The House Across from Dairy Mart

The house at 521 E. Erie Avenue

Often as I drive down E. Erie Avenue in Lorain, I'm fascinated to see so many commercially zoned properties located in otherwise fine old residential neighborhoods. I wonder how it came to be like that, and I assume that the neighborhoods were wrecked by greedy developers.

For example, I've admired this stately house (at left) on its large lot at 521 E. Erie Avenue for many years now. Every time I get stuck at the traffic light in front of it, I think about what a great-looking house it is, and how unfair it is that it has to face a Dairy Mart store.

Surely, there had to be some great old house across from it at some point that was torn down and replaced by a Lawson's (the predecessor to Dairy Mart.)

As it turns out, I was wrong. There's been a grocery store at that Dairy Mart location since at least 1905 – maybe even earlier.

In 1905, there was Geiger and Ingraham's. It was followed by a variety of other grocery stores, including East Side Grocery (1912), Matthew Smith Tea, Coffee & Grocery (1921), A&P (1937), and Merves Brothers Food Mart (1942). (The dates shown merely mean those stores happened to be at that location that year.)

Merves Brothers were there the longest, until the late 1970s. Then the address went vacant in the 1978 directory. Lawson's first appeared in the directory around 1980.

As for the house, the 521 E. Erie address appeared in the 1912 directory with Fred A. Burgett, a contractor, as the owner. His name did not appear in any of the previous directories and it can't be determined if someone else built the house at an earlier date.

Burgett remained in the house until around 1952 according to the books. After that date, the house seemed to change occupants every few years.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that a national chain store doesn't always come in and wreck a fine old neighborhood. Often, the chain store – in this case a Dairy Mart – is merely a modern version of what was already an accepted part of the neighborhood for decades.

Tower Drive-in Ad January 16, 1958

This ad, which ran in the January 16, 1958 edition of the Lorain Journal – 55 years ago this month – explains how it was that the Tower Drive-in on Lake Avenue in Elyria Township could stay open in the winter months. The very next day the theater offered its patrons in-car heaters for the very first time.

Even with the piped-in heat, though, winter drive-ins are still a strange concept to me. What if it was snowing? It's bad enough when it rains at the drive-in, but it's hard to imagine looking at the screen with the fluffy white stuff coming down. Plus, who wants to risk getting stuck in a snowbank while trudging to the concession stand?

Maybe global warming will eventually make it possible to go to the few remaining drive-ins year-round again.

Anyways, while we're waiting for the Aut-O-Rama Twin to reopen in early April, here's a classic 1950s intermission ad to put us in the mood for some good old concession goodies.

Stock music aficionados (like me) recognize the background music in the animated commercial as "The Cheeky Chappy" by Phil Green. It was used in a couple of Quick Draw McGraw cartoons.

Sam Klein Company

January 2, 1958 Sam Klein newspaper ad

1963 Sam Klein logo

While writing about Kline's Department Store a few weeks ago, I was reminded how as a kid I was confused by the fact that there were two stores in Lorain with soundalike names: Kline's and Sam Klein. And although we shopped at Kline's, I don't remember ever going into the Sam Klein store. I guess it was because it was a men's clothing store and not one of my mother's regular stops on the Saturday morning Downtown Lorain shopping jaunt.

Anyway, here's an article (below) that provides a nice history of the beginnings of the Sam Klein Company. As opposed to Kline's, which was part of a national chain, Sam Klein was just one store – and one of the oldest businesses in Lorain.

The article appeared in the Lorain Journal on June 21, 1958.

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Sam Klein Established In 1880's

The Sam Klein Company, 425 Broadway, was established by Sam Klein in a small frame structure 64 years ago on North Broadway where most of the business district was located in the late 1800's.

The company claims it is the oldest men's store in the city in years and the youngest in appearance and merchandising of latest styles for men and boys.

Julius Klein, the present owner and no relation to the founder, purchased the company in 1927 when the business was carried on in about 2,000 square feet of space. There were only two employes then.

As the community grew and the demand for more and better clothing increased, the Sam Klein Company expanded and remodeled with the times.

The store, one of the finest dealing in men's and boy's wear in the states, now occupies more than 4,500 square feet and has 10 employes.

In 1953, and expansion program resulted in an increase of 33 percent in selling space. The latest open visual displays were installed to permit customers complete access to merchandise for easier selection.

A modern store front was built, air conditioning was installed and new lighting, floor covering and store fixtures were added.

The owner had two sons, Warren and Allan, who are associated with him in the management of the store.

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As the article indicated, Sam Klein moved his business around a bit in the early years. The 1891 city directory had the company listed as being located above 59 Broadway. The next available book (1898-99) had the business at 311 Broadway.

I'm not sure when Sam Klein actually closed. Its location at 425 Broadway is now a parking lot next to the Driscol Music Company, and the clothing store is just one more fading memory in the mind of aging Lorainites.

If anyone out there remembers the store and/or ever shopped there, be sure to leave a comment.

