Kmart Halloween Ad – October 23, 1968

Since today is Halloween, here's the last of the 1968 ads from Lorain discount stores highlighting that season's featured costumes and popular candy. This ad for Kmart ran on October 23, 1968.

Courtesy Ebay

It's strange thinking how the Kmart on Route 57 is long gone, with no evidence it was ever there. For a long time, it was the only one around. I remember going there with a high school girl friend and buying matching blue hooded sweatshirts (this was before they were called – ugh – "hoodies").

But back to the ad. It's filled with generic costumes; there's nary a licensed TV or movie character to be found in the ad, except for Mickey Mouse. I guess the designers of this particular line of costumes must have blown their budget writing a check to Disney. But the other costumes are still cute and fun.

It's funny seeing how the ad copy repeatedly encourages you to "charge it" when some of the items are only 33 cents!

I like the "blinking pumpkin lamp" in the ad. For many years, those things were pretty ubiquitous on Halloween. There's a few on Ebay right now.

Courtesy Ebay

The candies in the ad are pretty much the same ones that are popular now – Hershey's chocolate bars, Baby Ruth, M&Ms. Milk Duds, etc. The only ones that seemed to have fallen out of favor are the now-politically incorrect candy cigarettes. (I wonder if bubble gum cigars are similarly frowned upon?)

Anyway, despite the predicted rain, here's hoping you have a great, fun Halloween!

C-T Coverage of the 1923 Swift Mansion Fire

While out in Brownhelm Township this past weekend, I made my annual trek down Gore Orphanage Road to the ruins of the Joseph Swift mansion.

Why? It just seems like the thing to do around Halloween. Plus, the story of the Swift mansion's fiery demise – and how it eventually led to the creation of the Gore Orphanage Legend – is still interesting to me. (Click here to read my 2009 series of posts about it.)

Anyway, in that blog series I reproduced some of The Lorain Times-Herald's coverage of the Swift Mansion fire. Since then, I've located the story as covered by The Chronicle-Telegram as well. 

Surprisingly, the C-T's coverage only warranted a small article at the bottom of the front page (unlike the Times-Herald's screaming headline and extensive front page coverage). Even more curious is the fact that the C-T story is sensationalized and full of misinformation.

Here's the Chronicle's story (below) as it ran on December 8, 1923.

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Flames Destroy Haunted House Near Vermilion

Vermilion, O., Dec 8 – Only two spectral stone chimneys now stand on the site of the old haunted house which has been a mystery at Mill Hollow for many years. The colonial mansion burned to the ground in a midnight blaze.

Neighbors, who heard mysterious noises around the place on stormy nights, swear that spirits were screaming in the trees during the height of the blaze.

How the fire started is a mystery.

The only facts available are that the house was built in 1840 by Joseph Swift, who came to Ohio from Massachusetts. All of the logs used in the structure were brought from Maine. Other materials came from New York.

After his wife and family died, Swift lived at the house alone. One afternoon he rode away from the place on horseback. The saddle was found later near a creek not far from the house. Neither he nor his horse was ever seen again.

Several persons tried to live in the house but hurriedly left, saying it was haunted.

The haunted house was the mecca for thousands of tourists. Names of visitors from all quarters of the globe adorned the dilapidated walls of the house.

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The article is so wrong that I wonder if it was written in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

Swift's wife and family did not die, leaving him all alone in the house, and Swift did not mysteriously disappear along with his horse. The Swifts merely sold the house, when they experienced financial difficulties, and moved away. The house was located in Swift's Hollow, not Mill Hollow. And it's ridiculous to think that it would be necessary to drag logs all the way from Maine, when the property was covered with trees and it took Swift years to clear it before he could build.

Anyway, when it's closer to the 90th anniversary of the 1923 fire in December, I will post the terrific rebuttal to the above article that was written by a Kipton historian and appeared in the Chronicle a few months later.

Camp Iss-See-Kes Sign

Camp Iss-See-Kes patch from an
online auction site

While out in Brownhelm Township on Sunday, I passed this sign (above) and recognized it as the former sign at the entrance to Camp Iss-See-Kes on Vermilion Road.

Although I was never at the Camp, which was operated by the Elyria YMCA for decades, I do remember the similar Indian head sign further north near Mill Hollow from when I was a kid. It was one of those landmarks that we watched for every time we went out that way.

Today the former camp property is a privately owned residence.

