1960 Woolworth’s and W. T. Grant Halloween Ads

Well, it’s Halloween – so it’s time for my annual look back at what costumes kids were wearing for trick-or-treat. This year we’ll take a look at 1960.

As you can see from the Woolworth’s ad above, which ran in the Lorain Journal about a week before Halloween, TV cartoons were now the big thing, although a few classics were still in the mix of “spooky and gay(!)” costumes.

Whoever illustrated the ad did a nice job of presenting the various costumes in a creative fashion. Besides popular favorites Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear, we see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Felix the Cat, Heckle (or is it Jeckle?), and Dennis the Menace.

Speaking of Dennis, his mask makes him look like he has a bad case of the measles.

I like the way a few kids in the Woolworth's illustration have already taken off their masks, as if they were tired of wearing them. And the kid wearing the Felix costume seems to be channeling a real backyard cat.

Classic costumes shown include a witch and a devil. There’s a bat costume as well, which the ad helpfully identifies as Belfry.

W.T. Grant ran an ad in the Journal about the same time featuring many of the same costumes. The store’s line-up included Superman, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Porky Pig and my least favorite cartoon character, Tweetie Pie.

I feel sorry for any kid that had to go as that masked bunny.

But what I’d like to know is: what is that kid supposed to be that's wearing a helmet with two hoses attached to his nose? He seems to be wearing goggles, and the helmet might have an eagle on it.

I’ve Googled it to death and reviewed dozens of vintage masks, but I can’t come up with a match. Anybody got any ideas?

Anyway, Happy Halloween!

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UPDATE (November 1, 2016)
As you can see by one of the comments below, an anonymous contributor identified my mystery costume as being pretty much the same one depicted as the generic "Spaceman Rocket Commander" in a 1958 Kresge ad that I posted last week (shown below).

In my defense, the 1960 rendering wasn't the best; the little boy in the W.T. Grant ad looked more like a space bulldog with jowls to me.

Here's a photo of a somewhat similar costume on an actual kid (courtesy of David Eppen's Library on the Photobucket website).  

Old Log Cabin Whiskey Ad – October 24, 1949

From Whiskeyville to whiskey…

One thing that I’ve noticed when scanning countless rolls of newspaper microfilm at the library is the preponderance of national liquor ads in the Lorain Journal in the 40s and 50s. I’m sure the Journal enjoyed the advertising sales.

I don’t know if people drank more at home back then or not. Maybe it’s high time I had a highball when I get home from work.

The ad above, which ran in the paper on October 24, 1949, is for a bourbon whiskey brand that I’d never heard of before: Old Log Cabin. It features a cute little squirrel.

Hey, there was a squirrel ad in this nutty campaign for PM Blended Whiskey that same year (which I wrote about here).

Anyway, I couldn’t find another Old Log Cabin whiskey ad online, making the Journal one a rarity. I did find some for Old Crow, Old Stagg, Old Quaker, Old Taylor, Old Cabin Still and Old Fitzgerald, though.

While I couldn’t find any old ads, I noticed that there are plenty of empty Old Log Cabin bottles for sale. Amazingly, the Old Log Cabin brand is still around today (but without any animal mascots). You can visit its website here.

Fire Destroys Midway Tavern – October 1933

In August, I did a post on the 1941 demolition of the Beebe Tavern, a former stage coach inn in Elyria. Well, here’s the story of the loss of another landmark from stagecoach days – the Whiskeyville Midway Tavern. The story of the fire that destroyed it ran on the front page of the Lorain Journal on October 6, 1933.

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Fire Destroys 100-year-old Midway Tavern
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FIVE FLEE FLAMES IN LANDMARK
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Hostelry of Stage-Coach Days Burns to Ground at ‘Whiskeyville’
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$4,000 DAMAGE
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Family Makes Escape by Climbing From Second Story Porch

Fire early this morning destroyed one of the few remaining Lorain-co landmarks of the historic stage-coach days – the Whiskeyville Midway Tavern.

