Remember When
Quote: billryanReally? In 1930, tens of millions of men were selling apples and pencils in a desperate attempt to feed their family, and the State of California put armed guards on its borders to keep out the folks fleeing unemployment in the other 47 states.
In the late 20s, banks were forced to offer mortgages with only twenty percent down, as the traditional 50% down was impossible for most people since the prices had skyrocketed due to indoor plumbing and electricity.
The good old days.
The next time around the guards will be facing inwards. Hopefully.
prestigious weapon of choice in the 50s and early 60s
the 2nd image is from the movie "West Side Story" - - it hit the big screen in '61
Quote: lilredroosterGreaser gangs in NYC Central Park - I'm estimating 1958
That's a great picture. Bet it's done with silver. I love the values in a good black and white.
dig those crazy 2 hand set shots...........really cooooool
at 0:29 there is a jump ball at halfcourt. after the tip a player comes flying into the circle to gain possession of the tip. I don't think I've ever seen that before. what I've seen is that the players always try to gain possession from outside the circle
black players were not allowed to play in the NBA at that time
but the Harlem Globetrotters had players at that time doing impressive dunks
could by in a gas station was car
related, or cigs? Maybe they would
have a pop machine. Is there a
gas station now that isn't an mini
grocery store.
The old stations mostly supported
themselves because they also
had a repair garage. I can't remember
the last time I saw a gas station
that repaired cars.
Quote: EvenBobAnybody remember when all you
could by in a gas station was car
related, or cigs?
No, but I remember when gas stations sold things like comic books and baseball cards.
Quote: EvenBobIs there a
gas station now that isn't an mini
grocery store.
I've seen some that are just like a little kiosk, with a person inside. No store, but I think they still sold cigarettes and maybe drinks.
Quote: EvenBobAnybody remember when all you
could by in a gas station was car
related, or cigs? Maybe they would
have a pop machine. Is there a
gas station now that isn't an mini
grocery store.
The old stations mostly supported
themselves because they also
had a repair garage. I can't remember
the last time I saw a gas station
that repaired cars.
I do. They also only had full service gas pumps and they checked your oil every time you filled up. I don't even remember what year I first pumped gas.
That’s just a flaw in the system.Quote: TigerWuOh, yeah, I still remember when you could pump gas BEFORE you paid for it. I think that started changing in the early 2000's or so. One time I pumped some gas, got distracted, forgot to pay, and just drove off.
Quote: TigerWuOh, yeah, I still remember when you could pump gas BEFORE you paid for it. I think that started changing in the early 2000's or so. One time I pumped some gas, got distracted, forgot to pay, and just drove off.
It depended on the station. When I was a kid (1970s) there was one we went to near my grandmother's place in a resort area and it was one of just a few stations around. When my dad started making me pump the gas in the early-80s there were a few, but the minority. Eventually stations had a dozen pumps and too much to watch, along with pay-at-pump, which switched most to pay-first.
Even in the 70s most had smokes, pop, and junk food. Retail gas is actually low-profit and always has been. Owners had and still must use gas as a lure.
Quote: AZDuffmanRetail gas is actually low-profit and always has been. Owners had and still must use gas as a lure.
The gas was the lure in the old
stations, the money was in the
attached garage. Oil change,
new battery, wipers, tires,
rotate tires, tune up. Those
cars always needed something.
Road maps were free. We had a
glove box full and they were
great accurate maps. Air was
free.
Up till a year ago the mechanic
garage down the road had free
air 24/7. At any given time
there were always cars waiting
to use it.
Wiki says there were once 800 HJ restaurants. The last one closed in 2016.
Quote: rxwine
So a diner could get a steak dinner
in 1948 for $3.00.. The average
factory worker made $54 a week
in '48, that's $1.35 an hour. So
he would work 2 1/2 hours for
that dinner. My guess is they
didn't eat out a lot. Steak in
the market was about $.60 cents
a pound.
There are people who collect old
menu's as a hobby, some have
thousands of them. Especially
old cruise ship menus.
Quote: AZDuffmanOnly burnouts wore them in my parts.
It's probably a regional thing and even just a few years make a difference.
I recently counted 7 jean jackets in my closet(along with a note saying, "Romes was here"🤣 ).
Here is something you might find interesting.
From Marilyn Monroe to Madonna, Here's a Brief History of the All-American Denim Jacket
https://www.glamour.com/story/fall-fashion-essentials-jacket-denim-c.
P.S. I swear I saw a reality show where two guys are scouring old towns and various places to find vintage Levi's and reselling them. Kind of like American Pickers.
Ann Margaret in "The Cincinnati Kid" from 1965
Cruise ship and train menus would be interesting, bit i'm more impressed by the old tavern menus that showed the "free lunch" items were not always just salty foods designed to induce more beer sales although salt intake in those days seemed to be particularly high anyway judging from home cookbooks, restaurant cookbooks and company and expedition provisioning records.Quote: EvenBobThere are people who collect old menu's as a hobby, some have thousands of them.
Especially old cruise ship menus.
Quote: rxwineI think I remember many highway motels had their own restaurants. Or was that just Howard Johnsons? Big city hotels still have them as do casino hotels.
Lots did, but I remember in college learning that motel restaurants usually were money losers. Almost nobody not staying there would eat there. Eventually most interchanges would have some motels and enough fast-food that they no longer needed to have a restaurant to get guests.
Most every one had a hotel/restaurant. Looking around there really is no other option for food but maybe a small market.
