Things that were and are no more.

[debm55]

Sheltie's post on the telephone book reminded me of things like--
Vaccination scar for entering Kinder, I still have mine
free towels in detergent boxes
Kroger green stamps books that when filled you took to a store and got a gift
Royal typewriters that used that white tape for mistakes-could never realign my paper afterwords.
AND the first book of an encylopedia with your purchase of food order which was free, the others came out week after week
the free toaster I got when I deposted my first paycheck in the bank
Plaid stamps from A and P.
Kid decorated jelly glasses you could use a regular kid's glass when finished. It didn't have a screw on lid, you had to use one of gadgets that included a pointed side and a rounded side.
Malls

Any others?

[Drum]

1. The sound of the rotary phone...

[debm55]

7. yep, had a distinct sound

Did you have a princess phone?

[Stuart G]

27. I still have one, and it is my main phone. It works just fine. Bought in 1984 or 5?

[Quakerfriend]

2. Cardboard savings cards that allowed

kids to insert coins and then take to the bank to add to their savings account.

[debm55]

15. How about the birthday cards with the slits for dimes or quarters?

I never had a savings account as a kid, so I missed out on the saving cards. Kept my money in a sock.

[yellowdogintexas]

184. March of Dimes cards at restaurant check outs

You could slip a dime into a slot

[TygrBright]

3. Milk boxes by the back door...

A little insulated chest with the name/logo of the dairy you subscribed to on the front, they'd take your empty bottles, and leave your order of milk, cottage cheese, butter, etc.

nostalgically,
Bright

[debm55]

11. We didn't have a box, Milk was brought to door and left there.We aslo had a juice man, donut man and

some Jewel Tea man who sold junk.

[FSogol]

95. My first job (age 12 or 13) was a weekly donut route. n/t

[debm55]

97. What was your favorite seller

[FSogol]

108. Krispy Kreme glazed sold about 5 to 1 over Jelly or Chocolate.

Fruit pipes were popular too. Mom's would put them in school lunchboxes.

[debm55]

112. We used to have a Krispy Kreme store locally. You would get the donuts warm and fresh. They closed,

WalMart sells them and they suck. Did you earn money selling them.

[FSogol]

122. Yeah, I made about $15 a week for about 1-2 hours of work.

It taught me to hate sales, but I liked the responsibility and my regular customers were great.

[Treefrog]

98. We had milk delivered too.

I'd forgotten that.

[we can do it]

90. 💙

[Conjuay]

149. my friends dad

was a milk man. My buddy would go to work with his father on weekends and back milk trucks into the bays for loading.

He and I were planning a trip to Canada, and I tried to teach him how to drive a stick. Driving in reverse in a milk truck had become so engrained by that point, he couldn’t drive a manual shift vehicle forward.

(Of course the other thing fun about milk trucks - they were driven standing up)

[Disaffected]

180. We had a milkman who delivered and picked up milk bottles.

We used to get a kick out of laughing at my mom when the milkman came:

Milkman: "What'al it be today mum?

Mom: One skim and two homos.

[Beachnutt]

4. pork skins with the little hot sauce

in the bag.
Highway construction markers that burned a flame.

[SergeStorms]

25. I remember the "Pork Rinds"....

at least that's what they called them in western New York. The little packet of hot sauce - a Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce ripoff - was never enough for the entire bag.

They call them "cracklin" some places in the south.

[Beachnutt]

41. You're right, Pork Rinds

and it wasn't near enough hot sauce for the bag.

[SergeStorms]

5. Glassware/dishes....

in detergent boxes. My grandmother got an entire set of china from buying detergent.

Of course the china or glasses took up so much space in the boxes there was hardly any room for detergent, so you bought a helluva lot more boxes. But you could never convince my grandmother that she hadn't gotten a "free set of china" just for buying detergent.

[debm55]

9. So true, And the towel we got was like paper

[dweller]

24. My grandma had those

Green glassware with clear swirl bases … they came to me when she died
I also had purchased a set of green glass square dishware they matched.
Passed them all to my daughter a few years back (she was named after my grandma)


✌🏻

[SergeStorms]

28. That's wonderful!

They're still being used to this day.

I hope you passed the story along with them. They don't do things like that anymore.

[dweller]

36. I remember those glasses from my childhood

Sitting on display in grandma’s China cabinet, we kids weren’t allowed to use them as they were the fancy stuff 😀
But yeh, my daughter knows the history


✌🏻

[EYESORE 9001]

6. About the smallpox vaccination scar...

I had one, but I can’t locate it now. It’s been erased over time, I guess.

[malthaussen]

165. Polio vaccine, surely? n/t

[EYESORE 9001]

168. No, it was the smallpox vaccine. Polio vaccine was dropped onto a sugar cube.

I got jabbed like 15 times in a couple of seconds. It all coalesced into a scab. The scar was easily discernible for years, but I can’t find it now.

[malthaussen]

169. Ah, you got the later version.

I got the jab for the initial vaccine and the sugar cube for the booster.

-- Mal

[debm55]

170. I remember the long lines for the Polio vaccine. It took hours. i remember getting three at

different times. There were yellow signs placed on the front doors of homes where a polio quaranteen excisted. I remember the iron lung and did not want to in it. My uncle had polio in his face and my cousin had polio in his legs, They had one of those yellow signs in their door, I don't remember if was just regional, but we were not allowed to go swimming in August because of the fear of catching polio.

