My, my, how the downtown Lancaster retail scene has changed in 75 years.
At right is a list of stores participating in “Lancaster Sales Day” in 1934. The list was published in the New Era on Jan. 22 of that year. It’s a nice Who’s Who from the retail landscape of that day.
But only a few of the […]

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The article and left and the ad at right ran in the New Era in early 1959. I stumbled across them at about the same time, and found the juxtaposition interesting. 
The Big 3 U.S. automakers sound reluctant to admit their plans to build some small cars for 1960. Meanwhile, Chrysler is importing French-made Simcas and Brubaker […]

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Here’s some evidence that, even in the so-called era of “cheap gas,” there were consumers thinking about fuel economy.
The Chevrolet ad below, which was published in the New Era on Feb. 5, 1959, touted the fuel efficiency of the “Hi-Thrift 6″ engine, which “Goes and goes and goes on a gallon!”
I thought it was interesting, however, […]

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is marking its 75th anniversary in 2009.
The FDIC began insuring  deposits on Jan. 1, 1934, (see ad below) to restore consumer confidence in financial institutions during the Great Depression. Deposits were insured up to $2,500, and that was enough to successfully lure hoarded money from safe-deposit boxes, cupboard shelves and other hiding places, […]

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Shaub’s Shoe Shop, which opened in 1880, is one of the oldest family businesses in Lancaster.
The shop, at 18 N. Queen St., underwent a renovation earlier this year and added some extra clothing lines. It remains a fixture on the downtown retail scene.
If you had popped into Shaub’s 100 years ago, here’s an example of what you would have found […]

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From the Dec. 14, 1933, New Era:

The cute little ad above caught my eye while I was scrolling through microfilm of newspapers from 1933.
I knew that the intersection of routes 272 and 772 in Brownstown is known as “Schaum’s Corner,” but I didn’t know the history of the name or the skating auditorium.
Thanks to some earlier digging […]

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Layaway is back! Can Christmas savings clubs be far behind?
Credit cards allow you to buy things before you have the money. Layaway allows you to put them on hold until you have the money.
With the old-fashioned savings clubs, shoppers put money aside throughout the year, then withdrew it in time to do their holiday shopping with cash, when they had the money. […]

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America runs on…
…Sugar!
At least that’s the message the Franklin Sugar Refining Co. delivered to readers of the Nov. 20, 1958, New Era, in which the ad below was published.
So don’t throw out that leftover Halloween candy just yet. And don’t try to slow those kids down. When the candy runs out, give ‘em some sugar cubes, and watch ‘em spin.
Do I hear a […]

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