Rice Krispies Ad – April 9, 1936

Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal has been a regular topic on this blog for some time. 

One of the reasons is that I once traded some emails with Nels Winkless, who is the son of the advertising executive who composed the classic Rice Krispies song (Snap! Crackle! Pop! Rice Krispies!). His reminisce about how his father N. B. Winkless came up with the melody was the subject of this post, and is now the generally accepted explanation found all over the internet. I'm kind of proud of that.

I've also written about Rice Krispies Marshmallow Treats, as well as the special retro Rice Krispies box sold at Target in 2013 (featuring the 1960s version of Snap, Crackle and Pop). 

Anyway, ninety years ago today the ad for Rice Krispies at the top of this post ran in the Lorain Journal on April 9, 1936. It's part of a series that do not include the famous elfin trio. 

I wasn't a big fan of the original version of Snap, Crackle and Pop. Here's what they looked like in a Journal ad from three years earlier.

It's kind of interesting that at some point the three elves each received new headgear: Snap, a baker's hat; Crackle, a stocking cap; and Pop, a military hat.

Over the decades, the three cereal hucksters have been redesigned countless times, usually improving them to make them more appealing. I'm still partial to how they looked on the box when I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s.

When they started appearing in those great TV commercials with the Rice Krispies song, they were simplified (below) and I liked that version too. They looked like that on the box for several decades and for me, that was their definitive look. 

They've been redesigned many times since then, probably to freshen up the package. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the current design of the lovable threesome. Their heavy-lidded eyes and glazed look to me says 'stoned' (which coincides nicely with the legalization of recreational marijuana).

Note how the severely pointed ears 'pop' out on one side of their noggins, without a trace of a corresponding ear on the other side. 

However, their Canadian counterparts look pretty good – energetic, with a lot of personality. (I just finished a box a few weeks ago, eh.)

Now if Kellogg's could only remove those hard-as-rock grain nuggets that sometimes make their way into the cereal. In the past few years, I've sent Kellogg's several samples of these little pieces of cereal shrapnel in small, labeled plastic bags, providing lot information, date, etc. Never heard back.

Nevertheless, I still can't resist buying a box of Rice Krispies every now and then. I just chew it carefully to avoid the 'crackle' coming from one of my aging molars.

Skippy Peanut Butter Ad – April 6, 1966

I don't remember Peter Pan as being a redheaded
woman in a miniskirt! But that sure looks like
Captain Hook from the Disney film.

What's your favorite peanut butter?

It's a topic that I explored somewhat back on this post in 2022, where I recalled that Mom always bought Jif, which made her a choosy mother according to the ad campaign. I was aware of some of the other peanut butter brands – such as Peter Pan and Skippy – but Mom never bought them. She did buy Koogle Peanut Butter when it first came out, but it disappeared off the shelves of the store eventually, and our pantry shelf as well.

These days, I buy Peter Pan Honey Roast Creamy Peanut & Honey Spread. I guess for some reason they can't call it peanut butter. By the way, for decades Peter Pan was depicted as a woman on the namesake peanut butter label and in advertising. But the Disney suits apparently got involved and a silhouette of the Disney version is in the label today. (I posted some vintage Peter Pan Peanut Butter advertising back here).

Anyway, today's post is about an ad for Skippy Peanut Butter (below) that I found in the pages of the April 6, 1966 Journal.

It's a product ahead of its time in these bacon-crazy days. As the ad copy notes, "Until now, when you wanted a peanut butter and bacon sandwich you had to fry the bacon until it crisped, drain off the fat, blot up excess drippings with paper towels, crumble the bacon in a mixing bowl, and add a generous amount of Skippy® Peanut Butter. Then you got a large spoon and stirred until it was well mixed and reasonably easy to spread."

Did anyone really do that? I'm not sure. Elvis, maybe.

It's interesting that the product is called 'Peanut Butter with Smoky Crisps." I guess they had to call it something else in England; over there, crisps are potato chips. (How do I know? I'm a big fan of Andy Capp.)

Not surprisingly, there's an old jar and lid on eBay.

Anyway, while I'd never heard of a peanut butter and bacon sandwich before, I had heard of a Scabana Nut Sandwich: a sandwich made with Skippy Peanut Butter and slices of banana. It's pretty good.

The only problem is finding a good-tasting banana these days.

Big Four Railroad Publicity Stunt – April 1930

Every so often I like to thumb through my dog-eared copy of Looking Back on Lorain County by Ernie Henes for an interesting story that I could use on my blog.

Here's one from April 1930. It's about Lorain County's first railroad – the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati line, better known as the "Big Four" – and a record-breaking run it undertook 96 years ago this month. Ernie tells the story:

Big Four Publicity Run of 1930

To show that the Big Four has been a railroad of contrasts, we recall an incident that occurred in the summer of 1930, eighty years after the maiden run, when train No. 6474 roared through Wellington at 97 miles per hour, making the 138-mile run from Columbus to Cleveland in 115 minutes.

The reason, strange as it may seem, was 50 gorgeous girlies in the “Rarin’ To Go” burlesque troupe which had become stranded in Columbus and was due at 2 o’clock in Buffalo for a matinee performance.

The Big Four arranged a six-car special as a publicity stunt. It was fun for everybody except Fireman Switzer. His wife reported that even the money in his trouser pocket was soaked with perspiration. But he kept up steam.

****

So how did this get covered in the Lorain Journal? Unfortunately in just two news briefs (below). The first one appeared on April 14, 1930 and the second one ran a day later.

