In the Business Collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center are some interior views of an unidentified business, taken in the 1950s or 1960s. A male employee can be seen on the right side of the picture. He is surrounded by a wide array of merchandise for sale. “Approved Comics” were sold, one of which was Walt Disney’s Uncle Donald and His Nephews Dude Ranch. The store had a display of Sheaffer Scrip ink cartridges, and a wide variety of Dr. Scholl’s foot comfort remedies. Other health and beauty products sold here were Q-tips, hair nets, and “Pic a Puff” tissues. Band-aids had recently introduced their “stars and strips” bandages. Color prints could be developed from Kodacolor film for 25 cents. The picture was likely taken in the Fall, as Halloween masks can be seen next to the display of Ballreich’s chips, and a sign from Esmond’s advertised their “Fall Festival” sale. The store had recently opened a dairy delicatessen department which sold many Esmond Dairy products, including milk which cost 75 cents for two half gallon cartons. Other Esmond products sold at this unidentified store included ice cream, cottage cheese, coffee cream, sour cream and “snak dip.” In the picture below, many more Halloween masks can be seen. Decorative candy boxes line the counter at the bottom of the picture.
Here is a different view of the dairy delicatessen section of the store, which includes a wide range of grocery items in a relatively small space.
Seeing these pictures is like going back in time, when residents could buy their groceries in neighborhood stores. If you think you can identify this business, please leave a message in the Comments field of this post.
