Pick-N-Pay Ad – April 29, 1964

Although today's grocery stores rely on loyalty programs (such as Giant Eagle's myPerks) to retain customers, decades ago there were other ways to keep shoppers coming back. Of course, some stores gave out Top Value Stamps, which could be redeemed for a variety of gifts. But there were other more creative efforts as well. These included encyclopedia promotions in which a different book was offered each week until the whole set was complete, and similarly, dinnerware offers in which you could piece together a set dish by dish.

And then there were the contests and giveaways, such as the Pick-N-Pay "Spot-O-Gold" promotion. Here's the two-page spread from the Journal of April 29, 1964.

The contest was a cash giveaway. Shoppers received a free "Spot-O-Gold" Dividend Card, which they were instructed to bring with them on their shopping strips to Pick-N-Pay. When their card had been "properly punched," the store manager removed the gold spot to reveal their reward. (The rules don't make it clear how many punches were needed.) At the very least you would win a buck.

I like the illustrations in the ad. The store manager is depicted as they usually are in newspaper ads, smiling, with a white coat and bow tie.

I like the other grocery guy with the basket of loot. I hope he wasn't going to take it on the lamb lam.

The late David Howat was a big fan of Pick-N-Pay, as he cherished the memories of shopping at the W. 21st Street store with his mother when he was a tyke. He sent me this photo of an employee hat he had in his archives.

David also sent me this 1958 photo taken inside a Pick-N-Pay store. It's labeled as being the 'Lorain' store, but I suspect it means Lorain Road in Cleveland. The back of the photo indicates that the store manager (Don Wilcox) lived in Lakewood, and the Maher family lived on W. 181st Street.

But it's a nice little slice of life, showing a typical family out buying groceries. Dad looks kind of apprehensive, though.

Contrary to today, when men do just as much shopping for food as women (or possibly more), my own father never went grocery shopping. It was Mom's job, usually on Friday nights when I was a kid. 

I wrote about those days back here in 2011.

Streetcar Era Memories – April 29, 1964

During the last 15 years, I haven't done very much on this blog about the Lake Shore Electric (LSE), the interurban system that ran between Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit. Why? Because it's much better to leave it to the experts: Drew Penfield and his Lake Shore Rail Maps website, which features many contributions and photos from archivist and historian Dennis Lamont. I've been fortunate to become acquainted with both of these fine gentlemen through my blog, and both have helped me immensely over the years with my research.

But occasionally, I do post the odd piece about the Lake Shore Electric, as well as the Lorain Street Railway, its local subsidiary which provided streetcar service in Lorain. 

Above you see a full-page of vintage streetcar photos from the April 29, 1964 Journal. The reason for the article is the publication of the first volume of The Lake Shore Electric by Harry Christiansen, one of the earliest books on the subject.

As the article notes, there was much enthusiasm on the part of individuals and organizations to acquire a copy of the book. Libraries, former LSE employees and even some who remembered riding the LSE were clamoring for their edition.

"The trolley car "era" actually ended just 26 years ago next month, to be succeeded by city and inter-city buses," stated the 1964 article. "Final drama was the passing of the big orange Cleveland - Toledo interurbans on May 14, 1938."

It's odd to think that the date of the streetcars being replaced by buses was only about 20 years before I was born.

My dad (who was born in 1921) remembered the streetcars and interurbans. But Mom (born in 1927) didn't – but it's not surprising because she didn't get out of town very much, and walked everywhere as a young girl. By the time she was in high school, buses had taken over.

Anyway, thanks to the efforts of Drew and Dennis, there's a permanent tribute to the interurbans online, helping to ensure that era isn't forgotten.

P.O.C Beer Ad – April 23, 1954

P.O.C. Beer has long been the subject of a mystery: what do the letters P.O.C. stand for?

The well-remembered beer was pretty popular in the Cleveland area, being brewed here.