The tavern, located at the intersection of Oberlin and Telegraph-rds, eight miles south of Lorain, at daylight today was but a mound of ashes and debris. Fire of underdetermined origin started in the lower floor of the building at 3 a.m.

Harold Wallace, operator of the structure which was remodeled into a modern inn in 1916, his wife, two sons and a girl employed at the Tavern, narrowly escaped in their night clothing. They were forced to descend from a second story porch to escape with their lives, according to deputy sheriffs.

Escape Thru Window
They were all asleep in the building when the blaze was discovered, and smokes and flames cut off their exit except from a window over the porch.

Neighboring farmers and the Amherst fire department, under Ed Menz, assistant chief, fought the flames in vain. The only water available was from a well and it was pumped dry within five minutes.

The garage on the property caught fire, but was saved. Flames spread to the Kline gasoline station and general store across the road, but volunteer firemen extinguished the blaze without much damage.

The clothing and all possessions of the Wallaces, excepting a rocking chair and a small stand, were destroyed.

The Tavern was more than 100 years old and was used in the stage coach days as an over-night stop between Cleveland and Toledo.

Inn on Stage-Coach Line
Mrs. Burt Galloway, 325 North-st, Elyria is the owner of the property. She says the building was used as an inn on the Pittsburgh stage-coach line. She had it remodeled when she bought it in 1916.

Wallace, who formerly lived in Oberlin, had been operating the tavern since September, 1932.

A group of men from an ice cream firm in Bellevue had a party at the tavern last night but they had left the place a long time before the fire was discovered.

Sheriff Clarence Dick today summoned a state fire marshall to investigate the blaze. Damage was estimated at $4,000.

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Also on the same front page were some interesting items. The Nickel Plate railroad agreed to install flasher signals in Lorain at the Leavitt Road crossing; the removal of two bends in the Black River south of the Nickel Plate bridge was planned. Most interesting of all was an upcoming special election would result in the secession of the southern half of Sheffield Lake Village, eventually leading to the creation of two separate communities: Sheffield Lake and Sheffield Village.

Kmart Ad – October 3, 1966

It was 50 years ago this month that the above ad for Kmart, “America’s Fastest Growing Discount Department Store” ran in the Lorain Journal on October 3, 1966.

And here's the full-page ad that ran in the Journal on November 3 to promote the upcoming opening on November 10th.

Back then, there was only the Kmart on Fairless Drive in South Lorain. (It was actually the first Kmart in Ohio, according to an article in the December 31, 1966 Chronicle-Telegram.) Later, there would be the store in the Amherst shopping center, and still later the Super Kmart on Leavitt Road.

The Kmart name was first rolled out in 1962.

Of course, there had long been the predecessor Kresge stores in the Lorain area. Here's a 1954 view of the Downtown Lorain store.

And here are a few Lorain Kresge ads for old time's sake.

October 1958 ad from Lorain Journal

June 1, 1960 ad from Lorain Journal

October 1966 ad from Lorain Journal

Sadly, the Super Kmart on Leavitt Road – my mother’s favorite store – is finally closed for good, bringing an end to decades of a shopping tradition in Lorain County.

If you’re a fan of Kmart, the nearest one now is in Cleveland, located at 14901 Lorain Road.

Surprisingly, the chain is still the third largest big box chain in the United States, behind Walmart and Target (the two local competitors to the Leavitt Road store).

The closed Lorain store this past weekend
(Photo taken with a LG Sunset Tracfone)

Muir Cut-Rate Drug Store Ad – October 19, 1949

October 19, 1949 ad from the Lorain Journal

Many of us fondly remember Lorain’s great family-owned drug stores, such as Whalen’s and National Pharmacy.

Detail from a July 4, 1949
Lorain Journal ad

But decades before Discount Drug Mart and Revco came to town, Lorain had an outlet for a large regional chain that is largely forgotten today: Muir’s Cut-Rate Drugs.

The chain was based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Its listing (as the Muir Co.) first appeared in the Lorain City Directory in the early 1920s, located at 552 Broadway. Some time in the late 1940s, it moved to 362 Broadway. By the 1950s it was located at 758 Broadway.

