Category Archives: Vintage

Monster Cereal

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These classic Halloween cereals were on the shelf in Circleville, Ohio in August. It has been years since I tasted these very sweet General Mills goodies but I’m tempted every time I see them.

I don’t typically eat cereal and I certainly don’t believe in this level of junk food for breakfast but, man, did these boxes bring back some memories.

Count Chocula and Franken Berry debuted in 1971 and were pioneers as the first chocolate and strawberry cereals on the market. Boo Berry came along the following year. There were eventually two other General Mills cereals inspired by classic horror film characters – Yummy Mummy and Fruit Brute – which are no longer in production.

When I was a kid they were available year round but today are only sold late summer through Halloween so better stock up while you can!

If you’re interested, General Mills published a web story in 2021 that shares a little about the original illustrations of the characters, recalls their status as pop culture icons and there’s even a tv commercial. Click here to read that story.

All of this talk of classic cereals marketed to kids has reminded me of Smurf Berry Crunch, another character driven cereal from my early eighties childhood. It also was made by General Mills as a delicious treat to enjoy while watching Saturdays morning cartoons.

What was your favorite cereal as a kid?

The Woman Who Told FDR No

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Charlotte Elizabeth Battles is a name you probably haven’t heard but she made history back in her day.

Born in 1864 to a family that owned the R.S. Battles Bank in Girard, Pennsylvania, she was educated, worldly and strong. Her father was Rush Battles, a farmer, lawyer and banker whose bank had been a local staple since 1859. When her father died, she was promoted to fill his shoes as bank president. The year was 1904 and she was one of the first women to serve as a bank president.

She ran this bank until it closed in 1946.

Let us pause here for a moment. Women didn’t get the vote until 1920. She successfully ran a bank for years before she could walk into a ballot booth.

But I digress. She gained fame in 1933 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered American banks be closed as part of the Emergency Banking Act and she refused to comply.

As a privately owned institution, she believed they were not governed by the state or federal government. In a letter to Roosevelt, Battles said “We’re minding our business, you mind yours”.

They remained open as they always had, placing no restrictions on deposits or withdrawals, but they did serve only existing customers that week.

The Erie Times News published a story about the incident under the headline “Girard Bank Says ‘Pooh’ To State And U.S. Edict.” The funny thing was that it wasn’t even big news back then. The story ran on page 11.

If you visit the Hagen History Center in Erie, PA, you will find a room dedicated to this pioneering business woman who thumbed her nose at the feds.

The exhibit tells the story of her life as a banker but also that of an artist, a world traveler, a gardener and what appeared to be a woman who embraced life fully.

She died in 1952 and her home in Girard is now owned by the Hagan History Center. That’s less than 30 minutes from the Hagen Center in Erie.

This museum has some amazing exhibits including maritime history, Frank Lloyd Wright’s field office, art and stunning mansions to tour. Go visit!

Throwback Thursday?

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The kids these days are pretty excited by this cool idea they have. They think it would be great to have a phone that just stays at the house that anyone can use and that isn’t connected to the internet.

Seriously. I’ve seen the videos of young adults talking about how amazing this would be.

Since that isn’t possible, they are settling for these retro phones where you connect your smartphone via Bluetooth and talk with an old school corded phone. It doesn’t take pictures or connect to social media or anything. It’s just a phone and you have to sit or stand still to use it.

My tired little Gen X heart can’t imagine how we’ve reached this full circle moment but here we are.

I got rid of my landline several years ago because it seemed like an unnecessary expense. These days, I’m thinking about going back because I’m tired of having an iPhone in my hand all the time and it’s my only connection to the people who might need me.

As an only child with aging parents, it seems unwise to silence my phone at night. If they got sick and needed to reach me, this is all I have. As someone with apparent insomniacs for friends, I’m astounded by how much noise my phone makes in the night as they text or send social media messages whenever they’re thinking about it despite the hour.

Maybe a landline IS the answer.

Unfortunately, locals I know say they are getting letters from the phone company letting them know they will be shifted from landlines to internet based phones. This will be worse than useless to many who have held onto their landlines.

In my county alone, many of our residents live in hollows where cell service doesn’t go. Satellite internet is costly, unreliable and inaccessible in a power outage. This won’t help these people.

Anyway, everything old is new again. I guess. If you need a retro Bluetooth phone, they’re available online. This one is at TJ Maxx.

Dunkle’s Gulf Service Station

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Along the Lincoln Highway in Bedford, PA, there’s a remnant of a time when automobile travel was in full swing and businesses took pride in creating unique spaces to stop for a while.

This is Dunkle’s Gulf Station which was opened by Dick Dunkle in 1933, according to the sign out front.

Isn’t it fabulous?

The tile facade in all its art deco glory was designed to draw the eye and cause a motorist to pull in and ask the attendant to “fill’er up!” They also repaired cars and could tip off your fluids and air up the tires while you waited.

Man, what I wouldn’t give for a full service gas station sometimes when it’s raining or humid or when I’m dressed up to be somewhere.

Mr Dunkle is now gone as is his son who inherited the place so it is now closed. I worry for its future but hope someone with deep pockets finds a way to repurpose the space for future generations to enjoy. It is truly the most beautiful service station I’ve seen and it’s worth saving.

The Lincoln Highway was the first coast-to-coast road in America, cutting through fourteen states over more than 3,000 miles. Long ago replaced by interstate and no longer used for those long road trips, much of the Lincoln Highway still exists and makes for amazing off the beaten path exploring. I would love to hear stories of things you have seen along the Lincoln Highway in your travels.

Ghost Mural

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I do enjoy seeing ghost murals and find that the alley side of an old building is often the best places for spotting them.

This one is in Bedford, PA just a few doors down from Rebellion Books, a bookshop that took a lot of my money in exchange for a wonderful book shopping experience.

Bedford is a neat little town filled with history, fun shops, and charm. I have nothing but fond memories of this place and only regret we didn’t have more time.

I am plotting a return someday because we only hit the highlights like this historic tavern and the big coffee pot. I want to see more of what’s hiding along the side streets and alleyways. After all, it’s usually off the beaten path where we find the real magic happens.

The Enola Gay

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Meet the Enola Gay. She was named for Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the man who famously piloted this Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bomber during World War II.

On August 6, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. and his 11- man crew dropped a highly enriched uranium, explosion-type, “gun-fired,” atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan from this plane. This was the first use of a nuclear weapon in war.

Three days later, another plane dropped an atomic bomb over Nagasaki, Japan.

On August 14, 1945, the Japanese accepted Allied terms for unconditional surrender.

The war was finally over.

I have heard this story so many times in history class, in documentaries, books, and thoughts from my dad the history buff. But I never dreamed I would get to see the Enola Gay in person.

It is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a part of the National Air and Space Museum outside Washington DC. When my Pittsburgh pal and I adventured over to DC a few years ago, we stopped here on our way into the city. It was a good place to see some neat things and stretch our legs after a day in the car.

And, boy, do they have some neat things to see including the Space Shuttle Discovery and some truly unusual aircraft I had never seen before. Yet, nothing else reduced me to a pile of fan girl excitement followed by absolute grief over the power and magnitude of this piece of machinery.

It has been restored so it looks pretty good for its age. And it’s bigger than I imagined so that was kind of cool. You can get a pretty close view of this plane and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would say if airplanes could talk.

Smithsonian museums are world class so never pass up the opportunity to look around one. You never know what famous relic or little told story you might find!