My regular readers have probably noticed that it's been several months since I posted any of Gene Patrick's "The Passing Scene" comics from 1969.
That's because after the two strips that ran in July 1969, "The Passing Scene" disappeared from the pages of the Journal after that month. I'm not sure why.
Gene’s own business, Gene’s Hobby Hub, located between Yala’s Pizza and Dom & Luigi’s Barber Shop, wouldn’t open for several more years. So that’s not the reason.
The funny thing is that I know Gene Patrick was still at the Journal during that time period. I found the cartoon below accompanying an article that ran in the paperon September 2, 1969 – ironically, about missing persons.
Gene did contribute a comic illustration to the Journal several times a month during late summer and early fall 1969.
Eventually “The Passing Scene" reappeared at some point, because I've seen strips from the 1970s. I’ll keep you posted – and hopefully some comics too, soon.
Last week I wrote about Huron Kiddieland, and expressed regret that these tiny, family-run parks have become a thing of the past, thanks to the public’s preference for the huge, mega-parks that promise much greater thrills.
The funny thing is, I forgot to mention that, locally, at least one of these small parks is still around and thriving in 2019: Memphis Kiddie Park. It’s located at 10340 Memphis Avenue in Brooklyn, Ohio (near Cleveland) and has been there since 1952.
It’s become somewhat of an institution since it has been there so long with many of the original rides, which have been lovingly maintained.
Here’s the link to the Memphis Kiddie Park website.
As the nationally distributed article below (from the Stevens Point Journal of April 20, 2000) the park caters to the "toddler and kindergarten set.” But that’s perfect for many families with very young kids for whom Cedar Point would be too big, too overwhelming – and too expensive.
Strangely enough, Memphis Kiddie Park is located a stone’s throw from my employer’s warehouse and distribution facility. When it looked for a while that we might consolidate our Cleveland operations at the Brooklyn property, I drove out there with some other company personnel to check it out, and we noticed the proximity of Memphis Kiddie Park. “Well, if we do move to Brooklyn, at least I know where I can get a corndog at lunch,” was my comment.
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While preparing this post, I found an interesting news item about Memphis Kiddie Park from August 1955. “Cops Raid Kiddie Park, Confiscate Slot Machines” was the headline of the article which ran in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette on August 1st. As the article noted, “Suburban Brooklyn police today raided the Memphis Kiddie Park and confiscated three coin machines.
“The confiscated machines were a 10-cent target device, a 10-cent baseball game and a 5-cent “earth moving game.””
The proprietor of the park said he didn’t know he was violating the law. Brooklyn Mayor John M. Coyne said a Brooklyn ordinance holds any kind of coin-operated machine illegal – even cigarette machines.
The Mayor had the funniest line of the article when he said that Memphis Kiddie Park "has developed into a Las Vegas for children.”
Last month I did a post about a 1959 visit to Lorain County by Little Oscar and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Stops at the Sparkle Market grocery stores in Lorain and Avon Lake were on the menu that day for the miniature chef and his hot dog on wheels.
Well, while I was in Avon on Sunday morning, getting ready to get on I-90 to go home, I did a double take when I glanced at the traffic exiting the highway.
Unfortunately, I was in the lane to get on I-90, which I did. But being the nosy type, I got off at the next exit (State Route 611) and doubled back so I could see where the thing was going.
I guessed correctly: Walmart.
Although the Wienermobile had only been there a matter of minutes, it was already attracting attention. But I managed to get a few photos.
Although I only hung around for a little more than five minutes, I watched at least five or six parents take a quick photo of their kids in front of it. Everybody seemed to get a kick out of seeing it up close, and it’s obvious that the goodwill mobile frankfurter was serving its purpose well.
I was sorry that I already had my dinner simmering in the crock pot at home, as I suddenly had the urge for a you-know-what with mustard in a toasted New England bun.
Sparky as he looked when launched as a fire safety mascot in 1952
On Friday I featured a 1950s cartoon dog on this blog. Well, here’s another one of Man’s Best Friends in cartoon form from that same era.
This is Fire Prevention Week, so it’s a good time to shine the spotlight on Sparky the Fire Dog, the longtime fire prevention mascot of the National Fire Protection Association. The cartoon Dalmatian wearing a firefighter’s hat and outfit been teaching kids about fire safety since 1952.
Here’s some of the publicity from Sparky’s launch as the symbol of home fire prevention. This ran in the Journal Times on April 16, 1952.