Its Lorain directory listing finally disappeared beginning with the 1965 edition.

One of Muir's Lorain store managers went on to be become famous. The manager listed in the 1947 Lorain City Directory was none other than Larry E. Tetzlaff. Of course, you know him as Jungle Larry.

1947 Lorain City Directory Listing

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A nice capsule history of the Muir chain was provided in an ad that ran in the Sandusky Register on September 14, 1966.

Vintage Muir pill box

The ad copy read, "We opened our first Muir Drug Store in 1922 on the premise, that top quality famous-name brands, if offered at extra low prices, would sell in large enough volume to justify our operating at a lower-than-normal margin of profit. That premise has proven to be correct.

"Since that modest beginning over 40 years ago, Muir Drug Stores have grown and grown in number and size and spread throughout the Middle West until today Muir's is one of the largest, fastest- growing and most respected drug chains in America.”

Strangely enough, it was about that time Muir had abandoned the Lorain market. But although the chain is largely forgotten in our area, it managed to survive until the mid-1980s.

The 24-unit Muir Drug Store chain was acquired by Rite Aid in June 1984.

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One of the amusing aspects of Muir advertising is their mascot: the stereotypical Thrifty Scot.

Early appearances show him as a small silhouetted figure, such as seen on the vintage pill box above. But as time went on, he became more prominent in the ads until he became the smiling, friendly face of the company.

He was even featured on service pins given to company employees.

Today of course, using “Scottish thrift” in advertising is recognized as an unflattering and silly stereotype. 

Welcome to Lorain Sign – October 1949

Here’s a nice photo of the impressive sign that the Lorain Chamber of Commerce erected where State Route 611 meets West Lake Road (U. S. Route 6) at the undercut. The photo ran in the Lorain Journal on October 28, 1949.

The Welcome sign in Sheffield Lake

It was one of two “Welcome” signs erected by the Chamber at the eastern and western approaches to the city.

The other one (at right) was located well inside the Sheffield Lake city limits, rather than being erected near Root Road. This resulted in a controversy in November 1950 (which I wrote about here).

Anyway, the signs provided a nice snapshot of the city’s industrial strength at that time. American Ship Building, National Tube and the Lorain Telephone Company get featured billing.

The various fraternal groups and their meeting times and locations are also posted, with the Pueblo and the Antlers Hotel doing the hosting duties.

I think these signs are still a good marketing idea in the 2000s. They’re the only chance a city has to establish an identity and impression of their own choice with motoring visitors.

How about it, Lorain?

Manners Perch Dinner Ad – October 4, 1966

It's Friday! To many people, that means it's time for a fish dinner, perhaps a visit to American Slovak Home in Lorain, home of the best local fish fry.

Well, back in October 1966, another option was a trip to Manner's Big Boy Restaurants for their perch dinner.

As the ad copy says, dinner included Tasty Golden Brown Fresh Lake Erie Perch, French Fried Potatoes, Country Cream Slaw and a Freshly Baked Roll & Butter. Nice, light fare.

I wonder if Big Boy Restaurants could get away with using the word 'Whopper' in an ad today?

Anyway, at that point in 1966, Lorain had three Manners: at Leavitt and W. Lake Road (West Erie Avenue); Oberlin Avenue & Foster Park W. (Route 254); and Henderson Drive. Elyria's Manner's was at 146 Bridge Street.

The announcement that one would be built on Route 254 near Route 57 had just occurred that August.

Manners and Big Boy have been favorite topics on this blog since 2011.

The Big Boy mascot was in the news earlier this year, when he received an (ugh) makeover.

But I still prefer the original Manners version, the one familiar to Northeast Ohio fans of the double decker burger.

Scott’s Scrapbook featuring the Old Man of the Mountains– October 18, 1949

Newspapers have been fighting for their survival for years due to declining subscriptions that coincided with the availability of “free” news on the internet. Consequently, newspapers look for ways to cut costs, such as reducing the number of comics or syndicated features they carry.

