Sugardale Cold Cuts Ad – April 15, 1964

I saw this ad for Sugardale Cold Cuts that ran in the Lorain Journal back on April 15, 1964 and it got me thinking.

No, not about Hamlet, the cheery porcine Sugardale ad mascot. I'm referring to just how much America's eating habits regarding lunch have changed over the last sixty years.

Back in the 1960s and 70s, Mom always bought a lot of lunch meat each week at the grocery store, or Lawson's. Lunch was always a sandwich for Dad and us kids, with an incredible selection of lunch meat to choose from: bologna (or baloney if you prefer), hard salami, olive loaf, pickle and pimento, Canadian Bacon, beef log, chicken loaf (a loaf of chicken?), chipped chopped ham, very crumbly corned beef slices, souse, and Dutch Loaf.

The Sugardale ad above has a more limited selection in its pre-packaged 'cold cuts' (a term Mom never used): bologna, pickle and pimento loaf, and Berliner. 

Berliner?

I had to look that one up. The German Butchery website says it is 'a mildly flavored fully cooked German cold cut made out of finely minced pork. And the Pendle Hill Meat Market website describes it as 'a traditional German sausage made with a blend of pork and beef. Finely ground and seasoned with a savory blend of spices.' Strangely, both companies are located in Australia. Hey, I thought they ate Vegemite sandwiches Down Under.

Fast forward to the 2000s, and it's generally accepted that lunch meat is somewhat unhealthy. This Cleveland Clinic article tells the sad tale of how processed meats are high in calories and low in protein. (Conversely, the Sugardale ad boasts that the company's meat products 'give you a new way too put Protein Glow in your lunches.)

And sandwiches seem to have lost their appeal these days, perhaps due to everyone trying to cut their carbs. Most people I know seem to bring leftovers for their mid-day repast. As for me, I tend to have a light lunch of Cup-a-Soup, although a sandwich made of lunch meat sounds pretty good right now.

Perhaps by the power of suggestion, this blog post will usher in a glorious comeback for cold cuts in the Lorain County area.

Sugardale Ham Thanksgiving Ad – Nov. 24, 1953

Do you have your Thanksgiving menu all set yet?

Just like last year, I know several people that are having ham for their feast on Thursday instead of the typical turkey. Since most of them are in their 20s, I assumed that it was just an example of the rebellious youth thumbing their noses at tradition. 

But as you can see from the ad above for Sugardale Ham, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on November 24, 1953, this particular preference for pork has been going on for a long time.

The ad features our old pal, Sugardale mascot Hamlet all decked out in Pilgrim attire. As usual, the porcine traitor follows the directives of his corporate overlords by promoting the serving of his own kind.

The "Ham Hints" in the ad are kind of interesting. One includes a recipe for a white sauce that includes chopped peanuts (which potentially could be deadly to someone with a peanut allergy); the other suggests pan-broiling leftover ham and serving it on Melba toast with Welsh rarebit.

I wonder if the current generation of youth, who grew up eating chicken fingers and Lunchables, even know what Welsh Rarebit is?

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I've mentioned several times how the Bradys didn't have turkey on Thanksgiving when I was a kid. For many years, Mom made two birds: a capon and a duck.

Duck for Thanksgiving? Hey that reminds me of this great Daffy Duck cartoon!

Sugardale Ad Featuring Hamlet – June 30, 1965

Well, it’s June 30 – the end of the month and a few days before the big July 4th holiday. And 52 years ago today, the ad above ran in the Lorain Journal, reminding you to stock up on Sugardale Coneys for the obligatory holiday cookout.

The ad features our old pal Hamlet, greedily pushing a grocery cart stuffed with coneys made from (shudder) his own kind. It looks like the advertising mascot has fully embraced man’s ways, not only adopting his meaty diet but his attire as well (although his shoes look rather elfin).

Quite a difference from the younger, naked piglet (below) seen in the 1956 ad I posted back here.

I’ve always been a sucker for advertising, so it won’t be too surprising if I toss a package of Sugardale hot dogs in my grocery cart this weekend because of this post. 

We’ve Got Souse! – April 28, 1967

Now here’s something you’re not going to see in the newspaper these days: an ad promoting the availability of Sugardale souse. It ran in the Journal on April 28, 1967 – a mere 50 years ago today.

What’s that? You don’t know what souse is? (The ad asks the same question too, in fine print.) Then I guess you didn’t have any Germans in your family.

During the Depression, my father’s family had to move in with his German grandparents. Consequently, he was exposed to German language and culture – including food. Grandpa Esterle did his own butchering and made his own head cheese – which is also known as souse.

We grew up eating it in the 1960s because Dad still liked it, although I was never crazy about it – probably because of the way it looked. There were just too many strange-looking things in that speckled, gelatin-like mass. (Dad liked pickled pig’s feet too.)

Then a few years ago, I happened to be in Hansa Import House in Cleveland on Lorain Avenue (near where I work) and impulsively bought a 1/2 pound of souse to bring back to work and gross out my co-workers. None of them would go near the stuff. But after nibbling it all afternoon, I discovered that after all these years I thought it was pretty good.

Just another example of a good idea that took a while to catch on.

Sugardale Semi-Boneless Ham Ad – Nov. 1, 1956

Okay, enough with the lunch meat; it's time for real meat.

That's the subject of today's post: dee-lishus Sugardale Semi-Boneless Ham, as seen in this ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on November 1, 1956 – 60 years ago this month.

(Please don't ask me why I'm featuring ham on this blog today instead of turkey.)

Anyway, the part of the ad that caught my attention, of course, is the cute Sugardale advertising mascot: Hamlet. Like all pig advertising mascots, he has no problem carving up (shudder) and serving up his own kind to us hungry humans.

Hamlet used to be featured prominently on Sugardale packages. These days, however, the chef-hatted piglet is apparently semi-retired. I couldn't even find hide nor ham of him on the Sugardale website.

UPDATE (November 21, 2016)
I purchased a package of Sugardale Bunfull Hot Dogs over the weekend (in the interest of journalistic research, of course). Hamlet is indeed still on the package (below).