Millbrook Bread Ad Featuring Snoopy – May 17, 1972

Yesterday's post featured popular comic strip character Li'l Abner being used in a 1962 newspaper ad to sell Frankies wieners.

Ten years after that ad appeared in the Journal, Peanuts was now the most popular comic strip in the country. And just as Al Capp allowed his characters to be used in ads, cartoonist Charles Schulz had no problem using Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang to sell, sell, sell.

By 1972, the Peanuts specials had been on TV for seven years. Many of us that watched these original specials remember the Coca-Cola sponsorship that was worked into the opening and closing credits, as well as the animated commercials for Dolly Madison snack cakes and fruit pies.

Millbrook Bread was another longtime advertiser connected with the specials. Below is a Millbrook Bread ad featuring Snoopy that ran in the Journal back on May 17, 1972.

It's kind of funny that the ad just reproduced one of the bread wrappers as its main graphic.

Looking at the bread wrapper, I was fairly surprised to see that by 1972 Snoopy's design had already evolved into the short, squat version. I liked the mid-60s version much better (see below).

Courtesy Schulz Museum

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Charles Schulz and his popular creation have been the subject of many posts on this blog.

Frankies Ad Featuring Li'l Abner – May 23, 1962

Cartoonist Al Capp was the master when it came to merchandising his beloved comic strip Li'l Abner. 

Capp allowed his popular hillbilly characters to be used to sell everything from Cream of Wheat to laundry detergent. (Fearless Fosdick, Capp's parody of Dick Tracy and Li'l Abner's "ideel," also was featured in a series of ads for Wildroot Cream-Oil Hair Tonic.)

And here's yet another advertising campaign using the denizens of Dogpartch – this time for Superior's Frankies, the "Keener Wiener." The ad above appeared in the Lorain Journal back on May 23, 1962 – sixty years ago this month.

The ad campaign was fairly late in the strip's life, past its prime of the 40s and 50s. But apparently the folks at Superior's Frankies were still confident that Li'l Abner and his family could dee-liver the goods.

It's an entertaining ad, with Li'l Abner lying in a hammock, squirting a condiment on his Frankie using one of the very dispensers being promoted in the ad. Li'l Abner's son, "Honest Abe" Yokum is handling one as well, while curvaceous wife Daisy Mae holds a whole tray of dee-licious Frankies. 

Here are a couple of the Frankies mustard and ketchup dispensers (which I mentioned back here on this post).

Li'l Abner (my favorite comic strip) has popped up on this blog several times. Tomorrow, we'll look at another ad that appeared in the Journal in the early 1970s, using a lovable, well-known beagle to sell bread.

Superhighway's A-Coming – May 1965

Just like yesterday's post was about the coming of the new Lorain Plaza Shopping Center, today's post deals with the coming of the new "superhighway" south of Lorain. 

The above article, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on May 13, 1965 provides a very accurate description of the new limited access highway. As the article notes, "the highway, none of which is yet completed, is now known as relocated SR 254 and as SR 2. Only the section from Baumhart Rd to SR 57 is now under construction." (The SR 254 designation for the highway was apparently abandoned.)

The article very accurately describes the numbering of the new highway, something that many people are still confused about today. The article points out, "IR 90 will lead from Cleveland to the Ohio Turnpike, while SR 2 will continue on to the west. The two routes will divide south of Lorain.

"The section west from Baumhart Rd. to the now-completed Sandusky by-pass will not be finished until the early 1970's."

The building of I-90 and the relocated State Route 2 have been regular topics on this blog, with posts on "I-90 Public Hearing" (August 1964); "When I-90 Was Being Built" (August 1966); the elimination of the 'Vermilion Gap' (Jan. 1967); Amherst's "Bridge to Nowhere" over Route 2 (July 1967); the Lake Erie Expressway update (Sept. 1968); the Middle Ridge Road Exit (Feb. 1969); "Misleading SR 2 Markers (March 1969); the opening of I-90 from SR 611 to SR 83 (Nov. 1970); extending State Route 2 West From Baumhart Road (June 1971); the opening of SR 2 from Baumhart to SR 61 (August 1975).

