"Store manager to aisle 3! Exuberant shopper, waving cans and boxes! Manager to aisle 3!"
The vintage shopper on this matchcover for Safeway Food Stores may have been overjoyed by the "big variety" during that time period- but the KC Matchgirl knows that grocery stores have gotten bigger and bigger over the years. These days, with aisle after aisle of product-laden shelves, variety is not just big, it is ginormous.
At that time, Safeway was also ginormous, having grown from just 2 stores back in 1915. Founder Marion Skaggs expanded his business by buying out competing markets and in less than 10 years, 1926 to be exact, the Safeway store chain linked 428 locations in 10 states. Not much affected by the Great Depression, the chain continued to grow, expanding to 3400 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
"Safeway", by the way, has nothing to do with food freshness or store sanitation, as one might presume. The name "Safeway" was coined because because they only operated on a cash basis- no credit. So Safeway customers were shopping the 'safe way' and not racking up debt buying groceries on a store tab.
Like all grocery chains, Safeway had their own store brands on the shelves, such as Lucerne dairy products and Crown Colony spices and coffee, along with all the popular name brands. Using the same model of buying out other companies, the company expanded into other countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Despite its popularity, Safeway began closing stores in certain markets and had shrank to 1335 stores in 2014. A merger with the Albertson's grocery chain in 2015 has continued to shift Safeway's presence- and thus can hardly claim to be big in any way, any more.
Note: This matchbook can be dated to around 1962, when Safeway began using the red-and-white S logo.This may be one of a series featuring various store items- this one promotes baked goods on the back cover.
Headed out for dinner? Tired of Chinese, Mexican or Italian? How about a "Dutch treat"?
No, the KC Matchgirl is not suggesting you should pay your own way- but that you should stop at the windmill restaurant once known as The Zuider Zee. (Pronounced Z-eye-der Zee.)
Located in the larger cities of Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri, this once-popular seafood restaurant chain was founded in 1957. Restaurantuer Bill Martin opened the first location in Ft. Worth, TX and named it The Zuider Zee, using the name for the Netherlands "Southern Sea". Also known as Holland, this small European country is known more for its tulips and windmills than its cuisine- so having dinner at The Zuider Zee was not like having an actual Dutch meal.
While this matchbook clearly states it was an "Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant", apparently the menu also featured popular non-Dutch items like gumbo and hush puppies.
Just as the namesake Zuider Zee sea is no more- all those windmills removed the sea water so the land could be used for farming- The Zuider Zee is no more also. After growing the chain to twenty locations, Martin sold them off to another company in 1968, which in turn sold them again in 1971.
In their efforts to make the quaint windmill restaurants bigger and better, the menu was changed, customer traffic slowed, and eventually all the restaurants were shuttered and sold off, one by one.
Bill Martin opened a few more seafood restaurants in Ft. Worth- without windmills or big corporations.
Note: This front-strike matchbook dates to the early 1970's and lists 2 locations in the Kansas City area at that time. One was in Independence at 3800 Noland Rd, the other near 103rd & State Line Rd. Did you have a Zuider Zee in your hometown?
Pelicans don't need addresses. They can fly or swim whichever direction they want to go, including the Plantation Yacht Harbor Resort.
Humans? We need addresses, or at least good directions, not a sentence on a matchbook telling us to just go "70 mi. S. of Miami on U.S. #1" to find this "Vacation Paradise for the Whole Family".
Still, it's a large place- 40 acres with 150 ft. of dockage, boat ramps, tennis courts, shuffleboard, putting green, children's play yard, swimming pool- after driving 70 mi.S. of Miami, it sounds like once you find this place you should stay awhile.
So spend the night in one of the 56 units or efficiencies (motel or cabins), have a bite in the dining room, all of which are air-conditioned and heated because this resort is "open year 'round".
It took a pelican's eye view for the KC Matchgirl to locate the remains of this resort, as it appears the original buildings were removed between 1995 and 2004, when it began a transformation into a city park. 3 more tennis courts were added to the original 2, and now there is a new, larger pool, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and an outdoor theater. Only the footprint of the marina seems unchanged, and the pelicans who flock there for the "World's Finest Fishing".
Note: Founder's Park of Islamorada, FL, is located on the Plantation Key. The address is now listed as 87000 Overseas Highway. This book dates to the 1960's.
