The smell of real gasoline..... I recently got some 'old, 5 gallon metal cans' one still had a little gas in it from days gone by. Still smells like gasoline used to.
I remember my mom fixing my cow lick with spit. Laying in the back window shelf of Dads 50 Merc on long trips. Also Dad had a set of chrome reverse hubcaps, they looked like chrome wheels but were hubcaps.
The wildwood weed grew wild on the farm and we never knew what it was called --------------- And he dug and he burned and he dug and he burned and he killed all our cute little weeds. Then he drove away we just smiled and waved, sitting there on that sack of seeds I hadn't thought of that in years. Gas wars over in Winterset with the price at 19 cents a gallon. Seven full service gas stations in town, now there is only one convenience store. Casey's seems to be taking over the world! Three grocery stores in town, now there is only one. Five new car dealerships in town, you could buy a new car made by GM, Ford, Dodge, AMC or International (Scouts and trucks). Now you can't buy a new car anywhere in this county. We do have one used car dealership now but for several years we didn't have that. You could go to town and buy a new John Deere, International, Oliver, Case, Allis Chalmers or Ford tractor. I probably missed one or two. Now you can only buy a new Case-IH. Neighbors solved their differences by arguing, no authorities were ever called. After the fighting was over everybody got over it and got along with each other.
Wow.........so many good memories......sad ones too........ The Lionel Christmas garden and Dad working on it. AMT model building and Blackjack firecrackers Building roads in the dirt and playing with Tonka trucks, graters , dumps My older cousin buying a new 62 Corvette and taking me for a ride. My Dad's 55 Chevy 210 wagon and road trips My uncles and their cool 55-7 Chevies Granny making homemade Halupkies, Bleenies,Cheesebread and Pierogies Mom's TLC, Green Stamps, and all that she did for us. Real gas stations with Real Americans, sorry, but it was what I remember My brother , the draft, Vietnam Local Speed shops Cruising, and man just too many too list, reading through the thread it seams we all shared many similar memories and best part we all are on here to share them .
Rin Tin Tin fan club leaving the keys in the car always 10 cent weekly allowance $ 1.69 all-you-can eat meat & 3 cartridge ink pens annual TV showing of Wizard of Oz fruit & homemade goodies at Halloween (from neighbors) shoe taps that we nailed onto our penny loafer heels low-flying prop planes spraying the city for skeeters (Miami) 6 cent Coke machines (nickel & penny, push the lever) 2-a-day rock concerts; saw Allman Bros. July 17, 1971 at 2 pm & again at 7 35 cent cigarette machines
All kinds of people used to hitch everywhere, hitchhikers were a regular fixture of the roadways, and it was a viable alternative for getting somewhere.
We would get in for 6 RC Cola bottle caps. Kid bedlam, screaming through the whole Errol Flynn swashbuckler, give-away treats from the host dude between movies . . . giant Sugar Daddy's, etc.
World Series was a huge deal, many teachers would allow TV set in class and the class would watch the game . . . B&W . . . always day games. Game would be on everywhere, in stores, in every home, radios everywhere.
Yes! As a kid in Miami, we only wore shoes to school, church, etc. Barefoot year 'round. Feet tough as leather. Great post wsdad
Hell, you could smoke anywhere. Nobody ever asked "Mind if I smoke?" You just lit up. Every home had ashtrays all over. Was a good gift for Mom, a new decorative ashtray for the living room.
Nobody ever locked the house. Never had a key to the house. BB gun fights were great! "No aiming above the neck" was the only rule, we'd split up into 2 teams. Remember the shot gun BB gun?
Yes! No A/C growing up, every night lying in bed listening to the truck tires singing in the distance, pre-Interstates.
Shit! i still run around without shoes! unless i'm at work or out & about,bare foot even with diabetes i have hill-billy feet ,i now just pick up all shit i used to leave on the ground! AKA-metal shavings,nails,screws Once a Hill-Billy always a Hill-Billy !
Racing on I-285 Atlanta at 2 AM, only 2 lanes each way, not a soul in sight. Bury the needle on Mom's Roadrunner
Kids roamed their neighborhood and adjacent 'hoods at will, outdoors all day, just better be home by a certain time. Camping at Port Orange, Florida during Daytona spring break for $2.00 per night, an extra 50 cents per night for electricity. Had a key to the high school commissary, ripped off institutional size cans of pears, baked beans, corn, etc. Spring break on the cheap! Fantastic downtown Christmas decorations at the department stores in the window displays! Everyone went downtown to see them. Great thread Larry, have really enjoyed it.
I remember A&W too. The real A&W, not the slammed in with a Long John Silvers business they have today... This one was within walking distance of my house. Photos are from around 1957 (when this one first opened) and 1964...
Actually, that could be 1965. The 65 Ranchero re-used the 1964 side trim. I think that's a '65 Ranchero on the far left. The menu I think is from around 1968.
ridding my bike to the grocery store with a dollar to get my mom a gallon of milk and a pack of l&m cigarettes slip the gallon over the bars and head for home and no one would even look twice at you
I remember those "Megaphones' that they would put the root beer in. There used to be quite a few A&Ws here in socal one upon a time and they just started closing one by one. There was one in Ontario,Ca that closed about 6 years ago and up until it closed it still had the car hop service 24 hours. Now who remembers Orange Julius?
Yep..........used to go to the one in Westminster once in a while. I used to get one of those every time I went to the Westminster mall with Mom. As far as I know there's still one of those in the mall here in Fresnothing.
Of course I have seen them at the mall and they opened up a Dairy Queen/Orange Julius in Montclair but I meant those old stands with the devil logo. Those I remember well.
So, now that we've gotten this far into the thread.... What the fuck happened????... Why the changes for the worst??..
I remember.... Wearing galoshes to school over my regular shoes when it was raining. They had metal buckles that were a pita. Also wearing a bright yellow rubber raincoat and rainhat. The gas pump attendent cleaning the windshield with an airesol can and a cloth. Learning how to read out of a book called "Fun With Dick and Jane." Every brand of refridgerator was called a "Fridgidare." Every make of car's automatic transmission was called a "Hyda-Matic." Variety and comedy shows on TV....Ed Sullivan, Gary Moore, Red Skelton, Carol Burnett, Sid Ceaser, Steve Allen, Dean Martin, Flip Wilson, Rowan and Martin Laugh In, Smothers Brothers Show. The guy on the Ed Sullivan Show who balanced a zillion spinning dinner plates on sticks on a long table while running around like crazy to keep them all spinning. Senor Wences on Ed Sullivan with a dude in a box named Jimmy. all right? S'ALL RIGHT! Senor also had a character he drew on his thumb and first finger that he would talk to. Senor Wences was very cool. OTR tractor trailer trucks with a million license plates on the front bumper. Some of them were very small. Fire trucks roaring down the street with guys hanging off the back. And a beautiful dalmation up front on top, barking like crazy. Telegraph lines next to the railroad tracks. You could hear them singing when you got up close to them. Jack Benny, Rochester, Don Wilson, George and Gracie, Wally and the Beav, Ward and June, Dennis the Menace, Good Old Mr. Wilson, Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, Circus Boy, The Old Ranger, 20 Mule Team Borax, The Riders of the Purple Sage, Boston Blackie, The Littlest Hobo, Cannonball, Rescue 8, The Nelson family, Mr. Thorne, Bachelor Father, Naked City, Medic, Peter Gunn, The Lone Ranger. My Mom and Dad and brother Gregg.