Looking Back at Elyria: A Midwest City at Midcentury

Brimming with postwar optimism and prosperity, mid-twentieth-century Elyria seemed like Camelot and was, indeed, a brief passage on a beloved president’s campaign trail. You could visit the bears at Cascade Park and play on the slides. See a movie at the Capitol Theatre and enjoy a cherry Coke at the Paradise, but wait until the party line is free before calling your friends on your rotary telephone to make your plans. Run an errand for Mom at Hales Market and then walk up to the old Reefy mansion to check out a book at the library. Shop for your parents at Merthe’s and Harry’s Men’s Wear, then admire the groovy clothes at New Horizons East. Revisit your Elyria youth with this, your very own time-travel guide. Based on her award-winning articles for the Chronicle-Telegram, author Marci Rich combines journalism, historical research, and memoir to look back at her hometown with love.