Monday, October 11, 2021

Thanks Myra!....... Burma Shave!!

Car of the day:

 

Below at the Hackberry General Store on Route 66!


For today: 

How in the world did I miss that one? I loved reading them. There were several we passed at least once a month for a couple years and I LOVED every sign. They appeared in all but 4 or 5 states between 1926-1963.

Someone at Burma Shave had gotten bored as a kid on car trips, I bet!!

I just searched and this is what I found out about Alan the son of the CEO:

Then one day, Alan Odell came up with a suggestion. He suggested roadside signs like the ones he had seen on road trips when he was out trying to sell Burma-Shave. However, his father would not hear of such an idea, and was sure that the boy was just homesick because of all the travelling he was doing. Alan continued to lobby for his idea and finally his father gave in and gave him $200 to try out his idea.

Just for fun I listed some from the Burma Shave signs:

PAST
SCHOOLHOUSES
TAKE IT SLOW
LET THE LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW
BURMA-SHAVE

or

IS HE LONESOME
OR JUST BLIND
THIS GUY WHO
DRIVES
SO CLOSE BEHIND?

BURMA-SHAVE.

Still other good examples include

MANY A FOREST
USED TO STAND
WHERE A
LIGHTED MATCH
GOT OUT OF HAND
BURMA SHAVE

and

THE ONE WHO
DRIVES WHEN
HE’S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING
BURMA SHAVE

Yep..

THIRTY DAYS
HATH SEPTEMBER
APRIL
JUNE AND THE
SPEED OFFENDER
BURMA SHAVE

And finally:

IF DAISIES
ARE YOUR
FAVORITE FLOWER
KEEP PUSHIN’ UP THOSE
MILES-PER-HOUR
BURMA SHAVE

I got a kick out of reading the information and history of the Burma Shave signs. As a kid I really did enjoy them. Although I can see where they could cause a traffic problem with the increase in traffic and speeds.…. L

Yep, Burma Shave was tops for years in a Advertisement Coup.

  

NiteShipslog

PS:  

5 comments:

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

I remember seeing those signs right here in Ohio too. They were not just on route 66. I loved reading them and they helped make a long trip more pleasant. And they always got a good chuckle out of us too.Good memories for today !

Mevely317 said...

Thanks for the shout-out, Jack! And these examples, too. Made me smile all over again.

PS - Fascinating back-story. Love the young-un's tenacity!

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Clever idea and adverts. We never had these on our motorways.

God bless.

yaya said...

I haven't seen these signs before and that surprised me because we traveled as a family a lot when I was young and also with our kids when they were young. They sure are clever!

Woody said...

I remember those, My Sign was:
When you drive
remember Pard
that marble slab
is mighty hard
Burma Shave

Gary