Lorain County Fair Snapshots

Well, we made it out to the Lorain County Fair last night and had a great time. Food-wise, we pretty much stuck to the script: great Midway Oh-Boy burgers for dinner, french fries and Rutana's Apple Dumplings for dessert. Both the Oh-Boy and the dumpling were fantastic.

The great thing about the Lorain County Fair is the sameness of it each year; as you walk around the fairgrounds, you're overcome with a comfortable feeling of nostalgia that makes you forget what year it is.

Here are a few of my photographic images from the Fair. By the way, that smiling and waving chap with the hardhat is another favorite classic advertising mascot of mine, Willie Wiredhand. I'll have more to say about him next week.

It's Lorain County Fair time!

It's that time of year again when I think about Wellington. No, not beef wellington - Wellington, the site of the Lorain County Fair!

I look forward to the Fair all year. It's one of my favorite things to do, mainly because of the food and atmosphere. It's pure fun, and a great kickoff to the fall season.

We always start our night at the Fair by heading straight for the Midway Oh-Boy booth for a delicious Oh-Boy burger. Then it's time for some french fries - the greasier the better! And don't forget the salt and vinegar!

Dessert always means stopping at the Rutana's Apple Dumpling booth. And, of course, I have to wash the whole thing down with a lemon shake-up that I'm sure my dentist would disapprove of.

I'm not sure what night we're heading out there this week, as the usual rain is predicted. But rain or shine, we'll be there at the Lorain County Fair!

Sorry, Old Dutch...

...you may have had the Right Touch in the good old days, but not enough to win the first annual Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia First Annual Favorite Classic Beer Poll. That dubious honor goes to Miller High Life, who narrowly edged the classic beer out of Findlay, Ohio by one vote!

My thanks to all participant(s) and brother(s) who voted, even if you are one and the same! I'd buy you a cool refreshing Miller High Life at Caponi's (formerly Desimone's Restaurant & Lounge) to celebrate if it was still there!

But it ain't.

Hey Mabel! Black Label, eh?

A few weeks ago I happened to blog about an old Carling's Black Label advertisement and I got to wondering: do they still make this beer?

It turns out they do! A great website that I mentioned earlier, heymabelblacklabel.com included the contact info for a marketing executive at Pabst, who was able to locate a store that carries it a few miles from my work.

Of course, I had to go out and buy some. And that's what the current can looks like (above). Why the Canadian branding? The gentleman with the heymabelblacklabel.com website explained to me that it is strictly a marketing gimmick to signify that Carling's Black Label originated in Canada.

Maybe Pabst (who owns the U.S. rights) thinks it is more appealing as a "Canadian" brand even though it is made in the U.S. I disagree. I think that it should play more on its Cleveland roots - and for that matter, they should bring back Mabel too!

1968 Cleveland Indians Scorecard Part 6

A few blogs ago I mentioned how after Cleveland Indians games in the 1960s, my brothers & I would follow ballplayers up to Public Square, trying to get their autographs. It was kind of cool that a few of them cooperated, since I'm sure they just wanted to get the #$!* out of there.

The scorecard that I've been blogging about for the past few weeks included three players whose autographs I was able to get: Dave Nelson, Vern Fuller and Tony Oliva (from the Minnesota Twins.)

After their Cleveland Indians days were over, both Nelson and Fuller had nice careers. Dave Nelson is still involved in the game as a TV broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers and Vern Fuller has had a successful career in the hospitality and hotel business.

Tony Oliva spent his entire career with the Twins and was inducted in the initial class of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2000 along with Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew.

Did you notice the other names on the autograph pages? They belong to my boyhood chum Jeff Malek and another classmate, who thought it'd be fun to sign their names on the same page as Major League Ballplayers!

Ready for more Reddy?

I mentioned last week that Reddy Kilowatt was one of my favorite advertising characters. And it's no small wonder.

Since I spend a lot of time in the Lorain Public Library pouring over microfilm of newspapers from the 1950s and 1960s, it seems that almost every day or so there was an ad for Ohio Edison featuring - who else? - Reddy Kilowatt! I even seem to recall even seeing his image on some of the local electric utility buildings, such as up on the Ohio Edison building on Lake Avenue in Elyria Township.

He was such a kid-friendly guy in the ads, doing his best to keep us from getting electrocuted, that it's no wonder that I have a certain affection for the guy long after his heyday.

Here are a few images of ol' Reddy from ads that appeared in the Lorain Journal in the 1960s.

1968 Cleveland Indians Scorecard Part 5

Here's an ad for the Illuminating Company from the 1968 Cleveland Indians scorecard, featuring one of my all-time favorite advertising characters: Reddy Kilowatt.

Reddy is one of the most famous and beloved advertising mascots of all time. He was created in 1926 by Ashton B. Collins, general manager of Alabama Power Company, as part of a marketing effort to promote electricity as a safe and reliable servant. According to legend, Collins was trying to think of a mascot when he happened to look out the window during an electrical storm, and witnessed two lightning bolts merge and strike the ground as one. To Collins, the single bolt reminded him of the body of a man – and Reddy Kilowatt was born.

With jagged red lightning bolts making up his torso and appendages, a light bulb for a nose and light sockets for ears, Reddy was the perfect spokesman for electricity. Reddy became so popular that in 1934, Collins decided to leave the Alabama Power Company and start his own company, the Reddy Kilowatt Service. This new company offered to license Reddy to other power companies and eventually more than 200 enrolled.

Reddy appeared on billboards, newspaper and magazine ads, company stationery and signage, electric bills and many promotional products. By the 1970s, however, electric consumption began to exceed the supply and Reddy was no longer needed.

Happily, Reddy eventually found a new home. In 1998 his exclusive use was purchased by Northern States Power Co., which is now part of Xcel Energy. Click here to visit their website and find out more about Reddy.