Die-hard Coffee Drinkers Beware

Postum is a roasted wheat bran and molasses beverage in powder form that can be used instead of coffee. It is described by some as having a malty, slightly nutty, and roasted grain flavor, or a liquid version of toasted brown sugar or burnt toast with molasses. It can be an acquired taste. Unlike black coffee, it is significantly milder and sweeter and lacks the dry bitterness and acidity inherent in coffee. In addition to the original flavor, coffee-flavored and cocoa-flavored versions have been introduced. Die-hard coffee fans will not be impressed.

Post Cereal Company founder, C. W. Post, developed the caffeine-free beverage in 1895. As a student of Dr. John H. Kellogg, who deemed caffeine to be unhealthy, Postum was marketed as an alternative to coffee. Some religions did not recognize coffee as a healthy beverage because of the dangers of caffeine addiction. Postum to the rescue. Decaffeinated coffee was nearly unheard of after its initial circa 1910 introduction to America. The drink was a common staple for many in the early twentieth century, and it was the closest thing to coffee available during the 1940s. 

Eventually, Post Cereal Company became General Foods and merged into Kraft Foods Inc. Eliza's Quest Foods assumed the trademark rights and secret recipe in 2012 and is still touted as a trendy, wholesome beverage for those who have never darkened the door of a Starbucks. Sold in select food stores nationwide, the drink is pricey and hard to find on a top shelf.

Let Freedom Sting

The Northrop F-89D Scorpion, the definitive production variant, was an upgraded model of the first all-weather, twin-engined jet designed from the outset as an interceptor, relying on advanced radar and rocket armament rather than cannons. It served as the primary backbone of the North American Air Defense Command during the early Cold War, designed to intercept Soviet bombers. The Scorpion was a replacement for Northrop's P-61 "Black Widow" that saw limited combat toward the end of World War II but found its place in the Korean War. Above are F-89Ds from the 59th Fighter Squadron stationed at Goose Bay, Canada. 

The Scorpion series entered USAF inventory in 1950. The D-model first flew in 1951, but production was disrupted by the same issues encountered on early models, before full production was resumed during 1953. Because the jet engines were positioned so low to the ground, sucking up debris could be a problem. Scanning the tarmac and runway became standard procedure before take-off. The final variant was the F-89J, converted from 350 F-89Ds, that replaced the standard wingtip's fifty-two "Mighty Mouse" missile pods with 600-gallon fuel tanks and fitted a pylon under each wing for a single MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket, sometimes supplemented by up to four conventional Falcon air-to-air missiles attached to the wing tanks. With the advent of supersonic interceptors, the Scorpions were relegated to Air National Guard units in northern air bases before they were all retired in 1969. The last F-89, a "J" model from Maine's Air National Guard, was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in July of that year for permanent display. 

The nickname Scorpion arose from its up-swept tail and high-mounted horizontal stabilizer, distinctly accentuated when on the ground.

Twenty-one Years to Build

One Prudential Plaza (formerly known as the Prudential Building) is a 600-foot-tall, 41-story structure in Chicago completed in 1955 by the architectural firm Naess & Murphy, and constructed by the George A. Fuller Co. It is categorized as an International Style building, a response to move away from the ornate architecture of the 19th century. The general public did not warm up to the bland concrete slab style at first. 

The building served as headquarters for Prudential's Mid-America company, and was the tallest structure in the city at the time. It was built on real estate air rights, the area above the Earth's surface, over the vast Illinois Central Railroad yard, eventually paving the way for today's Millennium Park to the south. Offset atop the building was a mast that served as a broadcasting antenna for Chicago's WGN-TV. The building was home to the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Publishing after leaving Tribune Tower in July 2018. The Tribune moved out of One Prudential Plaza and relocated its offices and newsroom to the Freedom Center at the beginning of 2021.

It was the city's first downtown skyscraper in twenty-one years and included a must-see observation deck. It was reported that 1.5 million people visited the deck in its first three years of existence. The building included two restaurants: Stouffer's Gibraltar Room, located off the lobby, and Stouffer's Top of the Rock on the 41st floor. The novelty of viewing four states on a clear day succumbed to taller buildings erected near it, making Lake Michigan the only distant view. The Top of the Rock closed in 1976, and the Gibraltar Room in 1982. 