1956 Auto Show at Lorain Arena

For many years, the Lorain Automotive Dealers Association held an annual Auto Show. This full page ad promoting the 1956 edition of the event appeared in the Lorain Journal on January 11, 1956 – 57 years ago this month. (Click on the ad for a larger, readable view.)

The big show was held at the old Lorain Arena ( a favorite topic of this blog).

In addition to the new car models, the show had entertainment for everyone. Performing artists included the Tracey Twins (who were from Cleveland), Henry George and his Recording Orchestra, and Stanton and Peddie.

Danny Stanton (left) and Eddie Peddie

Stanton and Peddie? Who were they, you might be asking? (I know I was!)

According to the Arena ad, they were a song and dance, comedy and novelty team who had appeared at the Cleveland Auto Show. They were also leaving for a Las Vegas appearance after their Lorain gig.

This website provides a pretty comprehensive account of Stanton's career. Although his stage name was Danny Stanton, his real name was Pete Argiro. In addition to his partnership with Eddie Peddie, he enjoyed success as a jazz pianist and club operator. He passed away in 2005.

The post-Lorain Las Vegas job must have gone well, as they enjoyed a long run at the Flamingo Hotel, according to the same website.

Anyway, the Arena ad also provides a nice listing of Lorain auto dealers from that era – as well as some bizarre 1950's clip art of a female herald to go with the strange castle and curtain graphics.

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Here's another photo of the comedy team of Stanton and Peddie. This one appeared in the January 5, 1956 Lorain Journal along with a short article.

The article noted, "Eddie Peddie, the senior member, is a native of Cleveland. He is a singer and plays a number of musical instruments in addition to being a natural born comic.

"He spent considerable time looking for a partner for a floor show act before he found Danny Stanton, the junior member of the comedy team.

"Stanton and Peddie have appeared with Sophie Tucker and were co-stars on the Page One Ball with Phil Silvers and Johnnie Desmond. They have appeared at Cleveland's Alpine Village many times."

Woody Ernhart, where are you?

When I look at old Lorain Journals from the 1950s and 60s, I'm constantly amazed at how many nightclubs and lounges there were in town offering live entertainment. It seems like almost any night you could go somewhere to dance to a combo, sit and listen to the song stylings of a singer, or enjoy a novelty act.

It made Lorain seem like a mini-Las Vegas.

A good case in point is the ad (at right) for Ben Hart's Show Bar at 651 Broadway that ran in the Journal on January 19, 1963 – fifty years ago. The bar offered up a whole lot of entertainment with no minimum and no cover charge. (Click on the ad for a larger version.)

There's The Infernos – direct from the Rubba Club in Columbus; Marlene West, vocalist – direct from Detroit; The Esta Trio, consisting of Esther Chazor on the piano, Billy Molas on the drums and Jack on bass.

But most importantly, there's Woody Ernhart, MC and comedian. I love the photo of him; he has an intense look on his face as he's dropping something into a cup – maybe a very small egg.

I'd love to know if Woody ever hit the big time.

But I've looked all over the internet to try and find out something about Woody and the rest of these acts with no success. Does anybody out there know anything about any of them? If so, please leave a comment or send me an email!

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UPDATE

Be sure to visit this blog entry in which we meet Woody Ernhart and learn all about his life as an entertainer and successful magazine publisher! And this post features some reminisces by one of his friends.

What was playing at the Palace 50 years ago this week?

The answer? A double feature of two thrilling, chilling Horror Hits: Tower of London and The Vampire and the Ballerina. That's the ad (above) that ran in the Journal on January 19, 1963.

I wonder how long the theater was billed as the "Now" Palace?

Sadly, you don't get to see a true double feature anymore, except at the drive-in. And even then, the two movies never really seem to relate to each other, as these two "spook shows" do.

Tower of London (1962) with Vincent Price was one of those period costume horror films. Here's a poster (below) that gives you a better idea of the kind of mayhem that takes place in the movie.

(Courtesy movieposterexchange.com)

The Vampire and the Ballerina (1960) was an Italian horror film released in the states by United Artists. Here's the movie poster (below).

(Courtesy wrongsideof theart.com)

And here's the actual trailer. It's got some nice, moody cinematography.



But by George, that's one ugly vampire. You won't see one like that in any of the Twilight movies.

Ohio Snowstorm – January 23, 1963

Fifty years ago today – January 23, 1963 (which was also a Wednesday) – Ohio was also dealing with severe winter weather, as the front of The Journal from that day (at left) describes. (Click on it for a larger view.)

Early morning temperatures that day ranged from 8 to 16 degrees above zero. A low of zero degrees for that night was predicted.

The photo depicts some prankster's little joke: offering snow-covered Lakeview Park beach for sale via a real estate sign.

It must have been a rough winter so far, as the five inches of snow that fell on Lorain County during that storm made it the second big storm of that season, according to the article.

According to one article, "Snow accumulations on city streets during the night were taken care of immediately by the street department crews." Boy, do I miss those days in Lorain.

There's something else to be nostalgic about here. Did you see the price of the Journal back then? Seven cents!

I also miss the look of the paper back then. I like the type fonts; they really defined the personality of the paper for decades. Plus, really large headlines were reserved for big news stories like this.