Pulling the Viewer 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 the 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 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 another more famous Whitcomb artist, Jon (1906-1988).

Columbus Sales for Indiana

For many consumers, before winter hits, Arvin heater-fan combos are a sought-after item on shelves. But few know that Arvin built so much more than heaters before becoming a major supplier to the automotive industry. Their incredible diversity produced the automatic coffee percolator, AM/FM portable radios, outdoor barbecue grills, room humidifiers, component stereo systems, catalytic converters, heat exchangers for fireplaces, and televisions, to name a few.

Bartholomew County, Indiana, native Q.G. Noblitt and his friend Frank Sparks co-founded the Indianapolis Air Pump Co. in 1919, which would become Arvin Industries in 1950. The company sold air pumps to repair flat tires. In 1927, the company changed its name to Noblitt-Sparks and would move its corporate headquarters to Columbus four years later. 1919 was also the same year that Clessie Cummins launched the Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, which would later play a significant role in Arvin's revival.

Arvin Industries assumed a global role, becoming a Fortune 500 company. It was named the "Hoosier Company of the Year" in 1978. However, Arvin’s ties to the community would start to unravel by 2000 when they merged with Troy, Michigan-based Meritor Automotive Inc., creating the eleventh largest supplier of automotive systems and parts in the world. But Arvin lost its focus within the merger. The company sold the former Arvin headquarters, the Q.G. Noblitt building, to Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. in 2006. In 2011, ArvinMeritor changed its name to simply Meritor Inc., eliminating the last remnant of the former Columbus-based automotive supplier. Cummins Inc. acquired Meritor Inc. in 2022, reviving Arvin Industries, which was once a household name in southern Indiana.

Note: Arvin Industries, Inc. began produced its own television sets. An example is the 1950 Arvin model 2216CCM TV with built-in phonograph player, above.

A Nutty Putty Affair

Silly Putty was introduced to the public in 1950. Initially, the substance was an attempt to create a synthetic rubber substitute during World War II. While working for General Electric in 1943, James Wright combined boric acid and silicone oil in a test tube to create a new rubbery substance, an intriguing “nutty putty.” As he began to play with it, his accidental discovery bounced higher than rubber, stretched to great distances, snapped with sharp tugs, and could pick up ink from any printed matter. 

Without a practical purpose, the putty was passed around among friends. In 1949, it eventually found its way into the hands of a toy store owner whose marketing consultant, Peter Hodgson, identified the putty potential and purchased the rights from General Electric to sell the stuff himself. Hodgson packaged it in small plastic eggs and named it Silly Putty. After being featured in a New Yorker article, sales surged to 250,000 in just three days. Since its introduction, more than 300 million Silly Putty eggs have been sold.

More silly details at THOUGHTCO. and how to make it yourself.

Wagon Master (1950)

On this date, Wagon Master, the American Western masterpiece produced and directed by John Ford, premiered in 1950. Starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond, the story follows a Mormon pioneer wagon train across treacherous terrain to Utah. The film inspired the US television series Wagon Train (1957–1965), which starred Bond until 1960.

Radio Curmudgeons

Radio was initially broadcast over a giant wooden cabinet with an equally large round speaker. Smaller models were soon available but it was the transistor that made these "devices" truly mobile. Radio was where everyone got all the audible news of the world, along with their favorite dramas and comedy shows. The "offline" version was the newspaper. 

Every radio network had a vast number of announcers and correspondents. The ABC network is profiled in the above advertisement from 1950. You are likely dead if you tuned in to these newscasters as an adult. Today, perhaps only three stand out because of their more widespread notoriety, namely Drew Pearson, famous for his Washington D.C. "Merry-go-Round" political column, Louella Parsons with her pulse on Hollywood gossip, and Walter Winchell, famous as a narrator away from his news desk, most notably for the ABC police drama, The Untouchables, nine years later.

Parasites

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the idea of carrying an additional flying craft was rampant. The concepts were totally impractical, if not deadly, ideas. The above is one example of a helicopter being able to attach and release from an F-94 jet fighter. The first question would seem to be, why?. The giant, 10-engined, Convair B-36 intercontinental bomber experimented with carrying parasite fighter escort jets. One system allowed two jet aircraft, each anchored at both wingtips of the B-36. A second program used a trapeze design lowered from one bomb bay which a fighter could hook the nose to a recieving hook. Although each system worked under ideal conditions, both were deemed impractical, especially given the best defense for the B-36 was altitude.

Short Hoppers

Ozark Air Lines began public operation in the US in 1950, operating from their headquarters located at Lambert–St. Louis Municipal Airport. Ozark purchased Douglas DC-3s from the defunct Parks Airline with regular flights between St. Louis and Chicago, including short hops along the way, and to Tulsa and Memphis. By 1955, the airline used its thirteen DC-3s to serve thirty-five cities between Sioux City, Indianapolis, Wichita, and Nashville. By 1960, turboprop Fairchild F-27s (above) replaced the aging DC-3s with its first Douglas DC-9-10 jets introduced in 1966. Ozark Airlines was unable to compete in the airline price wars and in 1986 was purchased by Trans World Airlines, itself unable to sustain profitability and was purchased by American Airlines in 2001. 

Note: The three swallows in Ozark's logo represented on-time flights, referring to the legend of the swallows that return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, in California each year. 

Ozark Air Lines

Founded in 1943, Ozark Air Lines operated flights between Springfield and St. Louis, Missouri for about two years until the Civil Aeronautics Board ceased their operations. By 1950, Ozark was granted a certificate to operate unactivated routes using Douglas DC-3s from St. Louis to Chicago, Tulsa and Memphis. In 1955 the airline had 13 DC-3s flying to 35 cities between Sioux City, Indianapolis, Wichita, and Nashville. By 1960, turboprop Fairchild F-27s were introduced along with piston-engine Martin 4-0-4s in 1964. By 1967 the 4-0-4s and F-27s were replaced with newer Fairchild Hiller FH-227s. The last DC-3 flight was in 1968, making the regional airline an all-turbine operator. Ozark's first jets, Douglas DC-9-10s, were introduced in 1966.

Ozark Air Line's main hub and headquarters were St. Louis Lambert International Airport from 1950-86. Ozark was then purchased by Trans World Airlines and by 2001, itself merged into American Airlines. 

Little Sure Shot In Technicolor

On this day in 1950, Annie Get Your Gun had its premiere. The American musical Technicolor comedy film is loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley, named by Sitting Bull as "Little Sure Shot." The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon, is based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name. The film was one of the top-grossing pictures of the year. The film received favorable reviews with the dynamic Betty Hutton recognized with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She was supported by a first-rate cast, including Howard Keel with his usual bit of scene-stealing. Infamously, Judy Garland was fired from the lead role after a month of filming because she was impossible to work with, clashing with the director, repeatedly making demands, or showing up late or not at all.