The Chocolatier of 1900

The history of the chocolate bar, similar to what we know today, dates back to the 19th century. But solid chocolate was probably consumed in pre-Columbian America. In 1847, however, Joseph Fry created the first proper mass-produced chocolate bar by mixing cocoa powder, sugar, and cocoa to form a paste that could be pressed into a mold. This moved it from a beverage to a solid, edible treat.

In 1875, milk chocolate came onto the scene. It was developed by a Swiss confectioner, Daniel Peter, with the help of his neighbor, Henri Nestlé, who specialized in dehydrated milk products. This development significantly improved the taste and palatability of chocolate, leading to its widespread popularity.

1984 marked a significant milestone in the chocolate industry, thanks to Milton Hershey (in all his chocolatey goodness, above). The Hershey Company introduced its first candy bar in 1900, the Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar. This transformed chocolate from a luxury item into an affordable and "block by block" accessible treat.

Other notable early chocolate bars include the Lindt Chocolate Bar, 1879, and the Baby Ruth candy bar, developed by Otto Schnering in 1920, which became the most popular candy bar in America by 1925. The evolution of chocolate bars continued with the inclusion of various ingredients such as nuts, caramel, and nougat, leading to the creation of candy bars like the Goo Goo Cluster, invented in 1912.

When It Positively Has to Be There

A dramatic staged photo illustration of a 1940s Mack semi pulling a Fruehauf Corporation (1918-1996) trailer near Greenville, Alabama. Mack Trucks gained a reputation for dependable service. In the early Thirties, their famous icon and logo, a tenacious Bulldog, began appearing on the hood of the trucks. "Built Like a Mack Truck" became common slang for anything indestructible. 

In 1900, the three Mack brothers opened their first bus manufacturing plant to complete an order from a sightseeing company. The first "Mack bus" was delivered. Two years later, The Mack Brothers Company moved to Brooklyn and, in 1905, moved their headquarters to Allentown, Pennsylvania, remaining there for over a century until its relocation in 2009 to Greensboro, North Carolina, home of its parent company, Volvo. 
 
Photo by John Vachon via shorpy dot com

Models Citizens

The original Lionel Corporation was founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen and Harry C. Grant in New York City. Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer that operated for more than 120 years. Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence. Toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame. During its peak years in the 1950s, the company sold $25 million worth of trains per year. The Lionel Corporation was permanently derailed in 1993. However, model trains are still in production as Lionel, LLC.

Lionel made its trains larger than those of its competitors, making them appear a better value. Their earliest trains ran on two-rail tracks with the rails 2-7⁄8 inches apart. In 1906, Lionel began offering a three-rail track that simplified the wiring of reverse loops and accessories. Its outer rails were 2-1⁄8 inches apart, which did not match any of the existing standards that other manufacturers had been using since 1891. Lionel marketed the non-standard track as "The Standard of the World," and soon adopted the name in catalogs as Standard Gauge. By 1915, Lionel got on the right track with most of its U.S. competitors by adopting the smaller "O gauge" standard for its budget-level trains. Cowen convinced department stores to incorporate his toy trains in their Christmas displays, linking toy trains to the holiday, and making them popular Christmas presents. 

Reel Character Series

 

The American character actress, Dorothy Adams (1900-88), began her film career in the late 1930s almost entirely in uncredited roles. She is probably best known for her downtrodden or careworn roles as a servant, maid or hard-working pioneering type, always generating a spark into a scene. She worked steadily through the 1950s before a brief transition into television. Adams' noted roles include “Elvy” in 1941's, The Shepherd of the Hills, starring John Wayne and the following year as the wild-eyed quirky “Deaf Annie,” a prison snitch whom every inmate assumed could not hear, in Lady Gangster starring Faye Emerson. She was noteworthy as the title character's maid, “Bessie Clary,” in 1944's Laura (above). Perhaps her most visible role was in 1946 as Wilma Cameron's mother in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Her film career was winding down by the 1960s, dividing her time as a popular acting instructor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Adams married character actor Byron Foulger (also in demand) in 1921. They remained together until his death in 1970.

Gibson Refrigerator Company

 

Gibson has been a pioneer in the refrigeration industry. Some of their innovations are a frost-proof feature, built-in ice and water dispenser on the refrigerator door and adjustable or removable shelving units. A brand synonymous with durability, quality and long-lasting performance. The above illustration is from 1949.

Founded in 1877 in Belding, Michigan by Joshua Hall, the Belding-Hall Company sold wood chests made by skilled Danish craftsmen to house blocks of ice as "ice-boxes." The company was purchased by Frank Gibson, a competing manufacturer of "ice refrigerators" at the turn of the Twentieth Century, and it became the largest in the industry. By 1931 the company began making electric refrigerators and eventually moving its headquarters to Greenville, Michigan. In 1956, Hupp Corporation acquired Gibson. In 1967 Hupp merged with White Consolidated Industries. Gibson is now owned by Electrolux Group and marketed today under the familiar Frigidaire brand.