Local history: What the shell? Unusual items are on display at the Peanut Shoppe in Akron

No matter how many times you visit, there’s something different to see.

The Peanut Shoppe at 203 S. Main St. in downtown Akron is well known for its candies, nuts, chocolates and other treats, but it also serves as a museum of pop culture.

Just look at those walls. Practically every square foot is plastered with colorful memorabilia.

Hundreds of items. Perhaps thousands.

In honor of the store’s 90th anniversary Sunday, owner Marge Klein led us on a nooks-and-crannies tour of unusual artifacts on display. We were surprised to see so many things we hadn’t noticed before.

Historic photographs show bustling sidewalks filled with people. Cast-iron roasters, nearly a century old, fill the shop with the wonderful aroma of freshly roasted peanuts. Celebrity portraits smile down on visitors.

“There’s a lot in the back room that I haven’t put up yet,” she said.

Origin of Akron peanut store

The National Peanut Corp. used to have 200 shops across the country. Now there are only about a dozen still open, including those in Akron, Columbus and Springfield, Ohio.

“A veritable palace of peanuts, a new store in which the walls and ceiling are covered with thousands of peanuts, will be opened Saturday [April 7] at 139 S. Main St. by the National Peanut Corp.,” the Akron Beacon Journal reported April 6, 1934.

Matthew M. Cochrane managed the original Planters store near the Strand Theater between Bowery and Mill streets in Akron. Customers enjoyed hot, salted nuts, fresh in the shell.

“See them roasted before your eyes,” Planters advertised.

In 1937, the shop moved to the Whitelaw Building at 176 S. Main St. next to Loew’s Theater (now Akron Civic Theatre). Former manager Joe Lampasone bought the store in 1960 and operated it for 20 years before selling it to Jack Ashbrook, Klein’s father, in 1980. When Ashbrook died in 1998, Klein took over the business.

The Peanut Shoppe moved across South Main in 2004 after the city bought the Whitelaw Building to develop the district around the Civic.

“We didn’t have a lot of pictures across the street,” Klein said. “My dad only had one picture on the wall. We all laugh about this. He would have a fit if he saw all this stuff right here.”

Roasters and Mr. Peanut

One prized display is a 1930s costume of Mr. Peanut, the advertising logo of Planters, wearing a monocle and top hat. The texture resembles papier-mache, but it feels more durable — perhaps an early form of plastic.

“The high school boys who worked here used to wear that outside and walk up and down the sidewalk,” Klein said.

Still in use, the original roasters, emblazoned with the logo for Planters Nut and Chocolate Co., also provide effective advertising. At the old location, the aroma wafted from a pipe at the front of the shop.

“You could smell the peanuts up and down Main Street,” Klein said.

Today, the vent is on the roof, but people can still catch a whiff when the wind is blowing from the west.

Mr. Peanut’s likeness can be found in drawings, toys, dolls, clocks, puzzles, thermometers, trophies, ornaments and other objects. There’s an original painting of Mr. Peanut walking an alligator on a leash, which is as surreal as it gets.

Against a wall is a vintage Mr. Peanut scale from the Hamilton Scale Co. of Toledo. It used to be outside for people to weigh themselves, but the instrument broke decades ago, recording everyone as 60 pounds.

Customers have donated many of the Mr. Peanut collectibles.

“They clean out their houses and their garages and their basements, and they bring it in,” Klein said.

Other artifacts have nothing to do with peanuts.

There’s a 1950s cash register from the coatroom of Sanginiti’s Restaurant at 207 E. Market St., a landmark that closed in 1990 after 40 years.

There’s a 1995 Kenley Players poster of Loni Anderson starring in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” at the Akron Civic Theatre.

There’s a 1969 letter from Sports Illustrated publicity director Keith Morris congratulating Akron bowler Larry Kitchen on rolling a perfect game.

There’s a 1950s publicity photo of the Akron doo-wop group The Fascinations, featuring Jordan Zankoff, Darrel McDonald, Gene Blackford and Phil Dimascio.

There’s a certificate from the 9th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit that notes an American flag was flown for the Peanut Shoppe on a B-1B aircraft mission Dec. 11, 2018, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East.

Souvenirs of Soap Box Derby

Some of Klein’s favorite memorabilia involves the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron.

“We were always in the derby parades when we were young,” she said.

There’s a photo of Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan, future California governor and U.S. president, racing in the Oil Can Trophy Race in 1951.

There’s a portrait of Vice President Richard M. Nixon congratulating 1959 champion Terry Barney.

