Advertisements - Windows Into the Past

Advertisements reflect the culture of the times in which we live. In this case we are looking at past representations of American life. Take this ad for contraception. Undoubtedly from the World War Two era this ad places all of the responsibility for disease upon the woman. Still, she is kind of pretty.... I wonder if this ad was very effective at the "moment of truth." They say that "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." I doubt it.

Here's an interesting ad promoting the "bulking up" of America. In the days after World War Two had ended and rationing came to a halt, we were apparently a nation hungering for the things we had forsaken during the war. Still, I never recall my family eating lard after dinner. We usually had chocolate cake from Ebinger's, a local bakery that specialized in disguising lard as cakes. Contrasted with today's trend vilifying any weight gain at all, I find that I am hungering for a big slice of that nicely disguised lard cake.

Ads can be funny when viewed from the distance of many decades. Things change rapidly in the world of health and food sciences. You can't ignore the varying effects which some products have upon different people. Take this next advertisement for tobacco.

Whenever I went to see our family Physician I received confirmation of this ad. Dr. Frieri smoked like a chimney - even while eating his dinner simultaneously. He vehemently advised my Dad to quit smoking. My Dad did and gained 50 pounds and was dead at 71. The good Doctor, by comparison, continued to smoke until the end of his life. He died in his sleep at age 87. As I said, different things affect different people in different ways. Besides, I always thought the M&M's did my Dad more harm than the cigarettes. After all, Dr. Frieri never ate M&M's. He must have been wise to the lard thing.


Now here's a brilliant ad for marital bliss. The ad is for women and advises them to pour Lysol into their vagina's as a way to please their spouses and engender good female hygiene. Now I don't know about you but I can't stand the smell of cleaning products in general, let alone during intimate moments.

And a quick look at the label tells you this product is "Hazardous to Humans and Domestic Animals." Really-read the label. Besides which, I cannot even imagine me having this conversation with my wife, Sue, who provided me with these ads. I would rather drink the Lysol first. It would be a quicker demise.



Finally, a sensible ad we can all live with. After watching an Uncle of mine almost chop his hand off trying to open a beer can with a hatchet, this innovation was a relief to every member of our family back in the late 1950's. The Uncle in question went on to lead a long and productive life, eventually extolling the virtues of the "pop top" can in his later years.

Old advertisements are like works of art. They open windows into the past and offer reflection upon where we stand today. Looking at some of these ads makes me think "We've come a long way baby!"

"Our Vanishing Americana" A Documentary by Mike Lassiter and Scott Galloway

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Mike Lassiter and Scott Galloway, both local residents, were having a screening of their film, "Our Vanishing Americana", at the local Public School in Davidson this past Sunday. Originally published as a book by Mr. Lassiter in 2006, this beautiful collection of photographs, and their accompanying stories, were, with the aid of Scott Galloway, made into a wonderful film documentary in 2009. I originally ran across this book at the Library in Mooresville and saw the film last winter on TV1, a local municipal station. The whole idea of making a film from the book sprang from the simple act of Mr. Lassiter's having met Mr. Galloway. Sharing the same passion for these old stores propelled them to collaborate on the film. So they set off to revisit several of the places shown in the original book.

Utilizing the photographs of local "Mom and Pop" stores, Mr. Lassiter had drawn an impression of North Carolina that seems to disappear more quickly with each passing day. (Witness the old Fire Station on South Boulevard as a recent example.) It's what we do here, tear down the old buildings and landmarks, replacing them with corporate arenas that no one wants, or attends. Shopping malls, large and small, along with housing developments, dot the countryside where once there were beautiful, intimate towns and country stores. Some of these stores had been owned and operated for generations by the same families. There aren't that many left.

I am lucky enough to live in an area of the state that is home to a few of the stores highlighted in the book, as well as the film. The personalities of the people in the original photos seem to spring to life on the screen. And Mr. Galloway does a superb job in making that happen. He captures on film, that quality of light, and even the ambience of the places he films. With the added combination of Mr. Lassiter's narrative, the whole experience takes on a life of it's own.

The music that punctuates portions of the film is, for the most part, all homegrown. From "Country Roads" by native son James Taylor, to the rollicking sound of "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show, the music is pure North Carolina, and speaks to the beauty of the area.

One of the best, and most poignant portraits in the film is the segment that deals with Hinckle's Market in Lexington. The store is in it's third generation, and while the current owner and his brother have often contemplated closing it, whenever a customer comes in and tells him that the town couldn't live without him, they simply keep on.

D.E. Turner's Hardware store, located about 15 minutes from my home, is featured in the film. I have purchased odds and ends there for over 10 years. I have bought as few as 4 screws there when necessary to complete a job. His Radio Flyer collection of toys is unequaled the area.

The whole point of this effort by Mr. Lassiter and Mr. Galloway, is not simply to sell nostalgia, but more importantly, to ask what we can do to preserve these stores for our children and grandchildren. And while we all understand the necessity of shopping for the best price, maybe we can step back a bit and buy some things from our local Main Street stores. Only by keeping the stores economically viable can we hope to keep them going for yet another generation. And the most important thing of all is that with each of these "mom and pop" shops that gets lost - we lose a little bit more of ourselves.

Here is the link to the site for "Our Vanishing Americana." Hurry up and take a look, it's going fast. And thanks to Mr. Lassiter and Mr. Galloway for a delightful treat on a Sunday afternoon.

http://ncamericana.com/