Old Quaker Bourbon Ad – March 25, 1963

I mentioned several times on this blog how the Lorain Journal used to run ads for hard liquor almost every day in the 1940s and 50s, in addition to daily beer ads. You would think that the average Lorainite had a major drinking problem.

The daily parade of booze ads finally began to taper off in the mid-to-late 1960s.

But in 1963, the national and regional distilleries were still doing their best to get Journal readers to have a snort, judging by the ad below for Old Quaker Bourbon. It ran in the paper on March 25, 1963.

I find the ad interesting, because it employs the image of a Quaker to promote bourbon exactly as Quaker Oats does to promote its oatmeal. The Old Quaker mascot looks pretty happy, much more enthusiastic than his lookalike on the breakfast porridge package.

Ironically, for years actual Quakers practiced teetotalism. I understand that's not the case today; drinking is discouraged, but allowed in moderation. (I'm assuming they can eat all the oatmeal they want.)

Anyway, Old Quaker Bourbon bottles are pretty ubiquitous on eBay as well as other online sources. In fact, it was fairly easy to find pretty much the exact bottle.

At least I didn't have to hit some Lorain garage sales to find one.

One of the Old Quaker advertising gimmicks was the inclusion of the age of the bourbon right on the bottle in big letters, such as "THIS WHISKEY IS 4 YEARS OLD." As the Journal ad notes, Old Quaker had just added "Two Extra Years of Aging... At No Extra Cost!"

Exciting news for local boozehounds, no doubt.

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I've posted a lot of whiskey ads on this blog, including these for Old Log Cabin Whiskey, PM Blended Whiskey, Schenley, and Corby's.

On Area Movie Screens – March 23, 1963

Sixty years ago there was a veritable smorgasbord of movie fare on area screens, with something to satisfy everyone's taste. Above is the movie page from the Lorain Journal of March 23, 1963.

Although it was only a few days into Spring, the drive-ins were open. Over at the Lorain Drive-in, a cinematic blood bath was taking place with a trio of old Dracula movies: Blood of Dracula (1957), Brides of Dracula (1960) and Horror of Dracula. If that wasn't enough to lure them in, according to the ad there was a "free gift worth 95 cents to each car."

At the Tower Drive-in (with its in-car heaters), Jimmy Stewart was taking a vacation from his normal movie roles by starring in the comedy Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) along with Maureen O'Hara.

Other family-friendly fare included the bloated comedy Son of Flubber, playing at both Amherst Theatre and Avon Lake Theater.

The Courtship of Eddie's Father starring Glenn Ford was at the Ohio. It sure looks different than the version with Bill Bixby that was on TV. Hey, the movie version had Ron "Opie" Howard as Eddie!

If racy movie fare was your thing, there was The Bellboy and the Playgirls featuring June Wilkinson at the Palace. Somehow I suspect that Francis Ford Coppola wouldn't mind crossing this flick off his cinematic resume.

And lastly, if Westerns are your thing (that's me), then there was one at the Tivoli with a gimmick. Young Guns of Texas (1962), starred the offspring of several famous movie leading men. There was Jody McCrea (son of my favorite Joel McCrea); James Mitchum (son of Robert Mitchum); and Alana Ladd (daughter of Alan Ladd).

Hey, want to check out the movie right now, pardner? Just grab yourself a tin cup of hot coffee, a big ol' plate of beans and watch it below online on YouTube!

Puss 'n Boots Ad – March 20, 1963

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

We had neither in our house when I was a kid. I think it was because my mother had her hands full raising four kids and didn't want to add an animal to the mix. I did have a goldfish ('Frank' was his name during his too-brief life on Earth) and a hamster (Rufus).

The cats came later, when my older brother Ken brought a kitten home from the steel mill – in his lunch box. When Ken joined the Army a few years later, 'Kitty' became my parents' beloved cat. After that, all of the Bradys seemed to have cats; I brought one home from my workplace in Cleveland as well, and there have been three cats since then.

