Ask Vance - January 2013

01/27/13

Ko-Ko Tulu Chewing Gum — A Memphis Best-Selling Brand

Did you know that I am still perusing the 60-year-old back issues of the Lowen-Behold, the newsletter of Lowenstein's department stores? Two reasons for that: 1) They are filled with amazing stories, and 2) I really, honestly, and truly have nothing better to do. Sad, I know. Anyway, I wanted to share this with you: an early 1900s advertisement for one of the store's top-selling products. Yep, chewing gum. But not Wrigley or Dentyne, or Super-Bubble. No, this gum had the rather bizarre name of Ko-Ko Tulu (which they never bothered to explain). But it must have been good stuff because, after all, it was "The Standard of the World" and Sol Coleman — whoever he was — wouldn't lie about a thing like that would he? Or would he? Hmmm....

Posted at 07:29 PM | Permalink | Comments: 4

01/22/13

Eureka! A Great Photo of the Long-Gone But Never Forgotten Davis White Spot Restaurant!

Well, I can finally cross one of the items off my "Most Wanted" list, because I finally located a rare, never-before-seen photo of Davis' White Spot Restaurant, which stood on Poplar, east of Estate. I would feel much better if I could say that I found this after years of diligent research, but all credit must go to my Indianapolis pal, Robert Wire, who knew the owners of this establishment back when it was in business in the 1940s and 1950s, and has already sent me a nice shot of Robert and Pearl Winfield (and others), inside their cozy house, which was attached to the restaurant. But this is what I really wanted to see: a nice, clear, exterior shot, showing it just the way everyone said it would look — a handsome white clapboard structure. Here's...

Posted at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments: 7

01/19/13

Behold: The Old "Lowen-Behold" Company Newsletter for Lowenstein's Department Stores

Is there no end to the historical treasures to be found in the Lauderdale Library? Tonight, riding my tricycle through the lonely hallways of the Mansion, I crashed into a big cardboard box, and inside I discovered a nice collection of Lowen-Behold newsletters, the company publication for the old Lowenstein's Department Store chain. And look, if I have to stop right here and explain what and where Lowenstein's was, then you are reading the wrong column. (It was one of our city's top department stores, children.) These are from 1948 and 1949, and they are packed with wonderful old photos, news, vintage ads for products they offered in the early days, and lots of gossip about the company employees. Each newsletter, in fact, had a "reporter" who covered the...

Posted at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3

01/18/13

A Very Early View of Forrest Park

Looking through my postcard collection one lonely Saturday night, I came across this very early view of Forrest Park, the center of so much hub-bub these days. This postcard is interesting — at least to me — for quite a few reasons. First of all, you'll see that the photograph was obviously taken before the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest was erected, and also before the bodies of Forrest and his wife were relocated here from Elmwood Cemetery in 1909. It also shows a view of the surrounding area before the Medical Center moved in. Houses once lined Madison Avenue, as you can see. And finally, it shows us that postcard manufacturers, then and now, can't always be trusted as reliable sources, since they spelled the name of the park "Forest."...

Posted at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

01/11/13

Look! A Rare Interior View of Davis' White Spot Restaurant

You know I've written before about the mysterious Davis' White Spot restaurant in Memphis — mysterious only because so many readers seem to remember it, but I've never seen any photos, menus, postcards, or other proof that the place ever existed. Well, thanks to folks like Robert Wire, I'm getting there. Robert recently sent me a very interesting email, telling me who he was and how he knows about the White Spot: "I am a distant relation to the last owners of Davis' White Spot, Robert and Pearl Winfield. Pearl was my mother's older sister. I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in the 1950s and '60s we would visit them every year. I have a lot of fond memories of the place, because the White Spot was a kid's paradise. I would...

Posted at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1

01/03/13

Mystery Photo: Where Was This Memphis Restaurant with the Strange Mural?

My history-buff pal Bonnie Daws Kourvelas, who has been mentioned here before, is stumped. And so am I. And considering that, between the two of us, we generate enough brainpower to light a small city the size of, oh, Forrest City, Arkansas, that doesn't happen very often. But looking through some old family scrapbooks, she turned up this photo of a dinner gathering, and neither she nor I can determine the location. The most obvious clue is the rather bizarre — if not downright appetite-killing — mural painted on the wall, showing some husky naked creature holding a large mug or beer stein, with his "naughty bits" covered by a fig leaf. Unfortunately, his head has been cropped off in the photo. Well, come to think of it, maybe that's a good...