New Lorain Plaza Shopping Center Map – May 10, 1956

Most of us that grew up on the west side of Lorain in the 1960s and 70s spent a lot of time at the Lorain Plaza Shopping Center. 

It was where our mothers bought the weekly groceries at A&P or Kroger; where she picked up the dry cleaning; where some of us banked (at the Lorain National Branch); where we first encountered a large drug store chain (Revco); where we looked at the pet turtles for sale at W. T. Grant; and even where some of us first went to the Lorain Public Library (at its branch there). 

I'm sure you have your own pleasant memories of shopping there through the years.

Anyway, back in May of 1956, the shopping center was not yet under construction. But its location was featured on a map included down at the bottom of the front page of the Lorain Journal of May 10th.

The map (created with type from a typewriter) is pretty interesting. It shows how the shopping center was perfectly located for the numbered streets off Oberlin Avenue that were there at that time, as well as the many more to come in the next few years as farmland turned into developments.

Note that the football stadium (not yet renamed George Daniel Field) was still called Recreation Field. 

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Above the map is a story of the continuation of the Beaver Creek legal fracas.

Crystal Beach Roller Coaster Article – May 1951

Proper maintenance of amusement park rides has long been a safety concern. Just as Cedar Point in Sandusky makes it a priority today, Crystal Beach in Vermilion did more than seventy years ago.

The article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on May 5, 1951 provides a nice glimpse of the work involved in removing rust from the roller coaster at Crystal Beach.

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Rust Removing Crew Works To Ready Big Vermilion Coaster

Tour Hard Work On First Trip

By ROBERT TATE

Ever wonder – as you took your stomach on a two-minute tear on a roller coaster – how it would be to get out and walk and push the one - ton car up one of those deep tips?

Three men were doing that yesterday afternoon at Crystal Beach Amusement park, Vermilion.

RUST BATTLES RUST ON GIANT COASTER

Every year about this time, Rust battles rust on the big coaster, 11 miles west of Lorain.

It's Henry Rust, the man in charge of the dipsy doodle speedway in the sky, who attacks the red rust on the strip metal tracks.

Because of the rust, the six-passenger coaster cars can rarely get around the nearly half-mile circuit on the first attempt each spring.

To get everything ready for the first night of thrills tomorrow, Rust enlisted Paul Ries, Vermilion, shooting gallery operator, and James Ryan, Crystal Beach's manager, to help.

Equipped with oil cans, the trio rode a single car up the first incline. At the top, the cable released the car for what is normally a gravity-powered dash up, down and around to the starting point.

But with rust dragging at the under wheels and side wheels which prevent sway by pressing against side boards, the car slowed to a stop half-way up two dips. Each time safety locks caught the car and the Big Push was on.

Over the top, the men dived back aboard like sailors scrambling into a lifeboat.

To keep up speed on the easy slopes, they pushed with one leg like kids on a giant scooter. Three times the journey was made before the oiling and rust-wearing was done.

Ryan, who lives at 1202 Hawthorne-av, and is safety director of Lorain, said the highest point is 60 feet.

"In the dips, they reach a speed of 70 m.p.h.," he said. That's considerably faster than Ryan's policemen will permit motorists to drive on city streets.

"There is absolutely no danger as long as everyone sits down and keeps his safety belt strapped," Ryan went on. He said the only bad accident in 26 years came when a boy stood up.

The coaster gets faster as the season progresses. Tomorrow night the ride will take two and a half minutes, elapsed time. Later on it will require just one minute, 55 seconds. Both times include one minute towing to get to the top.

After the season closes in the fall, and until winter sets in, Rust inspects and repairs the man-made forest of timbers. He and his family live inside the roller coaster jungle in a small house.

"We use only Alabama long leaf pine with very few knots," commented Ryan. "Wood that we remove is used elsewhere around the park. It's still good."

