A Forest Fuel Feud: Mickey's vs. Buc-ee's

Mickey the Moose statue outside the Vermilion, Ohio store

Keel moose and squirrel.

Those were the sinister orders that the bumbling Pottsylvanian spies Boris and Natasha received from the evil Fearless Leader many times on the old Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show back in the late 1950s and early 60s. 

Well, someone is still trying to ""keel moose." Only there's no squirrel involved this time – just a beaver. And he's the one trying to do the killing.

I'm talking about the federal lawsuit that Buc-ee's, a Texas-based chain of travel centers/gas stations with a beaver for a mascot, has filed against Coles IP Holdings, a Milan, Ohio based company that owns a gas and convenient store chain with Mickey the Moose for a mascot.

I just noticed that Buc-ee wears his baseball cap like Huntz Hall

Buc-ee's – which is in the process of expanding into the Ohio market – is alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. Buc-ee's says that the design of Mickey the Moose too closely resembles its beloved Buc-ee beaver. 

What do you think?

Buc-ee's tactic is simple: sue any competitor with an animal for a mascot and make them spend a lot of money fighting the lawsuit until they give up or, financially drained, close for good. And the strategy has worked so far, laying waste to a whole menagerie of animal mascots including dogs, ducks, chipmunks and alligators. 

But the argument that there would be confusion with a beaver and moose both selling gasoline and convenient foods is ridiculous. It's like Kellogg's suing General Mills and Post for using animals as mascots on their cereal boxes. I think grocery shoppers can tell the difference between Dig'em Frog and Sugar Bear. And in this case, most Ohioans wouldn't even know what a Buc-ee's is – or care.

I sincerely hope Buc-ee's lawsuit collapses like a poorly built beaver dam in a heavy storm. 

Mickey's was long established before Buc-ee's recently decided to enter the Buckeye State. Mickey's got its name from its founder and owner, Mick Coles, and the stores date back to the early 1980s. How can a Texas upstart beaver come to Ohio and try to bully a company that was already in business?

Mickey the Moose is all about fun. He stars in his comic books, where he is an intrepid adventurer with dinosaurs for friends. He's featured in comic pages in the company tabloid newspaper, The Hoof & Antler. He's also a plush doll, and his likeness appears on cups, mugs, Christmas ornaments, dog toys, shot glasses and more.

And he cheerfully waves to customers in the form of a statue in front of every Mickey's store.

One of the new, modern stores in Norwalk, Ohio.
It has a full-size dinosaur in it for the kiddies, with more to come..

As the company website notes, "His friendly grin welcomes every guest who walks through our doors, representing the spirit of the Mickey’s team and the friendly, welcoming environment we strive to create."

Anyway, I think Buc-ee's is going to regret suing Mickey's. It's not going to generate very much goodwill by entering the Ohio market and pompously attacking another company that was there long before they were.

Ironically, I've been familiar with Buc-ee's for a long time since my older brother lives in Texas. Years ago he sent me a cute photo of my nephews as tykes (they're adults now) posing in front of a Buc-ee's statue. So I was genuinely looking forward to visiting one of the stores with the beloved beaver. But not now.

It's a dam shame.

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As a graphic designer for most of my career, I can't figure out how Buc-ee's convinces juries that when two ad mascots use some of the same colors and are drawn looking in the same direction, it automatically means that one of them copied the other. It's insane.

As for Buc-ee's, the fact that they use a bizarre spelling is probably their attempt to distance themselves from Bucky Beaver. He's the Ipana Toothpaste mascot from which the founder got his childhood nickname; it became his company's name as well.

Hilariously, Buc-ee is not the first beaver to be used in gas station advertising. Remember the Eager Beaver used by Cities Service?

Journal Business and Industrial Review Page – March 16, 1970

Detail from a Squires Construction Co. ad

The Lorain County Business and Industrial Review page was regular feature in the Lorain Journal for years. It was a very handy feature, with well-written business advertisements and company profiles that resembled newspaper articles. The rest of the page was basically a collection of classified ads of various shapes and sizes. They were probably reasonably priced for the advertisers.

The particular page below ran in the Journal on March 16, 1970. 

It's interesting to me for several reasons. Being a big fan of Sandy's Hamburgers, it's nice to see the big, gaudy sign with Miss Sandy on it. There's an ad for Chuck's Rock & Pet Shop (where my parents bought me my pet hamster) which was located in the Beulah Beach community. And there's an ad for Burge Building & Roofing, who did some fire damage repair work in my house on Nebraska Avenue in the 1990s.

I don't recall Capy's Pizza Parlor, the subject of another article masquerading as an ad. It was located at 1426 Oberlin Avenue. Does anybody out there remember it?

Perhaps you will recognize a favorite company that you did business with. 

There's also some regular editorial content on the page, including a continuation of a front page article about hippies hijacking a U.S. cargo ship near Thailand as part of an antiwar protest.

