Help identifying this 1980s plastic bag?

Started by Rollerwings, August 11, 2010, 12:46:56 AM

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Rollerwings

Hello! Maybe someone from this board could help identify a plastic grocery/shopping bag and help solve a mystery. As a general warning, some of the information in the paragraphs below is disturbing.  :-\

Below is a link from the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. A woman's remains were found in French Creek State Park, Berks County, PA in July 1988 and she was thought to have died at least two years before. Sadly, she remains a "Jane Doe" to this day. She was buried with a plastic bag and fragments of that bag can be seen in two photographs on this website (click them to enlarge):

http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/349ufpa.html

On the Websleuths messageboard, this one really has us stumped. If the bag is from a specific chain, we at least have a better idea of where the woman could have been from. If the bag dates back to the early 1980s, based on the woman's estimated date of death, it might have been from one of the first chains to start using plastic bags. Does anyone recognize any element of this bag?

A few ideas we had on the Websleuths board: In the first photo, there is some word that definitely starts with "FA." This might be the word "famous." When did Hill's start using its slogan "Famous for low prices every day?"  Under that word there are possibly the letters "CLO" and the third line, in smaller text, appears to be "ATER." ("Greater" as in "Greater Philadelphia area or something to that effect?) The second photo has a fragment of a bag that looks like "ATED" or "ATER."

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

jmcnamara96

Quote from: Rollerwings on August 11, 2010, 12:46:56 AM
Hello! Maybe someone from this board could help identify a plastic grocery/shopping bag and help solve a mystery. As a general warning, some of the information in the paragraphs below is disturbing.  :-\

Below is a link from the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. A woman's remains were found in French Creek State Park, Berks County, PA in July 1988 and she was thought to have died at least two years before. Sadly, she remains a "Jane Doe" to this day. She was buried with a plastic bag and fragments of that bag can be seen in two photographs on this website (click them to enlarge):

http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/349ufpa.html

On the Websleuths messageboard, this one really has us stumped. If the bag is from a specific chain, we at least have a better idea of where the woman could have been from. If the bag dates back to the early 1980s, based on the woman's estimated date of death, it might have been from one of the first chains to start using plastic bags. Does anyone recognize any element of this bag?

A few ideas we had on the Websleuths board: In the first photo, there is some word that definitely starts with "FA." This might be the word "famous." When did Hill's start using its slogan "Famous for low prices every day?"  Under that word there are possibly the letters "CLO" and the third line, in smaller text, appears to be "ATER." ("Greater" as in "Greater Philadelphia area or something to that effect?) The second photo has a fragment of a bag that looks like "ATED" or "ATER."

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

They look like Family Dollar

zonemad96

Quote from: Rollerwings on August 11, 2010, 12:46:56 AM
Hello! Maybe someone from this board could help identify a plastic grocery/shopping bag and help solve a mystery. As a general warning, some of the information in the paragraphs below is disturbing.  :-\

Below is a link from the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. A woman's remains were found in French Creek State Park, Berks County, PA in July 1988 and she was thought to have died at least two years before. Sadly, she remains a "Jane Doe" to this day. She was buried with a plastic bag and fragments of that bag can be seen in two photographs on this website (click them to enlarge):

http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/349ufpa.html

On the Websleuths messageboard, this one really has us stumped. If the bag is from a specific chain, we at least have a better idea of where the woman could have been from. If the bag dates back to the early 1980s, based on the woman's estimated date of death, it might have been from one of the first chains to start using plastic bags. Does anyone recognize any element of this bag?

A few ideas we had on the Websleuths board: In the first photo, there is some word that definitely starts with "FA." This might be the word "famous." When did Hill's start using its slogan "Famous for low prices every day?"  Under that word there are possibly the letters "CLO" and the third line, in smaller text, appears to be "ATER." ("Greater" as in "Greater Philadelphia area or something to that effect?) The second photo has a fragment of a bag that looks like "ATED" or "ATER."

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

yup looks exactly like family dollar to me but i have no clue what the ated is tho

TRJ22487

I believe it is Family Dollar also though I am having trouble finding any pictures that show the "A" in Family used to use that font.

Here is a picture from 1984 and while you can't get a glimpse of the full logo you can see the word
"Dollar" from the logo and the letter "A" IS in fact closed instead of open as it has been since the 90's


On further research, here is the original Family Dollar location, indeed the font of the A once was like the bag in that murder photo

Ameskid

I don't think it's Family Dollar. 

It looks to me like:

FA_________ (Famous? Family?)
CLO__________ (Clothing? Closeout?)
GREATER __________________
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/124303530@N08/

Ameskid

It might be from Famous-Barr, but an upscale store like that probably wouldn't have plastic bags...
Proud to have been a member of this forum for 10 years.  Let's make it 10 more!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124303530@N08/

zonemad96

i would bet money its family dollar beacuse the way the font and all looks it looks like the font they would have used also  the big 40 beneath it makes me think something like 40% off and ive shopped at family dollar alot and it hasnt changed much over years so it looks alot like family dollar to me