Meet William E. Ashbolt

While preparing yesterday’s post about the Ashbolt children meeting the stars of the “Our Gang” comedies, I wondered: just who was William E. Ashbolt, their father?

It turns out that Mr. Ashbolt was truly a man for all seasons: family man, newspaperman, politician and orchardist.

Read all about this unique man and his accomplishments in this article that ran in the Lorain Journal at the time of his death on March 30, 1943.

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WM. ASHBOLT DIES OF HEART ATTACK AT 51

Former Ohio Legislator Stricken Early Today in Hospital

SERVED 4 YEARS

Veteran Newspaperman Won Wide Acclaim as Orchardist

Death early today claimed the life of one of Lorain’s most colorful and widely-known figures when Councilman William E. Ashbolt, who served Lorain-co eight years in the state legislature, died suddenly in St. Joseph’s hospital.

Fifty-one years old, Ashbolt was taken ill Saturday, but was believed recovering when the sudden attack occurred. He died at 12:50 a. m.

25 Years a Newsman

Ashbold went into politics in 1933, when he was elected to the state legislature, after more than 25 years as a newspaperman in Lorain, Cleveland and Columbus during the latter years of which he acquired and developed the Ashbolt Orchards on Foster Park-rd, south of Lorain.

He served as Lorain-co state representative from 1934 to 1942, but dropped out of the legislature at the conclusion of his 1940-42 term to run for county auditor, a race he lost to Auditor Frank Ayres.

On Jan. 4 he was appointed to city council to fill the vacancy created when Councilman-at-Large Leslie M. Burge took up his seat in the state house of representatives.

Started Work at 16

Ashbolt, born in Lorain, the son of a pioneer Lorain family, started making news when he was 14 years old, by walking to Columbus and return. While in Columbus he paid a call to a newspaper and by the time he was 16 had landed a job as copy boy on the Ohio State Journal, a Columbus morning newspaper. 

Possessing an uncanny ability to ferret out news stories, he soon became a reporter and eventually returned to Lorain, where he worked a total of some 20 years on the Lorain Times-Herald.

He also worked several years on the Cleveland Times, in the course of which he ‘covered’ both Washington news and Columbus state offices. It was during the time that he was employed on the Cleveland Times that he was a member of the press section which accompanied a Coolidge campaign train on a cross county tour in 1924.

Started Orchards

After the Times ceased publication, he returned to Lorain, working as a newspaperman for the Times-Herald and started his orchards, which now include 4,000 peach and cherry trees. Just coming into maturity is a 1,000-tree orchard of sweet cherries, which Ashbolt characterized as one of the largest sweet cherry orchards east of the Rocky Mountains.

One of the ex-state legislators favorite pastimes was reminiscing of his days in newspaper work and of the fast and furious “news breaks” of the “roaring 20’s” and the reportorial fights during the days when the Times-Herald and Lorain Journal were in competition in Lorain.

Since consolidation of the two Lorain papers, Ashbolt had worked for brief intervals for The Journal doing special assignments and filling in at times of emergency “to keep his hand in as a newspaperman.”

Fought Redistricting

In the legislature, he is best remembered for his battles against congressional redistricting bills that would have been contrary to Lorain county’s best interests, his successful fight to have sale of all intoxicating drinks, including 3.2 beer, restricted to persons 21 years old or over, and his co-sponsorship of the Whittemore-Ashbolt which enabled installment payment of taxes by hard-pressed property owners.

Ashbolt, who had enjoyed exceptionally good health all his life, suffered a heart attack in 1938, which was followed by an attack of sciatic rheumatism which kept him confined for many months afterward. He was not [illegible] recovered when he ran for his legislative post in 1940, but in the past year believed that he had regained his strength and health.

He was a member of the Lorain Congregational church, was a 32nd degree Mason, and was affiliated with the Lorain Elks, Eagles, Moose and Pythian Sister lodges and American Legion post 30.

Body Taken Home

The legislator lived at 1025 4th-st. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Gertrude Ashbolt, former head of relief administration in Lorain, and two sons and two daughters.

The sons are Pfc. William A. Ashbolt, now in the U.S. Marine corps, stationed at Kearney Mesa, San Diego, Calif., Allen, at home, and Mrs. Cornelius Yingling and Mrs. Russell Warman, both of Lorain.

Also surviving are four sisters, Mrs. William Cable, Lorain, Mrs. Roy Gordon, Croton, Conn., Mrs. Dvid Weins, and Mrs. Fred Newton, both of Lakewood. Five grandchildren also survive.

The body was to be taken late this afternoon to the Ashbolt residence. Funeral arrangements are incomplete pending word from his son in the Marines.

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An article in the Van Wert Times Bulletin on August 14, 1945 examined how the late William E. Ashbolt, thought his efforts at his orchard, had hoped to take “two of the biggest headaches out of the annual canning chore of Northern Ohio housewives.”

As the article noted, Ashbolt “was born on a farm in Lorain County and the cleaning and skinning of peaches, and the gremlin task of pitting cherries when canning season rolled around were things he never forgot.”

