December 1961 Big Town Ad

Here's an ad for the well-remembered Big Town department store chain that ran in the Journal on December 21, 1961. (Give the image a click for a larger image.)

The store on Tower Boulevard in Lorain wasn't open yet (for that story click here), so this ad is actually for the one out in North Ridgeville on Route 20.

The Big Town ads were always very distinctive with their thick, unique borders separating the various items for sale. This one has a great-looking Santa.

Courtesy byemylife.com

This full-page ad is loaded with interesting things for sale. The one that caught my eye first was the Kenner Give-A-Show Projector ad featuring our old pals Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear. We had one in our house in the early 1960s, and it provided a lot of entertainment. (I can still remember the plots of some of the individual slides!) And if you got tired of looking at the cartoon strips, you could also use the device as an overhead projector. We used to project our own drawings on the wall and it was just plain fun. (Here's a link to a blog dedicated to vintage Give-A-Show slides!)

Other interesting items in the Big Town ad include card tables (remember when neighbors and friends got together to play cards?), Revere Ware tea kettles, and a 3-piece luggage set for $8.88!

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I goofed! We did NOT have a Kenner Give-A-Show Projector. We had the elitist Kenner Super Show Projector (shown below). My brother Ken still has ours!

It was kind of a sophisticated version of the Give-A-Show that allowed you to project your own drawings on the wall in addition to the cartoon slides.

It also came with these jointed cardboard "puppets" (below) that you could clumsily manipulate to create your own primitive cartoon show that was projected on the wall, big as life.

I remember as a kid being confused as to just what we were supposed to do with these things. We had the exact ones shown above. Notice how Popeye looks like he needs to see a chiropractor!

Anyway, that's what passed for high-tech entertainment for Baby Boomers!