Anyway, the Journal used to carry a lot of national ads, including pet food ads. Below is an ad that ran in the paper back on March 20, 1963 – sixty years ago today – for Puss n' Boots Cat Food .

Lorain Journal ad – March 20, 1963

So what was the story behind the Puss 'n Boots cat food? 

Here's an advertising article that I wrote back in the early 2000s for the HKM Grapevine that tells the tale. The second Shrek movie featuring the Puss in Boots character had just come out at that time.

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The Nine Lives of Puss ’n Boots® Cat Food

By Dan Brady

One of the highlights of the newer Shrek films for me was the addition of Puss in Boots to the cast. The suave cat stole the show with his swashbuckling antics and proved to be so popular with audiences that he will reportedly star in his own spin-off film. Although fans of this feline may not realize it, there has been a cat food called Puss ’n Boots® since 1934. The story of this cat food may seem a little fishy, but it has a happy ending anyway.

According to the book Brands, Trademarks and Good Will by Arthur F. Marquette, Puss ’n Boots cat food started out as a dog food! Coast Fishing Company in Los Angeles had created a dog food made entirely of fish and named it “Balto” after the famous Husky sled dog. Despite the product’s name, it was more popular with cat owners than dog owners. So Balto was renamed Puss ’n Boots and marketed as the first canned cat food.

The can’s label featured a charming illustration of the boot-clad fairy tale cat carrying his belongings (including a can of Puss’ n Boots cat food) on a hobo stick. It is interesting that the literary Puss in Boots, unlike the Shrek movies’ sword-wielding cat, was a clever conniver who made his master rich through a series of schemes designed to curry favor with the king.

In the early 1950s, the Quaker Oats Company attempted to create its own cat food to compete with Puss ’n Boots, which by that time was America’s largest selling cat food. Much to Quaker Oats’ frustration, taste tests showed repeatedly that cats still preferred Puss ’n Boots to any new culinary creations from its kitchens! Eventually Quaker Oats gave up and bought the Coast Fishing Company, adding Puss ’n Boots to its product line. (Quaker Oats already had the leading canned dog food, having bought the manufacturer of Ken-L-Ration back in the early 1940s.)

During the 1950s, Quaker Oats promoted Puss ’n Boots cat food with full color magazine ads. The ads touted the product’s nutritional benefits and featured beautiful cat photography, as well as testimonials from happy cat owners. Perhaps in response to increased competition from other brands, during the mid-1960s the Puss ’n Boots label was redesigned to look more modern. The fairy tale cat mascot was greatly reduced in size before eventually being relegated to a tiny spot on the back of the can.

Eventually Quaker Oats decided to get out of the pet food industry, and the Puss ’n Boots brand was sold to the H.J. Heinz Company during the 1980s. In 2002, Puss ’n Boots became part of Del Monte Foods Company when Del Monte and Heinz merged, joining other cat food brands including 9-Lives® and Kozy Kitten®. According to the Del Monte website, Puss ’n Boots is still produced at the Bloomsburg, PA cannery.

Today, Puss ’n Boots is in very limited national distribution according to a recent email inquiry to Del Monte Foods Consumer Affairs. Recently I found a bag of Puss ’n Boots Choice Blend Dry Cat Food at a local Apples grocery store and was pleased to see that the advertising has returned to its fairy tale roots with a handsome new rendering of Puss in Boots adorning the package. Although this cat may not resemble the debonair movie character, it is still great to see the ‘star’ of the original canned cat food back in the spotlight more than 70 years after his debut.

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Since the above article was first published back around 2005, Puss 'n Boots Cat Food has been discontinued. In 2011, there was an attempt by a company called Retrobrands U.S.A to revive it (presumably to cash in on the popularity of the movie franchise) but this ploy was apparently ignored by a finicky public. 

And as for the sword-wielding Puss in Boots, he has continued to star in his own popular film series, most recently in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

Oberlin Inn St. Patrick's Day Ad – March 1973

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Are you having corned beef today? Fifty years ago, you might have decided to celebrate with a special meal at Oberlin Inn, with its famous Buffet, "the Best Buy in the County." The above ad ran in the Journal back on March 15, 1973.

