1960 Woolworth’s and W. T. Grant Halloween Ads

Well, it’s Halloween – so it’s time for my annual look back at what costumes kids were wearing for trick-or-treat. This year we’ll take a look at 1960.

As you can see from the Woolworth’s ad above, which ran in the Lorain Journal about a week before Halloween, TV cartoons were now the big thing, although a few classics were still in the mix of “spooky and gay(!)” costumes.

Whoever illustrated the ad did a nice job of presenting the various costumes in a creative fashion. Besides popular favorites Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear, we see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Felix the Cat, Heckle (or is it Jeckle?), and Dennis the Menace.

Speaking of Dennis, his mask makes him look like he has a bad case of the measles.

I like the way a few kids in the Woolworth's illustration have already taken off their masks, as if they were tired of wearing them. And the kid wearing the Felix costume seems to be channeling a real backyard cat.

Classic costumes shown include a witch and a devil. There’s a bat costume as well, which the ad helpfully identifies as Belfry.

W.T. Grant ran an ad in the Journal about the same time featuring many of the same costumes. The store’s line-up included Superman, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Porky Pig and my least favorite cartoon character, Tweetie Pie.

I feel sorry for any kid that had to go as that masked bunny.

But what I’d like to know is: what is that kid supposed to be that's wearing a helmet with two hoses attached to his nose? He seems to be wearing goggles, and the helmet might have an eagle on it.

I’ve Googled it to death and reviewed dozens of vintage masks, but I can’t come up with a match. Anybody got any ideas?

Anyway, Happy Halloween!

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UPDATE (November 1, 2016)
As you can see by one of the comments below, an anonymous contributor identified my mystery costume as being pretty much the same one depicted as the generic "Spaceman Rocket Commander" in a 1958 Kresge ad that I posted last week (shown below).

In my defense, the 1960 rendering wasn't the best; the little boy in the W.T. Grant ad looked more like a space bulldog with jowls to me.

Here's a photo of a somewhat similar costume on an actual kid (courtesy of David Eppen's Library on the Photobucket website).  

Old Log Cabin Whiskey Ad – October 24, 1949

From Whiskeyville to whiskey…

One thing that I’ve noticed when scanning countless rolls of newspaper microfilm at the library is the preponderance of national liquor ads in the Lorain Journal in the 40s and 50s. I’m sure the Journal enjoyed the advertising sales.

I don’t know if people drank more at home back then or not. Maybe it’s high time I had a highball when I get home from work.

The ad above, which ran in the paper on October 24, 1949, is for a bourbon whiskey brand that I’d never heard of before: Old Log Cabin. It features a cute little squirrel.

Hey, there was a squirrel ad in this nutty campaign for PM Blended Whiskey that same year (which I wrote about here).

Anyway, I couldn’t find another Old Log Cabin whiskey ad online, making the Journal one a rarity. I did find some for Old Crow, Old Stagg, Old Quaker, Old Taylor, Old Cabin Still and Old Fitzgerald, though.

While I couldn’t find any old ads, I noticed that there are plenty of empty Old Log Cabin bottles for sale. Amazingly, the Old Log Cabin brand is still around today (but without any animal mascots). You can visit its website here.

Fire Destroys Midway Tavern – October 1933

In August, I did a post on the 1941 demolition of the Beebe Tavern, a former stage coach inn in Elyria. Well, here’s the story of the loss of another landmark from stagecoach days – the Whiskeyville Midway Tavern. The story of the fire that destroyed it ran on the front page of the Lorain Journal on October 6, 1933.

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Fire Destroys 100-year-old Midway Tavern
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FIVE FLEE FLAMES IN LANDMARK
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Hostelry of Stage-Coach Days Burns to Ground at ‘Whiskeyville’
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$4,000 DAMAGE
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Family Makes Escape by Climbing From Second Story Porch

Fire early this morning destroyed one of the few remaining Lorain-co landmarks of the historic stage-coach days – the Whiskeyville Midway Tavern.