But in the heyday of newspapers, they tried to make themselves distinctive by offering things that their competitors did not. Some of those things were illustrated features like "Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” or the one above, “Scott’s Scrapbook,” which appeared in the Lorain Journal.

The example shown above is from October 18, 1949. R. J. Scott is the artist. The feature was made available to the Journal by Central Press (which I wrote about here), which was a division of King Features in Cleveland. (Click here for a nice tribute to R. J. Scott on the King Features website.)

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The main topic of this particular sample – the Old Man of the Mountain – is of interest to me. It was one of the things we saw during a 1966 family camping trip to New England.

What’s funny is that I remember having trouble seeing him from our distant roadside vantage point. He was just too far away.

Here's the photo my parents took. No zoom lens on that camera!

It wasn’t until my parents picked up this travel brochure a few years later that I could appreciate just how much the rock formation resembled a man’s profile.

It was a real tragedy when the Old Man of the Mountain collapsed in 2003. Happily, New Hampshire honors his memory with an innovative solution.

Arlington Traction Co. – Part 3

Norman C. Muller and his museum made the national news in the summer of 1956 when he attempted to acquire another high profile historical streetcar to go with No. 4144. The United Press story below ran in a variety of newspapers, including the Anniston Star in Anniston, Alabama (June 21, 1956), the Brazosport Facts in Freeport, Texas (July 3, 1956) and the Provo, Utah Daily Herald (July 8, 1956).

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Transit Museum Man Seeks Oldest Street Car
LORAIN, O. (UP) – Norman C. Muller, who runs a transportation museum here, is making a concerted effort to do right by old 0140, the oldest street car in the world. Muller said the ancient electrical vehicle, which the Cleveland Transit System gave to the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., two years ago, is “sitting out in the weather with no protection or without even a badly needed coat of paint.” He wants the Transit Board to get old 0140 back in Ohio. At the museum now is 4144, the last street car to run in Ohio, and Muller wants to give it company.

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0140
(Courtesy www.newdavesrailpix.com)

Muller was not successful in his attempt to acquire 0140 and today it is still part of the Henry Ford Museum.

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By the late 1950s, it appears that things were winding down at Norman C. Muller’s museum.

According to the 1957 Lorain City Directory, a church – First Assembly of God – had already taken up residence at 5459 Broadway. The church shared its pastor, Keith Smith, with Lorain Gospel Tabernacle on E. 31st Street in Lorain, which continued to appear for one more year in the directory. It seems that both congregations were then consolidated at the 5459 Broadway location as Broadway Assembly. 

In July 1958, Norman C. Muller listed his house at 223 E. Cooper Foster Park for sale or trade. An ad which ran in the July 11, 1958 Sandusky Register stated, “Would like to trade for small farm Norwalk or Berlin Twps.”

And what about No. 4144?

Courtesy of Dennis Lamont

Dennis Lamont saw it shortly before it was scrapped. Referring to the above photo, he explained that it represents the “last days of Norm’s trolley.”

“His coat of “green” Southwestern paint has worn down to the original Cleveland Transit System colors and the church bus is in the new driveway.

“This is about the time I saw it last. It was not in good condition but unfortunately absolutely nothing was salvaged when it was scrapped,” said Dennis.

The book Cleveland’s Transit Vehicles: Equipment and Technology by Jim Toman and Blaine S. Hayes indicates that No. 4144 was scrapped in 1962.

The Trolley Dodger website provides additional history about 4144, the man who designed it and the reason as to why it was not salvaged by Gerald E. Brookins, the man behind Trolleyville, U.S.A. You can read this interesting post here.

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Norman C. Muller and his wife eventually moved to Richland County. A 1968 article in the Mansfield News-Journal indicates that he had been keeping busy as the caretaker at “one of Ohio’s oldest and most attractive roadside parks” near Olivesburg. It seems like an appropriate position for someone who brought a lot of enjoyment to the children who enjoyed his miniature train.

