BLUE HORSE NOTEBOOK PAPER (published 9-24-2022, article #359)

Introduction

Howdy, y'all! Yesterday, in this neck of the woods, the low was 46 degrees Fahrenheit at about 7 AM. The sky was crisp and blue. Fall is finally in the air! It's about time. Today, I hope that the clouds bring some much-needed rain.

As a side note, three days ago, “Microcrap” (as I call Microsoft) forced a computer software update, which I installed successfully that afternoon. The next morning, however, my “Winders” (Windows) Live Mail 2012 would not allow me to create or reply to emails. The software had been working fine before the update. So, yesterday morning, I uninstalled the 9/21/2022 “Microcrap” update. The email software works fine again. I won!

Getting back to the topic, do northeast Tennessee readers, who have some age on them, remember Blue Horse notebook paper? I heard some folks say, “Yes!” For those who don't know, please read on! Well, if you do know, you may want to read along also.

Inspiration for This Article

I started this draft on Friday, 7/29/2022. That morning, Phil Williams on The Phil Show, NewsTalk 98.7 FM, talked about Blue Horse notebook paper. I listen to him at times while conducting my morning ritual.

That brought back a few memories from the backwaters of my mind. I thought, “Blue Horse notebook paper. Hum. What can I find online?”

Blue Horse Notebook Paper

After my morning ritual on 7/29/2022, I searched online for “Blue Horse notebook paper.” After scrolling past all the advertisements, the first actual article that didn't want money was on the Johnson City Press (Johnson City, TN) website.

The article is “Remembering when Montag's Blue Horse galloped across the country dispersing Blue Horse label notebook paper,” by Bob Cox, Johnson City Press, 9/7/2019.

The article presents an old Blue Horse notebook paper advertisement to girls and boys for various prizes. The image below is from that article.

A photograph of the Blue Horse emblem and some advertisements for the big contest the brand put on. Contributed/Bob Cox.

Montag, which started in 1945, made Blue Horse notebook paper. Montag & Caldwell's website article, M&C Celebrates A 75-Year History: The Story Behind Montag & Caldwell, 11/16/2020, mentions Blue Horse notebook paper. It is a note in their historical background.

Deeper Online Digging: Bob Cox

The above-referenced 9/7/2019 Johnson City Press article includes a link to Bob Cox's Yesteryear: Documenting the Nostalgic History of Upper East Tennessee. His latest articles are three from 8/8/2019. That website doesn't appear to be active.

But wait! Box Cox has an active online source: “Bob Cox's Yesteryear,” a personal blog on Facebook! If you have a Facebook account, you can find him there, still writing and publishing. I am pleased that Bob Cox is still active somewhere.

My Blue Horse Coaster

On Friday, 8/12/2022, while I was shop-vacuuming Molly's “basement condominium” and sucking up all her dog hair shedding, I decided to look through a storage box for my Blue Horse coaster. I found it exactly where I had stored it before my wife and I moved to Russia, on 10/1/1994.

Well, on Tuesday, 9/20/2022, I enjoyed another wonderful basement shop vacuuming experience. Afterward, I brought my Blue Horse coaster from the storage box to my home office. Yesterday, I took the following photograph from my home office.

I got the above coaster as a boy. I don't remember how or when. That coaster has a good degree of wear. At the homeplace in my teenage years, the coaster sat on the antique dresser, which I inherited from an ancestor on my mother's side of the family. Over those years, I placed many cups, glasses, and bottles of warm and cold beverages (i.e., water, milk, buttermilk, tea, Cokes, hot chocolate, etc.) on that coaster to protect the dresser. The coaster took the wear.

Conclusion

Thanks, Phil Williams, for inspiring this article! Thanks, Bob Cox, for allowing me to “meet” you online! I trust that both men know the Good Lord. I've heard Phil Williams state so. Bob Cox writes as if he does.

The inspired Old Testament includes Psalm 90: A prayer of Moses, the man of God. The following are two excerpts:

Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. (Psalms 90:10, NIV)

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12, NIV)

As a teenager, with a cold Coke resting on my Blue Horse coaster, I thought about the number of decades that I had left to live. It seemed like a long time.

At age 62, with that same coaster in my home office, I realize how swiftly those decades have flown by until now. Only the Good Lord knows how many hours, days, weeks, months, years, or decades that I have left in this temporal existence. I number my days. I have a heart of wisdom. I am ready to go to my everlasting home!

Many readers know what I mean. Some may not. If you don't know what I mean and would like to know, you are welcome to email me using the Contact Form on this website. I am just one poor beggar who found the Bread of Life. I am trying to help other poor beggars find the same Bread.