The original 200-foot Prudential signage was red and used a bold sans-serif font in capital letters. Very easy to read even from some distance. The replacement sign was a blue serif font, including a modernized Gibraltar logo. Being distanced from the building's surface, it cast a confusing drop shadow and is nearly impossible to read on sunny days. The blue signage will eventually be removed by the current owners, Wanxiang America Real Estate Group, for Prudential began moving out of the original building and its newer, 61-story skyscraper in 2024 to smaller confines directly west along the Chicago River.  Not being removed (above) will be the Rock of Gibraltar, a 65-ton, 30-foot-high two-dimensional carving on the west side of the original building, designed by artist Alfonso Iannelli.

A Seersucker in Hollywood

Joseph Haspel (1884-1959) was an American haberdasher in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the inventor of the seersucker suit, a welcomed attire for Southern businessmen. With his brother Harry, he co-founded Haspel Brothers in 1909. The word seersucker is derived from the Persian words “sheer” and “shakkar,” meaning milk and sugar. What makes the fabric so light and airy is the combination of smooth and bumpy (milk and sugar) texture that allows the fabric to lift away from the skin to breathe. Originally, sometimes perceived as lower-end, unpressed suits, with today's wide variety of styles and colors, it is now a fashion symbol for the elite.

Gregory Peck was the first to wear a seersucker suit in a Hollywood film, in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

Deceptive Appearance

The Convair 990 was one of the most dynamic jet airliners ever designed. It was an update to its slightly older brother, the 880. The design screams speed, and many pilots felt they were in a very special class to command one. Echoing these accolades, it was best showcased in the classic American Airlines scheme above, a carryover from the prop days. It exudes style and excitement. From the fighter-bomber's nose cone to the stovepipe jets to the four anti-shock Whitcomb body pods on the wing's trailing edge, it was truly a unique beauty. The 990 was the fastest subsonic airliner until being surpassed by the Mach 2 Concorde. 

The narrow-body 990 arrived too late to compete with the Boeing 707 or Douglas DC8. It was a failure in America, with fewer than forty being manufactured during its short, ten-year career. With its thirsty J-79 turbojets, the same engines used by the world's first supersonic bomber, Convair's B-58 Hustler, it could not carry enough passengers to justify longer flights. It was more efficient on short hops in many foreign countries, Swissair being the biggest overseas purchaser of the airliner. Though Convair initially called the aircraft the Coronado, only Swissair officially named its planes with that specific name. 

The 990 was a classic example of how outward appearance overshadows many inner flaws. By the same token, one cannot necessarily judge the contents of a book by a beautiful cover.

Cottage Home Service

Hired from Gulf Oil in late 1925 to lead the Pure Oil Company's new marketing construction department, architect Carl A. Peterson was charged with creating a structure distinct and recognizable, utilizing Pure Oil's blue and white corporate livery prominently in his design, making their corporate affiliation obvious from a distance. His goal was to harmonize with residential neighborhoods that opposed flashy and brightly colored industrial structures.

Pure Oil unveiled Peterson's final design in 1927, which he called the "English cottage." It featured a design reminiscent of private homes in an effort to make the stations comfortable for motorists and incorporated many aspects of the popular Tudor Revival architecture of the time. These included homey details such as chimneys, window shutters, and flowerboxes. The brick walls of the building were white, and the roof was covered in an expensive, non-fading, gloss blue tile. 
What now seems quite amusing in self-service times, imagine this service attendant's helpful comment: "This pipe fits behind that little door on the driver's side of your car. It's difficult, pal. That's why I do it for you."

What now seems quite amusing in self-service times, imagine this service attendant's helpful comment: "This pipe fits behind that little door on the driver's side of your car. It's difficult, pal. That's why I do it for you."

Peterson oversaw and designed many variations on his initial design to account for economic, geographic, and other regional differences. The English cottage became an icon for the company, with more constructed into the 1930s. Pure Oil produced popular birdhouses and radios designed to look like their stations. A half-size replica produced for the 1933 World's Fair was a top attraction. With Pure Oil's merger with Union Oil Company of California (Unocal) in 1965,  the English cottage style became a thing of the past. However, many have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

A Capital Idea

Though Capital Airlines has roots dating back to 1926, the Pennsylvania Air Lines and Central Airlines of the 1930s, and later in the decade as Pennsylvania Central Airlines, when this photograph was taken, Capital Airlines was officially just two years old. They received their first Lockheed Constellations (pictured) in 1950. The headquarters were located at Washington National Airport, now Reagan Washington National Airport, where crew training and aircraft overhauls were performed. The airline operated scheduled airline service in the eastern, southern, southeastern, and midwestern United States. 

