SARASOTA – Out on the Siesta Key beach yesterday, we saw that employees of Sarasota County’s Parks and Recreation Department were handing out race pennants that they were keeping in a Votomatic ballot box. The Votomatic became famous after the 2000 Presidential election in Florida, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has early [...]

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SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – They were, and are, icons of America. The windmill, specifically the Aermotor windmill. Pictured at right, an Aermotor windmill tail in a museum in Palmetto, Florida. All of us know the iconic Aermotor, though maybe not by name. Even fewer still realize that they are still made. The company has been [...]

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LINCOLN, Nebraska – Made in America? Bright colors? Simple to repair? Low tech? This week, we saw a beautifully restored Cushman Scooter, and we wondered. In this time of economic challenge, is there a market for a cheap, good looking scooter? Not some overly done number, but a stylish ….. Cushman? Yes, there is a [...]

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Lovin’ that Tasty Shoe Peg! For generations, white sweet corn was a staple of the Delmarva and East Coast. And one of the great brands was Mitchell’s Whole Kernel Fancy White Sweet Corn, made by Hanover Foods of Hanover, Pennsylvania. We found a can on the shelves, but we didn’t know if it was still [...]

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I recently became aware that a longtime heritage brand, Colgate Shave Cream, manufactured by a heritage company has been discontinued. This leaves them with only the Mennen aftershave lines Afta and Skin Bracer. Colgate-Palmolive continues to produce tubes of Palmolive shave cream in several foreign markets.The traditional aerosol shave creams (not the newer gels) have really [...]

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Move from Beverly Hills Hurts Hilton Mystique BEVERLY HILLS – Hilton Hotels Corp. announced Wednesday, Jan. 21 that it would move its headquarters from Beverly Hills to the Washington D.C. area, either the Maryland or Virginia suburbs. As a former Virginian who would love to see Hilton in the Commonwealth, I still think it is [...]

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SILOAM SPRINGS, ARKANSAS – We ran across The Allens Sunshine Seasoned Southern Style Collard Greens at our local Publix. Turns out this is a great, family company based in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and they have a great  history. The company was founded by Earl Allen, who started working in canning in 1923 near Siloam, Arkansas. [...]

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We were curious about Old Dutch Cleanser; it was one of the most recognizable trademarks of the early 20th century consumer product era. Old Dutch, along with Comet and Bon Ami, was one of the big brands of pumice-based kitchen cleaners; its railcars were even featured on Tyco and Lionel trains as late as the [...]

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KANSAS CITY – It started at a wedding reception in Kansas City, Missouri in 1945. Walter Bogdon rolled hard candy into sticks, and then decided to dump them into chocolate. Thus was born Bogdon’s Reception Stick. Many other products of the Bogdon Candy Company Inc. have since been introduced including Mint Double Dips (a spun [...]

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NOTTING HILL – Those visiting the famed Portobello Road market in London ought to take time and visit the nearby Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. This museum tells the story of brand names in the U.K. with a collection of half a million items, including candy, appliances, food and fashions. The museum is laid [...]

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