Monday, September 4, 2023

Labor Day Ads – 1953 & 1963

It's Labor Day – so it's time for another "labored" attempt to entertain you here on the blog with vintage ads saluting the American worker. 

Of course, the clip art used by the Journal in the 1950s always seemed to depict white males in these ads. It would take a few decades before stock illustrations began to reflect a little diversity.

Anyway, above is the full-page ad that ran in the Journal on September 7, 1953. Oddly enough, the skyscraper being served up on a platter by the worker somewhat resembles the BP Building in Cleveland. (Remember how at the time it was built, it wasn't allowed to be taller than the Terminal Tower? That restriction didn't last.)

Anyway, there's some interesting names on the roll call of companies that sponsored the ad. Two of them are former employers of my father, in the years before he made it to BF Goodrich in Avon Lake: White Roth Machine Corp. and Nelson Stud Welding.

And the listings reflect just how long I've been doing this blog, with posts devoted to many of them: American Crucible Products, Baetz Barber Dairy, Chris Cafe, Kline's Dept. Store, Lorain Crystal Ice Co., Magic Chef, Ohio Fuel Gas and the Steel Stamping Co.

Fast forward to 1963. I didn't find a full-page ad honoring the American Worker, but there was this ad for the City Bank Company that ran on Sept. 2, 1963.

The ad can make a Lorainite feel a little wistful. 

At the time of the ad, there were numerous employers in the area where workers could make a good living, including US Steel, Ford Motor Company, the American Ship Building, Thew Shovel, etc. As we all know, they're all gone, or at the very least, departed from our area.
A worker can still work at Ford or make steel, but it's necessary to drive a bit.
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4 comments:

  1. BusterSeptember 4, 2023 at 11:06 AM

    Doesn't Ford have a big plant in Avon Lake/Sheffield?

    I wonder why the copywriter on the second ad felt a need To Capitalize Every Word.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dan BradySeptember 4, 2023 at 11:24 AM

    Hi Buster! You're right, the Ohio Assembly Plant is still in Avon Lake, making trucks and vans. I guess I was thinking how all of these industries used to be in Lorain. My parents used to have commutes of ten minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BusterSeptember 4, 2023 at 11:55 AM

    The good news is you can get from the center of Lorain to that plant in 15 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 4, 2023 at 12:38 PM

    I guess a job is a job but the Avon Ford plant only makes commercial vehicles.Whereas Lorain Assembly actually built passenger cars that families would buy and use.All the products that Avon makes are trucks without beds on them.Sure you can buy one but these are contractor type vehicles and buses and RV's.If you bought a product from Avon you would be driving around with granny and Ellie Mae Clampett sitting on top of the frame rails like in The Beverly Hillbillies unless you had a custom bed made for it.

    ReplyDelete