Lorain Community Hospital Dedication – May 3, 1964

Sixty years ago today, Lorain Community Hospital was dedicated.

As reported by Lou Kepler on the front page of the Journal on Monday, May 4, 1964, "Thousands of Lorain's citizens saw their Lorain Community Hospital dedicated yesterday afternoon to its sacred use, "a token of the wisdom and goodness of the Lorain community," Mayor Mathna said.

"The day was perfect. The sun shone. Amid a flurry of drums and music from the combined Lorain High School and St. Mary High School bands, a flag fluttered as it was raised in front of the new structure. Roberta Kalassay sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was one of Lorain's great days and an auspicious beginning.

"Rabbi Samuel Meyer asked that it be a structure symbolizing peace, brotherhood and tranquility and a feeling of responsibility for one's neighbor with compassion and mercy.

"Coupled with the accomplishment of a new hospital was the responsibility for Lorain's future as expressed by Edward R. Mehrer, president of the hospital board of trustees. He asked the citizenry to support other projects of Mayor Mathna, namely the City Hall, Harbor Commission and a Master Plan so that Lorain could know where it is going and how to get there.

"Mehrer paid tribute to the band of women known as the Community and Civic Affairs Department who, with its funds and effort, spearheaded the drive for the new hospital.

"He commended City Council, the mayor, the hospital committee, people who collected pictures, painted them, framed them and the voters who marked "Yes" on the bond issue.

"Rep. Charles A. Mosher spoke of the admiration of Lorain from the surrounding communities. "I don't believe you realize how important and dynamic your city is, or your potential," he said."

Here are some pages from the Journal covering the dedication. 

Lorain and the surrounding area are mighty lucky that Lorain Community became a reality. With the closing of St. Joseph Hospital in the 1990s, Lorain would probably have been in the same positions of many other communities, with no hospital at all. 

It's comforting to know that Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital keeps the caring tradition alive on Kolbe Road.

The Castle-on-the-Lake – A 1966 View

The Castle-on-the-Lake has been a favorite topic on this blog since its beginning.

Many of us have fond memories of it during its heyday, when it had its original medieval theme. My sister remembers Grandma and Grandpa taking her to dinner there a few times. when she was just a little girl. "I had a Shirley Temple and it had a little animal holding the cherry, " she reminisced recently. "I still have it – I think it was a monkey."

I remember back in high school going to the Castle with a date along with a few other couples, right before our music formal. And I had my rehearsal dinner there as well, like a true Lorainite.

(You can revisit my past Castle posts – all 17 of them – here. That includes the 1941 Grand Opening of the Castle-on-the-Lake as a dinner-dance club here, and a 1952 Sixth Anniversary ad here.)

So while some major cities have a Medieval Times dinner attraction (with a jousting tournament for entertainment), Lorain had a real castle that provided a unique setting for a special event.

Recently eBay had a photograph of the Castle that I've never seen before. It's dated June 17, 1966 and is from the Cleveland Plain Dealer archives.

It's a great, moody shot.

For contrast, here's a recent photo from April 2024.

The Castle has been home to quite a variety of businesses in the last thirty or forty years, including a few buffets and several Mexican restaurants. Here's hoping Papasitos and Beer Mexican Grill, the current occupant, enjoys success.

The Lorain Hedge Revisited – Again

One of the things of interest to a kid growing up in Lorain in the 1950s and 60s (and largely seeing the city from the backseat of the family car) was the large hedge spelling out LORAIN. The original version faced Lakeview Drive, across the street from the Lakeview Park.

It's been a favorite topic on this blog. Here it is in a photo probably dating from the latter part of the 1930s. It's near the top the photo, just to the right of the tennis courts.

Many of us Baby Boomers remember the hedge looking like this (below) – looking a little worse for wear.

I've posted several other photos of it over the years, on these two posts.

Well, two photos of it that I've never seen before have recently shown up on eBay. The first is from someone's family photo collection. It's dated July 23, 1950.