The tavern, located at the intersection of Oberlin and Telegraph-rds, eight miles south of Lorain, at daylight today was but a mound of ashes and debris. Fire of underdetermined origin started in the lower floor of the building at 3 a.m.

Harold Wallace, operator of the structure which was remodeled into a modern inn in 1916, his wife, two sons and a girl employed at the Tavern, narrowly escaped in their night clothing. They were forced to descend from a second story porch to escape with their lives, according to deputy sheriffs.

Escape Thru Window
They were all asleep in the building when the blaze was discovered, and smokes and flames cut off their exit except from a window over the porch.

Neighboring farmers and the Amherst fire department, under Ed Menz, assistant chief, fought the flames in vain. The only water available was from a well and it was pumped dry within five minutes.

The garage on the property caught fire, but was saved. Flames spread to the Kline gasoline station and general store across the road, but volunteer firemen extinguished the blaze without much damage.

The clothing and all possessions of the Wallaces, excepting a rocking chair and a small stand, were destroyed.

The Tavern was more than 100 years old and was used in the stage coach days as an over-night stop between Cleveland and Toledo.

Inn on Stage-Coach Line
Mrs. Burt Galloway, 325 North-st, Elyria is the owner of the property. She says the building was used as an inn on the Pittsburgh stage-coach line. She had it remodeled when she bought it in 1916.

Wallace, who formerly lived in Oberlin, had been operating the tavern since September, 1932.

A group of men from an ice cream firm in Bellevue had a party at the tavern last night but they had left the place a long time before the fire was discovered.

Sheriff Clarence Dick today summoned a state fire marshall to investigate the blaze. Damage was estimated at $4,000.

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Also on the same front page were some interesting items. The Nickel Plate railroad agreed to install flasher signals in Lorain at the Leavitt Road crossing; the removal of two bends in the Black River south of the Nickel Plate bridge was planned. Most interesting of all was an upcoming special election would result in the secession of the southern half of Sheffield Lake Village, eventually leading to the creation of two separate communities: Sheffield Lake and Sheffield Village.

Kmart Ad – October 3, 1966

It was 50 years ago this month that the above ad for Kmart, “America’s Fastest Growing Discount Department Store” ran in the Lorain Journal on October 3, 1966.

And here's the full-page ad that ran in the Journal on November 3 to promote the upcoming opening on November 10th.

Back then, there was only the Kmart on Fairless Drive in South Lorain. (It was actually the first Kmart in Ohio, according to an article in the December 31, 1966 Chronicle-Telegram.) Later, there would be the store in the Amherst shopping center, and still later the Super Kmart on Leavitt Road.

The Kmart name was first rolled out in 1962.

Of course, there had long been the predecessor Kresge stores in the Lorain area. Here's a 1954 view of the Downtown Lorain store.

And here are a few Lorain Kresge ads for old time's sake.

October 1958 ad from Lorain Journal

June 1, 1960 ad from Lorain Journal

October 1966 ad from Lorain Journal

Sadly, the Super Kmart on Leavitt Road – my mother’s favorite store – is finally closed for good, bringing an end to decades of a shopping tradition in Lorain County.

If you’re a fan of Kmart, the nearest one now is in Cleveland, located at 14901 Lorain Road.

Surprisingly, the chain is still the third largest big box chain in the United States, behind Walmart and Target (the two local competitors to the Leavitt Road store).

The closed Lorain store this past weekend
(Photo taken with a LG Sunset Tracfone)

Muir Cut-Rate Drug Store Ad – October 19, 1949

October 19, 1949 ad from the Lorain Journal

Many of us fondly remember Lorain’s great family-owned drug stores, such as Whalen’s and National Pharmacy.

Detail from a July 4, 1949
Lorain Journal ad

But decades before Discount Drug Mart and Revco came to town, Lorain had an outlet for a large regional chain that is largely forgotten today: Muir’s Cut-Rate Drugs.