As far as the skimpy coat of paint on the structure, he explained that, altho customers have more confidence in pretty, heavily-painted framework, insurance inspectors frown on it. They don't want possible defects covered up.

Cedar Point Space Spiral Ad – May 1965

When Cedar Point opened for its 1965 season, in many ways it must have seemed like an all-new park to parkgoers who hadn't been there for a while.

New attractions that year included the San Francisco Earthquake ride, Turnpike Cars, Jungle Larry's Safari Island and the Space Spiral.

Here's the article from the August 1, 1964 Journal announcing the construction of the Space Spiral (here called the Space Tower) for the 1965 season.

The ad at the top of this post, touting $2,200,000 in improvements at the park, ran in the Lorain Journal on May 17, 1965. It also mentions the Cedar Point Playhouse and 'Fascinating Building," which I suspect is the one housing the Fascination game.

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Visit this website to read an article about some of the rides (including all of the ones mentioned above as new in 1965) that are no longer at Cedar Point.

And don't forget to visit some of my old posts about Cedar Point. (There's thirty of them!)

Watching for Rum Runners on Lake Erie – May 1920

Rum-running – the illegal smuggling of alcohol beverages ashore or across a border – is one of the colorful legacies of the cities located on the south shore of Lake Erie, such as Lorain and Avon Lake. Here's an interesting newspaper account of it that appeared in the Lorain Times-Herald of May 25, 1920 on its front page.

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POLICE WATCH RUM RUNNERS ON LAKE ERIE

Search Canadian Steamer When Reports of Smuggled Whiskey Are Received

Reports of rum runners operating from Canadian shores to Lorain harbor have kept police and U. S. custom officers busy here since Sunday, it was learned today.

Police received a tip Sunday that the Key Bell, Canadian steamer, booked here for coal, landed in port with a cargo of whiskey alleged to have been smuggled from Canada for distribution here.

Lieut. Pat Ryan and Officer Kist were detailed to the case after U. S. Customs Officer Harry Groene had been notified.

Board Vessel

Groene, Lieut. Ryan and Kist made a thorough search of the steamer. They were unable to find any liquor outside of the allowance which captains of Canadian steamers are permitted to carry, police said.

The "tip" received at police headquarters said that the boat had arrived with its cargo of whiskey which was being hauled in trucks from the docks to distribution centers in three or four different sections of the city.

Following the search of the boat, which revealed nothing, the officers visited several places in the city where it was reported the whisky had been taken.

A search of these houses revealed nothing more, officers said.

Police today said the nearest they could come to the solution was evidence which told of one of the sailors carrying a suitcase full of liquor ashore from the boat, unknown to the ship's officers.

This, police believed, was being boot-legged through the city.

Groene Discredits

"If any liquor has been smuggled into Lorain, it has not come in over the boats," said Customs Officer Groene today. "Deputy officers and myself have kept a close watch night and day on all incoming vessels."

"There'll be no whiskey smuggled in here via the lake route," added Groene. "If it comes in at all it will be by the overland route over which we have no jurisdiction."

Police discredited the rumor circulated today that whiskey was being shipped into the city and hauled through the main thoroughfares by the truck load.

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Elsewhere on that same front page are several items of interest, including a raid on the farm of Frank Lachmeyer, Stop 112 L. S. E. which resulted in the confiscation of a still and "a quantity of raisin jack whisky" by the Sheriff and the Lorain Police Department; a proposal to build a clubhouse of the Lorain Powerboat Club on the lakefront east of Black River; the demolition of a fortune teller's tent by young boys; the inability of the city of Lorain to pay city employees, causing many of then to quit their jobs and seek new positions; the passing of 95-year-old Thomas O'Brien, originally from County Cork, Ireland, who had been a resident of the city for more than 50 years; and an update on shooting victim Stanley Jacoboski (whose sad tale was included in local author Don Hilton's book Murders, Mysteries and History of Lorain County, Ohio 1824 - 1956.