1965 South Dakota Vacation Revisited Part 2

My siblings and I in front of the Apache camper on that 1965 trip.
(I'm the hatless one.)

How did my family become happy campers anyway – pulling our pop-up camper around the U.S.A?

Well, although tent trailers had been around in some form for a long time in the U.S., the introduction of several popular new pop-up camper models in the late 1950s led to a veritable camping renaissance. Suddenly, families could travel around the country and tow their accommodations right behind them.

My parents joined this camping bandwagon in the early 1960s, as it would have been too expensive for us to travel and stay in motels. So after a few years of tent camping locally (at places like Mill Hollow) for the family to get the hang of it, my parents purchased an Apache camper so that we could begin to see the USA while we were all still young.

So in early August 1965, we hit the road to South Dakota.

Part of the family ritual back then was leaving around 5:00 in the morning, and I still associate that early departure as part of going on vacation. (Of course, it would be unheard of for the spouse and I to leave that early nowadays; in fact, even faced with an eight or ten hour drive ahead of us, we are still groggily packing at 10 A.M. on the day we're leaving!)

Anyway, my parents were pretty cagey about keeping my siblings and I occupied in the car on these trips.

My mother doled out some fresh fruit every once in a while, as well as old-fashioned chewy candy. My parents also made sure we had comic books and Batman paperbacks to keep us from being bored (and less likely to fight in the back seat) and encouraged us to keep a travel diary.

We also amused ourselves watching for unusual license plates, and waving at truckers.

And of course, there was Zit-Zingo – the Travel Game!

Zit-Zingo was played like Bingo. As the directions stated, "Players watch for objects along the road and cross them off on cards. First player to mark five objects in a row is winner."

Looking at the score cards today is kind of interesting. Here's one (below).

Seeing as we spent much of the trip on major highways, it wasn't very likely that we were ever going to see a 4-way stop! I'm also surprised at the equally creepy portraits of the policeman and the hitchhiker! I can't decide which one looks more menacing.

Part of the fun of playing Zit-Zingo (I'm ashamed to say) was distracting another player from noticing one of the much-needed objects on his/her card as it slowly loomed into view outside the window (such as a water tower). Pretty rotten, right?

Anyway, we made Wisconsin Dells the first night, and arrived in South Dakota the second.

Next: South Dakota here we come

1965 South Dakota Vacation Revisited Part 1

1960s South Dakota Travel Brochure (courtesy Ebay)

Well, it's that time of year again – when I take a week off from work – and this blog as well!

And since I'm on vacation, the blog will take one as well from my usual subject matter (namely Lorain County). So if it's Lorain you want to read about, you might just want to stop back here in a week or so.

But until then, I'll present a few reminisces about a family vacation I'll never forget: our 1965 trip to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. It was our first family vacation pulling a pop-up camper and in my mind, one of the best.

I hope you enjoy my little show-and-tell from that memorable 1965 trip.

Remember – part of growing up in Lorain meant leaving it for a while in the summer!

103rd O.V.I. Vintage Postcards

Since the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry's reunion starts this weekend, here's a few vintage postcards from past reunions to help reinforce the historical aspect of it all.

The early reunions immediately after the Civil War were one and two-day affairs with only the veterans present. Later, the wives and families of the veterans were invited, and the reunions evolved into weeklong camps. Tents were erected to sleep and cook in.

A favorite location for the reunions was Randall's Grove in Lorain (near the present site of the Overlook Apartments). In 1907, four acres of lakefront property was purchased in Sheffield Lake for a permanent reunion site, and the celebrations have been held there since 1908.

Here's a few more looks at what I believe is the current 103rd O.V.I. property as seen on vintage postcards.

Here's wishing the 103rd O.V.I. another great Camp Week!

103rd O.V.I. Museum Dedication – August 1972

Well, it's almost the  middle of August – and that means that it's time for Camp Week again at the 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry in Sheffield Lake, the once-a-year reunion of the descendants of the Union veterans who served in the 103rd Regiment O.V.I. The tradition goes all the way back to 1866, when the men of the 103rd decided to hold an annual reunion in the summer.

