It was the only coffee I remember my parents ever drinking. The brand was heavily advertised in the Lorain Journal in the 1950s and 60s. Perhaps that's how my parents first became aware of it – tried it – and liked it.
They were loyal to it, that's for sure. When it was on sale at Marc's, they would buy as many as a half-dozen cans at one time. At one point in the 1990s, I counted more than a dozen cans in their basement pantry. It was like money in the bank.
In the Brady household, Dad was the one who made the coffee. He liked it strong, although Mom and Dad both put half and half in theirs. Later, after Dad passed away, Mom still made it strong – and drank it black.
When she became a widow, Mom was funny about her coffee. Since she only drank about a cup a day, she hated wasting the rest of the pot. So she poured it into a carafe and drank it over the next few days. I did my best to encourage her to make a fresh pot every day ("You deserve it, Mom!") but she didn't vary from this habit, right up to the end. But she would make a fresh pot whenever I came over.
Anyway, above is a vintage Hills Bros. ad from the Lorain Journal of November 5, 1953. The gimmick of the ad is a free "Coffee Guide" that was in specially marked cans. At first I thought the guide was a little instruction book – but it was actually a little rectangular scoop.
There are a few on eBay right now, if your Hills Bros. coffee-making is in need of guidance.
