I got this in a email today, thought some of the old gaurd would like it. I came across this phrase in a book yesterday "FENDER SKIRTS". A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts" started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice. Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you. Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental. When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake." I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed." Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house? Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore - "store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy. "Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "world wide" for granted. This floors me. On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply"expecting." Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all. I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation. Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down! Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffee maker" How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this. I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux." Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!" Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore. Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts. Someone forwarded this to me. I thought some of us of a "certain age" would remember most of these. Just for fun, Pass it along to others of "a certain age"!!
Thanks Bluto, not only do I remember all those terms, I'm not too far off of the sit down thing myself! FUCK....I mean damn...-MIKE By the way, how many people on here remember the real BLUTO?
Flat top with fenders Door to door salesmen Seamed stockings and the girl who could keep the seams straight Georgeous George, Baron Michele Maroni, Haystack Calhoun, Mr Moto, Freddy Blasy (You pencil necked geek!) Roller rinks Buda, Waukasha and Hall-Scott engines Northrup's Flying Wing The low, chest rattling sound of a B-36 overhead Semiphore traffic signals Signal Gas stations Reddy Kilowatt Kilroy was here
Broady Knobs, necking knobs , Honest Charlie hisself, wing windows , desert water bags (sold a shit load of them to them to tourists .
Neon signs in stores proudly declaring they had AIR-CONDITIONING Oil-bath aircleaners Gas station attendants (in general) better yet- gas station attendants wearing uniforms! Last but not least, the "real" Rootie Kazoootie
maybe I'm an oddity..but I'm about to turn 27..those are terms I still use...ok, maybe not all of them..but yeah...wierd..haha
Holy shit, Phil, youre shaking the cobwebs loose. Dont forget Roller Derby. I used to work with a few of the L.A. Thunderbirds at Lockheed on Graves. Red Smart, Lou Sanchez and Ralphie Valladares. Watched them skate at Valley Gardens.
Thanks for calling us over 50, Elderly. I miss the respect that was given to the older people in our town. We must of used it all when we were kids. I miss Groovie
Whoa, Nellie! Made me smile when you mentioned Little Ralphie Valladares. How about Jalopy races from Carroll stadium? Announced by the great Dick Lane. Remember Ol' Leather Britches? Live TV. Especially the commercials from Standard Chevrolet with the cars steaming and stalling because they got hot while waiting for the station break. Ernie Kovaks! Man! I'd love to see some of his old shows. The Nairobi Trio! ha haha Here's one for the So Cal gang: Taking the Red Line to Tin Can Beach. In case nobody remembers, Bluto was Popeyes competition for Olive Oyl's affection before there was a Brutus. Don't forget Eugene the Jeep and Alice the Goon.
Beanie and Cecil with old DJ, Thunderbolt the Wonder Colt and Tearalong the Dotted Lion before they were cartoons.. Ascot, Santa Anna Drags. Tin Can Beach and the Red Line?? This is getting out of hand!!! We need to go to the Lagoon.
Don't forget The Fuller-brush -man, TV shows...IN COLOR....TV antennas..now replaced by 'dishes" How about the Real Don Steele? Boss radio, KHJ,Sam Riddle? I want to go to P.O.P.!!
I had an older guy call at work last week asking about some parts.....he was talking about something and mentioned "foot feed." It took me a couple seconds to know what he was saying.
Beatle Boots, with horseshoe taps,Humble Harv,Watching ANG F-86's take off at Van Nuys airport,the endless drone of a C-97. Air raid test sirens on Friday mornings,at the end of the month..DROP! drills,fearing the Ruskies..and yes, The Wolfman
My dad always called the accelerator a 'foot feed'. He also called the trunk of the car the 'turtle shell'. Here's something to think about. How many people actually have gloves in their glove box? Remember when the guy at the gas station asked if he could check under your hood? I always ordered 'regular' but I saw a few rich people order 'ethel' a few times.
I am 41 and remember most of what has been mentioned. Stumped by some though. Was a huge L.A. T-bird fan, watched them on channel 56 (UHF!). A couple more for you, Skinny Minnie Miller and Psycho Ronnie Reigns (spelling?) and was it Big John something or other (there team leader?). A few of the things I miss, people saying excuse me when they step in front of you, or thank you when you hold the door for them. My biggest pet peeve? Men who don't remove their hats when eating in a restaraunt! My dad would knock the hat off my head if I sat down at the supper table with my hat still on.
I remember going to the store with my dad to use the vacuum tube tester.When your TV quit working you would check your tubes first before calling the repair man. Butch Wax. A Coke cost 10 cents. Tin cans instead of aluminum cans. Getting Two Bazooka Joe bubble gums for 1 penny. Living in Mortal fear of Polio. Slang words like : Jeepers. Boss. Queer... ( back then didnt have quite the same meaning as today ) Copped. Korney. Nifty. Blow. The cool shoes were Suedes.... and PF Flyers. Power Steering was a luxury item. There was once a raging debate over weather a 3 speed or a 4 speed was quicker. Blue chip Stamps S&H Green Stamps. All kinds of neat old stuff .
