Gentlemen, Start Your Beards – May 1955

It's funny how beards have become so popular in the last few years.

And I don't mean the usual goatees or well-trimmed beards that never seem to go out of style. I mean long beards. Lumberjack-quality beards. Beards that would be right at home on one of the Smith Brothers (shown above).

I'm not a big fan of them. Not because I can't grow one (I think I could); it's just that I think the really long ones are almost cartoonish. 

From the Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Hillbilly Hare"

But they're in style, so that's that.

Anyway, back in the 1950s, many villages, communities, etc. were celebrating centennials. And to commemorate the occasion, they sponsored beard-growing contests, so that the applicants would end up resembling their pioneer ancestors.

Back in May 1955, the Lorain County Centennial Fair was only a few months away. Of course, part of of the festivities involved – what else? – a beard growing contest. Below is the small article that appeared on the front page of the May 5, 1955 Lorain Journal.

As you can see, there were three categories: the Mutton Chops (suddenly I'm a little hungry); the Abe Lincoln; and the combination spade and Van Dyke. And each entrant had to submit proof that they were clean-shaven at the time of application (by way of a note from a barber).

The cash prizes were nothing to shake a beard at, either.

Ironically, at that exact time, a beard-related plot was playing out in the Gasoline Alley comic strip beginning the week of May 2, 1955. Walt Wallet was growing one for some kind of centennial, and taking a lot of abuse from friends and family for doing it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's wishing all of the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day! I hope you enjoy a safe and wonderful day celebrating with your family.

Be sure to take plenty of photos and get them printed. Decades from now you'll be glad you did. 

Speaking of photos, above is a photo from the Brady archives of Mom as a new mother circa 1954 when my sister was born. I remember Mom talking about being a little nervous bringing home a baby from the hospital. But she had her mother, and Dad's mother – both in town – to consult. And that was still the era during which the family doctor would come to the house – so her fears were alleviated. Enough to have three more babies (my brothers and me), that's for sure.

Since my sister was the firstborn, there are plenty of photos from that timeframe. Here's a happy one from that first year. I'm not sure what my sister is looking at. But Mom looks happy.

And here's one with all the mothers in our family, circa 1956. It's my sister's second birthday and the gang's all here: Mom; her mother and father (on the right side of the photo); Dad's mother (at the left of the photo in front); and Dad's Grandmother Esterle (next to Mom). 

 

What's great about the photo above is that everyone is wearing little party hats that look like sombreros! Talk about good sports.

I took a good look at the birthday tablecloth and was able to recognize Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on it. Remember, the Mickey Mouse Club had started airing on TV in 1955.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day!

Hills Dept. Store Mother's Day Ad – May 1965

We'll wrap up Mother's Day Week here on the blog with this ad for the well-remembered Hills Dept. Store that ran in the Journal on May 6, 1965. As to be expected due to the era, the family depicted in the ad are formally dressed for a visit to the store. But the times were a-changing, and by the end of the 1960s I don't think you would see an illustration quite like that.

The ad mentions several possible gifts for Mom, including "dainty lingerie, a duster [!], a lovely new appliance, a box of candy, an attractive new piece of jewelry, of one of hundreds of ideas you'll see at Hills."

I don't think local Baby Boomers (myself included) will ever stop reminiscing about Hills. Thanks to its family-friendly pricing and great selection, it was exactly the right fit for our family when my siblings and I were very young. Mom sure bought a lot of winter coats there for us.

Plus it was fun to go there. The toy department was huge, and in those days Mom could turn us loose there to look around by ourselves, knowing that we would be safe. And of course, the nicest memory was the possibility of a treat (popcorn, a frozen Coke, etc.) when we were done shopping.

By the end of the 1960s, however, we were buying much of our clothes at Sears and we weren't playing with toys as much. So we more or less graduated to Midway Mall.

Today, Hills has been gone so long that several generations have no memory of it at all. But memories of Hills will always conjure up simpler, happier times for many of us.

Downtown Lorain Merchant's Association Mother's Day Contest – 1954

Just in time for Mother's Day 1954, the Downtown Retail Merchant's Association of Lorain sponsored a neat essay contest for boys and girls of school age up to 15 years. The theme of the contest was "Why My Mom is Tops" and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes were gift certificates for $25, $15 and $10.

Here's the ad with the contest information. It ran in the Lorain Journal back on April 29, 1954.

The Merchant's Association was pretty savvy. Apparently it posted essays in the windows of member merchants, and if you found your child's entry, then you received a $5 gift certificate for that store. It was a great way to make you check out every store window.

(Nowadays I guess kids would utilize AI for their essays!)