Streetcar buffs certainly appreciate his efforts to salvage an important part of transportation history for others to enjoy.

He passed away on January 19, 2001.

The corner of South Broadway and Cooper Foster Park today

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UPDATE (November 10, 2016)

Be sure to follow this link to my new post about the Arlington Traction Company featuring fantastic photos of the kids riding the cars!

Arlington Traction Co. – Part 2

Before Norman C. Muller began operating his small park and miniature train near today’s intersection of South Broadway and Cooper Foster Park Road, he worked at various jobs.

According to Dr. Eddie Herdendorf of the Sheffield Village Historical Society, Muller was at one time a maintenance engineer for the Cleveland, Southwestern & Columbus Railway for one of the electric substations.

Muller also spent some time in the early 1940s working at the family business, Muller Wallpaper & Paint located at 1207 Reid in Lorain.

By 1945, he was an electrician at National Tube. At about the same time, he acquired the land on Cooper Foster Park Road. The real estate transfers in the Chronicle-Telegram of November 19, 1945 including the transfer of property on Cooper Foster Park Road in Sheffield Township to Norman C. Muller.

So how and when did he acquire his full-size streetcar?

Since the 1940s, the Cleveland Transit System (CTS) had undertaken a program to eventually replace all existing streetcar lines with buses or trackless trolleys. Thus on January 24, 1954 the last CTS streetcars ran on the Madison Avenue line from Public Square to W. 65th and Bridge. The event was celebrated with free rides and decorated cars.

Here’s No. 4144 in front of Terminal Tower, all decorated and ready to go on that historic last day.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lamont

Here’s another photo of 4144 on the day of its last run.

Photo provided by Rick Kurish and courtesy of the
Cleveland Memory Project,  The Gerald E. Brookins Collection

By the end of May 1954, Cleveland was well into the process of scrapping its old streetcars.

The Massillon Evening Independent told the story in its May 28, 1954 edition. The Associated Press story read, “Workmen with cutting torches and shears dismembered Cleveland’s last trolley car yesterday at the Cleveland Transit System’s Harvard Ave. shops, graveyard of some 1,700 old streetcars.

"The last 26 of the rattlers were sold to the Cleveland Iron & Metal Co, for scrap. The metal firm sold one of the better cars to the Arlington Traction Company of Lorain, a transit museum.”

So Mr. Muller acquired the only Cleveland streetcar that wasn’t scrapped: No. 4144.

The book Cleveland’s Transit Vehicles: Equipment and Technology by Jim Toman and Blaine S. Hayes, includes a listing of what happened to all of the cars and when they were scrapped. The listing for 4144 includes that it "had flag-bunting for last day on Madison 1-24-54, sold to Norman Muller and moved to his residence in South Lorain, PTD (painted) green, had a whistle and pipe organ installed and fender from Southwestern interurban attached, had “Arlington Traction Co.” on side.”

It didn’t take very long for Mr. Muller to put his historic car on display.

A Mary Lee Tucker story in the Lorain Journal on May 28, 1954 told the story of a trip to "the playground out Foster Park Road" by the Elyria School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The young students enjoyed a ride on the miniature train and the “highlight of the afternoon was the visit to the newly painted green street car, the newest possession of the playground.”

The article included the photo at right.

The streetcar was even used as a dining room for the students. As the Journal reporter noted, "Our host set a long board across the backs of several seats in the streetcar, covered it with a white cloth and spread all the edibles on it. Then the children filed past, picked up their trays and proceeded to individual seats to enjoy the warm snack.

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Tomorrow: End of the line

Arlington Traction Co. – Part 1

Early last year, a Season Ticket for the Arlington Traction Co. (shown above) turned up on Ebay. As indicated on the ticket, it was located at 223 Foster Park Road, just east of Broadway and operated by Norman C. Muller.

There’s a small illustration of a train on the ticket, which got me wondering. What was the Arlington Traction Company anyway?

As usual, local historian and archivist Dennis Lamont – one of the two gentlemen involved with the planned Lake Shore Electric Railway museum in Avon Lake – had the answer.

