J J Newberry, which had a small Newberry's department store on West Front Street in Keyport at the time, ran an advertisement in the
5 March 1953 edition of The Matawan Journal. The ad coincided with the company's mass mailing of "thrift tickets" that provided customers 25 cents off on a $1.00 purchase at their stores. Shoppers were to check their mailboxes to be sure they received their tickets. If they didn't receive them, they were instructed to write to Newberry's in New York and let them know right away, presumably so they could send out new ones. And then it would be "Sandy MacTavish time!"
The ticket in the mail was meant to save customers money on purchases for their whole families. The country was about to fall into recession as the Korean War came to an end, so the economy was probably already tight. People needed to save money, and thrift stores were one way to save. Maybe that's why the Scotsman was so happy? In the ad he's jumping for joy at receiving his ticket, saying, "Hoot, mon. It's like finding a quarter-r-r!" (Note the rolling R's.That's his brogue, I presume.)
We could all use a thrift ticket these days.
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| Newberry's advertisement (1953) |
It's really nice to know what happened on the past and what it did to the present. On the other hand, is there any updates on flu shot today?
ReplyDeleteI've written a brief article about flu shot availability at your request. The Matawan-Aberdeen Patch started covering this topic back in October, so I didn't want to duplicate efforts. Besides, shots are widely available, unlike last year, and the time frame for getting the shots is nearly over.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to respond to queries and will do so, but don't hesitate to write to Chelsea Naso, the editor at Mat-Ab Patch, if you see a gap in public service coverage. She has been responsive to my suggestions on an array of topics and I'm sure she'd appreciate hearing from you.
I'm glad you appreciate the history articles -- at least I think you do. They help broaden our appreciation for the region and the journey its people have been on. I hope that local students will begin to tap these articles to give a local flavor to their school reports for their history and social studies classes. A lot of who we are is buried in The Matawan Journal, Red Bank Register, and other newspapers, and I'm trying to give people an easier way to access our story.
But flu shots are important too.