The chain was based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Its listing (as the Muir Co.) first appeared in the Lorain City Directory in the early 1920s, located at 552 Broadway. Some time in the late 1940s, it moved to 362 Broadway. By the 1950s it was located at 758 Broadway.

Its Lorain directory listing finally disappeared beginning with the 1965 edition.

One of Muir's Lorain store managers went on to be become famous. The manager listed in the 1947 Lorain City Directory was none other than Larry E. Tetzlaff. Of course, you know him as Jungle Larry.

1947 Lorain City Directory Listing

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A nice capsule history of the Muir chain was provided in an ad that ran in the Sandusky Register on September 14, 1966.

Vintage Muir pill box

The ad copy read, "We opened our first Muir Drug Store in 1922 on the premise, that top quality famous-name brands, if offered at extra low prices, would sell in large enough volume to justify our operating at a lower-than-normal margin of profit. That premise has proven to be correct.

"Since that modest beginning over 40 years ago, Muir Drug Stores have grown and grown in number and size and spread throughout the Middle West until today Muir's is one of the largest, fastest- growing and most respected drug chains in America.”

Strangely enough, it was about that time Muir had abandoned the Lorain market. But although the chain is largely forgotten in our area, it managed to survive until the mid-1980s.

The 24-unit Muir Drug Store chain was acquired by Rite Aid in June 1984.

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One of the amusing aspects of Muir advertising is their mascot: the stereotypical Thrifty Scot.

Early appearances show him as a small silhouetted figure, such as seen on the vintage pill box above. But as time went on, he became more prominent in the ads until he became the smiling, friendly face of the company.

He was even featured on service pins given to company employees.

Today of course, using “Scottish thrift” in advertising is recognized as an unflattering and silly stereotype. 

Welcome to Lorain Sign – October 1949

Here’s a nice photo of the impressive sign that the Lorain Chamber of Commerce erected where State Route 611 meets West Lake Road (U. S. Route 6) at the undercut. The photo ran in the Lorain Journal on October 28, 1949.

The Welcome sign in Sheffield Lake

It was one of two “Welcome” signs erected by the Chamber at the eastern and western approaches to the city.

The other one (at right) was located well inside the Sheffield Lake city limits, rather than being erected near Root Road. This resulted in a controversy in November 1950 (which I wrote about here).

Anyway, the signs provided a nice snapshot of the city’s industrial strength at that time. American Ship Building, National Tube and the Lorain Telephone Company get featured billing.

The various fraternal groups and their meeting times and locations are also posted, with the Pueblo and the Antlers Hotel doing the hosting duties.

I think these signs are still a good marketing idea in the 2000s. They’re the only chance a city has to establish an identity and impression of their own choice with motoring visitors.

How about it, Lorain?

Manners Perch Dinner Ad – October 4, 1966

It's Friday! To many people, that means it's time for a fish dinner, perhaps a visit to American Slovak Home in Lorain, home of the best local fish fry.

Well, back in October 1966, another option was a trip to Manner's Big Boy Restaurants for their perch dinner.

As the ad copy says, dinner included Tasty Golden Brown Fresh Lake Erie Perch, French Fried Potatoes, Country Cream Slaw and a Freshly Baked Roll & Butter. Nice, light fare.

I wonder if Big Boy Restaurants could get away with using the word 'Whopper' in an ad today?

Anyway, at that point in 1966, Lorain had three Manners: at Leavitt and W. Lake Road (West Erie Avenue); Oberlin Avenue & Foster Park W. (Route 254); and Henderson Drive. Elyria's Manner's was at 146 Bridge Street.

The announcement that one would be built on Route 254 near Route 57 had just occurred that August.

Manners and Big Boy have been favorite topics on this blog since 2011.

The Big Boy mascot was in the news earlier this year, when he received an (ugh) makeover.

But I still prefer the original Manners version, the one familiar to Northeast Ohio fans of the double decker burger.