Howard Johnson's "Simple Simon and the Pieman" Dinner Plates, 1963

In the 1920s, Howard Deering Johnson began selling ice cream from food stands around Boston, Massachusetts. Johnson later expanded his business to full-service restaurants. He franchised these orange-roofed establishments across America -- locating them along highways to cater to the traveling public. The Simple Simon and the Pieman logo -- seen on this plate -- became a recognizable symbol to his motoring patrons.