Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

It All Started With A Blue Horse

by Tommy Towery

Class of '64

Last week's Mystery Photo gave me the urge to do a little research into the Blue Horse. I found several things of interest on the subject using Google's search. Most of us will remember that each packet of lined paper had a Blue Horse Trademark that was designed to be cut out and saved. The more paper in the package or the more the item would cost, the more trademarks were assigned to the package. From my memory, a nickle pack of paper had one trademark on it and a quarter package had five. I never collected enough to get anything with my efforts. Appartently the easiest thing to get was a Blue Horse beanie.

The contests were yearly contests and each one had a cut off date before the next year's started. One thing that I found is that over the years the contests to collect the trademarks seems to have changed several times. The number of prizes awarded and the requirements for the prizes changed as well. At one time, only a few prizes were awarded based on send in a specific number of trademarks.

Here's one article I found on the contests. It was written by Bob Cox on a web site called "Bob Cox's Yesteryear, Documenting the Nostalgic History of Upper East Tennessee."

The paper sold for a nickel a pack and contained about 25 5-hole punched sheets, allowing it to be conveniently placed in either 2 or 3 ringed binders. Each pack was enclosed in a small wrapper with the familiar Blue Horse head icon in the middle. These trademarks were then clipped, saved and later redeemed for prizes. Literally millions of Blue Horse heads were exchanged for cash and prizes, making Montag one of the largest paper companies in the industry by 1950.

An old Montage Brothers’ wrapper from the spring of 1953 shows, “50,000 Prizes For All You Lucky Boys And Girls.” Products costing 5 cents counted as one trademark, while 10-cent items yielded two. Participants were instructed to fasten the clippings in bundles of 50 or 100 before mailing them. Students sending in 20 Blue Horse heads received a souvenir beanie cap containing the company logo; all other prizes required a minimum of 30 heads. Youngsters did not actually choose prizes; the number of heads mailed to the company determined the relative value of the reward. Contest rules required that labels be submitted by June 15 each year, making it easier for the corporation to tabulate results, award prizes and formulate plans for the next year’s campaign.

The top prize was a Horse Head brand bicycle given to the 425 students sending in the most emblems. In addition, there were 375 table model radios, 550 footballs, 550 zipper notebook cases, 1250 surprise awards, 20,000 bonus prizes and 26,850 other prizes – totaling 50,000.

A significant advantage to this unique sales promotion was that students and schools were concurrently rewarded. Cash was offered to the 167 schools whose students sent in the most trademarks. Prize money included $100 for first, $50 for second, $40 for third, $25 for fourth, and $5 for fifth. The total money dispersed nationwide by the company was $2025.

About 1970, the Montag Brothers’ once-famed azure four-legged creature was escorted on a one-way trip to a glue factory. Today, the only trace of the hoofed animal is a large Atlanta building still referred to as … The Blue Horse.

Another interesting follow-on to that is that the Blue Horse Building is being revived as an office building. Here's some information found on the web about the building project:

The Montag Brothers' Blue Horse Trademark rode across the south into thousands of classrooms on the front of writing tablets, composition books and looseleaf filler packets for close to 40 years. A marketing promotion launched shortly after the depression to boost lagging sales proved to be a winner for the small stationery and school supply company. Millions of trademarks from Blue Horse products were cut, collected and redeemed for cash and prizes, and by 1950, Montag was one of the largest companies in the industry.

A state-of-the-art, 280,000 square foot plant was built on a 21-acre site in the heart of Atlanta, on North Highland Avenue. The property was known to many as the circus grounds where Ringling Brothers stopped and hoisted their big tops every year. In 1960, Montag and Champion Paper joined forces. The company merged again with Westab and finally, Mead Paper Company, which was the last step for The Blue Horse. Today, the historic office building is being renovated into 29,000 square feet of office space as part of the most significant real estate investment in Inman Park to date, Inman Park Village. And The Blue Horse rides again.

