We loved the drag strip, always spent a few minutes on the strip during each visit. I had forgotten about the pile of foam at the end.
Oh yea, summer of 1976, there was a good patriotic vibe going on. Our anthem that summer was the Dead's "U.S.Blues" : Red and white, blue suede shoes, I'm Uncle Sam, how do you do? Gimme five, I'm still alive, ain't no luck, I learned to duck. Check my pulse, it don't change. Stay seventy-two come shine or rain. Wave the flag, pop the bag, rock the boat, skin the goat. Wave that flag, wave it wide and high.
We traveled thru Ludowici going to my grandmothers. Speed trap capital of the south. Mom always worried about getting stopped there by the police for "speeding" or "running the red light". Seems like Lester Mattox got on their ass in the 70's for being so rough on tourists.
It was a honey hole for years as the local police controlled the red/green (no yellow) traffic light at the left turn of US 301 headed North, by sitting at the light control box with a hand held switch. Many a home bound Yankee snowbird got a welcome and his wallet lightened. Mattox had a billboard put up south of town warning motorists about the trap and it was promptly chain-sawed down. He had it replaced and the Ga Hwy Patrol stood guard 24/7 for a year or so.
Mom is colorblind and our job was to tell her what color the traffic light was, because in south Georgia there were a lot of two bulb traffic lights and the red one wasn't always on top. Don't remember seeing that in north Georgia, Tennessee, or Virginia
Cool, don't remember that. Lester was a character, one of those fire-eating bigots who, astoundingly, was a decent governor. He was an enigma. Loved how he whistled all his "s"s.(Like the beaver in Lady and the Tramp). Guess it's OK to remember stuff like that here on the HAMB. Seems completely OT (for the board), but we are remembering . . . S. Georgia speed traps . . . etc.
Shifting from neutral to 2nd & 3rd gear, without using the clutch. You had to get your rpm just right not to grind the gears. It worked on early Chevys & Fords well.
You guys need to get off of slot cars. That isn't what car culture is. That certainly isn't what made the "U.S. car culture". Acting like models were the real thing, just shows you weren't actually into the real thing. Prove me wrong..
Maybe you need to get off of here. Think about it for just a second . . . this thread is about what we remember while growing up. I was around 11 and 12 when I was into slot cars.
Sorry, I couldn't afford "the real thing" when I was 8 to 12 years old, model cars and slots were the real thing while dreaming of the day you could drive your own car.
0 I agree we couldn't afford the real thing so we would go to the Hobby Center and get the slot cars and that was the first taste of 'hopping up" and customizing.
Ice man putting block in ice box, milk on porch, ice cream man on bicycles ringing the bell, singing rag man, coal going in basement window,riding street car w/ Mom, going to Sun Praire every sunday for midget races, first jobs, cutting grass, shoveling snow, paper route, Howdy Doody, Cisco Kid, Lone Ranger, Sky King. All good memories. John
Couple of guys mentioned the showroom windows papered up for the new models. I had forgotten all about that. Can you imagine doing that today? You could put a car a couple years old on the floor & I for one would be hard pressed to know the difference. Growing up in Detroit in the 50's the house we lived in had a "milk chute". It was a small door on the outside wall next to the back door that the milkman would leave your milk. You just had to open the door on the inside to get your milk. If we got locked out of the house you could slip your way thru the milk chute and get in. We must have been pretty slim back then. Don't think I could get my head in one now.
To be honest, and not bustin' hump here: a gallon of gas today still costs about three candy bars (today's prices for both examples) right?
When I was 4 or 5-ish in 1967, I'd laugh at the taillights of our 1960 Brookwood wagon because I thought they looked like boobies!!
