BROOKLYN – In the 1950s, when television watching began, people left the dining room, but still wanted to eat “properly” in a civilized way. The people of American aspiration, namely upper middle class Americans, ate at dinner tables, a habit of generations, the emblem of upward mobility and respectability. RadioMORE HERE
Seald Sweet is promoting its history for its 110th year. MORE HERE
PALMETTO – Across the U.S., there is no shortage of run-down small and medium-sized towns that used to be far more prominent than they once were. Through most of the 20th century, these towns and small cities often had regional brands connected to them, the most prolific being agricultural produceMORE HERE
NEW YORK – Sapolin was once a great decorative paint brand; like Rustoleum they specialized in unique colors for metals and uses other than walls. Here, a can that’s about 20 years old. Its main ingredients are listed as xylene and toluene. Toxic and flammable but certainly able to makeMORE HERE
Jack Tar Marine Finishes marine paint is an enduring enamel alkyd paint for marine, metal and pipes. It’s made by BLP Mobile Paints of Mobile, Alabama. Their main product is Jack Tar Yacht Deck Enamel. They also have an “olive drab” paint for skiffs. Their product sheets say that theMORE HERE
First used in 1904, Cat’s Paw is one of the great American brands. The cat, according to Hal Morgan’s book Symbols of America, was designed by Lucian Bernhard for the Cat’s Paw Company of Baltimore. Bernhard is a famed German graphic designer who is best known for the font Bernhard,MORE HERE
At home, in a sewing kit, I noticed a handy little brand many have forgotten is still around. Dritz. It’s part of the great pantheon of sewing brands, some over a century old. Brands like Singer, The McCall Pattern Company, Coats & Clark and Talon Zipper. And of course thereMORE HERE
CAMDEN – We love the odd old brands. And one brand that could have been Armor All was Whiz Hollingshead. Whiz Hollingshead made all sorts of waxes and fluids for cars, as well as other products. The company was sort of the S.C. Johnson of the East Coast; their mainMORE HERE
SARASOTA – Out on the Siesta Key beach yesterday, 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 HistoryMORE HERE
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. The Aermotor was ubiquitous across the U.S., and helped build farms across rural areas. Few realize that they are stillMORE HERE