Historic Hood River
A.S. Blowers Store, circa 1920
Notes
Here’s another fine view of the interior of A.S. Blowers store. The man on the left is identified as Loyd Blowers.
Many great labels visible: Royal Baking Powder, Tropic Oysters, Fruit Pectin, Holsum Bread, Petite Soda Wafers, Minneha? Canned Salmon, KC Baking Powder, Ceylon Tree Tea, XL Chicken Tamale (in a can?), Bishops Biscuits, Cheese Nips, Hershey’s ?, Karo ?, Chocolate Chicos, Life Savers, Derby Sandwich Delight, Armour’s Boiled Ham, Hills Bros Coffee, Calumet Baking Powder, Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes, Carnation Milk, and of course, Jell-o.
A sign advertises “Seed Time” and another asks the enigmatic question, “Do the Women of Southern California want High Score Butter?”
Is anyone willing to document the shelves at Rosauers for the enjoyment of HHR readers 90 years hence?
l.e.
OK….I give up trying to guess. What is hanging from the rope?
Chicken Tamale? That one surprised me. I wonder what happened to the cash register and scales.
charlott
Okay, my question is, are those decorations hanging in the middle of the ceiling or do they have a purpose. Never seen anything like that before.
‘
So much details to grasp…..
nels
Karo Syrup. Hershey’s Chocolate?
Bert
Karo is corn syrup
Rawhyde
I believe the hanging things are bananas. The way they were before the modern clone was created. My understanding is that bananas used to be considerably more flavorful, but that a disease wiped out the planting stock that produced them.
Jill Stanford
I think they are bananas too. But what ARE those "paper"? things in the middle of the ceiling? the lights?
l.e.
Is this the same building as in photo #701?
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org?showimage=701
Arthur
I meant to research this one more before it posted, but I wasn’t paying attention last night. I think one of the Blowers moved to the San Diego area and opened a store down there, so it is possible this is not a Hood River store.
Judy
Don’t we have a "Blowers" Subdivision? One of his ancestors?
l.e.
Well San Diego would make more sense for Chicken Tamales and bananas. I am adding a smiley face at the end of that.
Could the frilly things on the ceiling be some kind of fan?
Longshot2
Had a friend now long gone who as a young man acted as a banana spotter. His job was to follow railcars full of banana across the country to make sure they didn’t get stuck on a siding somewhere and thus turn to mush before they arrived at their intended market.
Arthur
Good story Longshot. I had a friend whose wife was a banana food chemist. Her job was finding ways to use bananas in food. She was working on banana milk, which I think was a way to use the bananas that your friend found stuck on the siding.
Buzz
Didn’t know about banana spotters. Or banana food chemist. But by the time those bananas made it to the islands in Alaska they weren’t much good. To this day, I don’t buy more than 3 very green ones at a time as I can’t eat mushy bananas. Have learned some interesting things here, even though some of the pictures don’t mean much to me.
Judy
At my age, I do not want to buy "too many" green bananas! LOL
terri blowers gammon
The man on the left is my grandfather.
terri blowers gammon
That is my grandfather and great grandfathers place
terri blowers gammon
None of the blowers that I know of had another store. My grandfather Loyd, moved to the San Francisco bay area. And remained there until his passing.
L.E.
In the February 13, 1903 HR Glacier page 3:
A.S. Blowers & Son, have made sale of their store to Bragg Bros. of Pullman Washington. The sale has been closed and payment made and the new proprietors will take possession April.
Bragg Bros. have a merchandise store in Pullman and own a big flouring mill at Colfax. The firm of Blowers & Son is one of the oldest in HR, and by its going out of business HR will lose one of its most prominent landmarks. L.N. Blowers, the junior member of the firm will, we learn, go to Puget Sound, where he will engage in the commission business. Captain Blowers practically quit business two years ago, and the sale of the store will make no change in his business life.