"Lucky Buck" Bargains – March 6, 1956

By the mid-1950s, Downtown Lorain merchants were working hard to attract shoppers, especially since the stores were competing with O'Neil-Sheffield Center, which had opened to much fanfare in May 1954.

Thus a variety of creative promotions were launched over the years, including Crazy Days Sales, and the one being discussed in today's post: Lucky Buck Day.

Here's the full-page ad explaining the promotion, as well as the page listing participating stores and Lucky Buck Bargains, that ran in the Lorain Journal back on March 6, 1956.

Here's the premise as noted in the ad. "The serial numbers from 25 one dollar bills known to be in circulation in Lorain will be displayed in cooperating stores from 1 p.m. 'til 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"If the serial number on one of your dollar bills is listed as a "lucky buck" you'll get double your money's worth when you buy a "Lucky Buck Bargain."

"You can shop all over town with the same Lucky Buck – buy in as many stores as you like with the same dollar bill."

I'm not a statistician, but I imagine that the odds of having one of the 25 Lucky Bucks in your purse or wallet would be pretty poor. How did the merchants know the serial numbers of those particular dollar bills anyway? A bank had a record of them, I guess. Or perhaps some major employer in town paid their employees in cash and the numbers were recorded. But in a town with a population between fifty and sixty thousand, it just doesn't make cents sense.

Even if you had one of those dollars in your possession, how did the merchants know for sure that you didn't bury it in a Hills Bros. coffee can (or more appropriately, Chock full O' Nuts) in your backyard for safekeeping?

Unfortunately, the Lucky Buck Bargains as seen on the full page above don't seem very enticing: Swiss Steak; garden hose; printed plastic drapes.

It would be interesting to know if the promotion was a success.

The TV Repair Bear: TV Teddy

Back in the 1950s and 60s, companies spent a lot of money buying regular advertisements in the Lorain Journal as part of their marketing plan. Just about everyone read the newspaper back then, and newspapers were huge and packed with ads. Consequently, businesses strived to find some gimmick that would make readers pay attention to their marketing efforts.

Back here, I wrote about how Tony's Meats utilized a weekly quiz in its ads using artwork that it had either purchased or licensed for use. Meat markets in other cities used the same exact illustrations and ad copy.

In a similar vein, a lovable bear cub – TV Teddy – was developed by some unsung agency or art studio, and offered to TV repair companies beginning in the mid-1950s for use in their ads with accompanying rhyming ad copy. 

Locally, Lewis Radio & TV Service was the home of TV Teddy. Here's his first appearance in the 1954 Lorain Telephone Book.

It's curious that the illustrations of TV Teddy (as we shall see) always seemed a little rough, as if they were drawn by a talented amateur artist. However, Teddy's appearance in the 1956 Lorain Telephone Book featured a handsome rendering of him wearing a beanie topped with a small replica TV antennas.

The rendering of the cute cub in Lorain Journal ads aren't unbearable – they're just a little rough. Actually, they have a charm all their own. 

Here's an ample sample. I like the how the gremlins or devils causing the TV trouble get pummeled and abused in the ads, sometimes by the lovable cub himself. The cantankerous TVs are funny too.

Jan. 10, 1955

Jan. 19, 1955

Dec. 1, 1955

Dec. 9, 1955

Dec. 19, 1955

Jan. 21, 1956

Feb. 16, 1956

March 21, 1956

April 14, 1956

Aug. 25, 1956

Jan. 11, 1957

As the 1950s drew to a close, TV Teddy appeared less and less as Lewis Radio -TV instead funneled their ad money into almost daily ads in the classified section consisting of all type. But the ever-smiling bear made one of his final appearances locally in this ad from March 28, 1959 before eventually going into permanent hibernation.

March 28, 1959

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TV Teddy was one of the local ad mascots that I featured on my very old website entitled "Oakie's Treehouse." It was created using Weebly software a lonnnnng time ago. But you might find it amusing, as I seemed to cram as many puns into the text as possible.

