Friday, June 21, 2019

Pick-n-Pay Ad – June 18, 1969

Although you might not be aware of it, June is National Dairy Month, and has been since the late 1930s. The designation started out as a way to promote drinking milk.

The ad for Pick-n-Pay above, which ran in the Journal on June 18, 1969 features the then-reigning American Dairy Princess, Elaine Marie Moore.

The christening of dairy princesses has long been part of the advertising for the dairy industry. Potential princesses come from a dairy background (such as a family farm) and compete at county and state levels. Princesses crowned at the state level would compete for the title of American Dairy Princess. The yearlong reign as official spokesperson for the industry would include making media appearances and giving interviews.

At the time of the Pick-n-Pay ad, Elaine Marie Moore was actually wrapping up her year as the 14th American Dairy Princess, according to an article in the June 10, 1969 Eau Claire Leader. It noted, “Elaine Marie Moore’s memories of the past year include meeting the President, running into difficulties with a recalcitrant scissors, and keeping very busy indeed.

“It’s been the year she reigned as the 14th American Dairy Princess, “First Lady” of the multi-billion dollar U. S. dairy industry, and chief “speaker-up” for milk.

“A big job for a 19-year old college sophomore? Perhaps, but as the daughter of one dairyman and sister to three others, Elaine knows the dairy business. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Moore of Bradenton, Fla., have a mixed herd of 500 cattle producing 5,160,000 pounds of milk a year on their 320-acre dairy farm.

"Her three older brothers have followed in their father’s footsteps (a younger brother is still in college), and her sister is married to a dairyman.

“Elaine, dark blonde and blue-eyed, has attended Manatee Junior College for the past two years. Previously, at Southeast High School in Bradenton, she gained royal experience and poise as Miss Southeast Court, Miss Cinderella and Desota Princess.

“After serving as Florida Dairy Princess for a year, she won the national crown in July, 1968, over 28 other contestants in a competition sponsored by the American Dairy Association.

“Her most memorable moment of the year was meeting and being photographed with President and Mrs. Johnson at the first annual meeting of Milk Producers, Inc.  in San Antonio.

“The moment she’d like most to forget is quickly called to mind, too. Elaine’s official duties have included snipping many an “opening” ribbon. On one such occasion, the ceremonial scissors was not only ready but painted gold. The only catch: it wouldn’t cut the ribbon. After several futile – and embarassing – tries,  Elaine had to cast aside the specially prepared scissors and resort to a plain chrome model with sharper edges.

“Elaine will give up her American Dairy Princess crown to a successor in Chicago this July.”

So in honor of Elaine Marie Moore’s reign as American Dairy Princess fifty years ago, be sure to enjoy a nice, cold glass of refreshing milk soon.

****
Pick-n-Pay is another one of those Northeast Ohio grocery stores that we all remember but is no longer around. It (along with Edwards Food Warehouse and Finast) all became part of a company based in the Netherlands. Read all about here on its page in the online Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.

5 comments:

Mike M said...

My Mom worked at Pick-n-Pay at Westgate Plaza for a while when I was a kid and my Dad was a milkman for Lorain Creamery. Once again Dan, the nostalgia is hitting home.

Anonymous said...

The Lorain-Westgate Center is in a seedy part of town....With the projects right across the street.......That area was pretty scroungy when Jeff and Flashes was in there back in the early 80's......Once again,a part of Lorain lives on only in our memories.

Dennis Thompson said...

Mike, my dad was also a milkman for the Lorain Creamery from 1947 to 1953 or so. I got to ride in the horse pulled van a few times. His horse, Prince, knew the route and when Dad got out to deliver to several houses, Prince would walk ahead and wait for him. Dad could speak enough in all the ethnic languages in Lorain to get the orders right.

dbhewitt63 said...

Jeff and Flash's Monoplies' is where I met my wife - Halloween Bash '81.

Jay said...

The company that owned Pick n Pay, Edwards, and later, Tops, and Finast is still around. They own the Stop n Shop (no relation to the Cleveland Stop n Shop chain that was bought by Giant Eagle), and Giant stores in the northeast. The stores are a flashback on what Finast was. The store brands are still the same.