A Tale of Two Tigers – March 1986

Tiger the Tiger has been the top cat in the cereal aisle for a long time. He's been roaring his trademark "They're Grrrrreat!" as the mascot of Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes since 1952.

And his keepers at Kellogg's are mighty protective of their striped meal ticket.

How do I know? Back here, I wrote about how Kellogg's objected to Exxon using its own popular tiger mascot in signage and advertising for its Tiger Mart convenient stores located inside the oil refinery's service stations. The resulting lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Well, forty years ago in March 1986, Kellogg's took on the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee over the cartoon tiger mascot it selected to serve as the emblem for the 1986 Asian Games, as well as the 1988 Summer Olympics in Korea.

Popular columnist Scott Ostler wrote about the whole affair in the humorous article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on March 23, 1986. Coincidentally, the nationally syndicated columnist just announced his retirement just a few days ago, after writing his last column for the San Francisco Chronicle.

I like how Mr. Ostler imagines that Tony the Tiger naturally would hang out with other ad mascots, including Reddy Kilowatt. It's a funny, creative column.

I can see how Kellogg's would object to the cute Korean tiger cub. The Olympic mascot (named Hodori) does seem a little derivative of Tony the Tiger, or at least the fruit loops of his loins. Check out this illustration from the back of a 1968 cereal box with the whole Tiger family, purring with delight over the 1960s General Electric prizes that were part of a giveaway.

Hodori is cute, however. And he has somewhat different coloring etc. And a hat.

But Hodori looks like he was designed by someone who had never seen a real tiger, just a cartoon one on a cereal box.

And note that the designer didn't use this tiger (Cool Cat, a lame late 1960s Warner Bros. Looney Tunes character) for inspiration. Nope, he went with the Grrrrreat One.

Anyway, Mr. Ostler's retirement has really rocked the San Fransisco Bay Area, where he is quite beloved. Here's wishing him a happy retirement!

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Tony has showed up on this blog before – when he was 'freelancing' for the Giant Tiger department store chain.

Hotel Antlers Reopens – March 23, 1986

Forty years ago today, the newly renovated Hotel Antlers in Lorain reopened in a gala affair on Sunday, March 23, 1986. The conversion of the decrepit hotel into apartments, offices and shops was one of the late developer's Jon Veard's many great accomplishments, and his gift to the city of Lorain.

The lead up to the event provided an opportunity for the Journal to revisit the history of the hotel. Here's a great article from March 16, 1986 that provides the comprehensive story of the hotel, from its opening by the Elks, to its ups and downs over the years, to its closing in the 1970s. The article includes the heartwarming story of John and Ruth Howat, who were married there in 1925 and planned to renew their vows as part of the formal reopening of the landmark on March 23rd.

On March 22, 1986 the small article below appeared on the front page of the Journal on the eve of the reopening. It mentions that the Dave Noe Orchestra would be providing music at the event on Sunday. I was a member of the band and remember that day as being happy, exciting and a little emotional. My parents also took a tour of the building that day.

The Journal published an editorial on March 22nd complimenting and congratulating Jon Veard on his accomplishment.

On March 24, the Journal covered and celebrated the reopening of Hotel Antlers with this great article by Darlene Brown with photos of the event by Craig Orosz.

Some editions of the paper printed a shorter version of the article.

Several letters to the editor during the days following the reopening expressed the joy and appreciation felt by the community. Jon Veard also submitted a letter expressing his gratitude that he felt for the public support for the project.

March 26, 1986

April 3, 1986

April 4, 1986

Jim Mahony noted the opening of a radio station in the renovated Hotel Antlers in his column of April 12, 1986.

Finally, the restaurant located in the lower level of the Antlers opened in December 1986.

Dec. 9, 1986

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Here's an ample sample of vintage postcards and photos of Hotel Antlers over the years. I've included postmark and inscribed dates where available. There's also a cool envelope currently on eBay.

1931

1935 Cleveland News photo

1939

1948

1953

(I can't guarantee that the early, undated postcards are in the right chronological order.)

Get Your Kicks on Route 555 – March 20, 1926

Did you know that North Ridge Road was once planned to be known as State Highway 555?

I didn't either, until I saw the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on March 20, 1926.

As noted in the article, the announcement of the road being taken over by the state was welcomed. The State of Ohio would then be financially responsible for 30 to 50 percent of all improvements made to the highway.

I'm not sure, however, if North Ridge Road between Rocky River and Lorain was ever officially designated as State Highway 555. I've checked several maps in my collection and even the ones from the early 1930s show the road as State Highway 254. 

Yet there is an article in the April 10, 1930 Lorain Journal noting that State Highway 555 extends from Avon to the Cuyahoga County line. And another article from July 26, 1939 mentions a proposed new viaduct on State Highway 555, that would open up a new route between Cleveland and Lorain.

If I ever find a map with Highway 555 on it, I'll post it here.

And I guess we should be glad it wasn't designated Highway 666.

