Did Dad Really Feed the Bears in Bay Bridge in the 1940s?

Pictured to the left are: my dad, Paul Orshoski, in his Navy uniform, with his brother Cliff Orshoski on the left, and new nephew Luther Gantz, Jr. in the middle, during the World War Two years.

My dad rarely told me stories of his growing up years, but once he told me that Minerva Gray, who ran the general store and Post Office in Bay Bridge, used to pay him a quarter to feed the bears she had in Bay Bridge. Well, I thought he must have been teasing me, as I just couldn't imagine a young man feeding bears in Bay Bridge!

Today I ran into this excerpt of a news article from the Sandusky Star Journal of January of January 27, 1940. It turns out that there were two black bears of the former service station in Bay Bridge! Dad was telling me the truth! Oh, how I wish he had told me more stories!