Cedar Point's The Hermitage

Cedar Point is always a popular topic on this blog. In fact, one of the posts on the amusement park is the most visited since I started the blog in 2009.

And since it's Cedar Point's off-season now, here's an off-season story about an old house that was located on the park grounds. It's gone now. The story ran in The Journal on November 30, 1969.

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Cedar Point's The Hermitage Now Is History

HISTORY OF CEDAR POINT was recalled this week as
The Hermitage, a 16-room house where many of the Funway's
operators lived, was torn down.

The Hermitage, 65-year-old two-story frame dwelling that housed much of Cedar Point's history in its 16 spacious rooms, fell before the wreckers' onslaught this week.

THE KNOLL on which the gloomy grayhouse stood, flanked on one side by Sandusky Bay and on the other by Cedar Point lagoons, will be the new site of a gaily-colored station for the Cedar Point & Lake Erie railroad, being moved to make room for an 800-ft. extension of the main Funway.

What used to be the dismal backyard of the Hermitage will become part of the gaiety of the Funway new rides and attractions.

According to Sandusky historian Charles E. Frohman, the house was completed in 1905 and for a time housed a crew of men who policed the Lake Erie recreation center during the winter.

With no transportation available and no roads to use anyway, the small band of hardy souls claimed they hibernated like hermits during the winter. They dubbed their house, naturally, The Hermitage.

Gus Boeckling, brother of early Cedar Point impresario G. A. Boeckling, lived at The Hermitage for many years as head "hermit."

The demolition is in progress

Daniel M. Schneider, one-time operator of Cedar Point, who lived in the house for eight of the nine years he ran the resort. Schneider and his wife now live on Bank Street in Milan.

Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Starr, now of 2201 Cedar Point Roadway. Starr, former rides manager of the resort, lived at The Hermitage in 1950.

George A. Roose, president of Cedar Point, inc. Roose and his wife occupied part of the huge house from 1959 through 1963.

A 24-room employes' dormitory that had been added to the original house was torn down in 1958.

In 1965, The Hermitage was home for about two dozen young men who worked at the Silver Dollar restaurant on the main Funway.

In its final years, The Hermitage was home to Mr. and Mrs. William Hackett, who operate the huge Cedar Point laundry. Mrs. Hackett has worked at Cedar Point for 42 years.

Less than an hour after the Hacketts moved out of The Hermitage, the wreckers moved in.

Welcome to Lorain Sign – 1950

Here's an interesting little article that ran on the front page of the November 5, 1950 Lorain Sunday News. It's about a welcome sign erected by the Lorain Chamber of Commerce that caused a little friction within Sheffield Lake.

Here's the article as it originally appeared (below).

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Village Board Seeks Removal of Lorain Promotional Sign

Two letters from the Sheffield Lake board of affairs have been approved by the Lorain Chamber of Commerce demanding removal of a promotional sign erected by the Chamber recently in the village, about 1000 feet east of the city limits.

The Sheffield Lake board of affairs claims that the sign violates a lease arrangement with a nearby resident, D. A. Hamilton, who is a member of the board seeking the removal of the sign.

"I am familiar with the board's action," Village Mayor Sidney W. Jordan said, "and it was done without my approval."

Jordan said the Lorain Chamber had unanimous permission from the village council to erect the sign on a site owned by the village, which is the location of the community's pumping station.

The mayor promised at Tuesday's council meeting "to stop the embarrassment caused by the board of public affairs."

"Erection of the sign is the only favor asked of the village by our neighbor, Lorain, which furnishes water and other services to our community," Jordan stated.

"Seems the board is unfavorable to my administration," the mayor quipped.

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I happen to live right in that area on Lake Road. I'm about 500 feet from the Lorain border putting the sign mentioned in the article about 500 feet (or five houses) down from me to the east.

Despite the then-Mayor's anemic quip protesting the board's action, I think I would have agreed with the board: it sure seems like a strange place to put a 'Welcome to Lorain' sign. It's a nice sign, though. If you squint at the picture, you can make out that it includes a mention of National Tube and American Ship Building.

Here's the site today (below). If you look at the vintage photo of the sign at the top of this post, you can just make out the chimney of the pumping station at the far left of the photo.

