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What Beaver County Americana icon is quietly
celebrating its 100th birthday this year? Here's a hint. It's
estimated that a dozen or more dotted our landscape once but now
only three are known to have survived time to celebrate its centennial.
They were a favorite for many years to any
kid who ever rode in the back seat of a car. Then the government
stepped in and ended the romance. They were once so popular that
a British salesman, visiting the United States for the first time,
was asked by a reporter what our country was famous for over there.
Without a hint of hesitation he replied, "Beautiful women
and Mail Pouch barns."
The poor barns are slowly fading away due
to neglect, but their popularity to some hasn't. Enter the Mail
Pouch Barn Stormers. This preservation society, headed by Lonnie
Schnauffer of neighboring Butler County is making great strides
in attempting to save these nostalgic national treasures. The
Gibsonia man said he was visiting another "barnstormer"
or Mail Pouch barn enthusiast in 2001, Cleve Costly of Ohio.
The latter had already been painting colorful
Mail Pouch barns murals on decorated walls at local fairs and
festivals. "It was Cleve who pointed me in the right direction,"
according to Schnauffer. Cleve introduced Lonnie to the last big-name
Mail Pouch barn painter, the intriguing Harley Warrick of Belmont,
Ohio. This trio wondered if anyone else had the love they had
for these cherished structures.
They decided to hold a picnic to find out.
Warnck, however, died in November 2001, just months prior to their
first scheduled meeting and picnic in the summer of 2002. "We
didn't have a clue as what to expect now," Schnauffer pointed
out. The North Hills engineer said he and Cleve Costly were "pleasantly
surprised" as about 45 people showed up at this grassroots
meeting. It just started snowballing from there. "Talk got
around, and we had over 70 the next year." The membership
roll's total is pushing 140 today ---------only six years after
those three got together.
"We encourage that anyone having an interest in Mail Pouch
barns to come to our 2007 annual meeting and picnic at the Belmont,
Ohio, school gym. It'll be held on Saturday, July 28. "Ha,"
he asserted, "Just be sure though to bring a covered dish,
so we have enough to eat." Belmont is off I-70, 15 minutes
from the state line.
Warrick, up until he retired in 1992, repainted
barns in Beaver County, other Western Pennsylvania areas, Ohio,
West Virginia and nine other states. When his team would do the
work, his initials "HW" would go up on the blue border
or in the middle just under the roof. They were put under the
overhanging eaves so that they would be protected from inclement
weather or the hot summer sun. When he left, the barn-painting
program was abolished.
He, with his ever-present pipe, was a popular figure. Warrick,
who preferred bib overalls to coveralls, had a fountain of comic
anecdotes he'd picked up over the years. For instance, when he
was asked what it was like painting in cold weather, he replied
with a smile, "We just added more thinner to the paint ----
and, maybe a little Seagrams to the painter. It'd then all turn
out fine." Another story had him and his gang painting a
barn in the Ohio flat-lands. It was a bone-chilling windy day.
A strong gust blew the roof away in splinters. The helpers said,
"Well, guess we're done for the day." Warrick is said
to have bellowed, "Hell no! This wall is still standing."
So, they continued to paint.
Then there was the time when a candy company owner wanted the
familiar icon on the side of his manufacturing plant. He bet the
men a steak dinner that they couldn't do it in a day, Barnstormer
Elmer Napier says. "Needless to say," Napier chuckled,
"The whole gang enjoyed a steak dinner that evening."
Finally, there's this tale. There was a
rule that another worker on the scaffold couldn't touch the painter.
If you did you had to buy him a drink. Harley admitted that when
he was hot and thirsty, "wanting to wet my whistle, I'd find
a way to get touched." Scott Hagan, another Barnstormer laments,
" sure do miss the guy." Hagan does some private re-paints
in the area, his last being in Marietta, Ohio. "Harley was
amazing," Hagan explained. "He could paint a barn in
four hours!"
Hagan said Warrick was his mentor. "He
taught me how to do them. We'd size up the barn first and start
in the middle, working our way out. For example, the first letter
in the "chew" line is "e" then, in the second,
it's the "p" in pouch." Hagan went on saying that
Warrick was milking cows when a gang asked him to join. He had
painted in the service so was confident he could do it. Hagan
laughed and said Warrick figured it'd, "beat milking cows."
In the meantime, Warrick had no idea of
how much excitement he generated. It was like the recent book,
The Five People You Meet in Heaven but in real life. One never
realizes, no matter how insignificant the existence led, what
an impact it had on us, especially generations of kids who got
a free ticket to punch their siblings -----------under their very
own parent's eyes. It didn't take a lot to keep us happy back
then.
After Harley hung his brushes up, so to
speak, he still couldn't get away from the work he enjoyed so
much. The happy-go-lucky gent had a fondness for tinkering in
his wood shop making Mail Pouch post boxes, bird houses, bird
feeders and the like. Although he passed before the initial meeting,
this writer is one of many who believe he's looking down proudly
beaming and with a grin ear-to-ear ------------probably standing
beside a Mail Pouch sign.