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Here are some of TV Teddy's appearances in newspapers in other markets. We'll start with the Garrett Clipper in Garrett, Indiana.

July 8, 1954

Aug. 12, 1954

Jan. 27, 1955

Feb. 3, 1955

Feb. 17, 1955

Feb. 24, 1955

March 3, 1955

The DeKalb, Illinois Daily Chronicle gave TV Teddy a nice buildup before he appeared.

Feb. 23, 1955

Feb. 24, 1955

Feb. 26, 1955

Feb. 28, 1955

The Daily Times in New Philadelphia, Ohio was another Buckeye gig for the rhymin' bruin.

Aug. 2, 1954

Sept. 13, 1954

Oct. 18, 1954

Midway Mall Sports, Vacation and Travel Show – March 4, 1976

Back in the 1970s when Midway Mall was truly the community gathering place for Lorain and Elyria, there was always something going on to attract shoppers. One of the most anticipated events each year was the Annual Sports, Vacation and Travel Show.

Above you see Sportsman Pierre, the mascot of the 1976 edition of the show. Hmmm... with that mustache, he bears a slight resemblance to Yukon Cornelius from the Rudolph Christmas special.

The Journal did a good job of promoting the show before its opening.

March 2, 1976 Journal

And here's a nearly full-page ad for the show that ran in the Journal on March 4, 1976.

Bob Jasinski promoted the show in his "Great Outdoors" column of March 5, 1976. Hey, that hunter & dog silhouette looks mighty familiar.

It's hard not to feel a little wistful seeing all this. Midway Mall was the place to go in the 1970s when I was in high school. It was the perfect place to take a date to see a movie because you could walk around and kill time before it started. 

Fifty years later, the whole concept of an indoor mall has inexplicably become obsolete, along with the newspaper that promoted its events. 

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I've written about various sportsman shows before – featuring the 1971 American and Canadian Sportsmen’s Vacation and Boat Show; and Midway Mall's 1972 and 1973 Sports Show. 

I loved those old Sportsmen Shows. It was fun to pick up brochures for campgrounds, etc. I used to collect them as a kid and would even write to campgrounds, parks and attractions just to get one in the mail. It probably was the reason that I ended up in printing as a career.

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It's interesting how "Paddling Pierre" (designed by well-known local C-T cartoonist Bob Lynch) from the 1973 Sport Show became Sportsman Pierre in the 1976 version.

March 3, 1966: Dennis the Menace for... Howard Johnson's?

When I saw this ad in the March 3, 1966 Journal featuring Dennis the Menace, I naturally assumed it was a Dairy Queen ad. Imagine my surprise when I realized the mischievous moppet was actually shilling for Howard Johnson's restaurants.

As you might remember, the Howard Johnson's restaurant in Lorain was located on West Erie Avenue (U. S. Route 6) just a short distance west of Leavitt Road. Today the building is home to Chris' Restaurant.

But getting back to the ad.

It's kind of odd seeing Dennis promoting a Clam Plate Special, as well as Clam Chowder, instead of ice cream. Maybe it was a Lenten thing (Easter was the second Sunday in April that year). But the tousle-haired tyke wouldn't begin his thirty-year gig as the official mascot for Dairy Queen until 1971.

I've been a loyal Dairy Queen customer since the mid-1980s. Even though cartoonist Hank Ketcham's most famous creation hasn't on the DQ paper cups and wrappers, etc. since 2002, it still seems weird to me. 

By the way, I once facetiously ordered an "M&M Floor Sweepings Blizzard" in the DQ drive-through (you know how the candy pieces are all broken into bits). I'm sure the DQ worker thought I was nuts.

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Speaking of Chris' Restaurant, I enjoyed a great perch sandwich carryout this past Friday. I'm not Catholic but I still like fish on Friday. Plus it was Mom's favorite restaurant (and one day away from the third anniversary of her passing). The place was busy for dinner, and I noticed that Brenda, Mom's favorite waitress, was still gainfully employed there.

