1986 Euclid Square Mall Burl Ives 'The Night Before Christmas' 45 Record

Today the Euclid Historical Society and Museum posted an adorable ad with Burl Ives holding a 45 record that Euclid Square Mall and other Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs malls were giving out for the Christmas season 1986 with purchases totaling $25 or more.

Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio, also a Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs enterprise, gave away this record as well.

Listen to this narrated classic below:

Thanksgiving in Euclid, 1941

In 1941, not only were houses popping up all over Euclid, including those in my very own subdivision built by Benton Lefton, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

You've either got all your ducks, err, turkeys in a row, or you've yet to go shopping. No judgement.

Here's what the week of Thanksgiving ad for Fisher's Master Market looked like in 1941, approximately 75 years ago.

• Turkey 33¢/lb.
• Cranberry sauce 13¢ a can
• Canned pumpkin in a big can - 8¢
• Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2 for 19¢
• 34¢ for a gallon of apple cider
• A shiny dime for a loaf of bread
• Coffee... 19¢ a pound...
• 6¢ a pound for apples and...
• $1.45 for a carton of cigarettes

Celery was cheap too, but who cares about celery.

Before turkey talk and ads for Christmas presents, those folks getting their copy of the Euclid News Journal were greeted by a few paragraphs of things they had to be thankful for. 

The paper hit doorsteps November 21st, and Thanksgiving in 1941 was the 26th. 11 days later, the United States would officially enter World War II.

 

The Great Thanksgiving Snowstorm of 1950

It was Thanksgiving  November 23, 1950. The weather was a little colder then normal.. It was in the 40's on Wednesday and Thanksgiving was supposed to be about the same. The official forecast was getting colder on Thanksgiving with snow flurries by night. Things got a lot worse then expected.

The snow in Euclid and the Greater Cleveland picked up overnight on Thursday Night and Friday morning. By Friday morning, temperatures were in the single digits with heavy snow. Trains were stuck and it was hard getting around town. The storm was just starting and things would get worse on Saturday.

The snow continued on Saturday, November 25. By Saturday Evening the Governor of Ohio, Frank Lausche, called out the National Guard to help out stranded motorists in Cleveland. In Columbus the annual Ohio State vs. Michigan game was played in Blizzard conditions. By Saturday Night the whole state of Ohio was under blizzard conditions. At the White Motor Company in Cleveland, out of 5000 employees, only 850 were able to make it to work.

By Sunday 20.2 inches of snow had fallen in the Cleveland area with higher snowfall totals in southern Ohio. In Ohio, 43 people were killed in the storm. Most of the businesses closed and travel came to a standstill.

In Euclid the storm created a problem with a fire at the Watkins Furniture store on East 222nd St. and Lakeshore. The Firefighters had a tough time fighting the fire with big snow piles to go around and bitter cold temperatures.

Cleveland ended up with about 2 feet of snow. Some parts of southern Ohio ended up with over 3 feet of snow. The top picture was taken on Richards Avenue in Euclid. Schools were closed the whole week following Thanksgiving. It was the biggest snow on record during Thanksgiving. Also numerous records for record lows were set in Ohio.

Time Machine: Thanksgiving in Euclid Ohio, 1942

We're just a little bit under 2 weeks from Thanksgiving. We already have a big fat bird in the freezer, wrapped and taking it's long winters nap. We also make ham, and the FIXINGS and the pies... there are so many pies...

And we celebrate with family. My [Jen] parents and Guy's parents, my brother and his girlfriend and of course my sweet little niece.

I thought, getting into the spirit of Thanksgiving (I can already smell the stuffing!) I'd take a peek back and see what was shaking near my neighborhood nearly three quarters of a century ago.

What gave me a chuckle about this is that these ads were placed just like this, together. No photoshopping here!

If I were easily swayed by advertising and persuasive graphics I would do the following:

I'd go get my turkey at Martin's Poultry Market. It would be alive (DEARGOD PEOPLE PLEASE MAKE FREEZERS AFFORDABLE/COMMONPLACE) and I would...

request a living turkey

And they would go butcher it for me. I would cry some then I'd go to Shore Beverages and in a guilt ridden, turkey murderer binge, order one of everything and since they deliver, I'd tell them just to swing by and soon. I sniffle and slide a piece of paper with my address to the nice guy behind the counter, blubber about killing that poor bird and before I can get out anything that makes sense, the ugly cry shows up and I walk out gnawing on my fingernails.

I decide a game of bowling at Shore Bowl will take my mind off everything. It's great exercise. It's economical. But money and a healthy lifestyle aren't what I'm thinking of. I left the turkey in the car and it's still warm.

I should have gone bowling first. Thank God my booze is going to be at the house when I get home.

And for Christmas, I'm asking for a freezer.