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Linda Beal Walker, Class of '66 - This blue horse was the label on notebook paper for three ring notebooks.

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Gary Grimme, Class of '68 - I believe that is the trademark photo for Blue Horse school supplies. If you bought a pack of notebook paper, inside the clear plastic wrapping, was a title page with a picture of the Blue Horse, and depending on how many sheets were in a particular package, that determined how many points the Blue Horse was worth. Spiral notebooks held even higher trademark value. Save up enough Blue Horses, and you could redeem the trademarks for different value prizes. I usually gave my points to the girls in class who loved horses, and I never redeemed any I had saved.

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Bruce Fowler, Class of '66 - Editus Splendidimus (Most Illustrious Editor) The mystery photo is of the trademark "Blue Horse" of the Montag Paper Company. http://shrinkify.com/366 Many of the paper products that we used in school were manufactured by this company. I particularly recall filler paper. As was common in those days the company had a rewards program based on coupons. I do not recall anyone availing themselves of this perhaps because the number of coupons required were daunting for the paucity of the reward?

My strongest memory of the Blue Horse however occurred when I was a junior in college. I was taking a chemistry course taught by the new head of department. As such new incumbents are often like to do he was trying to encourage frugality. One display of this was to dig around in the office stores repository. Hence for our final exam he handed out "Blue Horse" blue books. Happily the exam itself was rather simple and took only half of the allotted period to complete as the books definitely evoked memories of less thrilling stuff and were a distraction, especially on a muggy early summer evening before institutional air conditioning. I recall a couple of us surreptitiously palmed extras of the blue books as souvenirs. Mine has been lost over the years.

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Mike Griffith, Class of '66 - The picture of the blue horse head was the trademark for "Blue Horse" notebooks and paper. I remember seeing the notebooks, but most of my association comes from the Blue Horse notebook filler paper. The paper was packaged such that there was a wide paper band holding it together; on the band was the trademark horse head and other branding information. At Lincoln School that was a supply room (actually no more than a large closet) with a half-door serving as the counter and they would sell pencils, paper and a few other supplies, just before school and at recess. Blue Horse paper was included in the supplies that they sold. There was nothing much exceptional about the paper itself, but the actual picture of the Blue Horse was worth "points" for winning a prize. The idea was to cut out the picture and collect enough points to win one of the prizes. I believe that the top prize was a bicycle, and although I did collect the pictures/points, I never did submit any for a prize.

As a side note, the "supply room" also sold half-pints of chocolate milk at recess, for 4 cents ... but that was before "lactose intolerance" was invented.

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Chip Smoak, Class of '66 - If memory serves (my wife would say not very well) correctly this week's mystery picture was the logo for certain school supplies. I do not remember the name of the manufacturer but I think that it was on notebooks -- the kind with cardboard front and back.

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Jim Bannister, Class of '66 - I just had a chance to catch up on the Traveller. The top clip notebook was made for the Birmingham City School System by the Nifty Paper Company located in Birmingham. The Birmingham Board of Education had mandated the top punch paper to be compatible with the student record folders that each teacher had to maintain. Spiral & side ring notebooks were not allowed in the Birmingham City Schools. Paper refills for the notebook had "Birmingham School" printed on the wrappers. The lines on the paper was also wider spaced than regular side punched paper. I'm sure that someone on the school board received a nice kickback for this decision. Things here in Birmingham sure haven't changed much since then.

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Karen Tucker Oliver, Class of '65 - From somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain came Blue Horse Paper. The trivia that you jog is amazing! Thanks Tommy for all you do.

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Martin Towery, Class of '72 - Hello, Tommy! I realize that I am not an "original" Lee student, as I didn't graduate until 1972, but looking at the trivia picture, I was taken back to the days of buying "Blue Horse" notebook paper. Was that the only brand sold in schools? btw- your alumni site is STILL fantastic.

Go Generals!