During their first year, they introduced the "Nighthawk," one of the first coach-class services to compete with the railroads between Chicago and New York City, and with dominant airlines on the route. That same year, they introduced the first television on flights. Capital Airlines was the first U.S. operator of the British-manufactured, four-engine Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner in 1955. Capital was the fifth largest airline behind the "Big Four" of American, United, TWA, and Eastern until its merger with United Airlines in 1961. 

Drawing You In

This Coca-Cola advertisement could only be accomplished by an illustrator in the mid-twentieth century. Today, this scene could be copied through photo-manipulation software or AI. But painting was the go-to medium for the illustrator who understood human anatomy and had the faultless ability to capture everyday life and all that it entails in a composition that draws the viewer into the moment.

George Bernard Whitcomb (1920-48) was an American artist and illustrator from South Bend, Indiana, who earned a full scholarship to the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, securing his early promise. He worked as a commercial artist for Grauman Advertising in Chicago, creating some iconic full-page Coca-Cola ads seen in Life magazine and the Saturday Evening Post.

Due to his untimely death at twenty-seven from heart failure, accentuated by damage from childhood rheumatic fever, Whitcomb was buried three days later on his birthday. Understandably, records of his professional work are limited, and most online searches will default to a more famous Whitcomb artist, Jon (1906-1988).

Niagra Falls Down

Based on this illustration by Saturday Evening Post's James Bingham (1917-1971), including a late Forties nondescript car, automobiles were once able to drive near the edge of Prospect Point at the American Falls of the Niagara River.

"Hey, buddy, you can't park there!"

Approximately where the car is pictured, cracks appeared on July 27, 1954, at the edge of the observation area, leading to the area being cordoned off. During the late afternoon of the next day, a massive rockfall occurred that forever changed the look of the falls. Reports describe motorists on Rainbow Bridge witnessing the collapse of approximately 185,000 tons of rock from the brink of the American Falls. To eliminate remaining hazards, the Niagara Frontier State Parks Commission conducted controlled blasts in August 1954.

The rockslide was the largest since 1931. The debris pile became a tourist attraction until it was removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1969. Automobiles are no longer allowed to drive onto Prospect Point itself. The parkway section within the state park was largely removed in the early 1980s to restore the landscape, further limiting vehicle access to the immediate brink. The site is a pedestrian observation area accessible via the Niagara Scenic Parkway and local streets, requiring visitors to walk to the viewing areas.

The Long and Quiet Road

The Natural Rubber Bureau Research Laboratory was a facility that conducted experiments in the 1950s to prove the viability of rubberized roads by embedding rubber in asphalt across the U.S. and Canada. The findings were published in the report “Stretching Highway Dollars with Rubber Roads” (1952). These studies demonstrated that such roads were longer-lasting, safer, slower to freeze, and less brittle below freezing than ordinary asphalt. The pavement provided better skid resistance and produced fewer cracks when compared to concrete, reducing maintenance costs for highway departments. 

The tests were part of a broader historical timeline of mixing rubber and asphalt dating back to the 1920s and earlier experiments in the Netherlands, confirming similar benefits. By 1954, the Bureau of Public Roads had also published laboratory studies evaluating various rubber powders, including those from scrap tires, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and natural rubber, further validating the technology. 

Today, Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC) is a noise-reducing pavement material that consists of regular asphalt concrete mixed with rubber made from recycled tires. It is currently used in many regions, though its use is not universal across America. While historically concentrated in warmer states like Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, and a couple of southeastern states, testing is expanding into northern regions of Washington, Colorado, and Missouri, with recent projects demonstrating improved durability and a quieter driving experience.

Note: Porous Elastic Road Surfaces are a type of low-noise pavement composed primarily of rubber granules, often from scrap tires, and mineral aggregates bound together with polyurethane resin rather than traditional asphalt. This composition creates a highly porous and elastic material that is even quieter, yet it faces challenges regarding durability and bonding.