The story was also picked up by United Press. Here's its version that ran in the Indianapolis Times on April 14, 1930. Note that the engineer's name is spelled differently than it was in the Associated Press report. Apparently one of the two news agencies mangled it!

So what about the burlesque troupe of "50 gorgeous girlies?" It seems that "Rarin' To Go" was really more of a Broadway show that was on the road. Google's AI Overview noted, "Rarin' to Go was a Broadway production featured in the 1920s-1930s era, known for showcasing artists like Edith Spencer."

So it's not like it was a strip show or anything like that.

Anyway, it must have been something to see the Big Four six-car special fly through Wellington at 97 miles per hour. And less than two hours from Columbus to Cleveland is pretty good, it slightly edges the same trip today via I-71.

Old Sailors Reminisce – April 1966

A. F. Harvey, one of the carriers that Lake Captain E. K. Make commanded
 (courtesy of GreatLakesShips.com and Jim Hoffman)

The 1950s and 60s were an interesting time in our local history. Many of the men who spent their careers making steel, piloting ships on the Great Lakes and working on the railroads were retiring. And since their careers dated back to the beginning of the century, they had personally witnessed the incredible changes that had occurred in their respective vocations during their lifetimes. It was the end of an era – and fortunately the Lorain Journal made it a priority to profile these old-timers whenever possible, and let them tell some of their stories.

Here is one of those stories, from the April 6, 1966 Journal. Lake Captain E. K. Male tells some stories and reminisces about some of his ships, including the Freighter Harvey and the Benjamin Fairless.

Benjamin F. Fairless
(courtesy of GreatLakesShips.com and Roger LeLievre)

The continuation of the story brings in John Tromp, who was wheelsman on the Cason J. Calloway. Tromp and Male knew the same men and enjoying reminiscing about the good old days.

Cason J. Calloway in 2020  
(courtesy of GreatLakesShips.com and Roger LeLievre)

Lakeview Park Easter Basket in the News

The Easter Basket in Lakeview Park as seen on Saturday

Here's wishing all of my readers a Happy Easter!

Unfortunately, it's not supposed to be very good weather today, if you were thinking of heading down to Lakeview Park for photos by the Easter Basket. However, I drove by there on Saturday, and there was a pretty good crowd taking advantage of the good weather to get their family photos.

Anyway, here's a nice selection of articles about the famous Easter Basket including its first mention in the Lorain Journal, as it was installed in Lakeview Park in time for Easter 1941. As you will see, it took many years before David Shukait of the Lorain Parks Department was acknowledged at the man responsible for its design and construction.

April 3, 1941

April 14, 1941

May 21, 1941

Sept. 16, 1941

It appears that 1942 was the first year for the huge concrete eggs.

April 4, 1942

April 6, 1942

April 6, 1942

April 10, 1944

March 22, 1956

April 20, 1957

April 3, 1961

David Shukait was finally profiled in a nice article in April 1966.

April 7, 1966

April 9, 1966

May 18, 1976

May 20, 1976

I written many posts about the Easter Basket over the years. They include vintage postcards of the Basket, family photos, other articles, and photos of the Basket as it looked at the time of the blog post.

Easter 1936

There weren't very many ads in the Lorain Journal with an Easter theme leading up to Easter 1936. Perhaps the holiday wasn't quite as commercialized in 1936 as it would be twenty years later. At any rate, the Easter ads were generally pretty subtle with little use of imagery.

One of the few ads with a bunny illustration was this one (below) for Smith & Gerhart, which appeared in the paper on April 7, 1936.

This ad for Peoples Service Drug Store, from the April 9, 1936 edition of the paper, has Easter candy and toys for sale. 

I was incorrect, comrade, when I noted in a previous post that the chain would have been right at home in Moscow with a name like that. It was actually based in Alexandria, Virginia. Click here to read a well-written history of the chain.

There are a couple interesting items in the ad. One is the Donald Duck pull toy for 25 cents. "Dapper Donald Duck rides around on his platform and flaps his wings and quacks with glee, as you pull him," notes the ad.

Not surprisingly, there's one on eBay right now, although this duck's flapping days are over.

This illustration accompanying the "Dyes for Easter eggs" listing is downright disturbing: an egg-headed uniformed warrior boiling an egg in a cauldron over an open fire, while a rabbit watches from a safe distance. Is that the head of someone he conquered?

Anyway, to close out this post, here's the front page of the Good Friday edition of the Lorain Journal from April 10, 1936, as well as the one from Easter Eve. The Good Friday paper is kinda of chilling, with the story and photo concerning the German dirigible Hindenburg. The tragic accident involving the airship would take place about a year later.

Marsha Hunt, the actress in the choir robe in the Easter photo, lived to the ripe old age of 104 years old, passing away in 2022.

Easter Parade of 1946 Ads

Easter-themed ads in the Lorain Journal during the 1946 holiday season are a mixed bag (or basket if you prefer). The era of the big royalty-free clip art books (like those produced by Harry Volk Corporation) didn't really begin until the 1950s. So some ads have what appears to be artwork created by a professional artist at an ad agency, while other ads seem to have illustrations that were done locally, perhaps by a Journal staffer in the newspaper's art department. 

In either case, it is all fun to look at.

So here is – what else? – an ample sample of ads that appeared in the Lorain Journal around Easter 1946. You'll find ads from Sears, Smith & Gerhart, the Reidy Scanlan Company, Sutter's, and others.

April 10, 1946

April 15, 1946

April 15, 1946

April 17, 1946

April 18, 1946
The name of this drug store makes me think it would be
more at home on Red Square than Downtown Lorain

April 18, 1946

April 18, 1946