[EYESORE 9001]

171. I think the worst was over by the time I got the vaccine

I knew a few people not much older than myself who were afflicted by polio to varying degrees.

[debm55]

173. The shots were given in the school gym in my town. It was packed with parents and kids. Still there

was one long line outside.

[EYESORE 9001]

176. That's the difference between versions of the vaccine

I received oral vaccine only, which supplanted the previous version in 1961.

[debm55]

177. Yes, I received my first version as a shot. It looked like a gun,

The second two were in the sugar cubes. My sister received her's in a medicine dropper as she was a baby,

[yellowdogintexas]

183. I still have my small pox scar it is on my thigh

my mom's scar was so large she insisted our dr put them on our thighs. (hers was on her thigh and she did not want us to have scars on our arms.)

They put this blue gooey stuff on you and poke a bunch of holes in it to let the goo soak in. I had a second one when I went overseas so I got to watch how they did it. It was a dud since I had no reaction.

[debm55]

186. Why on the thigh?

[yellowdogintexas]

187. I don't know why my mom's was on her thigh, but

her vaccination scar was about the size of a quarter and she did not want ours to be on our arms for that reason.

So we have them on our thighs.

[Beachnutt]

8. Phone booths

the kind you stood in and close the door.
Oil cans you used a spout with.
Ethyl gas.

[debm55]

56. Those phone booths you mention-had to have enough change when the operator came on and said --you

must add 10 cents more. Or you could reverse the charge.

[EYESORE 9001]

10. I remember when gas stations gave away tumblers (drinking glasses) with a fill-up

The attendant pumped the gas, cleaned the windshield, and checked fluid levels under the hood.

[debm55]

12. I remember that-you would tip him. We never got the glasses.

[SergeStorms]

30. Minimum 8 gallon purchase.

8 or 5 or whatever it was. You couldn't get them if you only got a buck's worth of gas (and a buck's worth still got you at least 3 gallons).

Those were the days, huh?

[debm55]

51. I remember picking up change from the floor of my Chevy 1965 Impala to pay for the gas.

[EYESORE 9001]

81. I worked as a gas station attendant clerk in a previous life

Regular gas was $.32-35/gallon. I had a regular customer who filled up his ‘68 Pontiac Bonneville every Friday afternoon. He would piss and moan constantly while getting his tank filled and having to pay a grand total of 6-7 bucks.

The days of free tumblers were long gone by the time I pumped gas.

[SergeStorms]

99. Yeah, that was early to mid-60s.

They had all sorts of giveaways for awhile there. Esso (later to become Exxon-Mobile) had "Tony the Tiger" as a mascot. "Put a Tiger in your tank" was the tagline. They gave away little stuffed Tiger tails with an elastic loop on one end. The loop went around the filler tube (they were all exposed in those days) and the Tiger tail hung out of your gas filler door. That one was cute. Everyone had one sticking out of their gas door, and I mean everyone.

Didn't you just love guessing where the gas cap/tube was on a car you'd never filled before? Most were behind the license plate, but some were behind the tail lights, some behind the chromed logo, some in the right, some on the left....it was always an adventure.

[Conjuay]

150. and if the car

had ever been bumped in the back, you had a hell of a time getting the license plate to pivot down to add gas.

[SheltieLover]

53. Yes this!

[ragemage]

13. Sound of a dial-up modem

Always loved that sound. There are still fax machines around that use dial-up if you want to get nostalgic.

[TygrBright]

14. Firestone Christmas Favorites record albums n/t

[Old Crank]

16. Mechanical Christmas displays that moved

In store fronts. Had them in Ottawa until I left in the mid 60's
They have them still in one store in Munich. I about fell over.
Little kids are still fascinated.

[debm55]

40. Oh I always wanted to see them. Went to NYC on a AAA tour to see the city for Christmas. On the day

of the tour, I woke up with Shingles on just the left side of my face. Tour retured to Pittsburgh. Had to come home on a Greyhound bus. Don't know what was worse the dirty bus or the Shingles.

[SWBTATTReg]

17. Bell Bottoms (the pants)

My brother was freaky w/ wearing them, his favorite choice of pants.

[debm55]

22. go go boots

[SergeStorms]

38. Go-Go Boots.

Those little white boots my sister wore.
She used to iron her hair too, in order to make it perfectly straight. Why? I never did find out.

[debm55]

42. I did too. It was the style baby!

[SergeStorms]

47. Im sure kids today....

are doing things they'll tell their kids about.

The torch is passed to a new generation.... 😉

[wnylib]

92. With fish net stockings.

Which reminds me of another bygone item, garter belts for attaching stockings.

[debm55]

101. LOL I had no shape as a teen--my garter belt would ride up to my waist.

fish nets =my big toe would pop through. How about wearing slips with dresses? Hats and gloves when going Downtown(Pittsburgh)
Did you use clearing nail polish on your runners?

[wnylib]

110. Of course I used nail push on runners. Didn't everybody? LOL.

I carried clear nail polish in my purse for that purpose.

Wore a hat and gloves to church, too. Also wore gloves to dances that were formal events, like the prom and to the Christmas season dance in my town that was sponsored by the Masons but open to the public, called the Peppermint Ball.