That's a pretty good location for a photo op, one to rival the Lakeview Park Easter Basket. I wonder if any other families thought the same thing?

And here's the other photo. It's dated July 1947.

I wondered what was going on in the background. From what I could tell from the Journal archives, it was probably part of the Lorain County 125th Anniversary celebration, which brought a carnival to Lakeview Park. The ad below ran in the paper on July 5, 1947.

Today, a newer version of the LORAIN hedge is located on West Erie Avenue facing the park. 

I think whoever planted it goofed. They should have built up the ground to make a little slanted hill under it, like the original, so you can read it. Oh well, in another 80 years it will get replanted again!

I don't know if kids are still watch from the backseat for things like the LORAIN hedge, the Easter Basket, the Big V or the Bascule Bridge – or if they are too distracted by their phones. But I know that all of those things (and more) made Lorain seem like a pretty interesting place to live to a kid growing up in the 1960s.

Toronto Maple Leafs – 1964 Stanley Cup Champions

That's the Maple Leafs captain, "The Chief," George Armstrong to the right of the Cup.
Next to Armstrong is defenceman Bob Baun.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are down 3-1, in the best-of-7 series against the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference First Round. (Sigh.)

I had hoped that this post about the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals would be sort of a good luck charm for the Maple Leafs. But if they don't win tonight, they're finished, eh.

Anyway, they had sort of a rough time back in 1964 too. Their General Manager/Coach Punch Imlach even used the "Power of Positive Thinking" to help them beat their arch enemy Montreal. This article from the Lorain Journal of April 3, 1964 explains.

From the Lorain Journal, April 3, 1964

By April 8, 1964, both the Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings were tied in their semifinal series against their respective opponents.

From Lorain Journal, April 8, 1964

In the end, it was the Maple Leafs vs. the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals of the National Hockey League. It was a rematch of the 1963 finals.

From the Lorain Journal, April 14, 1964

By April 21, 1964 the series was tied 2-2.

From the Lorain Journal, April 21, 1964

And then the Leafs were down by one game – and on the verge of losing the whole thing.

It all came down to Game 7 on April 25, 1964.

But the Maple Leafs prevailed, shutting out the Red Wings in Game 7. It was their third Stanley Cup in a  row.

Another view of the Maple Leafs posing with the Stanley Cup in 1964

The Leafs would win the Stanley Cup again in 1967.

Here's hoping the Maple Leafs keep their hopes alive tonight. My bucket list (besides eating at Yogi Bear's restaurant) includes a trip to Toronto to join in a Stanley Cup celebration.

Swing Bridge Over the Black River

I was recently alerted by blog contributor Doug that there were some unique, vintage Lorain photographs for sale on eBay right now. 

Above is one of the photos, showing traffic on the old swing bridge over the Black River. It's a neat shot. 

Here's another great photo of the bridge (below), with a streetcar going over it, currently on eBay.

And here's another one from the same batch.

The bridge was still making the news in 1939 – by breaking down. The December 19, 1939 Lorain Journal reported, "Lorain's antiquated Erie-av swing bridge, now being replaced by a new bascule span, broke down this morning, cutting off heavy Lake-rd traffic 55 minutes and producing one of the worst traffic snarls in months.

"At 9:05 a. m., the swing bridge swung open to let pass a concrete mixing barge of the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. The the mechanism in the turntable refused to mesh for the return trip.

"The breakdown this morning, one of the longest in the 40-year history of the bridge, was believed caused by a stone or bolt "thrown on the turntable of the structure."

This swing bridge was actually the second swing bridge over the Black River. An earlier version had been constructed, along with the viaduct, in 1890. It was replaced by the second swing bridge in 1900. This eBay photo for sale shows what I believe is the inscription of its construction.

The second swing bridge was replaced by the Bascule Bridge in September 1940.

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One of the interesting things in the photo at the top of this post is seen in the background, across the river.

It's the monument with the 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 the Black River."

I wrote about this monument back here in 2012.

Here's a postcard that includes the monument in the lower right hand corner.

