A few evenings ago, Pat, Joyce, and I went to Martinis on Main, which is just past Coney Island and City News (yes they are still open). Martinis is an upscale bar and we sat outside surrounded on three sides by high brick walls, with the other side open to a brick paved parking lot. Across the lot is the BMV where we received our new Ohio driver licenses.
As we sipped our tea we listened to the soft music and then we were joined by Tom Moore, a new friend of Joyce’s. He graduated from Senior High in ’64 and said he new Scott, and some of his friends, including Rick Spangler! He just returned to Mansfield after 30 years of living elsewhere. We enjoyed pleasant conversation as darkness began to change the ambiance of the evening as street lights and candles illuminated the surroundings.
Another day I was looking for a warehouse (for a used mower) at the corner of Wayne and Orange streets and I spot the old Tappan building, standing empty. I remember working second shift there one summer, building spray arms for dishwashers. I also remember Mr. Litzler worked there as well. Just down the street I could see the old Westinghouse building. I could imagine the hustle and bustle that once was constant in this neck of the woods. By the way, the Union Hall where Pat and I had our wedding reception is there, but closed with weeds growing all around.
I follow Adams Street over the tracks and then turn left onto Newman Street and drive down memory lane. I pass Newman Park, where Dad used to go to school, but the building has since been torn down. I arrive at the stop sign and catty-corner from me is the building where Uncle Harry had Hollingsworth Tire. I’m not sure what is there now but someone is using the building.
Across the street where the Mansfield Tire used to be are several businesses. I am surprised because the last time I drove past this spot, all the Tire buildings were raised and only empty ground remained. A company called Jay Industries has several buildings erected here, and one of them has something to do with paint. I remember visiting Dad there once and he took me on a tour of the factory. I also remember picking up Scott a couple of times as he worked a summer there. I drive along and remember the building where Mr. Sheldon used to run the tubing machine. Now on that spot there is a Regional recycling center run by Rumpke. It kind of smells of garbage and many trucks are entering and exiting.
I turn around and head south and notice most of the houses along Newman Street are run down with many boarded up. That is the way of much of old Mansfield, but there are many areas that are kept up and some areas which have new business. I suspect it is the same in most towns across America.
3 comments:
Thanks, Steve, for another tour of Mansfield. Some places you describe are very clear to me, and some not. I remember City News and Coney Island. My guess is that Martinis is where the Masonic Temple used to be. BMV must be south of Temple Court where Yunkers Sporting Goods store was. I wondered what Main Street looks like on down the hill. It had been pretty seedy. And at the bottom of the hill, the area was known as The Flats. Megan called it The Dumps. That area was revitalized when the new Post Office was built. Interesting, too, that Tom Moore has come back to Mansfield after 30 years. By the way, the corner of Newman and Orange was where Willie and I and a couple others would get on the bus to go to MHS. The bus would go on up Newman, turn right on Grace, then right again on Wayne, stopping many times to pick up a whole load of us East End kids.
I’d forgotten about the Masonic Temple there on Main St., I’ll look for a cornerstone etc. Much of Main St. is being restored but there are still buildings that are vacant. Walnut St. is now open to two way traffic and it has new sidewalks and looks nice. It goes by the Carrousel on the corner of Walnut and Third.
I remember the name Yunkers, but not being there. I smiled at Megan’s name for the flats, and of course that area is named appropriately because the are is flat just before the streets ascend up to the square. The square had a makeover too, funded in part by the stimulus money.
I drove to Cairns Rd. to unload yard waste and it is right next to the old dump which is now closed. I vaguely remember going there with you Dad, but when and for what escapes me. The largest employer in Mansfield is the Air National Guard wing located all around the Mansfield Lahm Airport. Also many other business are around the area as well.
I drove up Main St., past the correctional facility and could see the remains of the old Reformatory, which is now open for tours, and from time to time a move is filmed there. The Ohio Brass office building is still there, and a sign reads “Brass Office Complex,” which I think now leases office space. The Grain Elevators are still there and a huge sign reads, “Welcome to Mansfield – 1808.”
You mentioned Tom Moore moving back to Mansfield after all those years. We’ve met several people, including our next door neighbor to the west, and she moved back after 25 years in Colorado – also to be close to family.
Steve,
We went to the dump to get rid of the ashes from our coal burning furnace. We later had the furnace converted to gas.
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