Thursday, January 31, 2013

Ice Harvesting

 
It's been freezing here lately, so I thought it would be appropriate to do a post relating to ice!  This card shows ice harvesting on the Kennebec River, in Maine. 
 
It's always great to add a little background information to my posts, but in this case no one has done it better than Steve Round, a 1st grade teacher in Providence, Rhode Island.  Visit his class website for lots more information.  For an excellent treatise on ice harvesting from the 1918 Book Of Knowledge, follow this link as well.  It's a great article, with lots of character and writing style from the same era as the postcard pictured above.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Hunger Games

 
This is a great "rally" card, one of several hundred that churches could send to Sunday School students if they didn't show up. I have a lot of them in my collection, and a common thread is to induce guilt in the recipient for not doing their part.  The card above is typical.  With the recent popularity of the "Hunger Games" books and movie, however, this one is also a little creepy if you think about it for too long!
 
Here's an earlier post on the same topic:
 
See you Sunday, if you know what's good for you!
 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

One Hour Martinizing


OK, we know it has to do with dry-cleaning, but what IS "Martinizing?" Was there a Martin involved?  Why, yes there was...
 
From the official website:  Martinizing Dry Cleaning was founded in 1949 by a New York chemist named Henry Martin. Mr. Martin revolutionized the dry cleaning industry by offering ‘on-site’ cleaning at retail locations.  He did this by using a less flammable solvent to clean clothes. At the time, dry cleaning was done with highly flammable solvents, which made it necessary for the plants were located remotely from the storefronts for safety reasons. A customer would typically drop off their cleaning in town.  The garments would then travel to a remote production facility to be cleaned and pressed and would finally return to the store several days later for pick-up. With the use of the new solvent discovered by Mr. Martin, dry cleaning plants could now be located much more conveniently and the process could be carried out in a timely manner.
 
 

In the US, Martinizing franchaise locations have fallen from 526 in 2001 to 229 in 2012, clearly in a steady decline.  In general, 20% of U.S. dry cleaning businesses have closed in the past decade, so Martinizing is falling at a faster rate.

However, it may always, live on, in Bill Griffith's Zippy Comic Strips. 

 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Where to Stay

 
 
Where to stay?  Why at the Greenbrier Motel of course.  The back says: "The newest and most ultra modern.  50 units offering the traveler comfort in Air Conditioning.  Thermo Controlled Heating.  Room TV and Heated Swimming Pool.  Johnson Restaurant Adjoining.  Our Bridal Suite with circular bed, the talk of the South land."  Female model on the circular bed not included.
 
Best suited for folks traveling through Lumberton, North Carolina, where this motel is located!