JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

1970 was a time of change for the evening newscasts on both sides of the border. Stateside, NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report ended after 14 years with the retirement of Chet Huntley. John Chancellor and Frank McGee joined Brinkley for the next year on the renamed NBC Nightly News , then Chancellor went solo. ABC News started the year with Frank Reynolds and Howard K. Smith behind the anchor desk, until Reynolds was replaced by Harry Reasoner (in between stints on 60 Minutes ) in December. The National officially gained its name in 1969, amid an anchor change (Stanley Burke, who quit as newsreader to raise awareness surrounding the Biafran war in Nigeria, was replaced by Warren Davis) and a switch to colour. Lloyd Robertson replaced Davis in 1970. One question this ad raises: was grey jacket/tan or mustard yellow shirt the official CBC newscaster uniform in 1970? As for the hosts pictured, Robertson remained as anchor through 1976, while George Finstad became one of the orig

Tried to go with a slightly spooky theme on last week's walk. With a stroll alongside Mt. Pleasant Cemetery as the starting point, who knew what ghoulish sights and sounds awaited? Heath St is one of Toronto's most chopped-up streets, hacked off into three sections due to ravines. The busiest portion is the main branch, running from the Rosedale ravine to almost the back entrance to St. Clair West subway station (from there to Bathurst, it's Tichester) - I often use this portion as a car/bike alternative to St. Clair. We joined Heath at the end of its Moore Park branch, where it runs into a footbridge across the Moore Park ravine. The yellow light cast the right eerie note. Once across the bridge, we headed into the ravine. Our eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, the only light provided by the occasional house up top. The path followed Mud Creek, which was appropriate given that we wandered along a combination of mud and leaves, which created a spooky squishing

...or, how to exploit the symbolic power of your name for fun and political profit. There is no shortage of candidates taking advantage of this playbook during the current campaign. Two candidates ringing their Bells - the top's from Leamington, bottom Guelph. The latter is, depending on your view of sign clusters, in full bloom or needs serious weeding. Note avoidance of phrases like "ringing in change" or "time for a change". From the Maitland area in Eastern Ontario, a candidate capitalizing on the avian aspect of their name. There are variants to this playbook: Variant #1: Utilizing the punny potential of your name. However, if the candidate's name was November, using a similar line could cause heads to scratch more than usual. Variant #2: playing on the name of your ward, as is the case with this sign from Guelph. This sign takes the tasteful approach, with a silhouette of the namesake saint and a small pair of shamrocks. Imagine

When I was little, we picked apples along Ridge Rd, outside of Harrow. By the orchards was this barn, which back in the day was a vibrant mural of a deified apple. Now, it appears the worshippers have moved on, as time has taken its toll. I've always been a font geek, even if I didn't hear the term until well after childhood. I also loved road signs as a kid. Put the two together and you have this picture. Street signs in Leamington and Wheatley had an unusual blocky font that I never saw anywhere else, instantly telling me where I was. Over time, these signs have been replaced, to the point that Robinson St, located near the Heinz plant, has one of the last survivors.

Toronto was one of the last municipalities to allow candidates to erect signs this year, which was very noticeable if you drove out of the town. Signs in the rest of the province were in full bloom by the time the first signs appeared in Toronto last week. As I have driven around most of Southern Ontario over the past month, I've had my camera handy to capture any signs that deviate even slightly from the usual "Vote John Doe" or "Re-elect Jane Doe". You can find the growing set of pictures over on Flickr . Today's samples come from my old stomping grounds, the deep southwest. From Kingsville, one wonders how many American Pie-based jokes this candidate is on the receiving end of. It's human nature to make fun of a candidate based solely on their name. This comes from the "70s Real Estate Sign" playbook. It screams small-town realty firm: the logo, the placement of text, the cut-out picture, the colour scheme. Discovered while driv

Amherstburg can join the list of towns across North America that have a dead mall. After 30 years, most of them known as Fort Malden Mall, White Woods Mall will breathe its last within the next few months, to be replaced with a power centre anchored by the Bentonville Behemoth. For most of its life, the mall was filled with small local businesses and Windsor-based chains. Few national retailers passed through its doors over the first half of its life. The original portion of the mall, the east corridor, opened in 1976, with A&P and The Met (Metropolitan stores) as its anchors. The Met was a second-tier discount chain owned by Gendis, who later converted it to a SAAN store. For several years, both chains operated across the street from each other. Don't really remember much about the Met, other than Dad used to pick up cutout records there and Amy and I had childhood portraits taken there. It was considered ultra-low-end shopping by late childhood. The only other Met locat

On Monday, I picked up the keys to my new digs. As this would be the last time the apartment would be in its pristine state, I brought the camera along and snapped a few shots. For the curious, the two pics on the left will be the bedroom/office, followed by the living room and kitchen. People who have visited the bunker will notice two distinct new elements - sunlight and closets. Can't leave out one of the most important rooms of any household. No longer do I have to cut shower curtains in half. Now begins the fun of determining the precise layout of the apartment...

I should know to stick to back roads. Driving down to Montreal last Friday was an exercise in frustration whenever my wheels touched 401. Numerous construction zones, inexplicable traffic jams, much like recent travels along 401 from Toronto to Windsor. I thought I'd mix freeway and backroad travel, but should have stuck entirely to the latter. Especially when odd discoveries were made. After filling up in Napanee, I headed along county roads to the north of 401, an area I'd never been through before. Among the towns I passed through was Yarker, northwest of Kingston. At the town's main intersection, I saw a bridge ahead of me and decided to check out the view from it. The name of the street next to the bridge caused me to do a double-take. Choctaw Ridge...next to a bridge...cue the record player in my head. The only thing missing was a sign indicating this was the Tallahachie Bridge (I didn't see any signs namimg it). Views from the bridge, showing o

Today, an ad from a classic comic book advertiser, Grit , which billed itself as "America's Favorite Family Newspaper". The paper's philosophy was summed up by publisher Dietrick Lamade around the turn of the century: Always keep Grit from being pessimistic. Avoid printing those things which distort the minds of readers or make them feel at odds with the world. Avoid showing the wrong side of things, or making people feel discontented. Do nothing that will encourage fear, worry or temptation... Wherever possible, suggest peace and good will toward men. Give our readers courage and strength for their daily tasks. Put happy thoughts, cheer and contentment into their hearts. According to Grit 's official history , the paper reached its peak circulation around the time this ad appeared - one-and-a-half million subscribers in 1969. Over time, it flipped owners, reduced its frequency and evolved into a farm lifestyle magazine. As a friend noted, it's od

990: ONE FINE SATURDAY IN MICHIGAN Spent the long weekend back in A'burg, which included the usual trip over to Detroit with Amy. Everywhere we went, the only subject of conversation was that afternoon's Tigers/Yankees playoff game. I would have listened to it, except that their current flagship radio station, WXYT , has a weak signal. Happily, the Tigers won their first playoff round since '84, the Yankees went down in flames and no burning police cars were reported by local TV stations. Two shots from the intersection of Woodward Ave and McNichols Rd (the name through Detroit of 6 Mile Rd), which marks the northern boundary of Highland Park. Left : WJLB has long been one of the leading urban contemporary radio stations in Detroit, stretching back to their "strong songs" TV campaign in the 80s. Not sure how to explain this ad, other than they're tapping into the largely neglected radio-in-the-shower market. Right : Based on the colour of this building, wou