According to my inside source, it all starts this Saturday! I hadn't noticed the cars parked all over the place on the grounds yet, so I figured the reunion must be coming up.

Anyway, if you've never been to the 103rd O.V.I. Museum, then you are definitely missing something. They have a great collection of Civil War artifacts that are worth a look if that's your passion. And if you time your visit to coincide with one of their fantastic Pancake Breakfasts, admission to the museum is free!

Anyway, here's an article (below) written by Betsy Watson that ran in the Lorain Journal on August 12, 1972 that talks about the dedication of the museum. It also gives a nice capsule history of the 103rd's exploits in the Civil War.

And here is the accompanying photo, featuring Mary Frye, who in 1972 was one of the four remaining daughters of the original veterans, and Cassandra Brothers, who headed up the memorial foundation at that time.

That Lorain Monument by the River

Here's an interesting photo from the Special Collections File of the Lorain Public Library. It shows a monument commemorating a pioneer trading post down by the Black River. I believe the photo dates from around 1967.

It's interesting because the monument has since been moved from this location.

The photo caption read, "In a small park at the mouth of the Black River, near a U.S. Coast Guard station and the giant coal and ore docks that server to symbolize modern Lorain's busy port, a plaque commemorates the founding of a trading post with the Indians some 160 years ago."

The plaque has the following inscription:

IN 1807 A TRADING POST WITH THE INDIANS WAS ESTABLISHED NEAR THIS SITE BY NATHAN PERRY, JR. THAT RESULTED IN THE SETTLEMENT OF LORAIN WHICH IN PIONEER DAYS WAS KNOWN AS THE MOUTH OF BLACK RIVER

ERECTED BY NATHAN PERRY CHAPTER

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

MAY 30, 1925

You can see it in this vintage postcard next to the road that ran along the east side of the Black River.

I happened to photograph the monument back in the summer of 1979. As you can see from my shot (below), the paint-splattered monument had sunk a bit – seeing as the bottom of the arrowhead was touching the ground.

The road that ran in front of it was pretty much gone at that point; for another view of that area in front of the monument in 1979, click here.

With the road as shown eventually disappearing into the Black River, the monument was eventually moved to its present location on the northern side of the riverfront park.

Here is the "today" view showing the relocated monument in the now rehabilitated park.

Penfield Grocery Store Closes - August 1967

Here's another one of those poignant articles that appeared in the Lorain Journal to mark the passing of an era. This one, which ran on August 31, 1967, tells of the closing of the Penfield Grocery Store.

The store was out in Penfield Township, on State Route 18 east of Wellington. I don't have a specific address except that it was listed in the phone book as being east on Route 18, or I would drive out there and see if the building is still there.

When I first saw this clipping, I thought the store was out by Penfield Junction – which is what the southern end of Broadway near Clearview High School was once commonly called. But since I couldn't find any listing for the grocery in the Lorain phone book, I figured out it was Penfield Township.

Incidentally, Drew Penfield – who has his own historical website (Lake Shore Rail Maps) and comments occasionally on this blog – is a direct descendant of Lewis Penfield, who along with his brother Peter Penfield and other Penfield family members settled Penfield Township.

Anyway, I like to feature these 'store closing' items here on the blog; it seems a shame that when local businesses close after serving their communities for decades, they are often forgotten. Putting them up on this blog at least keeps their name out in cyberspace for a while – and guarantees that something will show up in a Google search if someone happens to enter the name of the business.

Aerial View of Amherst - August 6, 1949

This caught my eye while looking at old microfilm in the Lorain Public Library.

It's an aerial view of Amherst that ran on the front page of the Lorain Journal on Saturday, August 6, 1949 – a mere 63 years ago today. It was photographed by Lorain Journal photographer William Ashbolt as part of a series.

At first glance, I thought, "Looks the same to me as it does now!"

Boy, was I wrong – guess I don't get to Amherst very much. Check out how much Amherst has changed since then (and how much has been paved over in the Downtown area) in this wider Bing Maps view. It's a shame so many of the homes (and trees) in the 1949 photo are gone.