View full sizeBailey's department store in downtown Lakewood featured plenty of holiday displays that shoppers enjoyed. Similarly, houses throughout the city always have boasted brilliantly lit decorations at this time of year. This photo was made available through Cleveland State University's Cleveland Memory Project. As a
Lakewood Post
writer phrased it in 1961, homes throughout Lakewood are “resplendent with festoons of gaily-colored lights, electric stars, crosses and candelabra.”
Indeed, take a drive around the city and you’ll see that Lakewood has always approached the holidays with festoons of festive feelings.
The headline across the top of the Dec. 21, 1961, issue read: “Holiday Season Mounts to Climax.” Stores throughout the city were prepared for the typical last-minute rush of shoppers.
The article also announced a new contest beginning that year. All homes in Lakewood were automatically entered into the Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Outdoor Lighting Contest. Those who decorated their homes would be eligible to be part of a Christmas tour of Lakewood’s 20 houses with the best decorations. Furthermore, entrants could win prizes like a deluxe electric frying pan, an electric can opener or a student lamp.
At Winterhurst Ice Rink, afternoon skating hours for adults seemed to be getting pretty popular. Wednesday and Fridays afternoons attracted quite the numbers, especially “dentists and doctors who do not have office hours” in those days, according to then-Recreation Director Charles Foster.
“Skating relieves tension and it’s good for those who are working to improve their figure,” he added. As new year’s resolutions were made in 1962 — much like upcoming 2012 — hitting the rink for a few spins around the ice made for a great, quick workout.
See more Lakewood news at cleveland.com/lakewood.
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