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.

The Good Humor Man

In the early 1920s, Harry Burt (1875-1926), an ice cream parlor owner and candy maker from Youngstown, Ohio, created a chocolate that would solidify when contacting solid ice cream bars. He added a wooden stick to the ice cream bar, making it less messy to consume. Burt thought of an ingenious way to distribute the ice cream bars beyond the confines of his ice cream parlor. He outfitted 12 trucks with primitive freezers and bells from his son's bobsled and took to the streets. By the mid-1930s, Good Humor covered most of the country. A Good Humor man might be found pedaling around a neighborhood behind a "tricycle freezer" or pushing an ice cream cart. In those early days, Good Humor men were required to tip their hats to ladies and salute gentlemen. It took three days of training and orientation to become a "Good Humor Man." It was a fixture in American culture in the 1950s when the company operated up to 2,000 delivery trucks. 

Another national brand went one-up on the competition. Mister Softee was known for dispensing soft-serve ice cream cones or shakes from a modified delivery van. Their "music box" melodies were another defining element. But for many communities, this individual service gave way to individually wrapped frozen treats that one could get at any grocer. It was simple not as fun, though.

A detailed history of Good Humor can be found here.

Ohio to Colorado

Beginning in 1926, the US Highway 36 route began expanding into western Ohio from Indianapolis, Indiana. At the same time, the route was expanding westward through Kansas and eventually terminating in Colorado by the late 1930s. Today's eastern terminus was extended in the mid-1970s to Uhrichsville, Ohio with a western terminus at Estes Park, Colorado. After rerouting and adapting to the Interstate highway system over the decades, the approximate distance today is slightly more than 1,400 miles. Underway by at least 1912, the transcontinental Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway laid the groundwork for approximately the middle-third of US 36. The photo above was taken in Urbana, Ohio.

An excellent detailed history at US 36

Milk In A Paper Box

A toy factory owner in Toledo, Ohio, John Van Wormer (1856-1942), patented the folded gable-top paper milk carton, referred to as a “paper bottle,” in 1915. His cartons were delivered to dairies in flattened form. The dairy would fold, fill and seal the cartons. Because the cartons could be thrown away instead of reused, Wormer’s product became known as “Pure-Pak.”

Waxed gable-top paperboard carton structures were designed to be erected in wet environments of dairies during the 1920s. Nearly ten years later, Van Wormer created a machine to form, fill, and seal (FFS) the Pure-Pak containers. The American Paper Company later acquired the patent and worked to perfect the machines building the first six between 1929 and 1934. But it took nearly twenty years for the public and businesses to accept the square paper milk bottle. Glass was still the container of choice for milk deliverymen until the 1950s and self-service markets. The gable-top cartons were easy to handle and did not break. During this decade, a Norwegian engineer, Christian August Johansen, acquired the license for Pure-Pak cartons and filling, and the company Elopak (European Licence of Pure-Pak) was born. Over the years, Elopak has updated its carton design including plastic closures on the top to improve usability.

Note: In the US at least, milk today comes in plastic containers, while half-gallons of juice generally use a paper box with a plastic pour spout.

The Constellation of Orville

On this date in 1944, Orville Wright took the controls of a United States Army Air Force Lockheed C-69 Constellation during a short demonstration flight over Dayton, Ohio. It was his first piloting experience in 25 years. Below is an excerpt from This Day in History site:

After the flight, Wright said, “It was absolutely marvelous. . . You can say that I ran the whole thing. Put exclamation points and question marks around that—because all I had to do was just let it take care of itself. . . I enjoyed every minute. I guess a ran the whole plane for a minute. But I let the machine take care of itself. I always said airplanes would fly themselves if you left them alone.”

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.

Being Ejected for The First Time

 

On this date in 1945, while flying at more than 300 miles per hour at 6,000 feet over Patterson Field, Ohio, First Sergeant Lawrence Lambert, U.S. Army Air Forces became the first person to eject from an aircraft in flight in the United States. The test aircraft was a modified Northrop P-61B-5-NO Black Widow night fighter, redesignated XP-61B. The airplane was flown by Captain John W.McGyrt and named Jack in the Box. The ejection seat was placed in the gunner’s position, just behind and above the Black Widow’s pilot. A 37 mm cartridge launched the seat from the airplane at approximately 60 feet per second with Lambert experiencing 12–14 Gs acceleration.