According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, P.O.C. stood for "Pilsner of Cleveland" since it was brewed by the Pilsener Brewing Company located near the intersection of Clark Avenue and W. 65th. But in the ad above from the April 23, 1954 Lorain Journal, P.O.C. could also stand for other things, depending on the ad campaign, such as "Premium of Course." Over the years, I also heard of other answers to the P.O.C. mystery: Pride of Cleveland, Pilsener On Call, etc.

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry notes that in 1963, the brewery was purchased by the Duquesne Brewing Company, so P.O.C. was re-imagined to stand for "Pleasure on Call."

The brew has made a few comebacks, most recently in 2016 as a craft pilsener by Double Wing Brewing Company. 

Here is the link to the page on its website for P. O. C. Pilsener.

****

I hope that the latest version of P.O.C. is successful. It's pretty tough to get beer drinkers to switch brands (unless they are influenced by so-called influencers).

I know my taste in beer has evolved since the mid-1970s. When I was old enough to drink, my inaugural beer-drinking choice was 3.2% Miller. In college, my favorites were Genesee Cream Ale and later, Rolling Rock. (I can't forget Old Dutch, since my parents used to bring me a six-pack when they visited me in the dorm at Ohio State.) 

After college, I haven't had too much beer in the last 40+ years; when I do, it's usually a brand with nostalgic appeal, like Carling's Black Label or Hamm's (which is in my fridge right now). But I will have the occasional Guinness on St. Patrick's Day. In fact, I made Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew last year for my workplace's St. Paddy Day luncheon and it was a hit. Of course, we had to limit servings, since each bowl of stew had some brew in it.

****

P.O.C. Beer has been served up on this blog a few times. This post featured a 1949 hockey-themed ad; and this 1954 ad include an appearance by Pilsner Pete.

Sugardale Cold Cuts Ad – April 15, 1964

I saw this ad for Sugardale Cold Cuts that ran in the Lorain Journal back on April 15, 1964 and it got me thinking.

No, not about Hamlet, the cheery porcine Sugardale ad mascot. I'm referring to just how much America's eating habits regarding lunch have changed over the last sixty years.

Back in the 1960s and 70s, Mom always bought a lot of lunch meat each week at the grocery store, or Lawson's. Lunch was always a sandwich for Dad and us kids, with an incredible selection of lunch meat to choose from: bologna (or baloney if you prefer), hard salami, olive loaf, pickle and pimento, Canadian Bacon, beef log, chicken loaf (a loaf of chicken?), chipped chopped ham, very crumbly corned beef slices, souse, and Dutch Loaf.

The Sugardale ad above has a more limited selection in its pre-packaged 'cold cuts' (a term Mom never used): bologna, pickle and pimento loaf, and Berliner. 

Berliner?

I had to look that one up. The German Butchery website says it is 'a mildly flavored fully cooked German cold cut made out of finely minced pork. And the Pendle Hill Meat Market website describes it as 'a traditional German sausage made with a blend of pork and beef. Finely ground and seasoned with a savory blend of spices.' Strangely, both companies are located in Australia. Hey, I thought they ate Vegemite sandwiches Down Under.

Fast forward to the 2000s, and it's generally accepted that lunch meat is somewhat unhealthy. This Cleveland Clinic article tells the sad tale of how processed meats are high in calories and low in protein. (Conversely, the Sugardale ad boasts that the company's meat products 'give you a new way too put Protein Glow in your lunches.)

And sandwiches seem to have lost their appeal these days, perhaps due to everyone trying to cut their carbs. Most people I know seem to bring leftovers for their mid-day repast. As for me, I tend to have a light lunch of Cup-a-Soup, although a sandwich made of lunch meat sounds pretty good right now.

Perhaps by the power of suggestion, this blog post will usher in a glorious comeback for cold cuts in the Lorain County area.

Proposed Rt. 254 in the News – April 1964

For those of us that depend on State Route 2 for a quick and easy way to get to Sandusky, or to connect up with I-90 to the east towards Cleveland, it's odd to think of the days before it was built.