One of Ashbolt’s solutions was to install "a large tent with open sides at his Detroit Road farm and in this tent he built a conveyor system that washed the cherries three times in ice water while girls sorted them to pick out any that were imperfect.”

"Crowning achievement of the newspaperman turned orchardist was a giant pitting machine housed in the middle of the vast tent top."

As for the peaches, "All peaches sold at the Ashbolt Orchard were brushed by machinery to remove as much of the objectionable fuzz as possible. The fruit was then vacuum cleaned. The de-fuzzing and vacuum cleaning not only made the peaches cleaner but revealed any blemishes or imperfections and assured the housewife she was getting perfect fruit for her money.”

"The big top tent is open again this year, and many thousands from the cities and towns of Northern Ohio are flocking there for pitted washed cherries and de-fuzzed vacuum cleaned peaches. Mrs. Ashbolt believes just like Bill did that when a housewife buys food, she wants perfect, clean, fresh farm products and Mrs. Ashbolt sees that Mrs. Housewife gets them.”

Advertisement from the Amherst News-Times of July 9, 1935

Advertisement from the Amherst News-Times of Sept. 24, 1937

Advertisement from the Amherst News-Times of August 20, 1942

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William A. Ashbolt – the same Billy Ashbolt who was so thrilled to meet the “Our Gang” kids in 1928  – followed in his father’s footsteps, right into the newspaper business.

At the time of his passing in early December 1999, his obituary in the Journal noted, “He served in the Marines during World War II and the Korean War.

“He studied photography at Columbia University and worked for the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, for 36 years.”

Click here for the link to visit the William A. Ashbolt Photography collection on ClevelandMemory.org.

The Ashbolt Kids Meets the Little Rascals

Remember my post about the children who had the chance to meet the Three Stooges backstage at Lorain's Palace Theater, after their performance there in late July 1960? Kevin Conley was one of the lucky youngsters. His father, Bill Conley, was the photographer for the Lorain Journal at that time.

Well, it was a very similar situation back on Sept. 5, 1928 when the article below appeared in the Lorain Times-Herald. This time the comedy team consisted of the group of children starring in the "Our Gang” short screen comedies for producer Hal Roach, and the lucky kids were the Ashbolt children – Billy, Ruth and Phyllis. Their father worked as a newspaperman for – who else? – the Lorain Times-Herald.

Local Baby Boomers remember the pint-sized comedy troupe as the "Little Rascals" from the endless replay of the shorts on Cleveland television in the 1960s and early 70s, especially the episodes with Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat and Darla.

But in 1928, “Our Gang" included earlier members of the team: Allen “Farina” Hoskins, chubby Joe Cobb, Harry Spear, blonde Jean Darling, Mary Ann Jackson and cute, little Bobby “Wheezer” Hutchins. 

Here are a few photos of the group, all of whom were there that day when the Ashbolt children paid a visit backstage. Wheezer, Farina and Mary Ann would stay with the “Gang” a few more years, appearing in some classic shorts with Jackie Cooper. Note good old Pete the Pup!

It’s interesting that in the Times-Herald article, Allen “Farina” Hoskins asked Ruth Ashbolt to spread the word that he wasn’t a girl, even though for some reason he was dressed up like one in the movie shorts! He notes, “I’se a boy, and you tell every kid in Lorain that you see that I’se a boy, will you?” Poor guy. (Click here to read about a phony, grown-up “Farina” who visited Lorain in 1955.)

Hilariously, the same front page of the Times-Herald with the “Our Gang” story featured this article about how the youngsters were violating child labor laws with their vaudeville performances in Cleveland!

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My siblings and I first saw the Little Rascals (as the older shorts were known) when it was one of the segments of the Captain Penny show, along with miscellaneous cartoons and Three Stooges shorts. 

It never occurred to us as we were watching the early 1930s films that the kids were roughly the age of our parents when they were growing up. Thus the Our Gang comedies provided a glimpse of what their Depression-era childhoods were like.

Tomorrow: Meet William E. Ashbolt

New Teachers in Vermilion – Sept. 1971

It seems quaint now, but back in the 50s, 60s and even the 1970s, the Journal used to run articles at the beginning of the school year that introduced the recently hired teachers for the various school districts to its readers. It was a nice touch that created a small town atmosphere in which parents could get familiar with the backgrounds of the people teaching their kids.

With all of the various elementary, junior high and high schools, Lorain’s new hires were sometimes quite numerous, resulting in lengthy Journal articles. Since Vermilion is much smaller, the number of new hires were fewer in number, as you can see from the photo above which ran in the paper on September 3, 1971.

The caption reads, “Teachers new this year to the Vermilion School System were welcomed at a luncheon yesterday. Chatting following the luncheon were, left, civic leader Dorothy Litman, Janet Vincent who will teach at Lake School, Richard Harris of Vermilion, who will teach at Vermilion High, Marcia West, assigned to South Street School and Jack Armstrong, a veteran Vermilion teacher.”

The photo was taken down near the McGarvey’s parking lot. You can see the Crow Lumber building in the background. Here’s what it looked like last evening.

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Back here, I posted the Journal article profiling the new teachers at Admiral King High School for the 1963 school year.