Television Ratings: 1950s Part 4

A TOP 10 Nielsen ratings that charts changes over two seasons for selected popular shows of the 1950s. Check out my TOP 20 ratings charts (Parts 1-6) for the 1960s and (Parts 1-5) for the 1970s.

Wrapping up the 1950s, Westerns dominated the top 10 spots with the top three unwavering. Have Gun, Will Travel finished its run in top form. Wanted: Dead or Alive made its only appearance in its next-to-last season. The Danny Thomas Show remained solid among all the dusty gunplay, while the popular Father Knows Best finished its run with its highest rating.

Television Ratings: 1950s Part 3

A TOP 10 Nielsen ratings that charts changes over two seasons for selected popular shows of the 1950s. Check out my TOP 20 ratings charts (Parts 1-6) for the 1960s and (Parts 1-5) for the 1970s.

1956-58: I Love Lucy ended its run in the top spot, allowing Gunsmoke to shoot to number one. Two other long-running Westerns, Have Gun, Will Travel and The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp, were solid at mid-pack starting in 1957. I've Got A Secret was on an upward trajectory, offering the occasional format twists featuring host Garry Moore. December Bride remained solid until the end.

Television Ratings: 1950s Part 2

A TOP 10 Nielsen ratings that charts changes over two seasons for selected popular shows of the 1950s. Check out my TOP 20 ratings charts (Parts 1-6) for the 1960s and (Parts 1-5) for the 1970s.

1954-56: Some famous shows easily finished out the decade and beyond. I Love Lucy held the top spot, and its lead helped December Bride. Both The Jackie Gleason Show and Dragnet never returned to this ratings level. 

Television Ratings: 1950s Part 1

A TOP 10 Nielsen ratings that charts changes over two seasons for selected popular shows of the 1950s. Check out my TOP 20 ratings charts (Parts 1-6) for the 1960s and (Parts 1-5) for the 1970s.

1952-54: A few shows picked up steam in homes across America. I Love Lucy reigns as number one, and Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts makes a strong showing. While still enjoying radio success, Dragnet remains in top form since its debut in 1951, as has You Bet Your Life. The Colgate Comedy Hour finished its fifth of six seasons in respectable form.

Synopsis: Bewitched by Television

Some film actors found steady work and more exposure with the advent of television. 

Dick York (1928-1992)

For those who remember actor Dick York, he has been pigeon-holed as Darrin Stephens, the mortal, suffering husband of Samantha on the fantasy-comedy series, Bewitched (1964-69). His comedic double-takes, being frequently frustrated, and often angry with the physical transformations thrust upon him by his ungrateful mother-in-law, were classic trademarks of the character. Without his perfect comedic timing, the series would not have been the hit that it was. But there was much more to the versatile actor.

Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and growing up in Chicago, Dick York eventually handled drama and comedy with equal ease. After a stint in radio, his movie roles gained momentum by 1950, and four years later, he was cast as a teenager in the classic science fiction film, Them!. He co-starred in three famous movie productions in the Fifties and Sixties, notably They Came to Cordura (1959) with Gary Cooper, The Last Blitzkrieg that same year with Van Johnson, and a visible role as a teacher for Inherit the Wind a year later.

By far, his television work brought the most notoriety, however. He performed on the most popular series of the era. There were multiple appearances on the Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, Playhouse 90, The Twilight Zone, and six episodes for Alfred Hitchcock Presents that provided some comedic and dramatic stand-outs. 1959 was a pivotal year for York. While filming the Cooper film above, he completely severed his right lower back muscles during a physical scene. An injury that would plague him the rest of his life, and eventually force him to bow out of Bewitched in 1969.

Note: Before television dominated the airwaves, radio reigned supreme. The above inset is a capture of fifteen-year-old Dick York in the situation comedy, “That Brewster Boy” (1941-45). York was the third Joey Brewster, following in Eddie Firestone Jr. and Arnold Stang's footsteps. To his right is co-star Jane Webb.

Your Rental Needs May Vary

Avis Airlines Rent-A-Car System was founded in 1946 by Warren Avis (1915-2007), an owner of an automobile dealership in Detroit. He had the idea of providing car-rental services at airports, astutely believing air travel would quickly become more popular than rail travel. They were the first car rental business to be located at an airport, opening two locations at Willow Run Airport near Detroit and at Miami Airport in Florida. He established branch operations across the United States over the next few years and became the second-largest car rental company in the country by 1953. 