I still remember one summer when my boyfriend came to pick me up for a matinee. I came downstairs wearing my best pair of shorts and blouse. My mother ordered me back upstairs to change into a dress or at least a skirt and blouse. Shocking to go to a downtown theater, even in the afternoon, wearing shorts instead of a dress.

[debm55]

113. So true. And I didn't own a pair of jeans until I was in college.

[riverbendviewgal]

130. Oh my

I remember them all.

[tblue37]

133. Belts for sanitary pads.

[brush]

18. Phone answering machines. 8-track car stereos...

boomerang shaped-TV antennas on cars.

Oops, slipped into 'hood vernacular there, known by a particular demographic segment—aka Curtis Mayfield singing about: "...diamond in the back, sunroof top, digging the scene with a gangster-leen, gangster white walls, TV antennas in the back..."

[Stuart G]

29. My phone answering machine still works and receives messages.

[brush]

31. Seriously? You still use it? Landlines offer that function now.

[Stuart G]

37. I didn't know that landlines offer that. Oh well. Yes, I still use it & use other outmoded stuff too

I often use a ...George Forman's Grill ...I got a long time ago. I use a Hoover Vacuum Cleaner, one that rolls along...yes, that one from the 50s or 60s??

[debm55]

86. I have a Hoover. Remember the commercials where it could pick up a bowling ball. Heads up --I have a

Hoover upright. They will be not be making bags for inside. Get them while you can.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

19. Mrs. Paul's fishsticks

With the little packet of green stuff you mixed into mayonnaise to make tatar sauce.

French's beef stroganoff mix.

It didnt need a tub of sour cream to make it . Had dehydrated sour cream in it and a really long shelf life.
It was delicious.


French's stroganoff the first meal I cooked for the family as a kid had to pull a chair up to the stove as I was too short to see over it to cook.

[debm55]

33. I remember the Mrs, Paul's, Was the Stroganoff stuff in the envelope that you had to cut open?

[I_UndergroundPanther]

75. Yeah

[grumpyduck]

20. The device at the drugstore where you took TV tubes

to test them and get new ones if necessary.

And... stuff that wasn't made with planned obsolescence in mind.

[debm55]

43. Speaking of TV--antenna's on the roof and RABBIT EARS

[Beachnutt]

44. Yep, my dad used to take a tube out of

the back of the tv when it messed up and take it to the drug store to test it.

Also the drug store had a pinball machine.

[brush]

46. Remember the drug stores had scales where you could...

Weigh yourself for a penny.

[Beachnutt]

67. sure did and didn't they tell your fortune

on the scale ?

[wnylib]

93. I remember a drugstore near my neighborhood

that still had a soda fountain into the 1960s. Hung out there with my friends for cheeseburgers, fries, and cherry cokes.

[debm55]

102. Cherry Cokes! I remember one drugstore that would mix the Coke from scratch

[wnylib]

111. That's what my drugstore did.

A shot of cherry syrup into the glass, followed by Coke on tap. Sometimes we asked for a double shot of cherry.

[debm55]

114. My drugstore would take the Coke syrup and mix with I would guess Carbonated Water.

[wnylib]

117. Mine had the carbonation and the syrup in separate containers, but

both were attached to the same spray nozzle so that the two streams flowed out together. Sometimes the carbonation ran out before the syrup and the coke was flat. So they had to attach a new carbonation container and pour the coke again.

[tblue37]

134. Woolworths five and dime store.

[tblue37]

135. S&H green stamps.

[wnylib]

153. And Grants and Murphy's. They were all

near each other in downtown Erie, PA.

When I was in grade school, we only had one car, so my mother would take me on a bus downtown to shop. They all had lunch counters and we would eat at one of them, usually Grant's. I'd get a hot dog and fries, sometimes with an ice cream soda afterward. When I saw a guy eating a banana split, I begged for one, too. My mother and the clerk tried to talk me out of it because it was so much for a kid to eat after lunch. But my mother gave in and I ate the whole thing. Back then, I was always so active that there was no risk of gaining too much weight from such a big lunch. Today, I would gain 20 pounds just looking at it.

[debm55]

154. I live very near McKeesport,PA, where the home office was located. You are right, they were located

near each other. You had your Grant's people and your Murphy's people. I don't know if your Grant's did it. but at easter they would sell Easter peeps in the basement floor. They colored them in spring colors. I felt sorry for them. Murphy's had the whole top floor as a resteraunt. You could be served or go through the cafeteria style line. When I graduated from High School my family wanted me to work in the advertising department as an artist. They did all their advertising and layout in house. I declined and went to PSU.

[wnylib]

155. The 5 & dimes in Erie did not have

a full service restaurant, just lunch counters. Although Grant's had some tables and chairs, they were just there for people to take their counter orders to.

I forgot to mention Kresge's, which later became K-Mart. Erie had them all within a few blocks of each other.

[debm55]

156. I remember Kresge/K-Mart. Do you remember the blue light specials and people running to them.

Murphy's was bought by Aims. It was not the same. We also had a Woolworth's and a Zayre.

[Basic LA]

21. Crank up car windows.

With push-button, while driving, I never open the right window on the first try.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

23. If I ever was able to drive

I would insist on a car with crank windows.
And a hybrid too.

[gab13by13]

35. My 89 year old golfing buddy just bought a 2015 Jeep,

with crank up windows.

