Isaly's
Encyclopedia
Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
(Richland County
Richland County, Ohio
Richland County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 124,475. It is included in the Mansfield, Ohio, Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Mansfield–Bucyrus Combined Statistical Area....
), Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
with locations throughout the American Midwest from the early 20th century until the 1970s. It is best known today for its iconic chipped chopped ham The company was founded by William Isaly, son of Swiss immigrants who settled in Monroe County, Ohio
Monroe County, Ohio
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,642. Its county seat is Woodsfield and is named for James Monroe, Secretary of State when the county was formed and later President of the United States....
in the 19th century. By the early 1960s, the company boasted retail outlets that stretched from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
Isaly’s early success was attributed to its loose company structure, which allowed for easy expansion without corporate overhead. William Isaly’s first dairy was established in Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
where he acquired the Mansfield Pure Milk Company. Isaly expanded the core business from processing milk for sale to other grocers, to operating his own retail stores with milk, ice cream, bread and lunch counter service. Isaly also pioneered the idea of the modern convenience store by opening at least one outlet that also sold gasoline to motorists.
The first expansion of the business took the company to Marion, Ohio
Marion, Ohio
Marion is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Marion County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus....
after acquiring the Marion Pure Milk Company in 1914. Operated by Charles Isaly, the Marion operation was quickly modernized, and business grew accordingly. From Marion, the company expanded to Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
and then Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
(on the Blvd. of the Allies). Expansion continued through the 1930s and 1940s with additional dairies built from Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
(at North High Street and Arcadia Avenue) west to Iowa. Pittsburgh residents so highly regarded Isaly's that the company was considered a Pittsburgh original.
In its advertising, the dairies use the mnemonic phrase "I Shall Always Love You Sweetheart" to help with the spelling of the Isaly’s name. In Marion, Ohio, Isaly’s fielded an amateur basketball team that played against the Marion, Ohio based Jim Thorpe and His World-Famous Indians
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
and the Buffalo Silents
Buffalo Silents
The Buffalo Silents of Buffalo, New York were a 1920s exhibition basketball team whose members were either deaf and/or mute. The team barnstormed across Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, playing teams such as Jim Thorpe and His World-Famous Indians basketball team....
- a team composed of deaf/mute players.
In the 1930s, Isaly’s began a commercial building program that employed high style art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
/ Art Moderne designed production facilities and retail outlets, most of which were designed by architect Vincent (Shooey) Schoeneman. The Youngstown dairy facility represented the apex of this project, with the streamline building (with exterior by architect Charles F. Owsley) dominated by a five-story glass block tower.
In addition to the Klondike Bar
Klondike bar
Klondike is a brand name for a dessert generally consisting of a vanilla ice cream square coated with a thin layer of chocolate-flavored coating. The first recorded advertisement for the Klondike was on February 5, 1922 in the Youngstown Vindicator. They are generally wrapped with a silver-colored...
, the dairies were also known for their unique Skyscraper Cones, which eschewed round ice cream scoops, instead using a patented design that resulted in a long, inverse cone shaped dip. The company also had great success in selling Chip-Chopped Ham, sliced (shaved) razor thin for sandwiches. The sandwich was featured on the PBS special Sandwiches That You Will Like
Sandwiches That You Will Like
Sandwiches That You Will Like is a 2002 PBS documentary by Rick Sebak of WQED. The unique sandwich offerings of cities across the United States are shown, from those that are often found outside of their city of origin to the...
. The company also marketed "immunized milk for infants, supplied by special isolated herds of cattle."
Shifting consumer demands, declining sales for home-delivered milk, as well as corporate consolidation led to the closing of Isaly facilities beginning in the 1960s. According to Brian Butko, author of Klondikes, Chipped Ham, & Skyscraper Cones: The Story of Isaly's, it was the loose company structure – in an era of growing corporate homogeny - that left Isaly’s unable to compete on the wholesale and retail levels, leading to the closure of its dairies beginning in the mid-1960s.
Several members of the Isaly family attempted to continue to operate food-service operations. In Pittsburgh, Isaly outlets were converted to the "Sweet William" brand. In Ohio, restaurants operated under the "Isaly Shoppe" name until the mid 1990s when the final outlet closed in Marion, Ohio.
Since 1984, the Isaly's name has enjoyed a comeback of sorts, but one not overseen by members of the Isaly family. Delicatessen Distributing Incorporated of Evans City, Pennsylvania
Evans City, Pennsylvania
Evans City is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,009 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Evans City is located at ....
purchased the Isaly trademark name and markets the original quality luncheon meats, cheeses and sauces under the Isaly name in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. The concern also distributes Isaly brand ice cream (except Klondikes) to stores in Western Pennsylvania. The Klondike Bar product line is now owned by Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
.
There are at least three Isaly's still in operation in southwestern Pennsylvania in the areas of West View
West View, Pennsylvania
West View is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, just north of downtown Pittsburgh. The population was 6,771 at the 2010 census.-Geography and climate:West View is located at ....
, Turtle Creek
Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania
Turtle Creek is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,349 at the 2010 census. George Westinghouse gave life to the place by constructing a manufacturing plant nearby. Turtle Creek takes its name from a small stream that flows into the...
, and Allegheny East (city neighborhood of Pittsburgh), all retaining most of the classic interior. The walls of the West View Isaly's are filled with photos and memorabilia from the town's nearby amusement park, West View Park
West View Park
West View Park was an amusement park that was located in West View, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. It was founded by Theodore M. Harton in 1906.- Overview :...
Sources
- Butko, Brian. Klondikes, Chipped Ham, & Skyscraper Cones: The Story of Isaly's. Stackpole Books (July 2001). ISBN 0-8117-2844-7.
- Koblentz, Stuart. "We Remember Isaly's". Marion (Images of America Series). Arcadia Publishing (November 2004). ISBN 0-7385-3324-6.