Lorain Journal Front Page – March 2, 1926

One hundred years ago today there was a lot going on in the March 2, 1926 Lorain Journal. 

As seen above, there was some fashion news – namely a preview of the latest style in men’s pajamas and robes being promoted at the Illinois Clothiers convention in Chicago. But the big story as noted in the screaming headline was the possibility of Logan Gas Company (predecessor of the Ohio Fuel Gas Co.) justifying a rate of more than $1 a thousand cubic feet. 

Also on the front page: a tragic accident in Elyria on the East Avenue bridge over the Black River; two Cleveland gambling kingpins that were driven out of that city setting up new operations in the former Avon Island Park dance hall; a Wakeman boy gets a tooth extracted from his lung by way of a vacuum; and the arrest of the first traffic law violator of the year (he was driving his “machine” at 35 or 40 miles an hour).

John Wayne Article – Feb. 15, 1976

The Duke as he looked in his final movie, "The Shootist"

The two Western cable channels – GRIT and Outlaw – have been playing a lot of great John Wayne movies lately (True Grit, Rio Bravo, The Searchers, Three Godfathers, McClintock, Chisum) so it's a good time for me to post this article from the Feb. 15, 1976 edition of the Journal. It's an interview with the Duke at the time he was filming his last movie, The Shootist.

As noted in past blog posts, I can't emphasize enough how much my brothers and I idolized John Wayne when we were growing up. Mom and Dad took us to see all of his new movies (including The War Wagon, Chisum, The Undefeated, The Cowboys, True Grit, etc.) beginning in the mid-1960s, usually at Amherst Theatre. A few we saw as part of the Summer Movie program (such as Hellfighters). Consequently, we first became familiar with him when he was already older (and fatter). Gradually we were able to catch his old movies on TV and see him at his best.

One of my recent favorites is El Dorado, with Robert Mitchum and James Caan (who is hilarious). It's often criticized as being just a rework of Rio Bravo, but I don't agree with that at all. The Duke is a sheriff in one and a gruff gunfighter in the other. But both movies have a dance hall girl as love interest for the John Wayne character, a drunken law officer, a grizzled deputy type, and a younger man helping in the fight against the bad guys.

Anyway, here is the Feb. 1976 interview. It's interesting that he was planning another sequel to Rooster Cogburn, which was already a sequel to True Grit. But sadly, he passed away before he was able to make another film.

It was great seeing James Stewart as the doctor who gives
John Wayne's character the bad news about his health.
Two film greats.

Railroader Retires After 49 Years With the B&O– Feb. 26, 1946

 

For many people nearing the end of their working careers, the idea of retirement is a no-brainer. They can hardly wait to retire, and will even quit working before reaching full retirement age despite the considerable reduction in Social Security benefits. Perhaps they are looking forward to enjoying some leisure time; traveling; pursuing some hobby; or just spending time with their grandchildren.

Other people enjoy their jobs so much – and working in general – that they delay their retirement long after they are fully vested.

George W. Ristine of Lorain was apparently one of those people. As noted in the interesting article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on Feb. 26, 1946 – 80 years ago today – he had just retired at the age of 72 after 49 years with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. 

"Beginning in 1897 as a fireman, the bottom at which all aspiring railroad men must start, he was promoted to locomotive engineer in 1901 and held that post with the B. and O. until his final journey on Jan. 31 this year," it notes.

That's a nice long career. 

So why did he stay on so long?

As the story notes, "Ristine has been eligible for retirement for the past seven years, but stayed on during the war because of the manpower shortage and because he was "in no mood to retire."

I love his comment about finding time heavy on his hands after retirement. "I'm not used to loafing," he chuckled.

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Mr. Ristine was mentioned in the "Log of Lorain" column on April 28, 1942.

Sadly, he passed away on August 14, 1953 only seven years after retiring.

At least he spent his life at a vocation that was the fulfillment of a boyhood dream. How many of us can say that?