Centaur Has Left The Building

 

Rupp Industries' Centaur was a trike produced as a one-seater in 1974 and a two-seater in 1975 in Mansfield Ohio. Priced at $1,700, it was the only true street-legal machine by Rupp. Triggered by the 1973 petroleum shortage, what seemed like a great idea on paper was not a success on the street. It was advertised as half cycle and half economy car and featured a 340cc Kohler 2-cycle oil-injected engine with an advertised 30 mpg and, with a tailwind, a top speed of 55 mph. The fiberglass body was molded in either red, yellow, white or blue. Compounding owner dissatisfaction, in any color the body had a tendency to crack around the rear fenders. 

Founded by Mickey Rupp in 1959, Rupp Industries manufactured go-karts, minibikes, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles. Rupp ceased operation in bankruptcy, 1978. They have since become extremely collectible. One of the Centaurs owned and driven by Elvis Presley remains on display at Graceland.

Little Sure Shot of The Wild West

 

On this day in 1922, Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Mosey 1860-1926) set a women's record by shooting 100 clay targets in a row (above in 1899). The American sharpshooter starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show earning more than anyone except Buffalo Bill himself. Born near Greenville, Ohio, she won a shooting contest against experienced marksman Frank E. Butler at age 15. They would later marry and the duo joined Buffalo Bill in 1885, performing in Europe before royalty and other heads of state. At five feet tall, Oakley was given the nickname of "Watanya Cicilla" by fellow performer Sitting Bull, a rough translation meaning "Little Sure Shot" for the purposes of public advertisements. Audiences were astounded to see her shooting a cigar from her husband's lips or splitting a playing-card edge-on at 30 paces, or shooting her rifle backward over her shoulder using a mirror.

We Still Worry

Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, along with his business partners, formed The General Tire & Rubber Company, an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles. O'Neil had a Firestone franchise in Kansas City but became dissatisfied with Firestone as it began reducing the territories of its earlier franchises. He decided to be a competitor. During the depression, as competitors failed, The General Tire & Rubber Company bought out Yale Tire and Rubber, and India Tire and Rubber. By 1933, their market share increased to 2.7%, a relatively large number considering the company's limited production. Commonly referred to as simply General Tire, in 1987, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, sold its tire division to Germany's Continental AG.

Note: Rather than "run into" General Motors' legal departments for the use of a 1949 Oldsmobile, art departments would typically make alterations to a car by hand-painting or airbrushing over the most recognizable features of a model to disguise it. It is still done today, only with computer software programs. Most notable is the removal of the globe hood emblem and the Oldsmobile lettering. The grille is also modified with accessories not offered by Olds. They have removed the distinctive chrome pieces below the headlights as well.

Kelly Conquers Chicago

 

The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company was founded in Springfield, Ohio by Edwin Kelly and Arthur Grant in 1894. It is the oldest tire company in the United States,  manufacturing tires for motor vehicles in Akron, and Wooster, Ohio. It was acquired in 1935 by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which maintained it as a subsidiary until 1999 when it was integrated into Goodyear North America. It remains a major brand under Goodyear.

Lee's Post-War Planning

 

After World War Two, winning at home was a priority for Lee Tire and Rubber Corporation of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and their Republic Rubber division in Youngstown, Ohio on puncture-proof pneumatic tires for trucks and passenger cars.

J. Ellwood Lee opened his first factory in 1887 selling medical supplies. In 1905 Lee believed automobiles would become popular and merged his medical supply company with Johnson & Johnson, leading to the creation of the Lee Tire and Rubber Company which opened in 1914. The company fell on hard times in the 1960s and was taken over by a New York firm before being sold in 1965 to Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The sale helped delay the company’s demise until 1980. The main building of the Lee Tire and Rubber Company, now known as Lee Park, is a historic factory complex built in 1909 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.