Hunting for More Hunting Ads – October 1953

From the October 7, 1953 Lorain Journal.

I thought I'd close out the week here on the blog by taking a shot at posting some more hunting ads. As one commenter observed on an earlier post, hunting was a big part of the lifestyle back then in areas such as Lorain County. It's reflected in these ads, which all ran in the Lorain Journal back in October 1953.

Above is an ad for the Lorain Surplus Center, with locations at 515 Broadway and 2836 Pearl Avenue in Lorain. (You might remember the excellent 2018 post by blog contributor Rick Kurish about the military surplus stores.)

In the Lorain Surplus Center ad, there's everything you need for hunting: rifles, shotguns, knives, boots, mitts, gloves, ammunition, hunting caps, hunting bows and duck decoys.

The items that caught my interest were the Lohman Duck, Crow & Squirrel Calls. I'd heard of duck calls (from watching Daffy Duck cartoons) but the crow and squirrel calls were new to me. Lohman still makes squirrel calls; this one 'reproduces the squeals of young squirrels in distress." I wonder what the intention was of the squirrels being bamboozled by the call. Were they going to offer aid and comfort to another squirrel? Or rob him of any nuts he might have been carrying before his misfortune?

As for squirrel calls, it reminded me of something from my college days. Squirrels were all over the Ohio State campus, and my roommates and I used to make clicking noises to get their attention. Many times they would come a-runnin' as if to say, "Hey, that kid is speaking my language!" Others would approach slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. But the funniest incident I remember was when my roommate Hoob was doing the tongue clicking thing, and one squirrel came closer... and closer... and closer... and then LUNGED AT HIS LEG! I still remember Hoob trying to get that thing off him!

But back to the ads.

Here's one for Stroh's Bohemian Beer featuring a comely huntress and her retriever. It ran on October 13, 1953. I like the illustration in the background. 

The ad would be very appropriate today (according to the articles in my issues of American Hunter), as women make up a large portion of those buying guns for the very first time, as well as increasingly participating in the sport of hunting.

The bottle of Stroh's looks unfamiliar to me as I've never been a Stroh's drinker. Here's a closer look at the bottle from that era. It's on eBay right now.

Lastly, here's an ad for Sears specifically promoting the J. C. Higgins Model 30 .22 Automatic Rifle. It ran in the paper on October 7, 1953.

 

Looks like the squirrel in the ad is not long for this world. 

And speaking of things that aren't around any more, that would include Sears stores. While at one time there was one in Downtown Lorain, today there are only ten in the entire mainland USA. Unbelievable!

As for the J. C. Higgins Model 30 .22 Automatic Rifle shown in the ad, they are pretty popular with collectors. Here's a nice color photo of one.

Courtesy MaynardsFineArt.com

Lorain Surplus Center Ad – March 1953

Today we're back in March 1953, seeing what sundry items are featured in this ad for Lorain Surplus Center. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on March 25, 1953.

Unlike the previous two days here on the blog, there's no clothes suitable for the traditional Easter Parade. As the ad heading notes, it's a 'Spring Clean-Up' sale – and Lorain Surplus was hoping to clean up selling clothes you wouldn't mind getting dirty in, including various uniforms, fatigue pants and dungarees.

Dungarees? What in tunket are dungarees?

Well, as you can see from this 1953 Lee ad that ran in LIFE Magazine, they're pretty much, uh, jeans.

Otherwise, the basic items carried – including socks, jackets, and loafers – make it my kind of store.

The only non-clothing items in the ad are the various paints for sale. There's no well-known brands like Sherwin-Williams or Pittsburgh Paints listed (although 'New Dutch" sounds vaguely reminiscent of Dutch Boy), so the ad employs a friendly mascot.

He sort of reminds me of those 'dancing cigarette' packages with those long legs.

Anyway, back on this 2018 post, longtime blog contributor Rick Kurish wrote a nice history of surplus stores.

Apocalyptic Marketing – 1959 Style

Here’s a strange sales ad for Lorain Surplus Discount Center that ran in the Lorain Journal on January 5, 1959 – 60 years ago this month.

Lorain Surplus Center first appeared in the Lorain City Directory in the early 1950s. It was located at 515 Broadway, taking over a space previously occupied by Goodman’s Home Furnishers (a company with a longtime presence in Elyria). The names in the city directory that were associated with the business, which was described as sporting goods, were Arthur J. London and Sidney Gluck.

The sales ad was certainly designed to attract attention, with its apocalyptic ad copy describing “an avalanche of price destruction” sweeping down on folks that “no power on earth can halt.” Warnings of “BRACE YOURSELF” and “BE PREPARED” drive home the feeling of menace and jeopardy. And all of this was juxtaposed with a 1950s clip art illustration of an average man, beaming with delight.

Near the bottom of the ad, the sale is also described as a “seething tornado of price destruction,” which may not have been the best way to attract Lorainites to the sale (the 1924 tornado still being relatively fresh in many residents’ minds).

Anyway, Lorain Surplus Discount Center seemed to have been whisked away by its own seething sales cyclone. The company disappeared from the city directory in the 1959 edition, with the location listed as ‘vacant.’  It was replaced in the directory at the 515 Broadway address in the next edition by Trotter’s Office Supply.