Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

American Experience:

1931 - Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition & perjury

1947 - WW II sugar rationing finally ended in US (began May 28, 1942)

1962 - 3 convicts used spoons to dig their way out of Alcatraz

1963 - JFK signs law for equal pay for equal work for men & women

1968 - James Earl Ray, alleged assassin of Martin Luther King Jr, captured

1978 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) strikes down 148 year policy of excluding black men from priesthood

1985 - Coca Cola announces they’d bring back their 99-year-old formula

1986 - Dow Jones-index hits record 45.71 points

Movies & TV:

1948 - “Milton Berle Show” premieres on NBC TV

1953 - “Amos ‘n Andy,” last aired on CBS

1958 - “Make Me Laugh,” TV Game Show; last airs on ABC-TV

1961 - “Winston Churchill,” last airs on ABC-TV

1965 - Sonny & Cher make their 1st TV appearance, “American Bandstand”

1969 - “Smothers Brothers comedy Hour,” last airs on CBS-TV

1978 - “Grease” starring John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John opens

1981 - “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” starring Harrison Ford premieres

1981 - Tom Snyder interviews Charles Manson on “Tomorrow”

1982 - Movie “ET the Extra-Terrestrial” released (highest grossing film)

1983 - “Trading Places,” “Ghostbusters,” & “Gremlins,” premiere

Music & Radio:

1958 - “Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley hits #1

1966 - Janis Joplin’s 1st live concert (Avalon Ballroom in SF with Big Brother)

1966 - Mamas & Papas win gold record for “Monday, Monday”

1966 - “Paint It, Black” by The Rolling Stones peaks at #1

1969 - “The Ballad Of John & Yoko” by The Beatles hit #1 in UK

1970 - Beatles’ “Let It Be,” album goes #1 & stays #1 for 4 weeks

1974 - Supergroup Blind Faith’s (Clapton, Windwood, Baker) 1st concert

1977 - “I’m Your Boogie Man” by KC & Sunshine Band peaks at #1

1980 - Billy Joel’s “Glass Houses” hits #1

1984 - Cyndi Lauper’s 1st #1 “Time After Times”

Hollywood Headlines:

1977 - George & Patti Harrison divorce

1980 - Comedian Richard Pryor suffers burns from free basing cocaine

1984 - Donald Duck’s 50th birthday celebrated at Disneyland

The Arts:

1959 - Postmaster General bans D H Lawrence’s book, Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Sports:

1939 - Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown NY

1944 - Joe Nuxhall, 15, of Cincinnati Reds is the youngest player in Major League Baseball due to the World War II shortage of players and the fact that the major leagues were still segregated

1946 - Joe Louis KOs Billy Conn in 8 for heavyweight boxing title

1969 - Mickey Mantle Day, 60,096 saw #7 retired

1984 - 38th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3

1985 - 39th NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 4 games to 2

Technology & Inventions:

1932 - 1st demonstration of artificial lightning at the General Electric Laboratories in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Fanta — The Humble Beginnings of a Worldwide Phenomenon

 

There have been all kinds of stories about Fanta’s creation in Nazi Germany during WWII. Some of what has been said is true— a lot of it is not. Prior to the breakout of the war, Germany was the location of The Coca-Cola Company’s greatest overseas success. Records for sales were set year after year. By 1939 there were 43 bottling plants and more than 600 local distributors.

The German branch of The Coca-Cola Company had been run by an American-born man by the name of Ray Powers. He was killed in a car accident in 1938 and was replaced by the German-born Max Keith. As the new CEO, Keith was entrusted with all the operations for The Coca-Cola Company in all the occupied countries. During the war Keith was able to maintain a degree of contact with the Atlanta-based headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company via Switzerland, but by 1941 he was no longer able to receive Coca-Cola syrup, and was therefore unable to continue to manufacture Coca-Cola.

Keith’s solution to his ingredient shortage was to invent a new drink. It was made from what was available at the time, namely things left over from other food industries. There was whey, which was a byproduct of cheese production and apple fiber left over from cider presses. A variety of other fruit byproducts were added depending on what was available at the time. This led to the many variations in flavor that later became the different marketed flavors of Fanta. This new soft drink was sweetened with beet sugar. As CEO, Keith held a contest to name his new creation. He instructed his employees to let their “Fantasie”—German for “imaginations”—run wild. A salesman, Joe Knipp immediately blurted out “Fanta”!

The new soft drink was not only successful enough to keep the bottling plants open and the people employed for the duration of the war, but enabled Fanta to become a soft drink favorite in Europe. In 1943 there were 3 million cases of Fanta sold in Germany and the occupied countries. Evidently, not all of that quantity was purchased to drink as a refreshing soft drink, but may have been used to flavor soups and stews, due to sugar rationing.

Max Keith was not a Nazi, and never became one, as has been rumored. Although he suffered hardships as a result of his decision, he never gave into pressure to join the Nazi Party. With the success of Fanta, Keith was able to safeguard The Coca-Cola Company’s interests in Europe until after the war, when they were able to re-establish drink production almost immediately.

