Below is one of those full-page ads with sponsors that the Lorain Journal used to run around holidays. This one appeared on August 31, 1946.
It's pretty quaint, with well-dressed children walking to school and being protected by a friendly policeman. It reminds me of my old schoolbook On Cherry Street (which I wrote about here and here).
What's odd is that the ad only has four sponsors: three of them public utilities (gas, electric and telephone) and the other one Lake Erie Oil.
But while the ad is focused on keeping kids safe while they walk to school, another ad using the same illustration has a different message: keep the kids safe by making them ride the bus! Here's the ad for Employee Transit Lines that ran in the same edition of the Journal as the other ad.
I wanted to be a Patrol Boy so bad I could taste it; must've been those boss Sam Browne belts and the badges...
ReplyDeleteOoh yeah, those patrol boys! I remember one in particular…
ReplyDeleteI was a school crossing guard in 6th grade. I wasn’t drunk but I sure was sleepy at 7am and cold in winter. And, for all my service & sacrifice, they didn’t even let me keep my sash and badge!
ReplyDeleteI walked to and from elementary school (and high school), and was a proud crossing guard with a yellow "STOP" flag. In charge of things was a stout adult crossing guard named Moe.
ReplyDeleteDon't wish to be contrary, but it seems most kids, nowadays, are either driven to skool by a parent or drive themselves if they're old enough. 'Round these here parts, you have to watch out for kids walking out in traffic because they're paying attention to their phones instead of their surroundings. Then, again, it's not just kids doing such silly things. Lots of adult do, too.
ReplyDeleteI was a bus rider but was once yelled at by a Patrol Boy because I crossed before he told me I could. I replied with whatever the third grade equivalent of "stuff it" was and crossed anyway.
Why just today I saw 4-5 cars blow past a school bus when their red stop sign was activated on the side of the bus.It's supposed to be both lanes stop but that didn't happen today as everyone is in a hurry to get nowhere.They need to have it to where a camera is mounted on the side of the bus scanning license plates and then if any car doesn't stop that person will automatically recieve a ticket in the mail.You would figure that the state would be all over this like a flies on .....
ReplyDeleteWas a patrol boy at Jane Lindsay elementary when I was in the sixth grade. And yes… We were on a power trip, lol. The best part of being a patrol boy was in the winter time we would get hot cocoa in the morning on particularly cold days before we went to class
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