My friend told me a story about his uncle Manny, who was a WWII vet, and like a second father to him.
It seems Manny, in WWII, was out on the town with the boys from his unit, and met up with some girls. Not wanting to get in any trouble, they all gave false names to the girls. Trouble was that Manny fell in love, and it took him more than a month to tell her that his name wasn’t really Henry.
His wife called him Henry until the day he died this past year. My friend just gave his brand-new son a middle name to honor his uncle Manny.
The baby’s middle name is Henry. Now this might not have made you choke up like it did me, but it was nice to be able to write a story about true love!
Barbasol (yes, the shaving cream!) was invented by MIT professor Frank Shields in 1919, looking for a product that would produce a less irritating effect from shaving. Yesterday’s product is not the same you’d see on the shelves today, but Barbasol still produces a similar product today. Try Barbasol Moisturizing Therapeutic Shave Lotion. Barbasol is formed from two words- the Latin word for ‘beard’, and an abbreviation of ‘solution’.
The Barbasol Company was founded in 1920, and was producing 30-40 dozen tubes of shave lotion per day in no time at all! The product didn’t change from the lotion in the tube, to the fluffy shave cream we know today, until the mid 1950′s.
A product similar to the original product was reintroduced in 2003, but then was reformulated into what is now sold as the Moisturizing Therapeutic Shave Lotion.
According to Wikipedia:
“Barbasol became a very popular shaving cream. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, many print advertisements were used to support its growth. Many of the print ads featured men and women in situations that would be considered risqué for their time.
The company also used several famous spokesmen throughout the years, notably star baseball players Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby as well as football legend Knute Rockne”
Orange Crush was invented in 1916, when Clayton Howell partnered with chemist Neil Ward to incorporate the company of Orange Crush Company. Ward was the one to perfect the zesty, signature orange flavor in this soda!
At the time the soda was introduced, inventors were commonly given credit for soda flavors, so this actually debuted as “Ward’s Orange Crush”! By 1918 it was available as far away as Canada, and by 1919 Norman Rockwell was commissioned to paint the advertising posters for Orange Crush, which by the 1950′s would be available as far away as South America, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa!
Lemon Crush and Lime Crush were also introduced early in the company’s lifetime, 1919 and 1920 respectively. It is now available in literally dozens of flavors, worldwide!
Get yourself a cold glass bottle of Orange Crush and enjoy the summer weather!
Not everyone grew up knowing about Friendly’s Ice Cream, or Friendly Ice Cream, as it was originally called, but the Blake brothers opened Friendly Ice Cream in Springfield, MA in 1935! The name was chosen to suggest warm, neighborly service. Curtis Blake was 18, and his brother S. Prestley Blake was 20 when they opened their first store- now the chain has well over 500 restaurants! A two-scoop cone was 5 cents, and their second offering- hamburgers- were originally introduced in their second location, in West Springfield, MA. The number of stores actually peaked at close to 850 in 1988, when the chain was owned by Hershey Foods Corporation. To this date, Friendly’s continues to make it’s own hot fudge and whipped cream as well!
So keep in mind, when you take home some Friendly’s Ice Cream from the grocery store- you’re taking home history!
You’ve heard the Beach Boys singing about them… but huarache sandals have been around since before the Beach Boys were born! Originating in Latin American countries, made of woven hand-tooled leather uppers and soles, they began appearing in Mexican markets around 1936. Eventually the soles were replaced with rubber from worn tires, but the year this began is not specific. They were originally a peasant shoe, and the smaller sizes made them popular with American women. Some modern pairs have lasted their owners up to 20 years! Now THAT is a long-lived shoe! Huaraches are traditionally hand-made, so no two pairs are ever exactly alike.
