Christmas & Grandpa Charlie
Before suburbs became a pervasive force in American life, the downtown areas were a special place during Christmas time. Sarah, Mollie, Rosie and I visited the Holidays at Higbee’s window displays at Public Square earlier today in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The special event highlights the importance window displays played in a bygone era.
Below is a picture from the 1954 Canton Repository. It shows my Grandfather Charles Elbert Ayers (1910-1981) receiving recognition for his role with the window display in Polsky’s that holiday season. He played a significant role for both Polsky’s and the Halle Bros. during the 1950s and 1960s for the Canton and Akron areas.
More often than not, he had 100% creative freedom for how the display looked and how all of the mechanics functioned.
One of my friends who grew up in the Collinwood area of Cleveland remembers how intricate all of the displays were during that time frame It is interesting to note that he left for Marine Corps Boot Camp Parris, Island, South Carolina from the train station underneath Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland in June of 1955.
I am proud of what Grandpa Charlie did and who he was. Some of his displays won contests both locally and nationally. During World War II, he worked for Mr. J. Paul Getty at Spartan Aircraft in Tulsa, OK. On two occasions Mr. Getty requested my Grandfather to perform special assignments.
When the employees of Spartan donated a plane to the Navy, Mr. Getty asked Grandpa Charlie to do the calligraphy on the side of the plane that read “The Spirit of Spartan”. For a different time, he had him paint a picture of the Spartan Executive which was one of their top selling airplanes.
Grandpa Charlie and his Father Charles Emsley Ayers (1872-1956) were both master carpenters. In 1952, Charles Elbert built a house on West Blvd. in Lake Cable – Jackson Twp., Ohio. Currently a former Jackson High School English Teacher lives there.
Developing family traditions for the Holidays is a wonderful thing. I am jazzed that the window displays that make up the Holidays at Higbee’s exhibit bring the magic of the downtown holiday experience.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings from The Ayers Family.