You can read a little more about Camp Iss-See-Kes at Rich Tarrant's Vermilion Views website by clicking here.

I was surprised to find out that apparently there is no tribute site dedicated solely to the Camp. There is the odd mention of it on a few websites, as well as a vintage postcard (below) that seems to be fairly easy to find.

There's also some information in the online archives of the Elyria Rotary website that includes the story of Rotarian Ralph Murbach, who was a major donor for the building of the "Rotary Lodge" at Camp Iss-See-Kes.

The "Rotary Lodge" at Camp Iss-See-Kes Circa 1946
(Photo courtesy of Elyria Rotary Club)

Hopefully someone will establish an online home for Camp Iss-See-Kes that will collect photos and reminisces of the happy campers. But until then, feel free to post any memories here by leaving a comment.

Ad from June 7, 1957 Lorain Journal

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UPDATE – Thanks to Tom Glunt, who sent me an email, I'm now aware that Camp Iss-See-Kes does indeed have an online presence. Here's the link to its Facebook page that has been around since 2010. Be sure to drop by the Facebook "camp" and relive some happy memories through the wonderful reminisces and photos that have been posted!

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UPDATE (June 21, 2017)

I posted a June 1965 full-page Lorain Journal article about Camp Its-See-Kes here.

October 2023 Photo

Brownhelm Township Schoolhouse

Look north on Morse Road towards the juncture with Banks Street.
 N. Ridge Road is off in the distance.

On Sunday afternoon, I took a short drive out to Brownhelm Township (one of my favorite places) to see how the fall color was coming along. After making the obligatory trip to Mill Hollow, I kept going west on North Ridge Road and turned south on Banks Street, where I found this old schoolhouse (above) at the juncture of Banks and Morse Road.

According to Brownhelm – Its School and Its People (1991) the school was one of 10 district schools that existed in 1890. This was the District No. 8 schoolhouse.

I also photographed the school from the other direction (below).

It's funny how a few clouds and a different angle make the same photo subject look kinda spooky.

In case you're interested, you can see the schoolhouse's location on this 1874 map (below). You can also see N. Ridge Road winding its way through what is now known as the Vermilion River Reservation.

Note the name J. H. Heyman on the map. According to the Lorain County Metro Parks website, German immigrant John Heyman had purchased Benjamin Bacon's mill after he died in 1868. Heyman later sold the mills to Frederick Bacon (Benjamin's youngest son) in 1879. 

Click here to visit the Vermilion Views website, and scroll down to see a nifty photo of what we now call Mill Hollow in 1876. Rich Tarrant also provides a nice capsule history of the various mills in that location.

Hill's Halloween Ad – October 17, 1968

Yesterday we saw what Giant Tiger was offering for Halloween back in 1968. Today, let's see the Hill's ad, which ran in the October 17, 1968 Journal.

Hill's 1968 selection of Halloween costumes is interesting, a real mixture of old and new.

1967 Mr. Spock Costume
(currently on Ebay)

Perennial favorites Casper the Friendly Ghost (looking like he has a toothache) and Bugs Bunny are joined by Mr. Spock from Star Trek and Dr. Dolittle from the 1967 movie of the same name.

Instead of demonstrating the Vulcan salute ("Live long and prosper") however, the kid dressed as Mr. Spock is doing the Vulcan Gleeful Wave.

Small wonder that the kid wearing the Dr. Dolittle costume is shown bringing up the rear. The movie was an infamous bomb (I oughta know, we saw it at the theater.) He'd be better off converting his Dr. Dolittle costume into that of a classic top-hatted hobo.

If you're wondering what the other costume in the ad is supposed to be, it's a witch – and here it is in color (below), courtesy of the Blood Curdling Blog of Monster Masks.

Giant Tiger Halloween Ad – Oct. 24, 1968

Here's another one of those discount store Halloween ads that I seem to dig up every year. This ad for Giant Tiger appeared in the Journal on October 24, 1968 – 45 years ago today. As usual, Kellogg's Tony the Tiger has been curiously appropriated for a Giant Tiger ad!

The costumes depicted in the ad are pretty generic – a monster (with the word 'monster' written across his groin in case you weren't sure), a devil, a girl with a pagoda on her head, a senorita, a skeleton wearing a jaunty cap, a witch (I think it's a witch because it's holding a broom), a girl with some kind of weird wig, and a creepy clown.