State Route 2 been a favorite topic on this blog, since I remember when a piece of it was built here, then another chunk there, etc. It took a while before it all connected up and was technically finished. Although for a while the state couldn't decide what to call it, it was eventually designated State Route 2, and the familiar name "6 & 2" (Federal Route 6 and State Route 2) along the lakeshore was broken up forever.

Back in April 1964, the limited access highway we know as Route 2 was being referred to as State Route 254, and its planning and financing was in progress. That's the topic of the article above, which appeared in the Journal back on April 15, 1964.

The map shows that Rt. 254 would join up with I-90 to the east, just as Route 2 does now. But as the caption notes, "Eventually as routes are completed, I-90 becomes one limited access route from Boston, Mass. to the west coast. The proposed Rt. 254 will join I-90 and eventually become part of of that route. I-90 now crosses Lorain County as part of the Ohio Turnpike."

It sure sounds like I-90 was originally planned to be its own route separate from the Turnpike. I even remember my parents mentioning that we would be able to get on I-90 at Leavitt Road and take it all the way to Mt. Rushmore. But as we all know, west of the Rt 57 interchange, I-90 gloms onto the Ohio Turnpike, and Route 2 follows its own route west towards Sandusky and Toledo.

The map also shows U. S. 6 as being part of the new highway, rather than State Route 2. That didn't happen either.

****

Also on the page: we get a look at pretty Miss Lorain, Maria Arvanitis; a story about Ohioan Mrs. Jerrie Mock, who was attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world alone (she made it); and a Lorain City Planning Commission article in which local restaurant entrepreneur Richard Head was requesting some rezoning of the property near his Hoop Drive-in at Leavitt and W. Erie.

Ohio Edison Ad – April 1, 1953

"Keeping Ahead of the Joneses" is the theme of this stylish Ohio Edison ad that ran in the Lorain Journal back on April 1, 1953. But while the similar phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses" normally refers to the act of trying to compete with neighbors who might be in a slightly better economic standing, this ad has a different angle. It depicts how Ohio Edison is committed to being ready to supply electricity to a variety of different Joneses in the early 1950s.

And of course our old pal Reddy Kilowatt makes an appearance.

As for the Joneses in the text, the first ones (shown in an illustration as your basic nuclear family) are new householders that are "finding it to their advantage to live electrically through greater use of electric appliances." It's a little odd that they are referred to 'new customers' as the family doesn't exactly look like they were participants in the rural electrification program.

The second Jones is an industrialist whose factory uses "tens of thousands of kilowatt hours of electricity" each year. I like the chart on the wall with the upward arrow. Business is good!

The last Jones is shown as a pipe-smoking atomic scientist, symbolizing Ohio Edison's involvement in the construction of power plants to supply energy requirements of the Atomic Energy Commission's Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, which produced enriched uranium. (You can read about it here on Energy.gov.) Today, the plant is long-closed and the site is still being cleaned up. Oh well.

The ad is also interesting because it shows the old style transmission tower that is becoming a thing of the past (like the ones removed on Tower Boulevard). 

I wonder if any Journal readers wrote for their free copy of the Annual Report of the Ohio Edison Company?

Ford Mustang Goes on Sale to the Public – April 17, 1964

Courtesy Motorcities.org

On this day back in 1964, the production Ford Mustang went on sale to the public. Henry Ford II himself unveiled the car at the 1964 New York World's Fair on April 17, 1964. (Click here for a great article with photos about that event.)

Maybe that's why the ad above for George May Ford, which ran in the Journal on April 16, 1964, doesn't even show a photo of one. Instead, we have a cowboy on a wild mustang.

"The mustang is at the George May Showroom. Not a wild horse, but wild horsepower from Ford," reads the ad copy. "But George May isn't making a production out of it; he's just letting you see for yourself the wild styling... and he is serving refreshments.

"You're all invited... you'll see... in person, a gun-toting cowboy and his horse... plus our model cowgirl hostess."

It all sounds like a lot of fun on a special day.

As a member of an Olds family, I've never been a Ford fan – but it's impossible not to love the look of the Mustang.