Speaking of cars, no more manual chokes.

[SergeStorms]

50. Manual chokes.

Mention that to someone now and you'll just get a blank stare.

You had to figure out exactly how much choke each vehicle needed, or else you'd flood it. Then the wait until the gas evaporated and you'd try it again.

[debm55]

158. Was it a JeepLiberty? I gave mine to my cousin as she was crying around that she had no way to get

around. No money changed hands. Then she complains to me that she needs 4 new tires. The car was inspected in June and passed. They checked the tires. Lesson learned to gift to relatives. I love that Jeep ---fire engine red. But it was getting harder to get in and out of. I live in an order home. The Jeep barely made it in the garage because of the height.

[SergeStorms]

57. Those little vent windows.

I loved those. That's something I wish they'd bring back.

The switch for the high beams of your headlights was that little metal button on the floor by your left foot. I still like that idea too. The lights that change automatically now are too sensitive. They're always changing from high to low to high to low.......

[I_UndergroundPanther]

26. Flip digital clocks

The numbers were on little flipping panels inside the clock.

Plug in coffee percolators.

[gab13by13]

32. Tile pipe, replaced by PVC.

[SergeStorms]

34. 5 cent candy bars.

Hershey bars were a nickel. Penny candy. PENNY CANDY FOR GOD'S SAKE!

[brush]

45. I remember two-for-a-penny kisses even.

[wnylib]

96. 3 for a penney long, skinny red licorice strings.

Popsicles and fudgesicles for 5 cents.

Gumball machines with "winners." They were gumballs with two stripes on them. Winners were worth a nickel. You could turn them in at the counter and get a 5 cent candy bar. Or pick out 5 cents worth of penney candy from a glass case that had a wooden frame.

[debm55]

48. And if I got a drink in the glass bottle they would refund you 2 cents for the small and 5 cents for

Last edited Thu Oct 20, 2022, 05:15 PM - Edit history (1)

the large. Pennny candy store. Go down to the store with a quarter and drive the owner crazy picking out 25 pieces of can --llipstick, fake cigs in a box, nougets, stick pretzels, etc.

[SergeStorms]

52. Yep.

When my older sister got her first car (a 1961 Ford Falcon convertible) we'd walk along the roads picking up beer and soda bottles until we got enough for a few gallons of gas. Gas was 29 cents a gallon so it didn't take too long. Then we'd ride around in the convertible all day.

That car would be worth a small fortune right now.

[ironflange]

58. A dime would get you enough candy to make you sick

[IcyPeas]

64. pretzel rods were 2 cents.

[SergeStorms]

70. You must have lived in the high rent district.

They were a penny where we lived. Either that or I'm older than you.

[IcyPeas]

72. haha I could be misremembering...

this was in queens, ny in the 60s.

[debm55]

80. inflation

[Conjuay]

152. (Or you got the stale pretzel sticks!

[debm55]

71. My store sold them for penny, you got ripped off. Also liked the flying saucer things with tiny

candy bits inside. Owner would put in a tiny brown paper bag,

[debm55]

157. Good one, Conjuay

[SergeStorms]

39. Nehru Jackets.

They were "hip" for awhile in the 60s. I had one. I wonder where it is now. 🤔

[debm55]

49. Did you wear with a necklace of peace Beads?

[SergeStorms]

54. Of course!

You wouldn't be caught dead wearing your Nehru Jacket without the beads. We weren't savages you know! 😤

[I_UndergroundPanther]

77. I hit an amazing bargain at a place that sometimes

Got high end clothes and sold them cheap

I have a metallic gold lame nehuru suit!!
Its really well made and it originally cost over 500 bucks. I got it for 25. Had to hem the pants but it looks so cool. Its my party suit.wear it with a gold brocade shirt. Under that kickass coat.

[debm55]

83. do you wear it? It sounds beautiful.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

84. Yep to fancy occasions

Last time it was a wedding. Got tons of compliments too. The groomsmen wore gold and the groom asked me to wear my nehuru suit.

Sometimes I wear it out somewhere cause I feel like wearing it too.

[SheltieLover]

55. The mechanical horse rides at grocery stores for a penny

And getting free light bulbs when you went in person to pay electric bill.

[debm55]

59. and the mechanical dolphin and merry go round(which I think was a nickel)

[SheltieLover]

62. Never saw those but I always rode the horse

[debm55]

60. Never wore a watch. During the summer, you left the house on your bike, checked the position of

Last edited Thu Oct 20, 2022, 09:07 PM - Edit history (1)

sun and came home for lunch, went back out, looked at the position of sun again and knew it was time for supper.

[wnylib]

100. I wore a Mickey Mouse watch.

[doc03]

61. Curb service at Big Boy. nt

[debm55]

63. Black and White TV. Crazy aunt said she had a color TV, Turns out it was this red, blue and white

clinging thing that they were selling at the time to give you color Tv. It would cling to the screen.

[Beachnutt]

65. Anybody remember having a party line

on your phone ?
You would pick up to dial someone and there would be someone from nearby talking.

[SergeStorms]

74. Oh yeah.

When you had to make a very important call (like talking to your best friend about something), you'd have to wait an eternity for the other person to get off the line. Then you had to keep checking in case somebody else wanted to make a call too. The constant clicking of someone picking up the receiver and slamming it down would usually keep the calls short. I didn't know what a private line was until I went off to College.

