A while back I helped clean out the shed of an elderly friend who had passed away and came across a wooden box readers might find interesting. The box is pine and measures 15 1/2 inches x 9 7/8 inches x 6 inches. It has “Linda Vista Brand Santa Clara Prunes” printed on one end, “Santa Clara Prunes” in script down one side, and the NRA seal on the other end. At first you’d someone had just painted the NRA seal on at a later date using a stencil, but it’s original. There are also “NRA” tobacco scrips, and if you ever watch reruns of the television series “The Waltons,” you’ll see that same NRA logo displayed behind the counter at the store. But the NRA logo stenciled on prune box, the tobacco scrip and on the sign in “The Waltons” is not the National Rifle Association’s logo. Instead, it is a logo that originated in 1933 with the National Industrial Recovery Act, which was part of the New Deal. Under that federal program, the U.S. government took control over many industries until the Supreme Court ruled the program unconstitutional in May 1935. Many despised the program, but during the years in which it was in effect, the logo was proudly displayed to symbolize a company’s participation. The only connection with the National Industrial Recovery Act NRA and the National Rifle Association NRA is purely coincidence. During the same years, 1933 to 1935, the National Rifle Association’s headquarters and the administrative offices for the National Industrial Recovery Act were located in Washington D.C. Ironically, both were headquartered on 17th Street, and both were in the Barr Building.
Scott Mayer
www.tacticaltshirts.com
www.john1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
In 2008, Mayer returned to the editorial side of publishing, this time in the digital field, as Editorial Director for Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, Handguns and Rifleshooter online magazines. After a brief stint in 2011 as the Digital Media Director for an ABC TV affiliate, Mayer returned to the outdoors industry and Safari Club International where he is currently Assistant Publisher and Multi-Media Communications Editor.
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