Watermelon was always a favorite of my parents in the summertime. Me? I could take it or leave it. But my father particularly enjoyed it. We would sprinkle salt on each slice. (Now I wouldn't dream of putting salt on watermelon – or sweet corn for that matter.)
But watermelon is the focus of the Manners ad above, which ran in the Journal back on August 25, 1962. The deal: a free, whole watermelon with the purchase of Manners Country Cousin Chicken in the carry-out 'red barn' box. Besides the watermelon, dinner consisted of twelve pieces of chicken and dinner rolls.
Here's a closer look at the Country Cousin Chicken box, in color, courtesy of Worthpoint. It's pretty cute, with the Manners version of Big Boy all decked out like a farmhand.
I remember saving an actual Red Barn restaurant box (similar to the Manners one) and using it to store my bottle cap collection. I'll bet the inside of that box was pretty greasy.