[IcyPeas]

66. jelly glasses. I'm pretty sure we had Flintstones ones.

[debm55]

68. Sure do' Did you use a bottle cap opener? I remember it was hard to put back on,

Do you remember the PB and jelly that came mixed in the one jar.? My kid loved it, but I always thought --that is SOOO wrong.

[Quakerfriend]

69. Buying a helium balloon from the balloon man

who stood on the corner across from my grandmother’s house.

[Jack the Greater]

73. Tuesday is Red's Tamales Day

Might have been a regional thing. The talker guy pronounces it "toe MA lee", so I think it must be a fake Mexican accent.
Should be "ta MA lay".

[debm55]

76. Here is one if you are/were a Catholic. Going to confession every Saturday evening, as a 6/7 year

Last edited Thu Oct 20, 2022, 09:41 PM - Edit history (2)

old and making up sins/lies to confess to, because as a 6/7 year old what could possibly do that wrong in a week==keep a dime you found under the sofa?

[Boomerproud]

91. Yes.

Even the priest sounded bored.

[debm55]

106. true

[SergeStorms]

103. Meatless Fridays.

We were Lutheran. My Dad was a lapsed Catholic, but we'd go to my Aunt's (my Dad's sister) and we'd hang around there until after midnight then they'd all go to an all-night burger place to get cheeseburgers.

We kids were never allowed to go.

[debm55]

107. Fish sticks were the worse, I didn't mind the shrimp. A local bar started to sell Fish or Shrimp

dinners for a buck.So I would walk up and pick them up. My mother still does not eat meat on Fridays.

[wnylib]

115. My family was not Catholic, but my brother's wife was.

So my nephews were raised Catholic. The last time I visited with them they said the same thing about making up lies for confession. So I said that the next week they would have had something real to confess - the lies from the previous week.

[debm55]

118. Oh I didn't think of that--easier to make up a new set

[wnylib]

119. Besides, you wouldn't want to reveal your scam to the priest.

But I'm betting that priests did the same thing when they were kids.

[debm55]

121. One of my secrets was to peek the holes in the Confessional. Once i remember him moving his hands as

if to say get on with it. Then it hit me, if i could see him then he would be able to see me.So I stopped making up sins and went to the truth--I forgot to say my prayers before and after meals, I didn't stop on the sidewalk while the Angeles bells rang at noon. i found a coin on sidewalk and put in my coin sock--you know, the hard core stuff.

[wnylib]

128. Incorrigible sinner. Tsk, tsk.

As Lutherans, the congregation did a general confession in unison and then the pastor paused for anyone to name silently in their mind any specific confessions. The pause was never long enough for me to get through mine.

I was glad that we did not have to spill it all out in person, one on one.

[Ocelot II]

78. X-ray machines at shoe stores where you stuck your feet in them

so you could see whether the shoes fit. It was cool that you could see your own foot bones, but the machines were gone by about 1970, for obvious reasons.

[debm55]

79. I remember that. At one time, the store around here, that had the machine was going to sell shoes

for different sized feet. It bombed. Speaking of that what ever happened to shoe stores where they would measure your feet and bring out tons of boxes from the back. They would use that shoe horn to help you put on the shoes, feel the toes were and make sure you walked correclly in them. They had that little mirror where you could look at your shoes. The left one was always tighter that the right.

[riverbendviewgal]

82. I remember most all these and those in the replies

I grew up in NJ. I remember the Bond Bread man, the milk man, the once a week fish truck on Thursdays. He would drive real slow on the street. We were Catholic so no meat on Fridays amy mom would run out to catch him. . I remember roller skates that clamped on your shoes. You needed a key to tighten them on. And paper dolls you cut out and dress with paper clothes. I remember getting Fab dolls in Fab detergent. Getting soda and Sundaes and shakes at the drugstore counter. It had stools.

I remember 15 cent McDonald's burgers, 11 cent fries and 19 cent milk shakes. There was also soda/pop but no other things on the menu. And it was order outside, no inside eating

When I moved to Canada I would collect coffee mugs when buying gas at the gas station. All my friends collected them too so when we visited we had the same mugs at our friends as home.
And I remember the Drive In Movie. Gosh.
Thank you all for helping me remember those memories. I feel good to have had them. The good ole days.

[debm55]

87. What were the Fab dolls like? And thank you for sharing your memories.

I forgot about the drive in movies. As a kid, used to wear pj to them. As a teenager, you kids would sneak in the trunk so they didn't have to pay. There were some bad things that happened because of that. So drive in movies started charging by car instead of individual people in the car.

[riverbendviewgal]

94. Fab dolls

Were hard plastic . Legs and arms moved .There were no outfits other than the dress they came with. There several different fab dolls. They were a little smaller than Barbie. Before Barbie there were Revlon dolls. A little bigger than Barbie. And they had outfits.

I had a Tiny Tears doll that drank and wet. And a Suzy Walker doll.

[wnylib]

104. I had a Suzy Walker doll, too.

Remember plastic "pop" beads? They came in different colors and snapped (popped) together. You could string the colors however you wanted to.

And crinolins. (Not sure I spelled that right.) They were made of layers of netting attached to an elastic band to wear under skirts so the skirt would flare out.