As Dennis explained in an email, Norman C. Muller was “the guy that had the little trolley and the Cleveland streetcar out where the church is at Cooper Foster and Middle Ridge."

"He had sort of a “park” railroad, 2 foot gauge with little dinky cars you could just ride on.”

The Toonerville Trolley was featured in the comic strip
Toonerville Folks by Fontaine Fox

Apparently the train ran in a loop around the property, powered by overhead lines, just like a real trolley. It was jokingly referred to by Dennis as “Norm’s Toonerville Trolley.”

But besides operating the miniature train, Norman Muller also maintained a trolley museum of sorts on his property.

“The guy was a real collector of trolley stuff,” noted Dennis.

He must have been if he  had an actual former Cleveland streetcar on the property along with the miniature train. As Dennis explained, “That was his one full-sized car and it didn’t move.”

Here’s a photo of it, courtesy of Dennis.

So how did Mr. Muller end with an actual streetcar as part of his park? “Toon" in tomorrow to learn more about the history of his car.

Midway Mall Traffic Jams – October 1966

Fifty years ago this month, traffic jams were an everyday occurrence near the recently-opened Midway Mall in Elyria, and a remedy was needed – and fast. Shoppers reported delays of 15 to 30 minutes at the intersection of State Route 57 and Griswold Road.

The temporary solution, as described in an article (at left) that ran in the Lorain Journal on October 6, 1966, was to adjust the traffic signals a bit.

But the permanent solution described in the article was to build a bridge over State Route 57. You know, the one that was torn down last year.

Here’s a last look at it on the Bing Maps website.

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Even though it’s been about a year since the 49th Street bridge was demolished, I’m still not used to it being gone.

And I’m not convinced that getting rid of the bridge (as well as those I-90/Route 57 ramps) was a good idea, either. I had to go out to the mall area last weekend, and it seems like there’s a traffic light every few hundred feet or so on Route 57. Of course, I was snagged by each one as I proceeded south.

The sad thing is that once I got to where I was going (PetSmart), I noticed that most of its neighboring stores in that particular shopping center had vamoosed.

Cleveland Barons vs Buffalo Bisons Ad – October 1949

Well, the National Hockey League opened its regular season yesterday, so it’s a good time to post this ad. It’s for the Cleveland Barons vs the Buffalo Bisons and ran in the Lorain Journal on October 28, 1949.

The Cleveland Barons were actually a minor league team in the American Hockey League from 1937 to 1973, but a wildly successful one at that. You can read all about the team's history here.

It’s not easy finding examples of this early Cleveland Baron mascot online.

Apparently he was popular enough to be manufactured as a 1959 bank (which you can purchase here).

And here he is on a pinback button.

I’ve noticed that the Richman Brothers clothing store seemed to be ground zero in Lorain when it came to purchasing tickets to professional sporting events. I’m not sure why. Here are a few other samples, one from the Browns (1946) and one from the Indians (1958).

Torn Between Two Townships – October 1949

Here’s another tale of a house from October 1949. But unlike the subject of my posts earlier this week, this Lorain house had no treasure hidden in its walls.

Instead, the focus of the offbeat story above is where those walls were located.

As explained in the above article, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on October 29, 1949, the house at 1801 E. Erie Avenue  straddled two different townships: Sheffield Township and Black River Township.

This made it difficult for Mrs. Luella H. Hoffer, the resident, because she had a decision to make: in which township should she vote? Apparently the answer depended upon which side of the house she slept in.

This map from the Lorain County Auditor’s website shows how the boundary line crossed the property.

And here’s a September 2013 Google view of the lakefront house, which faces Maine Avenue.

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As a side note, I came very close in the late 1990s to seeing a lot of this house every day. The spouse and I had put in a bid on the house directly across from it on E. Erie.

It’s just as well that the owner rejected our bid, though. The source of heat in the house we wanted was an ominous boiler in the basement that was more than 80 years old; I probably would never have been able to sleep knowing that ticking time bomb was below.