The Coca-Cola Company acquired rights to Fanta in 1960. Today Fanta is sold in the highest volume in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and Argentina. Fanta was originally created in an orange flavor that today accounts for 70% of all Fanta sales. Fanta is sold in 188 countries and is available in 70 flavors, although some flavors are only available in the country where they are manufactured. Fanta is the number one soft drink in Thailand, and a new flavor was just launched in Japan—Fanta Japanese Melon.

Do you have anything interesting to add to this blog? Please blog in and let us know. Also, be sure to check out the new Fanta products we have available here at Retroplanet.com.

Mary Janes Old Fashioned Candies

Remember going to the corner store and picking out penny candy to enjoy on the way home? Mary Janes, the bite sized peanut butter and molasses morsels, were always a favorite at candy counters.

The story of Mary Janes began with a small candy company started in 1884 by Charles H. Miller and his three sons. The homemade candy was manufactured and sold from a very famous building - the Paul Revere House in Boston’s North End. After the death of their father, the three sons split the responsibilities of the business, and the candy manufacturing company became known as the Charles N. Miller Company.

The most successful candies, invented in 1914, were bite sized morsels made of peanut butter and molasses and called Mary Janes, named after a favorite aunt. Several variations of these tasty morsels was tried, but none were as successful as the original recipe.

Although The Stark Candy Company bought the Miller Company, they continued the tradition of Mary Janes. In 1990 Necco bought the Stark Company, and to this day manufactures Mary Janes with the original recipe.

The Mary Jane girl is now 94 years old, and still adorns each and every wrapper on the delicious candies. She even has a collectible vinyl figure crafted in her likeness that is just as cute as can be!

Visit our website to check out the adorable Mary Jane Figure along with other famous advertising characters.

Headlines & tidbits from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

American Experience:

1944 - D-Day: 150,000 Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France

1968 - Helen Keller, blind & deaf/author (Let us Have Faith), dies at 87

1968 - Robert F Kennedy, (Sn-D-NY), assassinated in LA by Sirhan Sirhan at 42

1981 - Center of Disease Control reports a deadly new strain of pneumonia (AIDS)

Movies & TV:

1955 - Mickey Rooney Show,” TV comedy last airs on NBC

1955 - “$64,000 Question” premieres on CBS TV

1956 - “Milton Berle Show,” last airs on NBC-TV

1969 - Last episode of Star Trek airs on NBC (Turnabout Intruder)

1969 - “Johnny Cash Show,” debuts on ABC-TV

1971 - Ed Sullivan’s final TV show on CBS

1980 - 1st transmission of CNN, Cable News Network

Music & Radio:

1942 - Capitol Record Co opens for business

1949 - Dragnet is 1st broadcast on radio (KFI in Los Angeles)

1955 - Bill Haley & Comets, “Rock Around the Clock” hits #1

1961 - FM multiplex stereo broadcasting 1st heard

1964 - Rolling Stones 1st US concert tour debuts in Lynn, Mass

1965 - “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham & Pharaohs hits #2

1967 - Beatles release Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in US & goes gold

1967 - Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” reaches #1

1968 - Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson” hits #1

1975 - “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” by John Denver hits #1

1971 - The Doors had their last studio album of original material enter the top 10 this week

1975 - Elton John took his album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, to number 1 in its first week of release. No one had done this before.

Hollywood Headlines:

1949 - Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz wed for the second time

1989 - Margaret Ray pleads guilty to breaking into David Letterman’s house

Fashion & Trends

1946 - 1st bikini bathing suit displayed (Paris)

1952 - The bow tie is popular. They attained such popularity last year that their devotees continue to wear them through the winter. The trend should continue with the warmer days.

The Arts:

1972 - “Grease” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 3,388 performances

1975 - “Chicago” opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 947 performances

1981 - Maya Yang Lin wins competition to design the Vietnam War Memorial

Sports:

1941 - Lou Gehrig, 1st baseman NY Yankee, dies of ALS in Riverdale NY
He was 37 years old.

1942 - Red Sox star Ted Williams enlists as a Navy aviator

Technology & Inventions:

1947 - Photosensitive glass developed

1965 - Sony Corp introduced its home video tape recorder, priced at $995

1970 - 1st artificial gene synthesized

1977 - 1st personal computer, Apple II, goes on sale

Automobile News:

1940 - 1st synthetic rubber tire exhibited Akron Oh

Grilling Season Goes Retro

The first day of summer is approaching and with that brings summer fun.

In my neighborhood on the first warm day we had this year, having the windows open was the first treat and the sweet smell of barbeque was the second.

Nothing beats burgers and hot dogs on the grill and the perfect accessories to serve them up in retro style are our deli basket sets. These nostalgic goodies just make cook-outs and parties even better.

So fire up the grill…I’ll take a medium well cheeseburger please!