And here’s some early newspaper advertising art. This appeared in the News on October 4, 1952.
This article from the Casper Star Tribune of December 24, 1954 explains how kids could join Sparky’s Fire Department and send away for an official badge, membership card and manual. Note how Sparky’s design had evolved.
By 1958, Sparky was a familiar face in the newspaper during Fire Prevention Week. He also made personal appearances through the use of costumes which were made available to fire departments across the country.
Ad from the Allentown Messenger, Jan. 2, 1958
Ad from the Allentown Messenger, May 1, 1958
Article from the Progress Index, Oct. 1, 1958
This Sparky costume (below) is fairly terrifying – more like Sparky the Fire Possum. The photo ran in the Los Angeles Times during Fire Prevention Week on October 7, 1958.
Here's yet another Sparky costume. This one was used by the Montgomery Fire District in Wilmington, North Carolina; the photo appeared in the Star-News on October 11, 1959.
My hometown of Lorain, Ohio had a Sparky costume (or mask) that was similar to the one being used in the Montgomery Fire District. The photo below appeared in the Lorain Journal on September 30, 1959 in preparation for Fire Prevention Week 1959.
The article accompanying the photo noted, “The Lorain Fire Dept. is training its preventive eye on schools, businesses, industries and the homes.
“For the first time, Lorain’s school children will be competing only against others of their own ages for fire prevention prizes. The Lorain Fire Department Fire Prevention Committee, headed this year by Fireman Stanley M. Yourkvitch, felt that the old system of splitting children into only four age groups gave oldest youngsters in each group the advantage.
“Again, Fireman “Sparky,” familiar to the children for years, will travel from school to school to demonstrate safety rules and the workings of a fire truck.
“To provide variety, the featured fire truck on this year’s school will be a pumper. The children last year were shown a hook and ladder truck.
“As to the contests, first, second and third graders will compete in coloring 8-by-10 fire prevention posters.
“Children in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades will try their hands at free-hand drawings of any pictures they choose from a fire prevention comic book provided by the firemen."
It seems like the late 1950s were a busy time for Sparky in newspaper advertising. Here’s a newspaper ad with great illustrations from October 1959. It’s a shame they don’t run ads like this anymore; I think they are still needed.
From the Port Angeles Evening News, October 3, 1959
I don’t know if today’s kids are still taught about fire safety by Sparky. Maybe they're too sophisticated to buy into the fantasy of an anthropomorphic Dalmation telling them to prevent fires.
Sparky’s still around (here’s the link to his website) but he's a little less intense and has been redesigned to look less threatening. He’s also been given a new backstory (in which he is depicted as a cute puppy) in an apparent effort to make him more appealing to little kids. Ugh.
But if you remember Sparky from your school days, you’ll enjoy this short vintage film.
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I also featured Sparky and Fire Prevention Week 1959 on this blog back here.
Well, this is Homecoming Weekend 2019 at Ohio State University, my Alma Mater.
The tradition goes back to 1912, making this the 107th celebration. (You can read more about the history of it here.) There's plenty of activities in store besides the football game: a big Homecoming parade; a pep rally; the election of a king and queen; and the decoration of the dorms and the Greek houses around a Homecoming theme.
This year’s theme is “Back to the Future.” But do you know what it was back in 1959 – 60 years ago?
Huckleberry Hound!
That’s right, Huckleberry Hound – one of my all-time fave-o-rite cartoon characters. Huck's TV show had gone on the air in October 1958 and turned out to be as popular with adults – especially the college crowd – as it was with kids.
This article from the September 6, 1959 Des Moines Register examines his popularity on campus.
As the article noted, Huck was going to be the theme of Ohio State’s upcoming homecoming game.
And here’s the cover of the football program, and the page spotlighting the festivities featuring Huck. Looks like Pixie (one of the two “meeces” on the show, along with Dixie) got in on the act too.
And here’s a photo from the big event, taken from a WTVN-TV Columbus promotional flyer (courtesy of yowpyowp.blogspot.com.)
And just to refresh your memory, here’s the Huckleberry Hound TV show theme, which the Ohio State Marching Band no doubt played on the football field that day. (Note that Huck isn’t even in the sequence; instead, the Kellogg’s rooster does the honors.)
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Huckleberry Hound has been spotlighted on this blog a few times, including this post when Huck was featured in a Meyer Goldberg ad; this post, from when Daws Butler (Huck’s voice) visited Elyria in 1960; this post about our Kenner Super Show Projector; and this post which shows several Huckleberry Hound Halloween masks.
