Cementing A Vacation Plan

Lehigh Cement was founded in 1897 by six Pennsylvania businessmen who funded the construction of a cement plant in Ormrod, Pennsylvania. Then a second and third. Since the company’s cement was being shipped as far west as Kansas City, another plant was built in Mitchell, Indiana in 1902. By 1920 Lehigh Cement was the nation’s biggest cement company in terms of number of plants, with annual production of more than twelve million barrels of Portland cement. Lehigh’s profits reached a zenith after 1958, climbing to $75.8 million. Net income of $12.1 million on sales of $100.6 million in 1959 was far higher than Lehigh would again earn, at least as an independent company. About the time the illustration above was conceived.

Pictured is the one-year-only styling of a 1960 Ford Galaxie. The model introduced numerous styling trends that set the automotive industry on notice. Yet some Ford customers were not fans of the styling shock. It was devoid of recent Ford trends, most notably the round taillights and seemingly no hint of fins. Coupled with this was the fact the car was larger: it violated vehicle width regulations in many states. Garages got smaller. 

Speaking of fins, I find the 1960 model unique for its sleek "stealth" fins that begin up front as a vertically chromed arch defining the front fenders. The accent chrome magically transforms horizontally into flat fins, the "bottom" of which folds inward, stopping at the trunk lid. A beautiful execution that made the 1959-60 Chevrolets decidedly awkward. The 1960 Ford has since garnered many fins...er...fans in more modern times, especially the elegant Ford Galaxie Starliner. 

Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe

 

In 1916, a young schoolboy, Antonio Gentile from Suffolk, Virginia, submitted drawings for a "Mr. P. Nut" in a design contest and one of his drawings was chosen the winner. Seeing the potential of the concept, commercial artists added the monocle, top hat with a modified cane to create the iconic image. Legend suggests he is of British heritage and has the proper name of Bartholomew Richard Fitzgerald-Smythe. The boy's family received five dollars for winning the contest. However, Planter's founder, Amedeo Obici befriended them and paid for their four children's college education. Afterward, Obici then paid Antonio's way through medical school. He became a doctor in Newport News, dying in 1939.

Planters Peanut Company was founded in 1906 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and incorporated two years later as the Planters Nut and Chocolate Company. See Antonio's original drawings at:

https://acmemorylane.tumblr.com/post/152293213378/mr-peanut-in-1916-planters-nut-and-chocolate

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.