A Brief History of The Coca-Cola Company

Coca-Cola was first invented by John Stith Pemberton in 1886 as a drink meant to impart good health and stamina. Pemberton was a pharmacist from Columbus, Georgia who originally made a cocawine called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca in 1885. When prohibition laws were passed within his county, Pemberton set out to make a new, non-alcoholic drink. What he created was a pleasant tasting syrup that could be mixed with carbonated water and served at the soda fountain as a refreshing drink. He first sold this drink for five cents a glass at his establishment, Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. The average sales for the first eight months averaged nine glasses a day. Another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Griggs Candler bought into Pemberton’s company, and in the following year, Pemberton sold Candler his remaining interest in the company.

Asa Candler purchased exclusive rights to the Coca-Cola formula in 1891 and by the following year, had increased sales ten times over. Sales were going so well that Candler sold his pharmaceutical business and devoted himself fully to the success of Coca-Cola. His brother, John and Pemberton’s former partner, Frank Robinson joined Candler and together they formed The Coca-Cola Company.

The trademark “Coca-Cola” was registered in the US Patent Office on January 31, 1893. Candler continued to grow the business with aggressive advertising and distributing thousands of free drink coupons. In 1894 the popular drink was sold in bottles for the first time. Beginning in 1899, independent bottling companies were licensed to bottle the drink, a practice that is still in use today by the US soft drink industry.

In the early 1920’s Robert Woodruff, then the president of The Coca-Cola Company, demanded strict standards at soda fountains where drinks were mixed, to create a uniform, quality product. This “Quality Drink” campaign included having trained service people at the soda fountains to ensure that Coca-Cola was served correctly.

In 1926 Woodruff established the Foreign Department, which in 1930 became a subsidiary of Coca-Cola known as The Coca-Cola Export Corporation. Woodruff was determined to expand of the Coca-Cola Company internationally. Plants had already been built in France, Cuba, Panama, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam.

Woodruff introduced the revolutionary new 6-bottle cartons that made it easier to take bottles of Coca-Cola home. In 1928, sales of Coca-Cola in bottles exceeded sales at the soda fountain for the first time. In 1929 metal, top-opening coolers were created to dispense bottles of ice-cold Coca-Cola in stores and filling stations.

Automatic soda dispensers made their debut in 1933 at the Chicago World’s Fair when Coca-Cola introduced the Dole Master Dispenser. This was the first soda dispenser that was able to mix the carbonated water and cola syrup together automatically, which was then dispensed merely with a pull of the handle.

When WWII broke out, Robert Woodruff was quoted as saying that he wanted “to see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs the Company.” During the war, 64 bottling plants were constructed as close as was possible near areas of combat in N. Africa, the Pacific and Europe. Military personnel consumed more than 5 billion bottles of Coca-Cola during WWII.

In 1955 Coca-Cola was first put into cans for military personnel in Japan and the Pacific, but bottlers did not embrace this new container until 1960. The now world-famous drink was also now offered in 10-, 12- and 26-ounce bottles. The first plastic, 2-liter bottle was introduced in 1977.

The Coca-Cola Company introduced Diet Coke in 1982. This was the first extension of the Coca-Cola and Coke trademarks. In two years’ time, Diet Coke was the top-selling diet soft drink in the world.

In 1985 the formula for Cola-Cola was changed and The Coca-Cola Company released a new Coke. There was such a negative reaction to this change that the old formula was re-released within 8 months with the name Coca-Cola Classic. On July 12th of 1985, the new Coke was the first soft drink to be consumed in space, having been placed in specially designed cans just for the trip on the Space Shuttle Challenger. These containers were called the “Coca-Cola Space Can”.

Diet Coke became the first diet soft drink consumed in space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in February of 1995. This trip marked the first time soda fountain equipment was used in space.

Today, Coca-Cola produces nearly 450 brands in more than 200 countries and rates as one of the most recognizable trademarks in the world, (and possibly, out of it?).

Drive-In Theater New England Memories

Do you remember the first time you went to the drive-in theater? Back in the 70’s in our area of New England we probably had 6 or 8 of them that were close enough to get to on a Friday night. Today I think there are only 4 or 5 in all of New England.

The first time I went was in 1969. It was called The Merrimack Park Drive-In in Methuen, MA. My best friend’s mom took me and my mother to see a double bill, “True Grit” with John Wayne and “The Odd Couple” with Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau. We loaded into the Country Squire wagon and had a great old time.

When I got older my friends and I would go to the drive-in almost every weekend. It was always a good time. To save money a few of us would pile in the trunk of Dan’s car and sneak in. I swear that some nights Dan would drive in seemingly all alone. But they took the fun out of that when they starting to charge by the carload.

My sons have never been to the drive-in and I suppose, if I don’t bring them soon, they may never get a chance as drive-ins are disappearing fast. Admittedly, it’s not the best way to see a movie—bad sound, mosquitos, too hot, too cold—but it is something that should be experienced before they are all gone. Plus if you go, you get to hear those famous words interrupting the movie.

“ The concession stand is closing in five minutes. “

 

 

Blog in and let us hear some of your drive-in stories.