Some of my earliest memories of being a kid are of watching Huckleberry Hound after dinner in the house at 1604 W. 30th Street in the early 1960s. Happy memories of a carefree time. I guess that’s why I’m still a fan of the ol’ blue hound dog.
Last month I ran a newspaper ad (above) from September 1959 for the Neisner’s store in Lorain. The ad shows a variety of toy guns designed to appeal to those kids glued to their TV sets watching the countless Westerns being shown.
To me, the ad triggered (no pun intended) thoughts of a simpler time, when kids could live out their western gun fantasies without causing fear and panic throughout their neighborhood.
On that post, I remarked how my brothers and I all had toy guns as kids, and that there were photos of my older brother Ken and me from the late 1950s/early 60s posing with our toy six shooters.
Well, I dug up the photos. They're from Christmas 1960, which means that Ken was a few days away from being three years old, and I was a couple months short of two years old. Here’s a ’split screen’ photo of us. I love the look of unbridled glee on Ken’s face.
Although I’m not wearing a holster (maybe I was going to tuck my pistols in my cuffs), I did get one for Christmas along with my guns. It was visible in the uncropped photo of Ken. The holster was sitting in its open box on the coffee table to the left of him. You can clearly see the name Hubley on it.
The box lid looked like this.
Toy guns were big business back then. Hubley produced entire catalogs of guns and holster sets. Here’s a cover and page from two catalogs.
Anyway, it was a different time that’s for sure.
Just for fun, I took a look at the collection of Harry Volk clip art from the 1950s where I work, in the Art Department of a Cleveland printing company. Sure enough, there were plenty of illustrations showing pistol-packing preteens.
Here are a few of those stock illustrations.
1955
1955
1956
1956
1958
I guess that means that Ken and I were just your average, well-armed American kids.
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UPDATE (Oct. 4, 2019)
I received an email yesterday from a regular reader, who is about my age, who has contributed some great content to the blog over the last few years. Attached was photo (below) of himself as a rootin' tootin' toddler, with cowboy hat, boots, guns, holster – and diaper! "Got you beat!" was his comment. I think he does!
Last week on my post about bowling, longtime blog contributor Dennis Thompson and I exchanged comments about the location of Andorka Lanes in Lorain. I noted the location of the bowling alley as I remembered it, on Lorain's East side, but neglected to mention that the business was originally located in South Lorain.
So as a follow-up to that post, here's a great article (above) about "Bowling Kingpin" Frank H. Andorka at the time of his passing on May 19, 1964. It's written by Journal scribe Hank Kozloski, and provides a nice history of the Andorka family's longtime contribution to bowling as a popular sport in Lorain.
As the article notes, the original Andorka's Recreation was located on 28th Street. It later moved to 2933 Vine Avenue, where it remained until the late 1950s.
The sign at the Vine Avenue location
A rare view of the lanes at the Vine Ave. location (courtesy Russell Andorka)
The final move was to a new facility at 1039 Bridge Drive. The 1958 Lorain Phone Book was the first to show Andorka at the East side address.
Here's the first Lorain phone book ad at the new location on the East side. It began running in the 1961 edition.
According to LorainBowling.com, Andorka Lanes finally closed in 1988. (Click here to visit the website, which includes a nice "History of Bowling in Lorain, Ohio" page.
The former Andorka Lanes on Bridge Drive as it looks today
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UPDATE (Feb. 19, 2020)
I received an email from Russ Andorka who sent me this nice photograph of a cherished family keepsake: a framed poster announcing "Hank Andorka's Ninth Individual Bowling Classic 1948."
Hank Andorka was Russ's father.
(If you look closely, you can see Sully Bates was one of the winners listed under '1947 Classic Winners.' )
Russ also sent me this photograph of the former Andorka's Recreation building at 2933 Vine. He noted, "Here is a photo that I took in, I think, January 1977.
"Andorka's was Puerto Rican Home starting in 1957." Russ wishes he had gotten a little closer when photographing the building. "I so regret not getting out of the car, and walking to the building," he admits. "However, I think the temperature was around 10 degrees!"
Here's another photo of the former Andorka Recreation building on Vine after it became the Puerto Rican Home. Russ notes, "A cousin sent this. It was the “Andorka” building built in 1920. The house on the corner was my grandparents, and my parents lived there too in the late 40’s. The house in between was where an uncle lived, and downstairs was a grocery at times or store."