We are kindred, although I have to correct the info on the Jalopy Derby show on Sundays, run at and "telecast" from Western Speedway in Gardena on KTLA Channel 5. It still knocks me out that they ran the entire program live every week with essentially no restrictions on the total time. Damn, it was great stuff, with great talent, like George "Termite" Snyder, Chuck Nyday, and that kid with the funny name who was my age -- Parnelli Jones. BTW, did you know that that there was a proposal in the late '50s to rename Mulholland Drive to honor "old leatherbritches" using his given name? During WWII, before my mom and her girlfriends entered the Army medical corps, and after their husbands had gone off to serve, they'd take us kids to Long Beach every week. We'd catch the Red Car at Colorado and Lake in Pasadena, ride it to the downtown LA terminal and transfer to the express to Long Beach where we exited at the NuPike. It took about an hour, in 1943, and at a RT price of less than a buck for adults and half that for us little kids. FWIW, I wonder if you might be thinking of Stanley rather than Standard Chevrolet -- "Stanley, Stanley, Stanley Chevrolet, one block off the Santa Ana Freeway, one one nine eight oh east Firestone, Stanley Chevrolet." That's scary remembering things like that . . . but fun. Mike
I'm forty and a lot of these words were used when I was a kid. But I grew up in the outback of Northern Michigan (pronounced U.P. for the mich. crowd) and it was 20 years behind the times anyway. I can watch the movie "A Christmas Story" and visit my childhood all over again.
I HATE nostalgia posts;it reminds me just how old I am! Don't recall it ever being called a,"foot feed" but I do a,"throttle".Then you could have a hand throttle as well(early cruise control). I remember going to the Merit gas station and buying their recycled motor oil(that was at the pumps in glass bottles with open pour tops)for 15 cents per quart.Regular oil was EXPENSIVE(25 to 35 cents per quart). Several things I was taught as a child I still do to this day:I hold the door open for people if I see them coming;I always stand when a lady is introduced to me;I help women on with their coats;and I always open the car door for my wife. I remember my grandfather's 34 Ford sedan had an electric fan mounted on the dashboard.It had rubber blades and no guard around it.Found out(only once)that those blades hurt as much as metal ones! I remember going to the ice house to get a block of ice for the icebox(early refrigerator to the young'uns)and my grandfather carrying it to the back hall where the icebox was with a pair of ice tongs. I remember having to shovel coal into the furnace(my job)when I was about 8 or 9.I remember having to heat water on the kitchen stove in order to take a bath on Saturday night.We didn't get a hot water heater until I was about 13. I have to stop now;the memories are a bit much for a cold Sunday night.
IT's Cal Worthington...,and his dog Spot!!! and I thought it was ' DIAL, Dial, dial Chevrolet....one block,, etc.. Cal's corrall, Tom Hatten, and Popeye cartoons, Sheriff John 's lunch brigaders... HIGH Flight. the National Anthem... then TV off time... as the little spot fades away....
LA people will know that these places survive almost exactly as they were back then: Phillippe, the Original Cole's PE Diner The Original Pantry Angel's Flight funucular railway Canter's deli Whiskey A Go Go Tommy's Burger on Beverly and Rampart Joe Jost's in Long Beach Not very many, is there? Sad
"Hi there friends, Ralph Williams here for Ralph Williams Ford..." And now I will have the Stanley Chevrolet jingle in my head for the rest of the week! How about "Giant Felix Chevrolet", it's still there. How about slot car tracks, the Helms Bakery truck, and the Good Humor man. My brother and his buddies were big wrestling fans so I remember Freddie Blassy and all those guys who were two feet taller than little old Dick Lane. Remember the "locker room" interviews? You knew one of those guys was gonna get his head bashed into that single locker against the wall. I never heard a B-36 in person but I remember the Lockheed Constellations taking off from Burbank in the evenings with 10 foot blue flames out the exhaust stacks. Damn I feel old...
How many of you Ca. guys / gals remember the Helms Man? That bastard would open up the donut draws--knowing you got NO money--and Mom won't buy you one--he would just tease you! My first job was pumping gas--10 years old--at an old glass-sided station----the kind that had pumps on either side of the 10 x10 building.Had to wear a bow tie ,too!It had an old chest-type Coke machine---owner showed me how to get Cokes out of it for free--said drink all you want--just clean all car windows and check the oil---gotta show the driver,remember! Just too many things have changed---I guess that's the way it is---too bad .
I remember blue, red, yellow and green cellophane pressed with Cola $15-$20 a kilo Then there's a bunch I don't remember til about 1970
So much of this brings good thoughts back, especially going to the store with my dad to check the vacuum tubes for the tv, console tv that is. I am only 39, but I grew up in so-cal, in Azusa, and had older parents (40 when I was born). So I think I was exposed to a lot of older thoughts/expressions. They also definitely made sure I knew my manners, and that is maybe the thing I miss most. Nobody has any damn manners anymore, and no respect for their elders. BTW: How about Cactus Cooler soda, I heard it is being made again? Any truth to this.
The Jalopy Journal
