Bob Beck Chevrolet Ad – Feb, 1, 1971

Remember my post from early December about the out-of-state gentleman looking for a vintage Bob Beck Chevrolet keychain? 

He had purchased a 1965 Corvette that had originally been delivered to the Bob Beck dealership in Lorain, and thought that it would be nice to have a Bob Beck keychain to go with it.

I told him that the search for a keychain would have been a lot easier in the 1970s or even the 80s, rather than fifty years later. But after some detective work, we may be closing in on one. I’ll let you if and when it happens. 

In the meantime, here’s a nice Bob Beck ad that ran in the Journal on Feb. 1, 1971. Although Bob had passed away in February 1970, the dealership knew the power of his name was still strong. I like the tagline: “A Name That Means A Great Deal.”

Maybe someone connected to one of the men pictured in the ad (including Roger Noak, Buzz Gibson, Frank Camera, Ron Crowe, Roth Garrett, Darwin Harmon, Ron Kokinda, Joe Krall, Dewey Mann, and John Mitchell) has an old keychain or other piece of dealer memorabilia in their junk drawer.

The funny thing is, after looking at this ad, I remembered that my parents bought a used 1970s Chevy Impala for my sister to drive. (I don’t remember what Chevy dealer’s name was on it.) It was the rare used car they bought that wasn’t a Cutlass.

That Impala was huge – about as big as the boat-like 1963 Buick LeSabre that we later drove to Admiral King High School.

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All this Chevy talk reminded me that your humble blogger posted what is probably the only image on the whole internet of the cartoon caricature of Commander Ray of West Park Chevrolet.

Beckoning Anyone With Bob Beck Memorabilia

The famous Bob Beck caricature found in most of his ads

The Bob Beck dealership on Broadway 
(now gone)

Last month, I received an interesting email from a gentleman named Mike in New York, who is on a quest with a unique Lorain connection.

He wrote, "Good evening. I recently purchased a car sold new at Bob Beck Chevy in Lorain and would like to locate a key chain or other memorabilia from the dealership.”

(Many of my readers remember the Bob Beck dealership located on Broadway at 22nd Street in Lorain. I’ve mentioned it several times on this blog and posted a few ads and articles.)

Although it might be an impossible quest (it would have been a lot easier 40 or 50 years ago), I gave Mike the contact information of a few antique dealers in who specialize in Lorain memorabilia to help him with his hunt.

I even did some amateur detective work and found some contact information for a family member. So I guess I’m guilty of disrupting a lot of people’s lives over this.

But if any of you have a junk drawer with forgotten stuff from decades ago (like a Woody Mathna for Mayor nail file) please take a look for any Bob Beck-emblazoned stuff. You just never know. I had my keys on the same keychain for like, 30 years! And after it broke, I saved what was left of it since I’m such a sentimental idiot guy.

Of course, we can always make a Bob Beck keychain on CafePress. 

House Demolition – May 2, 1968

The well-remembered
caricature of Bob Beck,
used in his ads

Although the demolition of old buildings and homes in Lorain today is often done quietly and without fanfare (perhaps to minimize controversy), this type of thing used to be news – and worthy of a photo.

That’s the case here, with the demolition of a home at the intersection of E. 21st Street and Elyria Avenue. The photo and accompanying caption appeared on the front page of the Lorain Journal back on May 2, 1968.

According to the caption, the house and another one in the same block were being removed for Bob Beck of Bob Beck Chevrolet, which was located nearby at 2147 Broadway.

Perhaps the houses were removed to create additional storage space for the dealership. But whatever the purpose, it doesn’t appear that the plans came to fruition.

Today that corner looks like much of Lorain does: an empty, grassy lot.

Vintage St. Patrick's Day Ads

It's St. Patrick's Day, so along with my bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast, corned beef for dinner, and annual viewing of The Quiet Man, I thought I'd post a few vintage ads to celebrate the holiday.

First up is a Bob Beck Chevrolet newspaper ad that ran in The Journal on March 16, 1964 (above). Rather than feature the traditional cartoon of Bob Beck (like last Friday's blog post), the ad includes clip art of what I assume are two traditional leprechauns, as well as another one wearing a strange hat with a dollar sign on it.

The ad is interesting to me because the largest leprechaun is a visual leftover of the era in which the Irish in America were depicted as monkeys in editorial cartoons. (Think I'm making this up? Click here to visit a scholarly website with lots of examples!) But that's okay – we Irish have a sense of humor about it.

My other St. Paddy ad (below) – for the Hollywood Lounge – also has the usual Irish icons.

This ad ran on March 16, 1953 in The Lorain Journal and announced the appearance of The Jolly Boys. You might remember I've mentioned that particular group here on the blog before, such as here when they appeared on the bill at the 1956 Mary Lee Tucker benefit show.

I don't know all the members of The Jolly Boys over the years, but they included Edward Carl Domazet on accordion and George Higgins on drums.

Chevy Dealer Mascots: Bob Beck and Commander Ray

Bob Beck Chevrolet circa 1955

Chevrolet dealers seemed to like to feature themselves as advertising mascots back in the 50s and 60s.

Remember the Bob Beck Chevrolet ads with the distinctive caricature of Mr. Beck? I remember seeing that cartoon for years. This full-page ad (above) ran on Monday, March 11, 1957 in The Lorain Journal.

I always liked it when a company depicted its owner as a cartoon mascot in its ad. It puts a friendly face on the whole operation and instills trust – which is critical if you're selling cars, as in this case.

The Bob Beck dealership was located at 2147 Broadway in Lorain.

In Cleveland, there was "Commander Ray" of West Park Chevrolet. Here's a portion of an ad (below) from late July 1969 that appeared in The Plain Dealer.

Commander Ray was Ray Herzberger Jr. He was a former Navy Commander who starred in a series of commercials for his dealership, which had been in his family since 1927. I'm sure all of you remember the catchy jingle used on his TV commercials, performed to the tune of "Sailing, Sailing."

"Chevy, Chevy – see Commander Ray at West Park Chevrolet!"

Mr. Herzberger passed away in March 1998.

I wonder if he knew Admiral King?

The Little Guy in the 1950s Car Ads

When I saw this full-page Bob Beck Chevrolet ad (above) in the Lorain Journal of February 20, 1956, I thought, "That little cartoon guy looks vaguely familiar."

Then about a week later, I saw him again – this time in a Spitzer Motors ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on June 20, 1955 (below).

It turns out that 56 years later, the little guy is still appearing in car ads – but now he's working for Ed Tomko Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Avon Lake. The dealership regularly features the little advertising mascot in their ads in various guises (such as below). Actually, I think he is Ed, since the "Ed says..." appears next to him each time – but he seems to have lost his choppers.

Good to see him still working, though, in these challenging economic times!