Of course, you won't be chowing down on corned beef at Oberlin Inn today. It was torn down in 2016 (which I documented in this 3-part series here, here and here) and replaced by the much swankier and modern The Hotel at Oberlin.

St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated on this blog almost every year since I began writing it back in 2009. And I devoted one post to my Irish heritage, and another to good ol' corned beef in a can.

Downtown Lorain St. Patrick Day Ads – March 1963

In honor of St. Patrick's Day on Friday, here's a full page of ads from the Journal of March 15, 1963 with that theme, promoting Downtown Lorain stores. Participating stores included the Style Center, Ted Jacobs, Penney's, Kline's, Ohio Edison, Smith & Gerhart, Jupiter Discount Store, Harry's Men's Wear, Lee Furniture, Sears, Lorain Hardware, Bear's, Allen's Shoes, Sylvester Drugs, Bazley's, McKee's Shoes, Skylite Bar, and Jax.

It's odd realizing that every single one of the local stores is long gone. 

Even the national stores that once had a presence in Downtown Lorain are in sad shape, with Sears having dwindled down to about forty stores in the whole country. JCPenney is trying to make a comeback, and still has 670 stores. (And to think that we used to order a lot of things out of both companies' catalogs.)

The ads are a grab bag of generic sales items, with few illustrations to show what's exactly being promoted. The Jupiter Discount ad, however, includes a photo of the Hy-Fry Cooker Fryer. (You can pick one up on eBay fairly easily for about thirty bucks.

The only real St. Patrick's Day deals are Green Ties ($1.50) and Green Sox ($1.00) at Harry's Men's Wear, and Corned Beef for 39 cents a pound at Bazley's.

The one thing that caught my eye was the small logo for Red Goose Shoes. 

It's interesting remembering how shoes used to be marketed to kids, with brands like Red Goose as well as Buster Brown and his dog Tige.

I remember seeing this kind of sign in shoes stores when I was a kid and thinking that Buster looked strange, with his hat and bangs. Buster's dog was kind of bizarre too, with his toothy grin.

Waiting for a Sign – Part 2

Note Fazio's at the far left end of the shopping center
(Photo courtesy of David Howat)

A 2016 view of the shopping center

In March 2021, the former Westgate Shopping Center in Lorain had been sold again. Would this help or hinder David Howat in his effort to salvage an old Fazio's sign in the shuttered store?

"I had read that the shopping center had been sold," said David in an email to me.  "Your blog highlighted the fact that the old Grant's store was being demolished, so I took a trip over there."

"I stopped by Westgate today to get some pictures, and was lucky enough to be able to talk to the new owner, Yaser Etayem and find out what his plans are for the old place," said David. "The first thing that I did was thank him for doing what he’s doing, but I immediately told him that I’d love to have that old Fazio's sign that’s still in the store.

"He told me that as soon as he gets the keys, he’s going to call me and let me in to get that sign – which totally made my day! Unfortunately, I never heard a word from him and I began to lose hope again."

"In September, I heard about all of the work that was being done on at the shopping center, so I took a drive over to investigate for myself. By luck, the owner was there and I approached him about the sign again.  He told me that I could have it, but he never made any offer as to when I could come get it. 

The months ticked by and soon the year 2022 was almost halfway over – with David still hanging in there.

In June 2022, David noted in an email to me, "It's been a while since I've been in touch, so I wanted to bring you up to date on what's happening. As of today, I still haven't heard anything back from him yet, but I haven't lost hope, and still have faith that I will. 

"I was in Lorain yesterday, so I stopped by for a quick look. As luck would have it, I was able to get a clear view of the sign that I want. 

"Luckily, there happens to be two, but one isn't in the greatest shape. They're not so much a sign as they are decals, but I am still hoping that the owner will allow me to get at least one of them and I'll be very happy!  