In 1962, their corporate slogan, "We're only No. 2. We try harder," was a positive campaign to compete with the number one competitor, Hertz. Today, Avis is a provider to the commercial segment, serving business travelers at major airports internationally, and to leisure travelers at off-airport locations. Avis featured General Motors vehicles during the late 1970s, but Ford vehicles were showcased prior, as the above 1958 advertisement proves. Other popular brands comprise their fleet today. Avis has been owned by a number of other companies, along with several periods of being a public company.

Executive Leasing Company and its fleet of seven vehicles were founded eleven years after Avis by Jack Crawford Taylor (1922-2016) in St. Louis, Missouri.   Taylor was a naval aviator during World War II, serving on the USS Enterprise. In 1969, he would rename the company Enterprise Rent-A-Car to honor the aircraft carrier and reflect his personal values and leadership philosophy. The company focused on city-based rentals rather than competing with airport-centric rental firms for persons needing a rental while their own was being repaired. A wise strategy that helped the business grow steadily.

Their iconic "e" highway logo was introduced early on, but went through a few color and design changes before settling on their classic green and black color scheme. In the early 1970s, the "We'll pick you up" tagline was introduced, a unique service that became a trademark of their customer-centric approach. This service, along with partnerships with auto repair shops, helped Enterprise build a strong city-based "neighborhood" network. The leadership has been passed down through generations of the Taylor family. Enterprise eventually embraced Avis's airport innovation in the early years of the twenty-first century after acquiring the Vanguard Car Rental Group, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent-A-Car brands to its portfolio. 

No More Money Funny Business

The National Cash Register Company (NCR) traces its origins to 1879, when James Ritty invented the first mechanical cash register. The device was designed to prevent theft by clerks by providing a visible record of transactions and a locked cash drawer. In 1884, John and Frank Patterson, from Dayton, Ohio, purchased the company and its patents and renamed it the National Cash Register Company. The Pattersons transformed the company into one of the first modern American corporations by introducing innovative sales techniques, guaranteed sales territories, and sales quotas. By 1886, sales had more than doubled to 1,000 machines per year. Two years later, the company became multinational. In 1906, NCR introduced the first electric cash register, which remained in production for nearly forty years.

In 1953, it established an Electronics Division and acquired the Computer Research Corporation (CRC), marking its entry into the computer industry. In 1974, NCR commercialized the first bar code scanners, which were used for the first time at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio. They remained a pioneer in open systems architecture with the launch of the NCR Tower supermicrocomputer in 1982. NCR was acquired by AT&T in 1991, marking the end of its independent operation. Five years later, the restructuring of AT&T led to NCR's re-establishment at the beginning of 1997 as a separate company and involved the spin-off of Lucent Technologies from AT&T. As of 2023, NCR Corporation was split into two independent public companies: NCR Voyix legally succeeded NCR Corporation, while the ATM business was spun-off as NCR Atleos.

Note: The above advertisement is from 1957.

Visibility Inspires Buying

Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane became a staple (and a generic term for clear plastic wrap)  in American households and revolutionized the packaging industry by allowing consumers to see the contents of packages while maintaining hygiene and freshness.

Cellophane was invented in 1908 by Jacques E. Brandenberger, a Swiss textile engineer, who first conceived the idea for a clear, protective packaging layer after witnessing a wine spill on a restaurant tablecloth. The first cellophane was manufactured in the United States at a DuPont plant in Buffalo, New York, in 1924. A major limitation of early cellophane was that it was waterproof but not moisture-proof, making it unsuitable for many food packaging applications. This issue was resolved in 1927 when DuPont chemist William "see you in church" Charch developed a process to make cellophane moisture-proof by applying a nitrocellulose lacquer, which led to a significant increase in sales and widespread adoption in food packaging.

During World War II, cellophane was classified as an essential material and used to package soldier rations and make vapor-resistant gas capes and rain capes. Sales have dwindled since the 1960s due to alternative packaging options. Although newer, more heat-resistant synthetic materials have since emerged, cellophane remains common in packaging and is still produced today. The DuPont advertisement above is from 1956.