The two largest costumes shown in the ad are a skeleton playing a clarinet and the Esso Tiger (star of the popular "Put a Tiger in Your Tank" ads).

Actually, it's fairly ironic that the Esso (later Exxon) Tiger appears in the ad with Tony the Tiger. In the late 1990s, Exxon was using their tiger to sell food at Tiger Mart convenient stores. Kelloggs sued them, claiming that the Exxon Tiger infringed on the Tony the Tiger trademark. Apparently the case went all the way to the Supreme Court before a settlement was reached.

I think Kellogg's should have sued Giant Tiger instead.

Anyway, your child can "put a tiger in his tank" on Halloween and go as the Esso Tiger – because that costume is on Ebay right now! But hurry – Halloween is next week!

1368 E. Erie Avenue – in the Penfield Family Photo Album

The view last weekend from Kansas Avenue

Shortly after my post about the now boarded-up building at 1368 E. Erie (above), I got an email from fellow local history enthusiast Drew Penfield (whose Lake Shore Rail Maps is the definitive website about the history of the Lake Shore Electric interurban line).

He wrote, "I just saw your post about the old drug store on East Erie. My father lived in the house at 211 Kansas Ave., basically across the street from that building, in the late 40's and early 50's."

Drew attached two terrific photos of his father as a boy, with the former Shoemaker Drugs building in the background. Here's the first one (below), with his father standing in his front yard, probably taken in the early 1950s.

And here's the second photo of his father. He's a little younger in this one, and shown with a few of his chums (below).

While shooting my "now" photo, I walked around the area where these photos were taken. Unfortunately both trees are long gone – possibly due to the widening of the road and the addition of a huge sidewalk.

Anyway, the images from a bygone era make the upcoming demolition of that building even more poignant. Although Shoemaker Drugs is just a backdrop in these photos, the store played an important role in that neighborhood, making medicine and other items easily available to nearby families. And, as Al Shuck pointed out in a comment appearing on my first post, Dr. Paul Pastuchiw's family medical practice was located in the second floor of the building for many years, making the building even more important in the community.

Special thanks to Drew and his father for allowing me to post these great family photos.

Miss Victory – Everything Old is New Again

Last week – in case you missed it – there was a nice article in the Morning Journal (here) written by Richard Payerchin about the newly refurbished Miss Victory statue at the park at West Erie Avenue and W. Fifth Street.

Thanks to Ed Ferraro, owner of Buckeye Sheet Metal, Miss Victory once again holds her sword and palm frond – hopefully for a long, long time. Mr. Ferraro did an incredible job of recreating the palm frond using old photos.

Here's a side-by-side comparison (below). On the left is a vintage photo from the archives of the Black River Historical Society, and on the right is the statue as it looks today.

Seeing the statue looking like it did when it was first unveiled to honor Lorain's sons who served in World War I really makes a Lorainite proud.

Stop by and pay the old gal a visit.

Special thanks to Richard Payerchin, who was kind enough to mention my blog as one of the sources of the historical information used in his Morning Journal article.

Spang Bakery Fire – October 21, 1968

Back in September (here, here and here), I wrote a few times about Lorain's Spang Bakery and how the business had disappeared from the city directory in the late 1950s. I had heard that the building that housed the bakery had later burned down, but wasn't quite sure when.

Since those posts, I stumbled on the newspaper articles about the fire. It happened on Monday, October 21, 1968 – 45 years ago today.

Below is the story that appeared in the Journal that day.

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Lorain firemen battle blaze at Spang Bakery 

(Photo by Dona Norlock)

Fire Hits Spang Bakery

A TWO-ALARM fire raged through the vacant Spang Bakery building at West 22nd Street and Oakdale Avenue in Lorain this afternoon.

ALL OFF-DUTY firemen were summoned.

The city had condemned the building, owned by Olimpio Giannini, recently placed on probation following a morals case at the Antlers Hotel, which he also owned.

Flames shot 50 to 100 feet in the air at the bakery building. Billowing black smoke mushroomed into the sky.

No one was reported injured.

Firemen responded at 1 p.m. A fire dispatcher said he received at least 25 telephone calls reporting the blaze.

At 1:15 p.m., the roof of the two-story brick and frame building collapsed.

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The next day – October 22, 1968 – the Journal did a follow-up story (below).

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LORAIN FIREMAN Alex Nagy directs a stream of water into the burning
Spang Bakery from the bucket of the snorkel truck – which lifted him
above the flames. (Journal Photos by Dick Papania.)

