Enjoying Sanford's Ice Cream with Lotta Miles


The Duke University site has a lot of great old photos, especially of Asbury Park, New Jersey, which is where this one was taken, which caught my eye because of the beautiful detail. The more I zoomed into it, the more interesting it became, and I even found out a little bit about the Kelly Springfield Tires spokeswoman around 1920, called Lotta Miles.

I had never even heard of her, and at first I thought that she was a celebrity endorsement, until I realized that the name was just "lot of miles" for a tire company. Still, I found it interesting, as apparently there was a real person behind the fictional name - several of them in fact, which you could see advertising tires from the turn of the century until the 1940s. If you're a Lotta Miles history expert, please tell me more about her!


Since this photo didn't have an exact date, I looked around on the internet and found this image, so I've labeled my file as 1920. It could be a little earlier, or a little later, but it's right around there. And even though you can't see the name on the front of the restaurant, it's the Sea-View. Hang on, I have another pic of it.


It later became the Colonial Cafe, and while I don't have an exact date, it had the name and remodel by 1937. Here it is as the Colonial Cafe:


But let's get to the ice cream! That's what I would order. You could also get Soda, Saltwater Taffy, Popcorn, and Confections. There's also a sign for Muscadine Punch. I wonder if that's what the two guys are drinking?



It looks like those are little metal cups with paper inserts. I can't read the rest of the lettering back there, wish I could! Tell me what you see.


Of course we've gotta take a closer look at Lotta Miles. I need to do more research on her! I had never heard of her, but apparently this advertising campaign ran for so long that most people would have known about her. That is one strange-looking hat she's wearing! And I don't know anything about women's fashion, but I know that the boyish look was popular for young women in the '20s.


I sure like the idea of an ice cream garden! It must have been nice sitting there at night, with the little lights hanging there. Thank you for visiting Asbury Park with me, and Lotta Miles!
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