[riverbendviewgal]

126. I loved the beads

And remember the crinoline. It was itchy

[Ocelot II]

129. Pop beads! I'd completely forgotten about those.

[wnylib]

131. Every well dressed little girl in the 50s had

(cheap) pop beads to complete her outfit.

[debm55]

105. I had a Tiny Tears and Suzy Walker too. If I remember correctly TT had a soft plastic head;

A couple of years ago I searched Ebay for TT. I bought it. It was a ripof--not the TT I remembered. My Suzy Walker had a limp--near walked with me. She tip over and fall. BOOHOO,

[riverbendviewgal]

127. Yes I remember the limp. -

[Auggie]

85. Aunt Jemima Coffee Cake

My Dad loved it. Every. Sunday. Morning.

[debm55]

88. Home Economics and Shop

In seventh and eight grade, the girls took Home Economics and boys took shop. Girl had to do learn to sew and cook. Boys did carpentry and metalworking. I wished they would have switched that around in 8th grade. I would have loved to work with the metal and woodworking. Plus guys need to learn to cook too. In my senior year of High School I took drafting and woodworkiing classes as I had enough credits to graduate after my junior year.

[grumpyduck]

109. Ah, shop.

I mostly went to Catholic schools, but a couple of years were spent at public schools. So, in the 7th grade, I really wanted to take wood shop, but they assigned me to drafting. Man, was I pissed!

Turned out I did fine in drafting. Fast forward a bunch of years, and I ended up in architecture and design. I guess someone was looking into a crystal ball back then.

But I got mine anyway. To this day, I'm an avid woodworker with a nice shop in the garage.

[debm55]

116. Good things turned out for you, grumpy. Are you a self taught woodworker.

[grumpyduck]

140. Yeah, pretty much trial and error.

But I also read woodworking books and mags. Lots of info and good tips.

[Quakerfriend]

89. Getting buffalo nickels and mercury head

dimes from cashiers in upstate NY into the 70s.

[debm55]

120. And silver dollars. My husband collected coins as a kid. He has a couple of the blue coin holders

filled with buffalo head nickels. DId you save any of yours. I wonder if they are worth something.

[Stuart G]

123. About that Hoover Vacuum Cleaner in post 37...I got from my mom, who used it in the 50s, 60s & 70s..

YES, IT STILL WORKS, LIKE IT ALWAYS HAS, AND I HAVE THE ATTACHMENTS TOO. and they work toolll

Yes, they both pick up vacuum!!!, and I do too...

[debm55]

124. Jeez guys, how did we forget the classic in modern culinary cuisine--the TV dinner in all it's glory

Served in an aluminum tray it was easy to prepare, gave you the dietary needs of a starch-a sort of mashed potato, a protein,- Salisbury Steak--what every that was, or Fried chicken-or whatever that was in a previous life, and a vegetable --usually peas and carrots or mixed vegetables. And the grand finale was this object located between the mashed potatoes. Since you had to take the foil of during cooking the cough, cough meal, you Knew what was store for you =a brownie or apple crisp. A marvel of wonder to behold.
Boy, did it stink.
Good night folks.

[LudwigPastorius]

125. The Merrymobile man bringing Bomb Pops, Fudgsicles, and Eskimo Pies to hot kids...

in the middle of summer.

[GReedDiamond]

132. "Sunday Sunday Sunday at Smokin' U.S. 30 Dragstrip!!!"

[SergeStorms]

142. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday....

I think every county in America had a Sunday, Sunday, Sunday drag strip in their area.

Those were the years of American Muscle cars, and drag strips popped up like today's Starbucks.

We never gave a single thought to what we were doing to the environment.

[GReedDiamond]

136. Oh and, one more - Earth Shoes...

https://blog.retroplanet.com/earth-shoes/

[tblue37]

137. Cap guns. Playing marbles.

[tblue37]

138. Metal roller skates with keys that attached to your shoes.

[SergeStorms]

143. With that slidy-thing in the middle....

so one pair of skates would fit everyone. They were loud and scratched every surface you wore them on.

Then came neoprene skate board wheels. What a game changer that was!

[sarge43]

139. Half gallon jar of library paste with a rule stuck in the paste.

No grade school class room complete without one.

[rogerballard]

141. Zemo Ointment

Came in a tube looked like toothpaste, in fact my Mom tried to brush her teeth with it!

[SergeStorms]

144. I hate to be a downer on this entire post.....

Last edited Fri Oct 21, 2022, 02:46 PM - Edit history (1)

but everything we're describing in this entire post is an example of white privilege.

Living in agricultural New York State the "migrants", as we used to call them, who traveled north to south as the harvests changed, didn't share these lovely memories of ours. The children only spent a few months in school, then everyone was uprooted to head south because there was no more work in the agrarian north.

Even at a young age I could see "two Americas". White kids with privilege, and Black kids who moved with the seasons. They always lived in substandard "housing" - if you could even call it that - with no indoor plumbing and cold, drafty buildings with uneven wooden floors. Cheap linoleum covered the floors, missing in spots. Maybe a few small braided rugs were an extravagance for them, and a wood stove that always struggled to keep the chill out in the Autumn months.

Education was the last thing the parents were concerned with. Survival in White America was of paramount importance. Many of the adults had little or no education. I remember them signing their paychecks from the farmers they worked for with an "X", and then we'd write "his/her mark" underneath it, so they could cash their meager farm checks. It was always piece work. $1 per large crate of apples, or peaches, onions, cabbage (always the last crop of the year).