The KC Matchgirl has always been intrigued with the quirks of spelling- as in how one letter can be added or moved and it becomes- a different word.
Take the Spanish word for "hello" for instance, and compare it to the Hawaiian word for "hello/goodbye". Ever notice that, even though Hawaii and Spain are half a world apart, these words are very similar and mean the same thing? And what does this have to do with the pictured matchbook for the Aloha Motel?
This charming Hawaiian-themed motel is nowhere near any Hawaiian island, but aims to bring that tropical feel to none other than- San Antonio, Texas. Where one is much more likely to hear "Hola" than "Aloha".
While the KC Matchgirl can't be positive about which year the Aloha Motel began luring San Antonio travelers with its Polynesian flair, it's a safe bet it was part of the craze for all things Hawaiian back in 1959 when Hawaii became the 50th state.
Despite the name, it was pretty much the standard mid-century motel, the only tropical amenity to the typical pool-side aluminum chairs with webbed seats under metal striped patio umbrellas was a smattering of live palm trees. Once affiliated with Best Western, the restaurant was commended by the Diners Club and the motel was AAA rated.
The rooms featured the piped music offered by Muzak- perhaps that was Polynesian, or there were tropical bedspreads to carry out the theme. And if it all sounds similar to the KOCHI Motel in Yankton, S.D. (Yanked A Ton, Feb 2015) they are connected- by the same highway, U.S. 81.
By 1972, it appears the motel changed its focus from travelers to college students, operating as the Aloha Inn. The sun set on the motel when it was recently demolished to make room for a Sonic Drive-In. While a few palm trees remain, this motel has said "Aloha".
Note: "Swimming & Recreation for the whole family" is only a smartly worded phrase outlining the amenities offered- swimming pool, kid's wading pool, and a putting green- quite a lot to offer travelers during that time period. The Aloha Motel was located at 1435 Austin Highway.
Once upon a time,
there was a window and an elephant. The window was very tall, tall
enough that an elephant could look in, or perhaps look out- it's hard to
tell which. One could even imagine that the elephant's head has broken
through the window, having pushed too hard while looking either in or
out.
Andrew,
as it turns out, is not the name of the elephant, but a charming
elephant-stuck-in-the-window restaurant. Owned by 2 brothers, one of
which may have been named Andrew, both of which may have been twins, but
with the restaurant being located in Dallas, neither likely owned an
actual elephant.
The
restaurant had a New Orlean's vibe, but the decor and menu was mostly
eclectic. Popular menu items included red beans and rice, a
grape-flavored slushy cocktail named "Moondance", and Tumbleweed Pie,
the later containing mostly ice cream and whipped cream and nary a trace
of tumbleweed. Not sure what year Andrew's closed their doors, but
favorite recipes were being queried on the internet by 2009.
This matchbook came into the KC Matchgirl's collection quite recently and brought back another story about a window and an elephant...
Once upon a time, there was a young boy, "He who shall not be named", who woke suddenly in the night. He looked out the window next to his bed and saw- Gasp! An elephant walking along the cross street. He woke the adults from their slumber with the news, but peering out the same window into the darkness, alas, the elephant could not be spied.
Perhaps it was all just a dream-
Likewise, someday the KC Matchgirl will discover the true story behind the elephant, the window, and Andrew's Restaurant.
Note: Front and back of this 1980's matchbook are exactly the same. The original Andrew's was located at 3301 McKinney, Dallas, TX. The current restaurant, Breadwinners, has kept the tall Palladian windows, perhaps for the elephant's sake.
Poet Gelett Burgess wrote these famous lines: I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one. But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one.
The KC Matchgirl supposes the same would be true about a polka-dotted cow, the mascot for Polka Dot Milk and Ice Cream. A family-owned dairy located in Hastings, Minnesota, bottled their first jug of milk in 1956. Available in certain areas in Minnesota and neighboring state Wisconsin, the dairy produces the usual range of liquid milk products, along with cream cheese and cottage cheese. Jugs of orange juice and punch seem to have replaced the afore-mentioned ice cream.
"Dotty", the blue-dotted bovine, was born when Wally Pettit and Herb Koch decided to enter the dairy business. After a few years, Pettit became the sole owner. Wanting locations that would offer only his Polka-Dot brand, he opened his own little markets (superettes), named for that famous "little man no bigger than a thumb".
