If elephants never forget, The Blade was onto a sure thing with Amber the Safety Elephant, its mascot for the Green Banner School Safety Program.
The Blade purchased the 4-year-old elephant from India in 1952 to replace a cartoon mascot, Elmer, featured in its school crossing safety campaign. Elmer wasn’t a fitting name for a female elephant, so a naming contest ensued to change its name to Amber, a color for caution.
In this 1954 Blade archive photo, students from St. Louis School in Toledo visit the Toledo Zoo on the first day of school to get a close-up view of Amber, a reward for the school’s stellar safety record. Only St. Louis and two other schools had achieved a seven-year, accident-free record…