Anyway, today Lorain's less-grand sign is well inside its border.

Welch's Sports Christmas Ad – Nov. 27, 1958

To put you in the Christmas spirit on this busiest shopping day of the year, here's a vintage ad for Welch's Sports from the pages of the November 27, 1958 Lorain Journal. (Here's the 1959 version of the ad.)

I love the look on Santa's face. Is that the face of unbridled glee? Or the look of a "deer in the headlights" as he surprises an armed citizen in his home?

As I mentioned before, I've been a member of the NRA since the 1990s – so I don't have a problem with this ad. And hunting is actually growing in popularity, so maybe this kind of ad will make a comeback.

My dentist is an avid hunter, and he even gave us some venison this year, which we cooked up a few weeks ago. We stuck it in the crock pot with some soy sauce and man, was that good.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lake Erie Oil Co.

From the pages of the November 22, 1956 Lorain Journal, here's a Thanksgiving-themed ad for the Lake Erie Oil Company, local manufacturers of Sinclair gasoline back then for the Lorain area market.

Besides the fact that the pilgrim bears a strong resemblance to musician Huey Lewis, the ad is interesting because you don't see this kind of ad today too often. The politically correct police now frown upon the Pilgrims. (Here's a Washington Times article explaining that particularly nauseating point of view.) Too bad.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving at the Airport Tavern - 1957

Here's an ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on November 27, 1957, suggesting celebrating Thanksgiving at the Airport Tavern instead of cooking at home. (I don't know if Mutt & Jeff's – current occupant of the Tavern's former digs – offers that same option tomorrow. I'll have to ask our favorite server Brenda.)

I've never really eaten out on Thanksgiving, although the day may come someday. The closest I ever came was one Thanksgiving when I was single. I bought a rotisserie chicken at a Convenient Food Mart (the folks were out of town).

Today, rotisserie chickens (from Apples on Lake Road) are one of the spouse's and my favorite meals when we don't feel like cooking. For a truly Canadian meal (the spouse is a Canuck you know), we mix up some Swiss Chalet sauce to dip the chicken in.

Thanksgiving at Howard Johnson's - 1957

Typical Howard Johnson's from that time period

Here's an ad letting us know what Howard Johnson's down on West Erie was serving up on Thanksgiving Day 1957. It looks like quite a menu.

For appetizers, diners enjoyed chilled fruit cups, celery and olives, and cream of celery soup. The roast turkey with giblet gravy came with a lot of side dishes, including Cape Cod cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, hubbard squash, boiled buttered onions, sweet mixed pickles, hot baked rolls and butter and a Waldorf Salad.

Diners also had their choice of old fashioned squash, mince or apple pie with cheese, sherbet, frozen pudding ice cream, New England Plum Pudding with hard sauce, tea, coffee, ginger ale, Tokay Grapes, sweet apple cider, mixed nuts and mints.

Whew! And I thought we put out too much grub on Thanksgiving!

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Incidentally, if you want to experience a real slice of nostalgia for lunch sometime, stop in at Chris' Restaurant at the former Howard Johnson's on W. Erie. The food is great and pretty reasonably priced – and the menu is almost as extensive as that Thanksgiving feast from 1957. I stop in with my Mom every month or two on a Saturday afternoon for a perch sandwich just like, uh, mother used to make (if Dad had a good day out on the lake).

"Reddy" for Thanksgiving?

Here's an ad featuring our old pal Reddy Kilowatt riding shotgun on an electric range. The ad, which appeared in the Lorain Sunday News around Thanksgiving 1945, suggests making an electric range part of your "post-war kitchen plans," since they weren't quite available yet.

And as long as I'm featuring Reddy on this post, in the interest of equal time I might as well include our other utility company mascot buddy: the nameless little gas flame guy who appeared in all those Ohio Fuel Gas Company ads (featured on this blog here and here).

In this Thanksgiving-themed ad (below) that appeared in the November 5, 1950 Lorain Sunday News, he's peddling those newfangled gas refrigerators.

I'm still not crazy about the idea of having to light the pilot light of a refrigerator – or wondering if it might explode.

I guess the first Thanksgiving wasn't as harmonious as we thought, seeing that arrow through the Pilgrim's hat!