Vintage shots from days gone by!

I believe the Studebaker Larks in this picture were prepared by Holman & Moody.

 

Hello,

Before the proliferation of the white buildings with the giant red Target popping up in most neighborhoods, there was GEMCO. They were all over So Cal and elsewhere in droves. The tall free standing signs with the big block letters… the huge parking areas, the membership cards…allowed all of us to be card carrying members of exclusive shopping…or…
“Gemco was an American chain of membership department stores that was owned by San Leandro-based Lucky Stores, a California supermarket company which eventually became part of Albertsons. Gemco operated from 1959 until closing in late 1986. A number of the west coast stores were sold to Target which fueled their entry into California. Gemco had a version called Memco, also owned by Lucky Stores, that operated stores in the Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., areas.”

These stores were the forerunner of the membership card carrying shopping geared specifically for those that wanted almost a one stop shopping experience. From clothes, hardware, toys, automotive parts and services, groceries,etc…If you needed something, Gemco usually had it in stock. Gas and automotive needs were just around the sides of most of the stores.

In our neck of So Cal, the new Mission Viejo Mall had opened up in the 70’s. But, like all big malls, they did not cater to the local neighborhood shopping experience with stuff for everyday use. Gemco was something that offered a lot of choices of just plain…stuff.

Sure, our neighborhood hardware store was the main place for all of our household and automotive needs, but the trip to Gemco was an experience, that soon wore off…

Jnaki

That experience wore off because not only did we shop there, but so did the masses of local South Orange County families. It became very crowded on a daily basis and the rush at the holidays became unbearable.

Our choices narrowed quickly and before the time Gemco closed in the 80’s, that shopping experience was over. The parent company of the Target Stores bought most of the remaining stores and have opened huge new stores all over since then.

Today, the red Target sign draws neighborhood families like flies on honey. It is a giant one stop shopping experience with fairly low prices for the same stuff at other local markets.

 

I loved the GEMCO in Fountain Valley in the 70's. At the back office you could cash by righting a check or on a credit card after banking hours. Saved my bacon quite a few times back then when I got an emergency call to go out of town for work. A SAMs is there now.

 

http://www.roadkillontheweb.com/truck.html

 

Crystal Cove a few miles north of Laguna Beach. Now a California State Park. Pacific Coast Highway not paved.

 

Boring, OR

 

Wow Maggie, good batch there.
You hit most all of the major Oregon cities, you even came within five miles of where I grew up, a small town in the Willamette valley.

 

Tommy Hinnershitz inside Johnny Parsons.

 

I didn't do the horse and buggy ones, and skipped the ones we post a lot, but a good batch I'd say.

 

Crosby, TX

 

When was the last time you used a bumper jack ??

 

There seem to be surprisingly few Fords in this bunch. I see a 46-8 Mercury and a 41 Ford in the front row and a very few others in the entire lot. Interesting.

 

About 1972 (ish) when I bought my first radials for my 57 BelAir, IIRC, rwl radial TA's.
Radials, the tires "real" HAMB'rs love to hate.

 

Opening day for Disneyland, 1955.

 

The ONLY thing I could hope for in Maggie's Oregon tour is a few more shots of Cave Junction and nearby Grant's Pass. In the early 70's , I moved up there from Hollywood to get my act together and "Dry Out " . God Bless those folks and the other friends I met near Brookings as they made me a better person .

 

I bet the park employees always have the feeling they're being watched.

 

Love the Hillman Husky in this pic.

 

There is a Hillman Husky here too

 

I've often wished I could shoot missiles out of my trunk when I'm on the highway. Maybe a little smaller, but still...

 

My dad gave me his 59 Strato Chief, 261 6 cyl, 3 sp standard on the floor. Drove the crap out of it until it got too rusty to drive. Should have kept the wagon rims.

 

I see you are Canadian. There was no US Strato Chief model for '59 let alone with that drivetrain. Interesting how GM mixed the makes and models around for Canada. It would have been cool to see one like yours.

 

Ashton, ID


Blackfoot, ID

 

Boise, ID

 

Burke, ID



Ghost town now ~