Tivoli Theater Comes Down – October 1985

Detail from a June 1955 Lorain Journal ad

Yesterday’s post dealt with the closing of the Ohio Theater in Downtown Lorain back in September 1971. Today, we’ll take a look at the demolition of the Tivoli.

The Tivoli lasted a little longer than the Ohio. It was vacated in 1977, leaving the Palace as the sole Downtown theater.

Below are the photos that the Journal ran on October 10, 1985 of the Tivoli’s demolition. I wish the photo quality was better but at least you can still see that the theater marquee was being carefully removed. Wonder where it is today?

As the short article noted, the demolition was being done with caution “because existing businesses still share a wall with the old theater.”

I did a “Then and Now” of the Tivoli back here in August 2011. Here are the two photos from that post.

Since 2017, 642 Broadway has been home to United Way of Lorain County.

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The Tivoli has been featured on this blog many times, mainly because of its movie fare (which seems to have been aligned with my tastes in entertainment). 

Here are a few of those posts: back here I posted a September 1959 ad promoting the showing of the Three Stooges in Have Rocket Will Travel; this post revealed that a Three Stooges feature was again at the Tivoli in September 1963, this time being The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze; and this post was about the Hanna Barbera double feature at the Tivoli in March 1969 consisting of Hey There, it’s Yogi Bear and The Man Called Flintstone.

Yessir, my kind of educational movies.

Ohio Theater Closes – September 1971

Fifty years ago, Downtown Lorain probably began its slow, downward spiral with the closing of the Ohio Theater. Above is the article that ran in the Journal on September 2, 1971.

As the article noted, “The Ohio Theater, 549 Broadway, Lorain has added its name to the long list of movie houses where the lights have gone dim.

“Two days ago, Roy Fiedler of 4931 Front St., Vermilion, terminated his lease with Neal Mowery who owns the theater building with his wife. Fiedler had actually closed the theater two weeks before.

“Fiedler, who also operates the Liberty Theater in Vermilion, could not be reached for comment. Mowery has some ideas about why the theater was closing though.

"“There has been a lack of product, TV has hurt and other things. The fellow just couldn’t make his expenses,” Mowery said. “Lorain has three theaters downtown and none are too happy. They’re not making as many movies and anyway downtown is not a drawing card anymore.”

The Journal article notes that August Ilg, Mrs. Mowery’s father, started the Ohio Theater after the city began rebuilding after the Lorain Tornado of 1924. 

After the Ilg family decided to let others try their hand at operating the Ohio Theater, five different managers made an attempt at running it.

A little later in 1971, the Ohio Theater did reopen for a while, showing X-rated films with the result that obscenity charges were brought against the theater manager. But the curtain call for the theater didn’t last long.

Detail from a June 1955 Lorain Journal ad

Buckeye Beer Ad – Sept. 1, 1961

Yesterday’s post featured a Journal front page from Labor Day weekend 1961. Perhaps during that same holiday, some thirsty Lorainites reached for a cool, refreshing Buckeye Beer – the subject of today’s post. 

Above is a baseball-themed ad for the Toledo-based brew that appeared in the Journal back on Sept. 1, 1961. It’s a cute ad with its anthropomorphic beer bottles, announcing that the Firelands Distributing Company was making draft-brewed Buckeye Beer available in Lorain and Elyria.

Regular readers of this blog know that I like to post vintage beer ads, especially Old Dutch and Black Label. I’ve featured Buckeye Beer before, including a 1956 ad (here).

Since my last post, the Maumee Bay Brewing Company (Toledo’s original craft brewery) is still producing its revived version of Buckeye Beer. The vintage label (at right), however, has been abandoned in favor of one (below) that conforms to the brewery's corporate brand.

The Journal Front Page – Sept. 2, 1961

Well, it’s Labor Day – and longtime readers of this blog know that means it’s time for a grim reminder to drive safely.

And so here’s the front page of the September 2, 1961 Journal with a UPI Unifax photograph of the Grim Reaper himself riding shotgun. (It’s kind of a cool photo, and I’m sure it did its job to catch the attention of readers.)

“Don’t let this be you,” reads the caption. “The unseen ‘hand of death’ will, if past statistics are reported, rest on many a carefree shoulder this Labor Day weekend. The great enemy is thoughtlessness. Remember that your auto can be a deadly weapon, and operate it accordingly.”

Those are wise words even in our time, in which it seems like every driver is peering at a cell phone as they barrel down Lorain County’s wretched highways.

Elsewhere on the front page, there was plenty going on in the world sixty years ago: resumption of U.S. nuclear talks with Russia after the Russkies exploded a nuclear test device; an early morning fire at Lorain City Airport; an earthquake off the coast of South America; heavy snow in Yellowstone National Park.

Ironically, the 'Today’s Chuckle’ was ripped right out of the headlines: “The hydrogen bomb has made one great contribution to democracy. With it, all men are cremated equal."

Saddest of all on the front page was the article explaining that JFK – a little more than two years before he was assassinated – was being put under extra protection due to threats from a heavily armed mental patient who had vowed to kill the President.