazingly, they seem to be pretty common. There have been several of them sold at auction.

Maybe it was a 'practice/dummy bomb' manufactured by the New Jersey Terra Cotta Company.

Visit the interesting International Ammunition Associate Inc. online forum for more information about these practice bombs.

Grand Opening of Ridgeview Drive-in – August 13, 1954

Before McDonald's, Burger King, Sandy's and the rest of the national chains came to Lorain County starting in the early 1960s, if you wanted a quick, casual meal then you probably visited a local drive-in. The 1950s were their heyday, before they were largely crowded out by the fast food giants.

One of them that I'd never heard of before held their grand opening this week, 70 years ago. Ridgeview Drive In was located on the corner of North Ridge Road and Clinton Avenue.

Above is the ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on August 13, 1954 on the eve of the opening.

A few weeks later, the drive-in was included in the New Telephone Numbers update that ran in the paper on August 27, 1954.

Ridgeview Drive-in wasn't around very long, as its success and good location apparently caught the attention of restaurant entrepreneur Richard Head. Within a few years, Ridgeview Drive-in became the second unit (and Southside location) in Head's Hoop Drive-in empire. Below is the ad announcing the change that ran in the Lorain Journal on June 29, 1957.

The Manners Restaurant organization eventually began buying up the Hoop Drive-ins, converting them to Manners outlets, and Richard Head joined the organization. The only Hoop Drive-in that did not become part of Manners was the one at N. Ridge and Clinton. Later in the 1960s, a brand new Manners opened down N. Ridge to the east near Route 57. 

The former drive-in building at Clinton and N. Ridge Rd. disappeared in vintage aerial views by the late 1960s

Today, the 2017 N. Ridge Road location is home to Urban Legends Tattoos & Piercings, with its N. Ridge Road neighbor to the west being the Lorain County Board of Elections.