And here's a photo of it circa 1960s in the Lorain Public Library files.

And lastly, when I bought my Pentax K1000 in 1979, I drove around Lorain taking photos with it. One of the things I photographed was this monument. By then, the roadbed around the stone was pretty much gone, half of it having fallen in the river. And the monument was nicely paint-splattered.

Eventually, the monument was moved to a new location nearby. It seems to have that sinking feeling, though.

Chicken Delight Ad – April 3, 1964

Lorain old-timers remember when Chicken Delight had a store on W. 21st Street near Leavitt Road. It held its Grand Opening in Feb. 1964, and was one of the first (if not the first) fast-food chicken restaurants on Lorain's west side.

 

(Minnie Pearl's Chicken restaurant opened a few years later on Leavitt in September 1969, and Colonel Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken didn't show up on Oberlin Avenue until April 1971.)

A few months after it opened, Chicken Delight ran this ad (below) in the Lorain Journal on April 3. 1964.

It's a fairly amusing ad now. People (usually an insufferable boss and his wife) dropping in for dinner unexpectedly seems to only happen in old Blondie comic strips.

Chicken Delight had a pretty good concept, with memorable advertising and a great mascot. Here's a 1963 radio spot.

Best of all were the delivery vehicles with the Chicken Delight mascot roosting on the roof.

Thinking back, we probably only had it once in the Brady household. That's because Mom made her own tasty fried chicken, and as I recall, we always had honey on the table. I still like to dip fried chicken in honey.

The concept of honey-flavored fried chicken was the whole idea behind this restaurant chain (below).

But launching the chain eventually turned out to be a boo boo, and today there's only one Yogi Bear's Honey Fried Chicken left, in Hartsville, South Carolina. It's on my bucket of chicken list to eat there someday.

Anyway, as I mentioned in earlier Chicken Delight posts, the chain still exists, up in the land of Maple Leafers. Here's the link to its website. But don't try to order and have it delivered; the DoorDash® driver would have to cross the U. S. Canadian border, and there's a good chance the border agents might confiscate it, especially if it is near dinner time.

Pick-N-Pay Ad – April 29, 1964

Although today's grocery stores rely on loyalty programs (such as Giant Eagle's myPerks) to retain customers, decades ago there were other ways to keep shoppers coming back. Of course, some stores gave out Top Value Stamps, which could be redeemed for a variety of gifts. But there were other more creative efforts as well. These included encyclopedia promotions in which a different book was offered each week until the whole set was complete, and similarly, dinnerware offers in which you could piece together a set dish by dish.

And then there were the contests and giveaways, such as the Pick-N-Pay "Spot-O-Gold" promotion. Here's the two-page spread from the Journal of April 29, 1964.

The contest was a cash giveaway. Shoppers received a free "Spot-O-Gold" Dividend Card, which they were instructed to bring with them on their shopping strips to Pick-N-Pay. When their card had been "properly punched," the store manager removed the gold spot to reveal their reward. (The rules don't make it clear how many punches were needed.) At the very least you would win a buck.

I like the illustrations in the ad. The store manager is depicted as they usually are in newspaper ads, smiling, with a white coat and bow tie.

I like the other grocery guy with the basket of loot. I hope he wasn't going to take it on the lamb lam.

The late David Howat was a big fan of Pick-N-Pay, as he cherished the memories of shopping at the W. 21st Street store with his mother when he was a tyke. He sent me this photo of an employee hat he had in his archives.

David also sent me this 1958 photo taken inside a Pick-N-Pay store. It's labeled as being the 'Lorain' store, but I suspect it means Lorain Road in Cleveland. The back of the photo indicates that the store manager (Don Wilcox) lived in Lakewood, and the Maher family lived on W. 181st Street.

But it's a nice little slice of life, showing a typical family out buying groceries. Dad looks kind of apprehensive, though.

Contrary to today, when men do just as much shopping for food as women (or possibly more), my own father never went grocery shopping. It was Mom's job, usually on Friday nights when I was a kid. 

I wrote about those days back here in 2011.