Posted at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments: 15

	01/27/13 Ko-Ko Tulu Chewing Gum — A Memphis Best-Selling Brand Did you know that I am still perusing the 60-year-old back issues of the Lowen-Behold, the newsletter of Lowenstein's department stores? Two reasons for that: 1) They are filled with amazing stories, and 2) I really, honestly, and truly have nothing better to do. Sad, I know. Anyway, I wanted to share this with you: an early 1900s advertisement for one of the store's top-selling products. Yep, chewing gum. But not Wrigley or Dentyne, or Super-Bubble. No, this gum had the rather bizarre name of Ko-Ko Tulu (which they never bothered to explain). But it must have been good stuff because, after all, it was "The Standard of the World" and Sol Coleman — whoever he was — wouldn't lie about a thing like that would he? Or would he? Hmmm.... Posted at 07:29 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 4
	01/22/13 Eureka! A Great Photo of the Long-Gone But Never Forgotten Davis White Spot Restaurant! Well, I can finally cross one of the items off my "Most Wanted" list, because I finally located a rare, never-before-seen photo of Davis' White Spot Restaurant, which stood on Poplar, east of Estate. I would feel much better if I could say that I found this after years of diligent research, but all credit must go to my Indianapolis pal, Robert Wire, who knew the owners of this establishment back when it was in business in the 1940s and 1950s, and has already sent me a nice shot of Robert and Pearl Winfield (and others), inside their cozy house, which was attached to the restaurant. But this is what I really wanted to see: a nice, clear, exterior shot, showing it just the way everyone said it would look — a handsome white clapboard structure. Here's... Posted at 07:27 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 7
	01/19/13 Behold: The Old "Lowen-Behold" Company Newsletter for Lowenstein's Department Stores Is there no end to the historical treasures to be found in the Lauderdale Library? Tonight, riding my tricycle through the lonely hallways of the Mansion, I crashed into a big cardboard box, and inside I discovered a nice collection of Lowen-Behold newsletters, the company publication for the old Lowenstein's Department Store chain. And look, if I have to stop right here and explain what and where Lowenstein's was, then you are reading the wrong column. (It was one of our city's top department stores, children.) These are from 1948 and 1949, and they are packed with wonderful old photos, news, vintage ads for products they offered in the early days, and lots of gossip about the company employees. Each newsletter, in fact, had a "reporter" who covered the... Posted at 08:42 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 3
	01/18/13 A Very Early View of Forrest Park Looking through my postcard collection one lonely Saturday night, I came across this very early view of Forrest Park, the center of so much hub-bub these days. This postcard is interesting — at least to me — for quite a few reasons. First of all, you'll see that the photograph was obviously taken before the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest was erected, and also before the bodies of Forrest and his wife were relocated here from Elmwood Cemetery in 1909. It also shows a view of the surrounding area before the Medical Center moved in. Houses once lined Madison Avenue, as you can see. And finally, it shows us that postcard manufacturers, then and now, can't always be trusted as reliable sources, since they spelled the name of the park "Forest."... Posted at 10:58 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 1
	01/11/13 Look! A Rare Interior View of Davis' White Spot Restaurant You know I've written before about the mysterious Davis' White Spot restaurant in Memphis — mysterious only because so many readers seem to remember it, but I've never seen any photos, menus, postcards, or other proof that the place ever existed. Well, thanks to folks like Robert Wire, I'm getting there. Robert recently sent me a very interesting email, telling me who he was and how he knows about the White Spot: "I am a distant relation to the last owners of Davis' White Spot, Robert and Pearl Winfield. Pearl was my mother's older sister. I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in the 1950s and '60s we would visit them every year. I have a lot of fond memories of the place, because the White Spot was a kid's paradise. I would... Posted at 03:10 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 1
	01/03/13 Mystery Photo: Where Was This Memphis Restaurant with the Strange Mural? My history-buff pal Bonnie Daws Kourvelas, who has been mentioned here before, is stumped. And so am I. And considering that, between the two of us, we generate enough brainpower to light a small city the size of, oh, Forrest City, Arkansas, that doesn't happen very often. But looking through some old family scrapbooks, she turned up this photo of a dinner gathering, and neither she nor I can determine the location. The most obvious clue is the rather bizarre — if not downright appetite-killing — mural painted on the wall, showing some husky naked creature holding a large mug or beer stein, with his "naughty bits" covered by a fig leaf. Unfortunately, his head has been cropped off in the photo. Well, come to think of it, maybe that's a good... Posted at 09:09 PM \| Permalink \| Comments: 15

January 2013