Lorain Firemen Fight 6 Hours to Save Condemned Building
By Dick Papania
Staff Writer

Three companies of Lorain firemen aided by off-duty men, fought six hours yesterday to save a building condemned by the city for about a year.

THE BUILDING, which was vacant, is often used by teenagers for glue-sniffing and other activities, Lorain police said. Two teenagers were reported seen leaving the building shortly before the fire was reported at 1 p.m. yesterday.

Lorain fire investigators are looking into the possibility of arson, but have not yet determined the cause of the fire.

There was no estimate of damage. All that still stands are the brick walls of the main part of the building. The east wing was not damaged by flames.

OLIMPIO GIANNINI sips coffee as firemen
battle to save the vacant Spang Bakery
building, which he owns. Giannini said he
might donate the building and land to the
city for a parking lot.

Olimpio Giannini, who owns the structure, at the scene yesterday said he might give the land and building to the city.

"THEY CAN tear it down and use it as a parking lot," he said.

Giannini was released from Lima State Hospital last week. He had been sent there about a year ago after he was convicted of a morals violations involving a 16-year-old girl at the Antlers Hotel, which he owned.

Part of Giannini's probation terms direct that he not operate a motel, hotel or the like. The court ordered the business of his two hotels, the Antlers and the Colonial, be handled by his wife.

"I don't think the bakery building is included," Giannini said, referring to the court order. "The property has nothing to do with housing people."

About a year ago, City Building Inspector James Romoser started condemnation proceedings on the building. Because Giannini was in Lima, though, the necessary legal papers for demolition could not be served.

City officials said today they still are not sure what they will do about tearing down the building.

One fireman, Paul Linna, suffered minor face and hand burns while fighting the blaze. He required only first aid.

In all, firemen poured more than 300,000 gallons of water into the building. There was no value set for the building. It was not insured.

****

According to this 2010 article on the Morning Journal website, the city sold the land to Compassion Missionary Baptist Church in 1993. The attractive church building (below) was finished in 2000.

More Parking for Lorain City Hall – October 1955

TREES GO, MORE PARKING SPACE – Two trees more than 50 years old

were removed today from the lawn area west of city hall building to make

room for additional parking. City workers cut the tops and roots and Van Sickle

Tree Co. equipment removed the stumps.

Here's a short news article for you old timers (like me) who remembered when Lorain's City Hall was located in the "old yellow house" (originally the William Jones mansion). The photo and article, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on October 5, 1955 explains why some very old trees were removed adjacent to the building.

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City Hall Loses Two Big Trees

Vintage postcard in which at least one of the trees can be seen

Two large trees, an oak and an elm, were removed today from the lawn area west of the city hall building to make way for additional parking places.

MANY CITIZENS stood in the drizzle watching city workers and employees of the Van Sickle Tree Co. remove the trees which reportedly were more than 50 years old.

Service Director Wallace J. Chapla said: "We didn't like the idea of removing the trees. It is just another case of clearing the way for progress and alleviating a parking problem."

CITY STREET department workers cut the tree down and cut around the roots. The job of pulling out the stump was done by tree company workers with the aid of heavy pulling equipment mounted on a large truck.

Chapla said another tree located on the west side of the building would also be removed to make facilitate [sic] parking.

****

And here's the finished result (below).

Photo courtesy Black River Historical Society

The loss of the trees really paved (no pun intended) the way for the eventual transformation of that property. The replacement of the old, antiquated city hall with the new one really marked the beginning of a new era in Lorain history.

Burger Chef Grand Opening Ad – October 17, 1968

Although I've mentioned Lorain's long-gone Burger Chef on this blog many times (here, here and here), I've never had an actual date that the restaurant opened – until now.

The ad above ran in the Lorain Journal on Thursday, October 17, 1968 – 45 years ago today – and announced the restaurant's Grand Opening that weekend.

It's interesting that the restaurant's signature sandwich – the Big Shef – was spelled with a "S" instead of a "C." I wonder why?

The ad is also amusing how the photos of the hamburgers are lined up like so many yawning clams.

Anyway, although my friend Debi worked there in the summer after high school, I don't remember too much about Burger Chef except their TV cartoon spokespersons at the time, Burger Chef and Jeff!

And for a great tribute website dedicated to Burger Chef, click here.