The Littlest Hobo Tom Terrific The Munsters The Adams Family Davey and Goliath The Friendly Giant Romper Room Jingles Jerry Booth Poopdeck Paul Captain Jolly Captain Kangaroo The Lone Ranger Roy Rodgers Felix the Cat Underdog Don't Eat the Daisies The Flintstones The Jetsons Superman The Adventures of Hercules Road Runner The Ghost and Mrs. Muir My Mother the Car Leave It To Beaver The Ed Sullivan Show The Jackie Gleason Show "From Miami Florida!!!" "How sweet it is!!!" I could go on. I hate today's TV shows...so I don't watch 'em...lol. I put the TV away years ago, and mostly watch old stuff on the computer. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Dang !..... You spent a lot of time in front of the tube when you were a kid !,.. You forgot Death Valley Days (Brought to you by "20 mule team Borax") Sky King Milky the Clown (What's the magic word ?...... Twin Pines !) Ozzie & Harriet Art Linkletter Alfred Hitchcock Presents Rawhide Donna Reed Have Gun-Will Travel The Real McCoys Wagon train Bachelor Father Sea Hunt Father Knows Best The Patti Duke Show Highway Patrol Dragnet Car 54, Where are you ? Make room for Daddy Rin Tin Tin Cheyenne Peter Gunn Batt Masterson Kukla, Fran and Ollie Life of Reily The Rebel Sargent Preston of the Yukon Clutch Cargo.......
Flipper Perry Masson Lets make a deal Lost in space Sigmond and the sea monsters Banana Splits Hudson Brothers Speed Racer Land of the Lost Run Joe run Shazam Chico and the man Mutual of Omaha's (wild kingdom) Wonderfull world of Disney
I remember going once a month in Scouts to swim at the Y. After, we would go to McDonald's. Dad would give me a buck, I'd get a soda, burger, and fries and have some change left. When they first came out with the large fries, the price was the same. We were disappointed the next month when the price had gone up.
Wonder Bread was good for you... Crisco with sugar made a tasty treat and everybody HATED Lima Beans!
Wellllll, not exactly everybody. Wait a minute. Wait just a flippin' minute! Growing up??!!! What rodder worth the title grew up?
A friend raised in California and I raised in North Eastern Connecticut once got on the subject of 50s and later TV shows that no longer aired,We were both surprised to find that each of us named TV shows that the other had never heard of because they were local programming.Also some of the syndicated shows shown on both coasts had differrent local stars as the lead Characters like Bozo the Clown and Romper Room. These are 2 shows shown nationally but filmed at the local stations live. Rex Trailer would be one of my local shows he never heard of and then there was the kids show " The Ranger station" We had "Ranger Rick" and "Ranger Andy" during the shows run here ,He remembered the show but named different "Rangers" It was this show that got us figuring out the fact some shows ran nation wide but with local talent.
In 1954 I was 15 and worked in a gas station. There was a gas price war going on and we were selling regular for 18-cents per gallon. I was making 70-cents per hour so I had to work 15 minutes to buy a gallon of gas. When I retired in 2001, gas was about $3.00 per gallon. At that time I had to work about 4-minutes to buy a gallon of gas. It was actually more expensive for me in 1954!!
The little rascals The magic garden(what were they really talking about) Popeye Tom and Jerry Underdog Rocky and bowinkle Courageous cat and minute mouse The wacky races Dastardly and muttly Looney tunes all of them The rifleman Mod squad ( Julie was hot) Bandstand Any variety show. Addams family Get smart Chiller theater The twilight zone
Harm's Way...Had to leave some for you and 117harv and others...lol. You guys did come up with some that I may not have thought of! BrerHair...Yup, Wide World of Color. Edit: Duh...Wonderful World of Color. Wide World of Sports...lol. What a trip back in time. This whole thread is a trip...lol. Man, and those old TV shows certainly became a permanent part of our psyche, didn't they? And they were good...with real talent and stories and messages that the whole family could enjoy...not some edgey, in-your-face, butt bouncin', over-the-top crap, or "reality" bs like today. I even like the old network logo thingies. I took to playing the NBC peacock logo before my wife and I watch an old movie. Gives it a nostalgic feeling. Or maybe the "Sunday Night At the Movies" intro...lol. And even the old commercials. Kellog's, (the best to you each morning) BrillCream, (a little dab'll do ya) and on and on. I think I'll go watch some... Timmy and Lassie Johnny Quest Bill Kennedy At the Movies (Detroit only) Rita Bell Prize Movie (also Detroit only) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Time Tunnel (that was a cool show) Top Cat Huckleberry Hound Heckle and Jeckle Fireball XL5...I can still remember the intro tune! I had a real problem with Kimba the White Lion for some reason though...lol.
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