We had "mom and pop" stores then.
That's how the Mail Pouch story got its start. Two brothers, Arron
and Sammuel Bloch owned a store in downtown Wheeling W. VA. In
1890, they founded the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company. Swisher
International officials announced to this writer that today, they've
named this branch Mail Pouch Tobacco. They put out over 15 products
now in the chewing tobacco and snuff lines.
Swishers International Inc. officials reported
that barn painting, the oldest gimmick to advertise Mail Pouch,
came to an end in 1965. This was when the government (no surprise
here) got in to the act. They, that year, passed the "highway
beautification" bill that limited advertisements to being
at least 660 feet from the highway. It also helped launch those
witty and sometimes humorous red and white Burma Shave signs into
eternity. Another killing blow "was times were changing."
Speedy interstates were replacing those roller-coaster-like narrow
two-lanners that followed the contour of the land. Fifty miles
an hour wasn't speeding anymore --- it was hardly moving!
When Arron began the barn-painting program
in 1907, he ordered that a black spot be placed in the center
of every foot on the outside yellow border. Why the black spot?
Painters were paid by the square foot and a photo of their work
had to be sent to the main office so they could get paid and have
expense monies reimbursed.
Hagan stated that Warrick, who passed away
at age 76 years, was, "by far the most famous Mail Pouch
Barn painter." It is estimated that he painted or re-painted
20,000 barns. "He told me once," Hagan grinned, "that
the first 1,000 were pretty rough, but then I got the hang of
it."
The buildings were re-painted every three or four years. The task
was given to local painters at first, as one could travel only
by rail or a horse-drawn vehicle. But, as transportation improved,
painting contracts were narrowed down by 1933. Now, only a few
painters from both the east and west coasts were called upon.
Hagan stated that Warrick came on the scene in 1946 after serving
a stint in the military. He stayed around 55 years.
Although Mail Pouch was the granddaddy of
barn advertising, others tried to capitalize. One named "Wow"
gave up in the mid-forties. Others mentioned included, "Red
Man" and "Beach Nut." But, they are a rare find
today. The upkeep and sudden interest in Mail Pouch Barns are
preserving their existence a little longer.
"Ha," Schnauffer chuckled, "You
could say we were even international for awhile." He explained,
"that one Barnstormer lived in Canada for a time." He
closed, "but we are represented by 17 states now." He
added that the most common Mail Pouch Barn has gold or white letters
on a black, blue or red background. The rumor is that red barns
are rare since they are harder to paint. Schnauffer though re-painted
a red one on Glen Eden Road in New Sewickley township heading
north on route 989 to Unionville.
Back to the earlier days. Farmers had the
choice of being paid with money, tobacco products or subscriptions
to either Collier's or the Saturday Evening Post.
However, later when barn ownership changed hands, things became
quite complicated so farmers were paid cash on an annual basis.
But, they were priceless to us kids who grew up with them around.
Remember the fun we had? Riding in the back seat peering out an
open window and counting them. Burma-Shave signs too. Or, maybe
it was brown cows, white cows, calves!
In today's narcissistic society, I was overjoyed
by how Mail Pouch received its unique name. In 1879, the brothers
added several women to the top floor of their store where they
made fresh "stogies." Smoking these caught on from people
watching burly drivers of Conestoga wagons, from which they were
named, roll through going west.
The ends of these "stogies" had to be clipped and discarded.
Since most of their customers were miners and couldn't smoke down
under anyway, one of the brothers came up with a bright idea.
They decided to make use of the clippings, cover them with a sweet
flavor and sell it so the men could chew it. Licorice, the flavor
used most during this era, was chosen. It sold quickly and before
long it became difficult for the Blochs to keep up with the demand.
The entrepreneurs, at the beginning, shipped the material out
to wholesalers who would package it with their own brand name
on it.
After some eleven years, the Bloch brothers
decided that they wanted to package it themselves. It would be
more convenient and also make them more of a profit. But, they
needed a name. This is the good part of the story. They got everyone
involved and urged their customers to jot down catchy titles and
put them in a large jar. It's also important to remember that
this was before the telephones and car. The only way for people
to communicate then over a long distance was by the United States
mail.
The main social activity for many in those
years was to congregate near the 'ol potbelly stove at the busy
general store waiting for the mailman. Many would just stand around
telling tall tales while others played checkers or cards. The
mailman would finally come, not only with the mail, but stories
from the neighboring towns and villages. As a gesture of good
will, he too was asked to enter the contest. He wrote something
down on a piece of paper and dropped it into the receptacle. Finally
the big day arrived and the customers all gathered around the
bottle. Out came the winning entry.
It was the mailman's selection, thus Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco was born.
References:
(I thank Swisher International, Inc. for the following very informative
information)
1. History of Swisher International, Inc. 4000 Water Street Wheeling,
W. VA. 26003
2. How Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco was named
3. Mail Pouch barn signs
(Author is also grateful to Lonnie Schnauffer, Scott Hagan, Don
Warrick, and Megan Warrick)