William H. Root Home Article – October 8, 1959

Here's a great full-page article about the well-known William H. Root home on East Erie Avenue near Root Road. It's from the pages of the Thursday, October 8, 1959 Lorain Journal – 54 years ago this month. (Click on it for a larger version.)

The article was written by Lou Kepler and includes a very thorough history of the home and a detailed description of its furnishings at the time.

The Root home is one of my favorite topics on this blog. I did a two part story on it back in 2011 (here and here).

I've mentioned several times about the fact that the Root house is only almost 500 feet from mine, so I get to enjoy seeing it to and from work. This past weekend, I once again aimed my digital camera at it (below) for a late afternoon portrait. (The new fence looks great.)

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By the way, the newspaper page shown above includes an article about a home tour (sponsored by the Lorain Chapter of American Association of University Women) that mentions a few other homes that were showplaces at the time, including that of Mr. and Mrs. Everett H. Davidson on Meister Road.

All of us that grew up in the area of Skyline Drive or Meister during the 1960s were well aware of the beautiful Davidson home. It defined the idea of being "rich" to many of us kids! Plus, there were those peacocks on the grounds that gave it so much character.

I had no idea that the house had a name: "Willowbrook."

New Taco Bell on Oberlin Avenue is "Muzik" to Lorain's Ears

I read in the Morning Journal a few weeks ago (here) that Muzik's Auto Care would be moving their business from its longtime location at 3671 Oberlin Avenue to make way for a brand new Taco Bell. It's pretty big news.

Nov. 1962 phone book ad

It will certainly be strange to see a Taco Bell (or as we call it in our house – Taco Belch) next door to St. Peter's and across the street from First Federal Savings instead of the car care center.

I remember the Muzik building being a Gulf Station while I was growing up.

How long has a car-related business been at that location?  I hit the city directories at the library to find out.

As of the 1957 directory, there were still no listings for the east side of Oberlin Avenue in that neck of the woods except for a driving range (approximately where St. Peter's is located). But in the 1958 edition, Dan's Gulf Service debuted at 3671 Oberlin Avenue. ("Dan" was Dan Fragassi, future Mayor of Sheffield Lake.)

By the 1960 city directory, the service station had been renamed Bud's Gulf Service and was run by Mike Adkins. It would continue to appear in the directory until the 1964 edition, when the service station's listing was replaced by "No Return."

Beginning in the 1965 directory, however, Don's Gulf Service (run by Donald Stewart) took over the 3671 Oberlin Avenue address – and began its nearly 20-year run.

Don's Gulf would continue to be listed at that address until the 1984 directory, when the Muzik Brothers Marathon replaced it in the directory.

Anyway, I'm very glad that Muzik's Auto Care will stay in business at another location. And I'm excited that a Taco Belch, er, Taco Bell is coming to the west side of Lorain – my boyhood stomping ground.

Grand Opening of Remodeled Polansky's Market – July 25, 1962

July 25, 1962 Journal photo and caption

This weekend (like most) I made my usual stop on Saturday out at Polansky's Market on Dewey Road. (This time my prime meat objective was a nice pot roast, which of course was fantastic when the spouse cooked it up on Sunday.)

My visit to Polansky's also gave me an opportunity to chit chat with the fine folks who work there about the store. They told me that the building fronting on Dewey Road was the original store before they moved operations to the building in the rear.

Which brings me to the short article about Polansky's that I'm serving up today on the blog.

It's about the grand opening of the remodeled store, and appeared in the Journal on July 25, 1962. It has a nice history of the business too.

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Polansky's Market Sets Grand Opening

AMHERST – Twenty-two years in the meat business will culminate in a grand opening Thursday for Mr. and Mrs. Steve Polansky, owners of Polansky's Market, 6703 Dewey Rd.

The opening marks the finale of four months of remodeling at the market costing approximately $65,000. The addition, a 24-by-90-foot air-conditioned room, contains new meat counters, service counters and self-service refrigerated counters for "Polansky-packed" foods which includes the couple's  "specialty items."

Mrs. Polansky feels that the market is "unique for this particular area."

"We're unique too, I feel," she added, "in that our children have worked with us through the years. We're a family that works together."

Besides Mr. and Mrs. Polansky, the family lists five working members: Stephany, 18; Marilyn, 17; John, 14 and a son-in-law, Robert Masovich. "Even our youngest, Stephen, 9, is learning to help with the wiener making and other little jobs." Mrs. Polansky said.