Of course, I couldn't resist posting this page since it had an ad for Dragnet (a favorite of mine) with a great photo of Jack Webb. As the ad notes, the NBC program was now on Channel 3. So why the move, and from where? As the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History notes, "WKYC (Channel 3) for most of its existence was one of 5 network-owned television stations of the National Broadcasting Co. It first went on the air 31 Oct. 1948, as WNBK over Channel 4. 

"A move to Channel 3 was mandated in 1954, when its erection of the most powerful antenna in the Midwest caused interference with other local channels."

I'm assuming there was an equivalent Father's Day "Why My Pop is Tops" contest.

Elsewhere on the page, we also get the local bowling league scores, as well as a neat ad for Heinz Strained Meats baby food. Delicious flavors to make baby goo-goo with anticipation included beef, liver, beef heart, liver & bacon, and lamb.

What, no beef brains or tongue?

Lorain Telephone Mother's Day Ad – May 1, 1965

Yesterday we saw Ohio Edison's suggestions for an appropriate gift for Mother's Day 1955. Let's fast forward ten years and see what another utility company – Lorain Telephone – was thinking along those lines.

Above is the Lorain Telephone Co. ad that ran in the Journal back on May 1, 1965.

As you can see, the telephone company was at a disadvantage gift-wise compared to Ohio Edison. It could only offer phones.

Now if this was 2025, a new iPhone would make a pretty nice gift. But an extension telephone as a gift in 1965? I'm not sure.

But the ad says otherwise. The little girl is presenting her mother with the phone (which appears to be encased in lucite) and Mom is so overjoyed that she needs to be supported by Dad.

In our house on Skyline Drive, the extension phone was down in the basement, next to the dryer. With six people in the house, Mom was always doing laundry. So it made sense to have a phone down there.

Since Mom and Dad were busy after dinner (reading the Journal), the extension phone was the one my brothers and I used when we were in high school if we wanted to call a girl, or plan some escapade with our friends. Unfortunately, Mom caught on pretty quick and would end up coming downstairs to throw a load of wash in and eavesdrop. 

Back then, parents knew what their kids were doing all the time.

Ohio Edison's Mother's Day Gift Suggestions – May 1955

Ohio Edison never passed up an opportunity to suggest that electrical appliances were the perfect gift for Mom. This ad with Mother's Day gift ideas that ran in the Lorain Journal back on May 5, 1955 is no exception.

"Sparkling beauty and smart design to put a touch of glamour into everyday living... yet practical too, in its time and work saving features... that's an electrical gift every mother will welcome," reads the ad copy.

"Yes, you're sure to please mother on her day with a new electric appliance she'll be proud to use for entertaining, happy to have every day in the year for many years to come."

I notice our pal Reddy Kilowatt is nowhere to be seen in the ad. I wonder if he was unsure whether every mother's face would really light up upon receiving one of the Westinghouse appliances?

Anyway, almost all of the 1955 gift suggestions are on eBay right now. 

They really are quite beautifully designed. And the eBay write-up for each says that they still work, 70 years later – so they must have been of high quality.

For many years, my parents made their coffee with a stovetop Revere Ware percolator, before eventually switching to a Farberware electric percolator not unlike the Westinghouse Automatic Coffee Maker shown here. I'll bet the coffee made with that Westinghouse percolator beats the brew coming out of a Keurig any day.

Kline's Mothers Day Ad – May 5, 1955

Mother's Day is this Sunday. For those of you lucky enough to still have your mothers, are you done shopping yet?

Seventy years ago, Kline's (the department store where my Grandma Brady worked most of her adult life) ran this nearly full-page ad (below) in the Lorain Journal of May 5, 1955, with gift ideas.

It's fascinating in that it captures what women bought back then: seasonal blouses, slips, nylons, gloves, dusters (?) etc. In a society now that is much more casual than it was in 1955, most of these items simply are not part of a woman's wardrobe any more (I'm assuming).

The duster reference intrigued and amused me. My older brother Ken had a Plymouth Duster for a while. But I had to look up what a duster was when it came to clothing. It turns out that it was a house dress. I remember that Grandma Brady and Grandma Esterle (her step-mom) wore them a lot, seemingly in the most of the old photos we have of them. Maybe they bought them from Kline's.

Finally, I had to chuckle at the slogan at the top of the ad: REMEMBER MOTHER... she never forgets. Isn't that usually used in references to elephants?

I'm not sure as it is used here if it is supposed to appeal to your heart (Mom would never forget you) or if it's a threat (Mom would never forget if you got her a crummy gift – or no gift at all).