"Two Americas", writ large. I'm sure most White people never gave them a thought. I did. They were putting food on our tables, and for that important work they were treated like dirt. America treated them as subhuman beings, never to be taken seriously, if they were taken at all.

They weren't watching The Honeymooners on Saturday evenings. They usually bought a bottle of cheap wine and tried to bury their condition - however briefly - in alcohol. That was their big Saturday night. Most would be in church on Sunday morning though, praying to some invisible god to PLEASE help them. That help never came.

We can never repay those poor Black people for the way they were treated in White America.

You can substitute Brown people in this narrative, or Yellow, or even poor uneducated White people, but there were far fewer of them. They never got to share these wonderful memories of our White, privileged upbringing.

Two Americas, and it continues to this very day.
God bless America . Yeah.....anything you say.

[debm55]

145. Serge. I understand where you are coming from. My family was the only white family in my

Last edited Fri Oct 21, 2022, 08:41 PM - Edit history (4)

Neighborhood, If you read through the posts , most of us are describing our things we remember from childhood. I was not a child of privilege, I kept a coin sock. My car--the 65 Impala was given to me years after in 74. I grew up in a steel town on the Monogahlia River. I don't see anything in the thread about white privilege per say but about the things in our times that all, if not most shared. I'm sorry it was meant as a fun post to remember things, not to brag. Being from a black area--most of my friends growing up were black and were with me biking and running through the streets of Duquesne. I can't speak for the others, only for myself. If you read my posts they were never about my home life. The reason why is that I was sexually abused by my grandmother, had my baby teeth knocked out by my dad, never told I was loved. Theartened by dad to have my head blown off with a hunting rifle, etc, etc, You get my drift. I came from a house of four abusive family members. Whould you let your daughter be called a Pimple Faced W==re by your son? Mine did and did nothing to stop it. Let my brother sit on my chest and beat me, until I had two black eyes and sit in the living room and watch after closing all the windows so the neighbors wouldn't hear? Sent to ER for broken fingers, Urinary infections from grandmother cleaning my v--ina , sister breaking my collarbone and bruising my larynx.Having my adopted son called a bastard by my mother. When I left for college at 18, I spread my wings. Buy the way I paid for my college by academic schlorships,loans and cleaning up shitty trays in the dining hall at PSU. Same for my wedding-everything was paid by me. Like I said, I know what you are saying. I was just starting a thread to bring us together. That is what I came to the Lounge for. My life was hell, but for one day I wanted to forget about the pain and shame I felt and make people happy and as a result make me happy. I am sorry if I misread your thread. I have no idea what color the posters are. I am sorry if anyone is triggered by my post. One thing that is now and never was then--CYS. Maybe I should start an OP on that. PS,I taught for one year at a Middle School at 29th and Diamond in Philadelphia and had my students loans taken away by teaching in a poverty area of Pittsburgh. I understand what you mean, but I honestly meant no harm and neither did the people posting on this thread. TY

[SergeStorms]

160. I understand completely....

and I joined in the fun myself. I must have 20 posts in the thread about things I remembered from my childhood.

It doesn't sound like your childhood was all peaches and cream either. I'm sorry you had to endure the hatred and brutality of the adults in your youthful orbit. You sound like you've managed to correct your course and grow into a well adjusted adult though. 👍

I was just relating another childhood memory of mine. There were nothing but farms around the area where I grew up, but my Mom and Dad commuted 3 hours each day to the nearest city where they both had excellent paying jobs. I was a child of White Privilege, probably more so than 90% of the people in our area. I just never got to see them. They were always at work, attending work functions, or commuting. I saw them on weekends, sometimes. I saw these poor Black kids much more than I ever saw them.

I felt guilty as a child, because I had so much (at least in a tangible, monetary sense) than those poor migrants. It wasn't fair and I knew it, but that was life in America then. The places they made these people live. How little they were paid for such backbreaking work. The educational opportunities they didn't have. This wasn't that far removed from slavery, and that's not an exaggeration. They had freedom of movement, and that's about it.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to heap guilt on everyone, because I would be one of the most guilty people in the bunch. I was just offering a different perspective, the opposite side of the same coin.

Those were childhood memories I'll never forget either. No harm intended, and I hope there's no hard feelings for peeing on your parade. Friends? Take care.

[debm55]

162. I read your post and posted to you, You saw it first

Last edited Sun Oct 23, 2022, 11:24 PM - Edit history (3)

hand, so you would post what you did .And I accept that. I know many of my black friends had a different world then the migrates. because their dads worked in good jobs at the mill. But I am not that naive to think that world would ever be as so called good as mine because of skin color. My world had a different view ==one of the scapegoat. My art and books and music saved me . As far as outhouses, we didn't have one. What we had was a pee bucket in the bedroom, so we did't have to walk down 2 flights of steeps.You are right if you picked me as the everyday emptier. My first job. Haha. So I wasn't as privileged as you think. I was an abused kid who still had some good memories outside of my house.

Friends

[SCantiGOP]

146. We still have two of those old jelly glasses

They are the favorites of my twin grandchildren when they are visiting here, even though they have no idea who Tom and Jerry were.