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Subject:The Alamo

Eddie Burton

Class of '66

Tommy, I know exactly what you mean about the Alamo. The first time I saw it I was 6 years old which would have been in 1953 before the TV show. My uncle was in the Air Force and stationed there in San Antonio. My Mom and Dad and I went out there for a visit with him and my Aunt and my new cousin. They took me there and even at 6 years old, it made such an impression on me. Then about 1986 I was part of the opening act for Country singer Gary Morris and we played a convention right across the street from the Alamo and I got to go again. I was 39 and I remembered how I felt as a 6 year old kid seeing it for the first time. It was a thrill. To think of all the life that was lost there both American and Mexican, all over that little mission. I understand your feelings about it.

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Subject:The Alamo

Charlie Hancock

Class of '66

I first saw the Alamo in 2002 when I was in San Antonio for a reunion of my Marine infantry company when I was in Vietnam. (I was an FMF Navy Corpsman.) The reunion went very well. In May, the heat and humidity were nearly unbearable for me, since it was still early Spring in Western Washington. I made a quick hike to the Alamo, only 2 blocks away.

I was very surprised to learn it was much smaller than the set used in the Fess Parker movie. I was also surprised to learn some Masons held their Lodge on the grounds there.

San Antonio is a friendly city, but I can't visit there again in May. I'm sure it was just like Huntsville that day. 90s and high humidity. As I've said before, I'm a non-hacker in the heat and humidity dept.

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Subject:Sweet Home Alabama

Jim McBride

Class of '65

What an awesome rendition of “Sweet Home Alabama”. It reminded me that a few years ago I was walking back to my hotel in Innsbrook Austria at midnight when I passed a small beer joint. Wanna guess what was playing on the jukebox? That’s right, Skynyrd singing “Sweet Home Alabama”. Love to have the royalties on that one.

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Subject:LHS Class of '88 and '78 Reunion

Andrea Gray Roberson

Class of '66

My brother, Greg Gray and my sister, Gina Gray Smith were in the Lee High School class of 1978 and they are having their 30th class reunion and they wanted me to ask you if you would put their information on our Website. It will be July 12, 2008 and if anyone sees this and needs to contact someone please send an email to LSH78@comcast.net or call 256-585-0653.

Also, my daughter, Tracie Roberson Gentle, was in the Lee High School class of 1988 and they are having their 20th class reunion. If someone needs to contact them they will need to send an email to leehs88reunion@yahoo.com or call Clint Dozier at 256-5551-2975.

Thanks for your help.

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Late E-Mails

Subject:Lee's Traveller Delay for Internet

Lehman Williams

Class of '64

TT - That really SUCKS – I can’t believe that for the amount of money $$$ that we pay you to do this, that you can’t get it done on time. It does not surprise me, my eyes could not believe that Memphis could not hit a “FREE THROW”, FREE FREE FREE THROW, that’s a free shot from 35 FEET, with nobody in your face, not even a hand, noda, noda, noda. What were they ?, 1 for 9 in the last two minutes with a 9 point lead. UNBELIEVABLE

Anyway – what is really unbelievable is that some of us survived our high school years and are still alive – I should be the poster boy.

Just got my blood test results from the Oncologist – still no sign of the big “C” – so I’m a happy camper.

Just a small request, for those that are so inclined, say a little prayer for Linda Hughes and her family, a (I think) “1965” Lee grad who lost her son last year.

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Subject:No Internet

Meri Susan Simms

Class of '64

Tommy, I have to be a smart a** and ask -- (If you had no internet) Then how did you send this email?? (Saying you could not use the Internt to do the Traveller) Smiles!

(Editor's Note: I had my Pocket PC with me that has Outlook (e-mail) on it and a WIFI card. I walked around the condo parking lot until I found someone who had an unsecured WIFI connection and was able to send the eamil that way. The amount of web research and mail copying and pasting needed to do the issue was not possilbe on the Pocket PC. That's how! Ain't technology wonderful?)

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