There’s a picture of “Bonanza” TV stars Michael Landon, Dan Blocker and Lorne Greene, who drew crowds in the 1960s as celebrity guests in Akron.

There’s a 1964 certificate from Mayor Edward Erickson proclaiming New Philadelphia racer James A. Lewis “an honorary citizen of Akron.”

Prominently displayed is an official derby car, marked with the Peanut Shoppe logo, which Klein’s grandchildren Molly and Jacob Klein raced at Derby Downs. That one is extra special.

Musicians are well-represented on the walls. A signed photo features Herman’s Hermits singer Peter Noone. Akron rocker Rachel Roberts plays guitar in another photo. The Bizarros of Akron and Aftermath of Cleveland can be found here, too.

A bumper sticker reading “I Break for the Black Keys” (shouldn’t that be “Brake”?) accompanies a signed photo of Akron’s Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney: “To Marge … Thanks for the peanuts!”

You can’t miss Peanut Shoppe customer Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is featured in several photos, including a portrait of her standing in front of the store’s glass counter.

“It is a great picture of her, isn’t it?” Klein said.

She remembers the day Hynde stepped off a bus — not a tour bus but a Metro RTA bus — and entered the shop.

“She sat down, crossed her legs and said, ‘So, how is everybody?’ ” Klein recalled. “And then all these people were coming in here and I don’t think at first they knew who she was. And they were like ‘Are you kidding me?’ ”

LeBron and other athletes

The shop also pays tribute to local athletes.

There’s a portrait of Akron native LeBron James holding the NBA championship trophy in 2016 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There’s a group shot of heavyweight boxing champ Michael Dokes, his mother, Sopora, sister, Alisa, and boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

There’s a University of Akron bobblehead of basketball coach John Groce as well as nodding figures of soccer player Deandre Yedlin and basketball player Romeo Travis.

There’s a portrait of Porky Dudich, equipment manager of UA athletics, with Tom Adolph, who lettered in baseball, football and basketball for the Zips.

There’s a 1960s signed portrait of Kenmore High School quarterback Don Plusquellic, the future mayor. Other portraits include Kenmore tackle Bob Swain, Buchtel wrestler Rich Decatur, South basketball star Darrell Stamps and East high jumpers Mike Buckner, Frank Williams and Frank Thomas.

There’s Barberton pro wrestler Steve Brookens, known as “The Green Hornet,” wearing a championship belt. There’s Akron speed eater Dave “Coondog” O’Karma holding a giant sandwich.

Look up there. It’s a Cleveland Crunch 1994 NPSL world champion pennant. Over there’s a 2008 Mount Union national football championship poster. Isn’t that the 1990 Cleveland Browns and the 1995 Cleveland Indians?

Broadcasters, blimps and frogs

Did WKYC-TV charter a Cleveland tour bus? There’s a photographic shrine to Channel 3 personalities, including Betsy Kling, Russ Mitchell, Robin Swoboda, Vic Gideon, Monica Robins, Maureen Kyle, Tom Beres, Lynna Lai, Kris Pickel, Pamela Osborne, Brandon Simmons, Marcus Walter and Jennifer Lindgren.

Other broadcasters include CNN anchor and Buchtel graduate Leon Harris, WSLR’s Jaybird Drennan and WONE’s Jeff Kinzbach, Tim Daugherty, Sandra Miller, Steve Hammond and Christi Nichols.

There’s just so much. A Goodyear inflatable blimp. A Barberton Speedway poster. A Lindeman’s 5-foot wooden nutcracker. Vintage cans from Salem’s and Flaherty’s potato chips. A Queen Elizabeth II figurine waving next to a Mayor Plusquellic bobblehead. A collection of Akron First Night posters from the 1990s through 2010s. A 1986 photo of the Space Shuttle Challenger crew, including Akron’s Judith Resnik.

What’s that? A plastic frog dangling from a wire? Urban archaeologist Fred Francis, who used to dig up ceramic figurines and marbles from the old Akron Pottery site where Lock 3 Park is today, brought in the fake amphibian.

“He liked frogs,” Klein said.

There’s a photo of Dr. Bob Smith, the Akron physician who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Bill Wilson in 1935. There’s a Buffalo Soldier portrait of Army Sgt. Johnnie R. Downs, a Vietnam War veteran from Akron. There’s a 1950s picture of Mayflower Hotel bartender George Mitles, who was famous for insulting customers.

We’ve barely scratched the surface.

The next time you go to the Peanut Shoppe for candies, nuts, chocolates and other treats, take a good look around.

You never know what you’ll see.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: The Peanut Shoppe in Akron displays unusual artifacts