Saturday, September 15, 2012

Sepia Saturday 143–Elsie and Beauregard ~ A Vintage Postcard

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.
 
Sepia Saturday 143 September 15, 2012

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo prompt shows the grocery section of the Bell and Macaulay's Store in Drouin, Victoria, Australia.  This opens up a myriad of possibilities from which to choose for today’s theme.

I’ve decided to stick with the obvious “food” theme and my Grandpa Debs Webster’s scrapbook has helped me out again.  From it’s pages, I found this cute circa 1952 vintage postcard to share with you.

I’m not sure where my Grandpa Debs bought this postcard, but I find it interesting that it is from 1952.  My regular readers may remember that 1952 is the year Debs and his family immigrated to the USA and travelled across the country from New York to their final destination of Southern California.  So, I’m wondering if he purchased this postcard somewhere along the way.


Elsie and Beauregard
Vintage Postcard circa 1952

Back of Elsie and Beauregard
Vintage Postcard
This postcard features Elsie and Beauregard.  Who are they you ask?  Elsie has been the symbol for Borden Dairy Products since 1938.  Beauregard is one of her offspring.  Elsie has been an amazingly popular advertising icon for years.  She even has her own Facebook page!  And did you know that Elsie’s husband, Elmer the Bull, is the mascot for Elmer's Glue?

Elmer's_Office_Glue_Stick - Wikimedia Commons - Pic by Mk2010
Elmer's Glue Stick
Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Mk2012
Click to Enlarge

Here’s the transcription from the back of the postcard (it’s really quite clever) ~
“Elsie is in her spool bed and young Beauregard in his corral playpen.  The barn colonial boudoir is complete with barrel chair, butter churn lamp and barnyard clock.  Elsie’s dressing table, made of a tree trunk, has a mirror directly above it made from the radiator of a 1910 Ford.  Her toiletries include Tail Wave Set, Henna Fur Glaze and Meadow Mud Pack.  Beauregard’s rocking horse has a bridle made of rope and a real western saddle.  Elsie’s bookcase contains such volumes as, The Farmer With Cold Hands, Animal Husbandry and Bulliver’s Travels.”

And now for your viewing pleasure, I present to you two Borden TV commercials.  The first is from 1972 and stars both Elsie and Beauregard.  The second is from the 1950’s/60’s and stars Elsie.


Borden Chocolate Milk TV Commercial from 1972 uploaded to Youtube.com by RetroGoop.



Borden TV Commercial–uploaded to Youtube.com by TVDAYS.COM as compiled & restored by Ira H. Gallen.


For more information on the history of Elsie the Cow, click HERE.

To see what other Sepia Saturday participants have written today, just “mooove” on over to the Sepia Saturday Blog.

Thanks for reading!

Jana


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

28 comments:

  1. That postcard is a hoot! I remember Elsie, but had never made the connection to Elmer's glue. Thanks for the chuckle!

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    1. Hi Kathy,

      I'm glad you liked the postcard! The write-up on the back really is a hoot. Someone very witty must have written it. Love the "Bulliver's Travels" on her bookshelf.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Back in the late 1940s I had a little plastic Baby Beauregard with a clear bottle with "milk" that he could drink and then it would reappear. I didn't know Elsie had more calves.

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    1. Hi Kristin,

      Aw, that sounds like such a fun toy! I remember those kinds of toy bottles from my own childhood.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I am going to sound just like Kathy - I knew Elsie right away as soon as I saw the postcard but have totally forgotten Beauregard. And no, I never put Elsie and Elmer together. This is just the funniest post ever. (And by the way, it always cracks me up to see you "last" on the SS list. I challenge you to be "first" one of these days!)

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    1. Hi Wendy,

      HA! I hadn't really made the connection to me always being "last" on the SS list. That's too funny!

      Glad you enjoyed the post! And thanks for reading and for your comments. I really do appreciate it Wendy!

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    2. Good news - thanks to Howard Then and Now, you're no longer "Last."

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    3. Whew!! That's a relief! Thanks Wendy!

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    4. Wendy and Jana, I was going to post about the funny way Jana presented the information. I love all the additional information you put into the post to help us make connections and see how the Elsie and Elmer brand changed since the postcard was purchased.

      HOWEVER, the tread about being last and then not last gave me a bigger chuckle. Too funny.

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    5. Hi Devon,

      I'm so glad you enjoyed the post...and the thread between Wendy and me. She's a hoot!

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  4. I remember Elsie! Love the old commercials!

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    1. Hi Charlene! I'm so glad you enjoyed the commercials.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. The postcard was cute and I recognized Elsie right away. Interesting to learn Elmer was Elsie’s husband. After all these years of buying glue sticks, I never made the connection! Enjoyed the vintage commercials – they are so fun to watch!

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    1. Hi Queen Bee,

      I'm glad you enjoyed the vintage commercials!

      Thanks so much for reading and for your comments! I really appreciate it.

      Delete
  6. I had to study the postcard several times to find Beauregard. I hadn't heard of this pair before.

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    1. Hi Bob,

      There really is a lot of detail in this postcard. And it's cleverly done too. Did you notice the pictures on the walls? And I love Elsie's chair in her library.

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  7. Amazing, the amount of history there is behind this postcard! Obviously Elsie and Elmer are new to me but it was fun reading your post and all the remarks about old memories. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Peter,

      Thank you for your kind comments about this post. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

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  8. Elsie, Elma and the rest of the herd were new to me but it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip to the dairy.

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    1. Hi Alan, Thanks so much for stopping by!

      I'm glad you enjoyed learning about Elsie and her family!

      Thanks so much for reading and for your comments. I really appreciate it.

      Delete
  9. Hi Jana, what a great post! I love how the postcard idea led to the others. It is funny, because when I think of Borden, I think of The Borden Chemical Company in Springfield, Oregon. I'll have to check into that and see if there is any relation to the dairy products.

    Elmer's glue is the very best for everyday and school stuff!

    The commercials were the icing on the cake. Thank you for this awesome S.S. contribution.

    Kathy M.

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    1. Hi Kathy,

      I just looked at Wikipedia and it looks like Borden, Inc. was the parent company of both a food products division and an industrial division. So, yes, it looks like they were connected.

      I'm so glad you enjoyed this post.

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  10. I'd forgotten about Elsie. This was so wonderful to see. I used to love Elsie. To a kid she was almost real. If I'd had this post card back then I would have been convinced!

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    1. Hi Tattered and Lost,

      I'm so glad my post brought back good memories of Elsie from your childhood!

      Thanks so much for reading and for your comments! I appreciate it!

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  11. The Farmer With Cold Hands and Bulliver's Travels should be on everyone's reading list. Very enjoyable post.

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    1. Hi Little Nell,

      HA! Yep, those are classics for sure!

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Jana ... what a fun post! I did not know about Elmer either. Your Grandpa's scrapbook sure has left you with a lot of great blogging material ...

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    1. Hi ljhlaura,

      Yep, Grandpa's scrapbook really has been helping me out a lot with my blog!

      Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate it!

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