PDX Commercial History: The Tom Peterson & Gloria's Too Coffee Mug
One of my dreams is to find and acquire either the world-famous Tom Peterson Alarm Clock or the not-quite (but deserving-to-be) Tom Peterson wristwatch.
That dream remains as such, but … I did find something nifty. I give you … The Tom Peterson And Gloria's Too Coffee Mug, found this last Wednesday in a vintage shop somewhere up upper Hawthorne Blvd and purchased by ourselves for about two bucks. Here's a photeaux:
For those of you who weren't lucky enough to live in Portland during the Tom Peterson years, he was the quintessential Portland furniture and appliance salesman. A nice fellow by reputation, honest dealer, and born salesman, he charmed three generations of Portlanders with his inexpensively-done but enthusiastic late night ads on KPTV (especially the "Wake Up!" sale ads, where he kept the stores open all night, and made like he was knocking on the inside of your screen (nobody bought it, but it was fun to watch him act it out).
Tom's store closed last year, as my blog http://zehnkatzen.blogspot.com mentioned before anyone else (and almost everyone else ripped me off on without crediting). I miss him, I miss his commercials. It was a simpler time.
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Samuel John Klein