Today State Route 555 is a north-south route in southeastern Ohio. It's official Wiki history doesn't even mention its northern route roots!

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And here's the whole front page of the March 20, 1926 newspaper.

Ostrov's Shoes Buster Brown Ad – March 15, 1956

The well-remembered rendering of Buster Brown and his dog, Tige

Remember shopping for shoes as a kid?

I don't have fond memories of it. Shopping for shoes wasn't interesting to me (it still isn't). But we had to do it. The worst part was that if Mom did take my siblings and me shoe shopping, then she probably was buying them for all of us – meaning a marathon session in the stores. 

I've written before how Lorain used to have a lot of shoe stores – Downtown, in South Lorain (Pic-Way), out at O'Neil-Sheffield Center and later, at Midway Mall. Sometimes Mom had to drag us to several of them on the same night. 

Back then you had your own personal shoe salesman, who fitted you with his measuring tool and then proceeded to bring out as many styles and sizes as you requested. I remember how the man used to crush your toe with his thumb when he was trying to see how much room you had. I also recall how it was somewhat embarrassing to have to march around the store to see if the shoe slipped. 

Isn't it odd now that people buy shoes online without trying them on?

Anyway, one of the weird things I remember about children's shoes back then was that Buster Brown was a major brand, and he always appeared prominently on signs in the stores. I didn't quite understand who he was; it wasn't until much later that I learned that he was a comic strip character from early 1900s. He was somewhat otherworldly, with his hat not unlike that of Donald Duck. And his bulldog – with his shark-like teeth – was a little creepy.

Below is an ad featuring the sailor hat-wearing tyke and his namesake shoes for Ostrov's – a shoe store with outlets in Lorain and Elyria. The ad appeared in the Lorain Journal on March 15, 1956.

The ad mentions that kids could win big prizes in Buster Brown's "Paste-Up Pet Contest" and that a free comic book with all the details was available in the stores. What was that all about?

Fortunately, several copies of the Buster Brown comic book from March 1956  are on eBay right now. 

That's Western star and comedy sidekick Andy Devine on the cover along with the characters from the Andy's Gang TV show (including Froggy the Gremlin – who a few decades later would tease the Ghoul on his late night horror show on Cleveland television).

And here's the spread from the book showing the contest entry.

The idea was that kids would cut out the various pieces (designated as eyes, noses, ears, etc.) and glue them down on the entry blank to create their own 'pet' (or nightmarish freak of nature as the case may be).

Much like Snap, Crackle and Pop being redesigned to appeal to kids, Buster Brown was also rendered in a more modern style in some ad appearances.

An ad detail from a 1957 Christmas magazine ad

And here he is as depicted on two birthday cards. That's Captain Kangaroo himself in the top one.

And here's a vintage commercial. I had forgotten about the Buster Brown logo printed inside the shoe where your heel goes.

Today, Buster Brown shoes supposedly exist as a brand, but are nowhere to be found on the website of the company that owns them. Hope Buster and Tige are still around!

"Greatest Flood of the Century" Paralyzes Pittsburgh – March 18, 1936

With the coming of spring, flooding is often a threat to cities located next to rivers. And ninety years ago today, Pittsburgh and the surrounding area suffered through some of the worst flooding ever.

Above is the front page of the Lorain Journal from March 18, 1936 with the story, along with the continuation on page 13.

"The greatest flood of the century menaced the western Pennsylvania area today with damage already running into millions and 12 known dead, and a possible toll of 40," the lead article noted. "Rampaging waters inundated the flood city of Johnstown and almost covered Pittsburgh's famous "Golden Triangle" business district. Water stood at 18 feet in the "triangle" and damage here was placed at $10,000,000.

"Pittsburgh, Johnstown and dozens of other cities and towns were virtually isolated as most of the highways were covered.

"Between 8,000 and 10,000 persons are reported homeless in Johnstown, Pa., as the result of the flood."

You might remember that Lorain became a 'steel city' when the Johnson Steel Rail Company relocated to Lorain from Johnstown in 1894 a few years after the disastrous Johnstown Flood of 1889. 

An article on the front page above notes, "Grim memories of the Johnstown flood of 1889 in which 2,209 persons lost their lives were recalled by many Lorainites who survived that disaster as the Pennsylvania steel city was hit by another flood disaster today." In the article, Lorainite Charles Bremer shares his eyewitness memories of the 1889 flood.

The front page also reports on deadly flooding in New Hartford, Connecticut; Wheeling, W. Virginia; Cumberland, Maryland; Binghamton, New York; and Marietta, Ohio.

Speaking of Ohio, another report on the same page notes, "Turbulent Ohio river today was watched anxiously by residents of cities in eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia as the rising waters warned of flood crests.

"In Ohio hundreds fled to higher ground from lowlands in the East Liverpool and Steubenville areas. Marietta merchants began moving out stock and anticipated the entire business district would be inundated."

Things would get even worse, including in Ohio, judging by the front pages of the next few days.