Last week I did a post on the
House of Enchantment, which featured all gas appliances. That reminded me that I had some loose ends to clear up regarding the anthropomorphic gas flame shown above that I've been putting off for literally months.
It all started way back in 2011, when I posted a 1958
Ohio Fuel Gas Company ad featuring him. At the time, I didn't know his name, or what the pronged thing was that he was holding.
As anyone who reads this blog for a while knows, I'm a big fan of advertising mascots and their history. I even have a small library of books on that subject – and this guy is not to found in any of them. So not knowing his name really bugged me.
Since that first post, I've collected and presented a variety of ads featuring him, including a whole series of ads with a circus theme – but still, none of them mentioned his name.
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| May 1947 |
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| May 1950 |
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| June 11, 1950 |
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| June 18, 1950 |
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| November 5, 1950 ad |
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| October 1958 ad |
Actually, the 1947 ad referred to him as the
Tiny Gas Flame, and that's what I finally thought his name was. I even formally announced it on this blog (back
here).
But, as it turns out – I was (groan) wrong. He
has a real name – and it took the help of
Michigan State University Libraries to come up with it.
Stop back tomorrow for the whole story – it's a gas!
Any ideas? Looking for an individual who was awarded a pair of glasses for a one-year safe driver for the Ohio Gas Fuel Company probably anywhere from 1941-1943 who went on to serve in WWII.
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