A Look Back at Ocean City
By Fred Miller
A souvenir is a must after a vacation in Ocean City. A matchbook cover was once the cheapest and smallest memory of a wonderful time spent in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
The small, but useful advertising gimmick spread like wildfire into the pockets, purses, and kitchen drawers of millions of Americans from the 1920s to the 1960s. Matchbooks saw a decline in popularity starting in the mid-1960s with the availability of disposable lighters and anti-smoking health campaigns.
In 1962, the federal government decreed that friction strips had to be moved from the outside-front of a matchbook to the outside-back, thus ending the need for the famous phrase, “CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING.” With the strip in the front, failing to do so could allow a spark to light the other matches.
The matchbook covers were a favorite advertising give-away for restaurants. “BECK’S FOR SEAFOOD” is credited with giving away the first restaurant matchbook cover in Ocean City. In 1936, the restaurant, located at the base of the 9th Street Bridge, advertised their platters and the cost, “ALL FOR 85 CENTS.”
While most covers just used the front for getting their message out, some used the inside of the cover and even the matches themselves. In 1939, “HOGATE’S FOR SEAFOOD” (formally called Beck’s) had the most collectible of all the local matchbooks. The inside had a flap that showed a dinner platter and, when the flap was lifted, a description of what the platter included for 85 cents. Even the matches included artwork.
The Flanders Hotel receives the credit for the first local hotel to advertise on a matchbook cover. People attending the grand opening of the swimming pools in 1929 received, “THE FLANDERS; 250 ROOMS & BATHS” matchbooks.
Even the Ocean City Public Relations Department advertised on a matchbook cover in 1950: “AMERICA’S GREATEST FAMILY RESORT.”
Check your junk drawer and you’ll probably find a souvenir matchbook.