Mr. and Mrs. Polansky began in the meat business in Lorain in 1940, moved to a store in Henrietta and then in 1945 moved to Amherst.

The Amherst store is now the only one operated by family. The other two have been sold or leased.

In addition to the market, the couple operate their own slaughterhouse behind the Dewey Rd. store.

***

And for some more meaty fun, here's a 1968 Lorain phone book ad for Steve Polansky's Market.

1968 phone book ad

If I'm any judge of meat, I'd say that's a rolled (if you'll pardon the expression) rump roast that the woman in the ad is admiring!

October 10, 1957 - J.F. Medder's Service Ad

Here's yet another Grand Opening ad for a service station, namely J. F. Medder's Service, which was located on the southwest corner of East Lake Road and Abbe Road.

The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on October 10, 1957 – 56 years ago today. Not surprisingly, the ubiquitous Anchor-Hocking glasses were the free gift.

By 1960, the station became Hal's Sinclair Service. Later it became Abbe Road Arco Service.

Longtime Sheffield Lake residents recognize the station as later becoming the home of Fraam's Restaurant after much remodeling.

Here's the former Sinclair station today (below).

And here's an aerial view (below).

Looking south, with East Lake Road in the foreground

The empty lot on Abbe directly across from the former service station is where the Dairy Queen (and later, Dutch Treat) was located.

The Building at 1368 E. Erie Avenue

1368 E. Erie Avenue

I saw in the Morning Journal a few weeks ago (here) that this building was slated for demolition by the city. The paper only identified it as being the former home of a florist shop in recent years.

What was in there before that?

It turns out the building started out originally as a branch of Fisher Brothers Grocery, with a listing in the 1926 edition.

The Fisher Brothers Grocery remained at that location until around 1940, when Clyde Fischer Drugs took over the address. By the time of the 1942 city directory, the listing had changed to Whalen & Shoemaker Drugs.

But by 1943, the address belonged to Shoemaker Drugs – and would for decades.

October 1943 Phone Book Listing

August 30, 1947 Lorain Journal ad

Shoemaker Drugs continued to be listed until the 1974 directory, when it was replaced by National Pharmacy.

National Pharmacy would disappear beginning with the 1982 directory, when the address was listed as 'vacant.' By 1987, W. River Florist had taken over the address.

The building at 1368 E. Erie also had several spaces on the Kansas Avenue side with various tenants through the years. From the very beginning in the mid-1920s until the early 1940s, there was a meat shop as well as various barbers and beauty shops located there, in addition to a few residences.

Interestingly, the Lorain Public Library had a branch outlet there from the late 1950s until the mid to late 1960s.

Head for the Haunted Forest – One Last Time

With Halloween coming later this month, the Morning Journal recently did an article on Northeast Ohio's haunted house attractions (back here).

However, the paper neglected to mention one of the area's most popular and closest "haunted" attractions, the Haunted Forest of Carousel – which is being staged for its 35th and final year, now through October 31st.

The Haunted Forest is located at 1451 Lake Breeze Road in Sheffield, just north of Colorado Avenue on the east side of the street.

With the Carousel Swim Club property currently for sale, it had looked like the Haunted Forest was not going to take place. Happily, the event is coming back for one last spooky curtain call.

Visit the Haunted Forest's Facebook page for more information or call (440) 949-2711 or (440) 934-5708.

The Monster Cereals Walk Again!

Now available at Target – Big G Monster Cereals with cool retro packaging

If you were a big fan of the original General Mills "Monster" cereals – Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry – back in the 1970s, then hurry over to Target this week. General Mills (Big G) has created great retro versions of these three cereals, as well as the newly revived Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy. All 5 cereal boxes feature the original, classic designs, and they're only available at Target.

Late 1970s in-box record giveaway
(D. Brady collection)

Here's the story, right from the Big G blog.

I don't remember Mom ever buying any of these cereals when I was a kid. Maybe the unholy trio of Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry just didn't fit in with our Kellogg's lifestyle.

But heed my warning: Despite the cool boxes, Fruit Brute (now spelled Frute Brute) and Yummy Mummy taste pretty monstrous – and almost indistinguishable from each other. (I oughta know – I choked down a box of each recently.) But the other three are fairly enjoyable, especially if you've been eating them for years like me.

My favorite of the Monster Cereals? Boo Berry, because of his great Peter Lorre voice. 

Here's the little ghoul's debut commercial.

What's your favorite Monster Cereal?