"The entrance to the Fazio's store is unboarded, and you can clearly see inside. What a spooky, scary sight! If I can remember correctly, I think that the whole chain closed in 1988 and that store remained vacant ever since.  

Once again, David was beginning to lose hope that he would ever get that sign. Then, in the beginning of December of 2022, he again paid a visit to the shopping center. 

"By luck, Yaser was there, and we had a great conversation," said David. "He was telling me about everything that has had done to the shopping center, and how much money he has already put into the place.  

"The Fazio's store entrance door, which has been boarded up since 1988, had been uncovered and there was access to the store. When I asked him if he would allow me to have the sign, he said, "The door is open, go get the sign!" 

"After years and years of wanting, my weird dream was going to become a reality. I got the cordless saw out and went to work. He even came to help me cut the sign out and the rest is history. I thanked him for his generosity, and we talked briefly in the abandoned store. We had a great talk and I got my sign."

So why did David want the sign in the first place? Oddly enough, he pointed out that his mother didn't even shop there, preferring the Pick n Pay on the east side because it gave Eagle Stamps. But his great aunt and uncle shopped at the Fazio's at Westgate regularly, so that was probably one of the reasons he wanted it. 

David summed up his philosophy very simply. "I don't know if it's a good or bad thing, but I am very sentimental and I try to hold onto memories as long as I can. The memories I have – from shopping at Pick n Pay in the 70's with Mom as a little kid, to spending the whole day at Midway Mall – will be things that I will always cherish."

David never gave up. He was rewarded for his patience and faith in the goodness and generosity of others. Today, the framed Fazio's sign occupies a special place on the wall of his home.

Framing by Burning River Boutique in Vermilion, Ohio

Special thanks to David Howat for sharing his story.

Waiting for a Sign – Part 1

One of the best things about doing this blog is that I’ve met a lot of nice people with a similar affection for local history. Many of them have fond memories of growing up in Lorain County, which they’ve shared with me via email. 

Sometimes a memory, however, just isn’t enough. Often a reader embarks on a personal mission to find an old photograph or piece of memorabilia of something that no longer exists (which isn’t easy).  

One of these nice people is David Howat. You might remember from a past blog post that his quest is to find photographs of the Midway Mall Woolworth’s and its Harvest House cafeteria, as well as locate former employees. 

David has had another ongoing project for the last ten years that recently came to an end. But in this case, he wasn't searching for something; he could see it – behind a locked door, beyond his grasp. 

So what's the story?

“About 10 years ago, retail photographer Nicholas Eckhart did a blog on Flickr and had some photos featuring Westgate Shopping Center," said David. "I was instantly intrigued.

“He had some photos of the old Fazio's store and a picture of this sign." It was inside, near the entrance to the store.

"From that point on, I was determined to do what I needed to do to get that sign.  

"I did internet searches to try and find the owner and I was able to find the owner who was in Ashtabula. 

"After numerous emails, phone calls and even a letter via U. S. mail, I never got a response – so I had given up," explained David.

During this time, the shopping center was still trying to attract new tenants, especially since the Family Dollar store had moved out.

"When the 'Bargain Bargain Bargain' store was open on the east side of the shopping center, I stopped there one day when they were open," said David. "I had a nice chat with the gentleman that was working there. 

"By luck, he was friends with the owner and I expressed my interest in acquiring the old Fazio's sign. He said that he would relay my interest to the owner, but I knew that nothing would transpire from it. This was during the point where the owner and the city were battling with each other [see below] so I took it for face value."

  

"Nothing would come from it – and I was right."

But the story's not over yet. 

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Fazio's was the successor to Fisher Fazio, which itself was predated by Fisher Foods. Fisher Foods had a long history in Lorain dating back decades; it was also an original tenant of Westgate Shopping Center when it opened in 1958. By the late 1960s, however, after a merger it had become Fisher Fazio.

But by the 1980s, it was just Fazio's. And David wanted to preserve that Fazio's sign representing a piece of Lorain grocery store history.

Tomorrow: Hand me that hacksaw.