Tom Thumb made his first published appearance in English folk tales in 1621, and there are various supermarket chains across the country that operate under the same name but are not affiliated. Pettit's chain of superettes grew to offer gasoline and other conveniences, operating 131 stores when they sold/closed that division in 2004.
Pettit passed in 2005, but the family continues operating the Polka Dot Dairy, with Dotty still gracing every jug and bottle.
Note: It was unusual for stores to be open every day during the 1960's, when this matchbook was produced.
The song may not be as popular as it used to be, but the KC Matchgirl remembers learning to count to the tune of "Ten Little Indians". Each chubby little finger represented an "Indian boy" to be counted and there was nothing politically incorrect about it.
While we're reminiscing about the American Indian, er, Native American, let's take a look back at this matchbook for the Santa Fe Railroad, featuring little Chico. As we can plainly see, this cute little fellow is representing the American Indian, even though his name is Spanish for "boy". For some reason, the Santa Fe Railroad company borrowed a little from both cultures, mixing Mexican and Native American nomenclature at any whim, like with the popular Super Chief and El Capitan routes.
First known as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF), the rail line had humble beginnings in 1854, heading west from Atchison, Kansas, through Colorado, and eventually southward to New Mexico. At first there was no direct line to Santa Fe; travelers had to switch to a branch line for their final destination. Eventually, the direct line was completed, the ATSF merged with another line , and the new Santa Fe rail line ran from Chicago to Santa Fe, then on to California by 1899.
As the only rail line traveling through the Southwest, the Santa Fe Railroad capitalized on the unique American landscape and the exposure to Indian and Mexican cultures found there. Along with the slogan, "Santa Fe All The Way", images of Native Americans were featured in advertising, often commissioned by acclaimed artists.
By the early 1960's the more artistic images had switched to a cartoon style, and thus Chico was born. As the icon for passenger service, Chico appeared in national ads along with menus, matchbooks, notepads, ashtrays, and other promotional items, even buttons for his "fan club".
As passenger service came to an end, Chico carried on a few more years, promoting shipping services. In this matchcover from a few years later, Chico looks a bit older, now "piggy-backing" a younger brother, most likely a nod to the term for transporting semi-trailers on rail cars.
In 1993, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe began a merger that was completed in 1998, creating BNSF. Owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, 49% of US shipping service is carried by BNSF.
Amtrak purchased the passenger service in 1971, and has operated the Chicago to California route, the Southwest Chief, ever since.
Timeline: Both matchbooks are backstrikes, though the saddle on the older one reads "Travel- Ship Santa Fe". The saddle on the other only reads "Ship Santa Fe", as the passenger service had ceased by that time.
In the winter months, after a snowfall, it's a common practice to make human-type figures by rolling and packing snow. The KC Matchgirl has created her share over the years, and usually these creations take a while to melt away.
We all know the story about Frosty, frolicking about town, only here long enough to have some fun. On this matchbook featuring Snoboy, we have a hard-working snow fellow, doing his assigned duty to bring you, the customer, the freshest and finest fruits and vegetables. Unlike Frosty, he's been on the job since 1925 when the Snoboy brand was created.
Way back in 1890, George Youell began selling fruit from a cart in Tacoma, Washington. By 1910, his operation had grown to become Pacific Fruit & Produce. While trying to expand his business by buying out another supplier, Youell's company ended up becoming part of Pacific Gamble Robertson in 1930. Since 1988, the company has operated as Amerifresh.
Created to promote Washington apples, Snoboy was once a little lumpier and wore a top hat. But being made of snow, he's been shaped and packed a little differently over the years. After only being seen in recent years on packaging going directly to the food service industry, Snoboy returned to the supermarket in 2014. Now shoppers can find his snowy, smiling face on all types of fresh produce, including mushrooms and watermelon.
As cute as he is, Snoboy had to share this matchbook with the old standby. Seriously folks, this is the name of a brand of canned foods- Standby.
A registered trademark since 1938, a huge assortment of canned and bottled foods was produced by Fine Foods, Inc. Along with the typical fruits and vegetables, the Standby label also appeared on peanut butter, dried fruit, honey, vinegar. bread, jelly, ketchup, juices, and canned fish.
The trademark expired in 1994; there is no current listing for Fine Foods, Inc. either. In other words, the old Standby has truly been canned.
Date: Mid-1970's, with a back striker.
Another version, with a front striker:
