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.

They Call Me Speedy

Alka-Seltzer is an antacid and pain reliever. Its effervescent "fizzing" tablets release active ingredients when dissolved in water. Developed by head chemist Maurice Treneer, it was first marketed by Dr. Franklin L. Miles of Miles Laboratories fame in Elkhart, Indiana in 1884. Print advertising was used immediately, and by 1932, the radio show Alka-Seltzer Comedy Star of Hollywood began, along with many more. The radio sponsorships continued into the 1950s, with the Alka-Seltzer Time show airing from 1949 to 1957. Miles Laboratories was purchased by Bayer in 1979.

Alka-Seltzer's "Speedy" character was introduced in 1951. His body was made of one Alka-Seltzer tablet, while he wore another as a hat. It was conceived by Chicago's Wade Advertising Agency (1909-1966) and designed by illustrator Wally Wood. Originally named Sparky, the name was changed to Speedy to align with that year's promotional theme, "Speedy Relief". Speedy appeared in over 200 television commercials between 1954 and 1964. Actor Buster Keaton (above) assumed various occupations for a series of commercials with the mascot. The ads through the 1970s were among the most popular of the 20th century in the United States. Adding to the success was Speedy's jingle, "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is" with an adult providing a child-like cartoon voice. Speedy was resurrected a few times over the coming decades. In 2008 Alka-Seltzer began a series of new commercials featuring the character using modern computer graphics.

From Utah to Indiana

Utah Radio Products Company, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Chicago, Illinois, is known for manufacturing of loudspeakers, transmitters and transformers from the early 1920s. In 1929 Caswell-Runyan merged with Utah Radio Products to build a radio reception combination. 1946 saw the merger with International Detrola Corporation. In the mid-fifties, Utah Radio Products moved to a new plant in Huntington, Indiana. The plant flourished in the 1960s and 1970s with one-piece console stereos that proved popular in the mass market. The highly respected Utah loudspeakers were produced until the 1980s when Utah folded, due in no small measure to the influx of Asian competitors.

The First Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak

 

On this day in 1920, at least 37 tornadoes, the majority significant F3, F4s, took place across northern, Indiana, western Ohio, southern Michigan and southeast Illinois on the first Palm Sunday weather disaster. The more famous 1965 outbreak, the second on a Palm Sunday, was even more deadly. The 1920 tornadoes killed over 380 and at least 1,215 were injured. Many were caught off-guard as the storms moved northeast at speeds over sixty miles per hour. Most of the fatalities occurred in Georgia (201), Indiana (56), and Ohio (55). 

Charts and photos for 1920 and 1965 tornado outbreaks.

Public Transportation for The Isolated

 

The Union Traction Company of Indiana (1897-1930) operated 410 miles of interurban trackage making it the largest interurban system in the state. Charles Henry, a prominent attorney and politician from Anderson, acquired the “mule car” streetcar system in Anderson in 1891. The interurban lines alleviated the isolation of rural Indiana, running first from Anderson to Alexandria, then to Indianapolis, Marion, Muncie, and Kokomo. The company also ran 44 miles of streetcar lines in Anderson, Elwood, Marion, and Muncie. The UTC was acquired by Indiana Railroad in 1930. They also purchased several other interurban lines creating a new system, running for an additional ten years. By the end of 1941, interurban service was abandoned.

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.