ELYRIA — 2008 marks the 175th anniversary of Elyria’s incorporation as a town in the state of Ohio.

Historical accounts dictate that the city was actually established on March 17, 1817 when Heman Ely and a party of five others arrived to begin a settlement named Elyria. However, it was not until February 1833 that the population grew to the point where a major milestone could be reached: incorporation as a town.

Since then, much has changed.

Homes, churches and schools have sprung up and residents have moved and left the area. A settlement that once only boasted a population of 11 is now a robust city of tens of thousands.

Yet, on this day — a day when the nation pauses to remember those who have died defending democracy and freedom — Elyrians also break from daily routines to pay homage to yesteryear and the ones who built Elyria with their blood, sweat and tears.

So, in honor of the 175th anniversary of the incorporation and nine years shy of the bicentennial of Elyria’s founding, events are planned including today’s Memorial Day parade, which will include a group of cars carrying an honorary assembly of Elyria’s longtime residents.

Some of the parade honorees sat down for quick interviews to share their memories of what Elyria was like. Together, they have more than 300 combined years of living in Elyria under their belts.

The camera man
For 60 years, Howard Foxman, owner of Loomis Camera in Elyria, has watched the world pass by from his store window on Ely Square and through the images of his customers. And, at 87, Foxman said he can sum up his time in downtown Elyria in one word: tremendous.

“When I first moved to Elyria, on the weekends the sidewalks were so filled with people you had to walk on the curb just to get by,” he said. “All the stores were rented. There were ladies’ shops, bakeries, men’s shops, jewelry stores and a butcher shop.”

CHRONICLE FILE

Howard Foxman of Loomis Camera

Foxman, who still comes to his East Broad Street store every day, said business was booming in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, years before Midway Mail began siphoning off shoppers.

Yet, Foxman said he has stayed because his business has thrived over the years. After all the years he has had a shop in Elyria, Foxman has some great stories to tell.

The near race riots of the 1970s were a dangerous time, Foxman remembers. He was heading to Europe with his wife when the tension escalated. He called home, he said, to check on his store, hoping everything would be OK. Luckily, he said, nothing happened to Loomis. 

More excitement unfolded about 20 years ago. This time, Foxman said, it looked like a scene from a movie had unfolded right in front of his store. A bank robber in a car led police on a chase down Middle Avenue, hit two cars, jumped a curb near the store and hit a woman walking. The impact threw the woman through Foxman’s window, and for several minutes everyone thought she was dead. Police eventually caught up to the fleeing suspect, but not before Foxman said he had the scare of his lifetime.

“Those cops came right into the store with their guns drawn, and I about peed my pants,” he said.

The woman survived.

And, despite the fact that downtown Elyria is not as bustling, Foxman said he couldn’t think of setting up shop anywhere else.

“There have been some interesting things going on down here,” he said. “I plan to be here until I’m dead and gone, and that won’t be for too long because every day I’m getting older and more decrepit.”

Born and raised
For Harry Becker, now 90, Elyria always has been and always will be home.

Born in 1917 and raised in Elyria, Becker said the only time he spent away from Lorain County  was a few years in the service. And, even that time was well-spent, as he met his wife of 63 years, Evie, while in New Guinea. She was a Columbus gal also serving overseas.

However, as soon as the happy couple could, Becker said they made their way back home to Elyria.

STEVE MANHEIM / CHRONICLE

Elyria residents Evie and Harold Becker

“And, what a great home it was,” Becker said.

In no time, Becker said he quickly began showing his bride the sights and sounds of Elyria. The family business, then the Sam Becker and Sons wastepaper plant on Middle Avenue, was one of the first stops.

However, if you ask the longtime Elyrian what places he loved to share most with his wife, two still-popular spots rank high on the list.

“Everyone went to Ely Square and Cascade Park back in those days,” he said. “I mean, Ely was right there in downtown, and you could grab a bite to eat and find a nice place to sit before going to a movie. And I will never forget coasting down Cascade’s sledding hill with my friends.”

Becker said he got to see a little of the world while in the service, but always knew he would come back to Elyria.

Before the boom
Jane (Davies) Coven, now 86, can say with some degree of certainty that her love of Elyria was ingrained in her.

In the 1860s when Elyria was just a small town of a few thousand, Coven said her father’s family settled in the city, thinking it was the perfect place to raise a family. Her mother’s family followed suit years later. Since then, Coven said, her family has always called Elyria home.

But unlike its earlier days when city life was concentrated around downtown, Coven, a 1939 Elyria High School graduate, said the biggest change she has witnessed has been the population.

CARL SULLENBERGER / CHRONICLE

Jane (Davies) Coven, an East Avenue resident

“As I was growing up, Elyria was a town of about 25,000 people and all the neighborhoods were basically concentrated in the downtown area,” Coven said. “For a lot of people, downtown was within walking distance. Then, World War II ended and the manufacturing industry in Elyria started booming. I saw Elyria get so much bigger with developments springing up all over the areas outside of downtown. The town really sprawled out. The industries really drew the people to Elyria.”

However, just as the industrial boom brought people to the city, the lack of the same kinds of jobs are now driving people away. It’s a fact that Coven said she can’t ignore as she sits in the living room of the house she has lived in her entire life. She only wishes more people would have stayed as she did.

“I’ve left, went away to school and had some jobs away, but I’ve always came back to Elyria,” she said. “I never really had a desire to stay anywhere else. I think it was a great area. You know, my roots were here.”

The councilwoman
Elyria is not the birth city of Kay Lysaght, but it is the place where she said she has made her mark on the world.

Lysaght came to Elyria from Long Island, N.Y., by way of Melton Mowbry, England, when she was just a high-schooler, and has since been a political and civic force. When asked to talk about some her fondest memories of Elyria, the ones that come to mind include serving others in her role as councilwoman and civic leader.

Elected to City Council in 1956, Lysaght was elected to three two-year terms serving as the city’s first councilwoman, paving the way for many others. A hard feat, she said, as she was also the mother of five children at the time.

Still, she said she has fought battles against dog owners, pornography and electricity rate hikes.

“Some people would say that I had a hard time because I was a woman,” she said. “But that was never the case. I did my job and enjoyed every minute of it.”

Others who want to give back something to their community could do the same, Lysaght said — Elyria is a great place for politics.

“I got into it because (then Mayor J. Grant Keys) thought I would be good at it,” she said. “I accepted because I always wanted to be involved in community service. That’s the best thing about Elyria.”

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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