[debm55]

147. Do you remember the cartoon shows on Saturday mornings. I had the Flintstones and Deputy Dog set.

My favorite cartoon wasn't actually a cartoon. It was a show on Sunday mornings called Davie and Goliath. It was put out by the Lutheren church, It was wonderful.

[debm55]

148. 45's , lunch boxes and book bags.

Last edited Fri Oct 21, 2022, 05:54 PM - Edit history (2)

And putting glue on your hands, letting it dry, and peeling it off like sunburnt skin.

[Conjuay]

151. Banks at Christmas

Handed out small Christmas carol books. One bank printed out ones with FOUR part harmonies- not just the melody line.

I transcribed one tune from that booklet into a duet for two classical guitars. Still play the ‘lead’ part - I don’t know if my student/duet partner still remembers her part.

[csziggy]

159. That vaccination scar - I didn't have one for years

I'm old enough they were giving those vaccinations in school - I didn't get a scar from mine, but since they knew I'd gotten it, in my small town there was no problem. When I went off to college, they noticed I didn't have that scar and made me get a new vaccination - I think it was for small pox. Then for about a decade every doctor who treated me and saw that relatively fresh scar asked about why it was so fresh for someone my age.

[debm55]

164. Wow,is you skin thick. Remember the ugly scar?

Last edited Sun Oct 23, 2022, 02:10 PM - Edit history (1)

[Wolf Frankula]

161. S&H Green Stamps

My mom collected them.

Wolf

[debm55]

163. Do you remember the six small boxes of cereal? You could spit up the box and the inside wrapping,

pour the milk in and eat. It always seemed the last box that bo obe wanted was sugar pops, Hated those.

[malthaussen]

166. Free air at the gas station.

I used to say, "If they start charging for air at the gas station, the End is near."

I remember going to a rock concert about 20 years ago, when we needed air in the tires. The gas station right at the freeway exit charged 50 cents, but the one right down the block charged a quarter.

-- Mal

[Niagara]

167. A few more things to add to this list.

1. Console TV's

2. TV Cable boxes that has separate bands for certain TV channels.

3. Ordering from Columbia House

4. Video Rental Stores. I don't miss late fee's at all.

5. Arcades

6. Banks- I remember banks use to give away free wall calendars for the new incoming year.

7. Walking in a shoe store and having the salesperson measure feet with the Brannock Device. I'm too young for the x-rays in the shoe store.

8. Chrome bumpers on vehicles.

9. Wood paneling on everything, including vehicles.

10. Taking photos, not knowing how they turned out and actually taking the roll of film to be developed.

11. Public/School Library catalog/index cards.

12. Awful shoulder pads in women's shirts and tops.

13. Hair crimpers. I just had to have one as a teen ager and it wasn't a flattering look.

14. Girls and ladies being mandated to wear dresses at school. This happened way before my time but my mom still talks about it.

[debm55]

172. I remember

#i the console tv. Sometimes you could get a stereo system on the one side and the TV on the other.

#2 Was Colombia House the Records?

4,5,6,7. 9 My girlfriend had a station wagon with the paneling on the sides. HA,HA

Also 10 Remember the Swinger camera where you could get you photo instantly. You could touch them because there was this slimy mess on them until they finished developing.

#11 Still had in College

#Shoulder pads were awful. After a few washing they would fall and it looked like you had 3 breasts.

Dressed in High School. Not allowed to wear pants until my Senior year. But whe did have these Maxi coats, so sitting on the bus wasn't too bad.

[Laffy Kat]

174. This is so long ago...

The tiger tail hanging out of the trunk of the car. It was a marketing ploy from Esso gas stations, "Put a tiger in your tank!".

[debm55]

175. I don't remember those. Was that regional? Do you remember the silver metallic Christmas trees

that came with the revolving- colored flood lights. It would turn the tree different colors. So not right.

[Laffy Kat]

178. I don't think it was regional.

https://www.woorillacaught.com/put-a-tiger-in-your-tank/


Yes, I remember the silver Xmas trees with the revolving light! I know it was kitschy but I kind of miss those. Growing up, I had a neighbor, an only child, who had one in her bedroom and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!

[debm55]

188. Thanks for the link. I don't remember them though.

[Laffy Kat]

189. I may be older. nt

[trof]

179. " one of gadgets that included a pointed side and a rounded side."

A beer can and bottle opener we called a 'church key'.

[debm55]

181. Thank you for the info, I knew it had a name just couldn't remember.

[Stuart G]

182. K and R...Thanks for posting..

[debm55]

185. Thank you , Stuart. I checked my record and found that I had original signed up for DU in 2004, only

posted a couple of times. I felt I wasn't smart enough for the main forum. But signed in again,. You know I wanted a thread were we could share funny and odd experiences. LIke the Halloween costumes and samiches. I almost deleted this thread this morning but I didn't. I am so glad you like itand if it brought back memories for you, I'm happy. AND what was and will never be memory do you have. Good night, i take my sleeping pills at ten.But please share a memory.

[debm55]

190. This will be my last list of items. White lipstick, granny dresses, and maxi coats and mini skirts.

Forgot-granny glasses.

[sakabatou]

191. KidStarz Radio

I remember dialing the phone so I could listen on scary stories and other stuff.

[debm55]

192. Oh that sounds so neat.What year was this?

[sakabatou]

193. Mid-90s?