The fast food industry has helped strip away the hotel/restaurant in the US, I guess.
Motel restaurants used to be necessary for the town's greyhound/trailways service but as that declined the restaurants tended to be under utilized.
Quote: FleaStiff
Motel restaurants used to be necessary for the town's greyhound/trailways service but as that declined the restaurants tended to be under utilized.
When I traveled on business in the 1990s I didn't much like using the restaurant. Had to once for weeks as I was so broke I had to use the direct-bill. But the food was average average. Denny's was better for breakfast. Almost everything was better for dinner.
The bar, OTOH, was a nice thing. Walk back to your room. Fairly quiet. No locals, just other business travelers, though I never found that "lonely female businesswoman traveler" you read about back then.
Quote: lilredroostermovies had to try to be sexy without the actors taking all their clothes off
Ann Margaret in "The Cincinnati Kid" from 1965
Ann-Margret could be sexy wearing a garbage bag....
Quote: GWAEthe way that video made it seem, it was like the score was going to be insane but the final was 49-41. I love how all of the men in the stands were in suits.
There was no shot clock. CCNY was famous for taking a lead and going into a four corner passing game. By the way, CCNY is the only team to win both the NCAA tournament and the then much more prestigious NIT.
Many schools wouldn't schedule NYC schools as they were thought to have an unfair advantage. It was hard for non NY schools to get the Jewish players to join them and everyone knew that the Jewish players were the elite of the BBall world.
Quote: billryanThere was no shot clock. CCNY was famous for taking a lead and going into a four corner passing game. By the way, CCNY is the only team to win both the NCAA tournament and the then much more prestigious NIT.
Many schools wouldn't schedule NYC schools as they were thought to have an unfair advantage. It was hard for non NY schools to get the Jewish players to join them and everyone knew that the Jewish players were the elite of the BBall world.
some more basketball history. the Minneapolis Lakers with the great George Mikan were the tops of the pro league for many years
the Harlem Globetrotter played games that were not real - just for entertainment
but in 1948 they played a real game against the Lakers, and beat them. and beat them again in 1949. below is a clip of the great Marques Haynes who was on the Trotters team that beat the Lakers. Wilt Chamberlain, who played for the Globetrotters for one or 2 years called him the greatest player he had ever seen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Globetrotters%E2%80%93Lakers_game
Quote: billryanThe Globetrotters play some serious games, as well as a couple hundred exhibitions. I attended such a game a few years back where they played an Alumni team from the Big East.
They are the professional wrestling of basketball. That does not mean they are not good at it. I remember in the late 1990s an article said they were having trouble getting the best guys as the best wanted NBA contracts. In the past they pay was close enough that there were always enough good kids to fill the few slots needed per year. If you are good at basketball but like clowning around as well it would be the job for you. Career would be longer, way less chance of injury, though a backbreaking travel schedule.
Quote: AZDuffmanThey are the professional wrestling of basketball.
I saw them in 1970. Absolutely amazing
to see them in person.
Quote: EvenBobI saw them in 1970. Absolutely amazing
to see them in person.
Harlem Globetrotter dunk contest - in effing credible
at least as impressive if not more impressive than any NBA dunk contest
Quote: lilredroosterHarlem Globetrotter dunk contest - in effing credible
at least as impressive if not more impressive than any NBA dunk contest
They're like a Broadway musical that's
been around for years. Practice makes
perfect, and they practice the same
moves a LOT.
Quote: rxwineImagine being the coach for the Washington Generals.
It is a job you have to accept. Done right it is a comfortable career. In wrestling some jobbers were kept for decades. Because they knew how to lose and make the winner look good and they had other value to the company. Looking back I should have accepted my management job as that. Just had to keep things quiet, I thought I could build something. Oh well.
the vid doesn't show them checking your tire pressure but they would do that too
We'd only get there once every couple of years but it was fascinating.
Texaco had a similar setup at the 1965 NY Worlds Fair.
Quote: billryanThere was a chain upstate, around Glen Falls, that had three or four attendants dressed like ice cream men who would descend on your car.
Great thing was, you never had
to get out of your car. Winter,
summer, you just sat there and
they did all the work. I really
resented having to pump my
own gas and still do. They checked
and corrected everything while
you just sat there listening to the
radio. In fact, if you tried to pump
your own gas, they would get
pissed at you.
Quote: EvenBobGreat thing was, you never had
to get out of your car. Winter,
summer, you just sat there and
they did all the work. I really
resented having to pump my
own gas and still do. They checked
and corrected everything while
you just sat there listening to the
radio. In fact, if you tried to pump
your own gas, they would get
pissed at you.
It is not all great. I had a brand new company car, less than 1000 miles, and was at a meeting in NJ, where they do not let you pump your own, at least not then. Pump did a shut-off after a couple gallons like pump does. Guy says, "that's it!" I tell him to keep pumping, I am near empty. He insists that "there is something wrong with the car." Looked like he just got to the USA from who knows where and that was the only English he knew. I was POed as I had a 300+ mile trip and needed a full tank. Nope, he refused to start the pump again.
I had to stop in PA to fill the thing.
Quote: Rigondeaux
Let me guess, the guy told her the car is an EV?
Looking back, the interior of that car must have been tremendous. I remember driving with five adults and another kid from NY to Philly and back for a Giants game and not being squeezed at all. It was three men in the front and two adults and two kids in the back.
My Father didn't allow kids in the front under any circumstances.
Quote: billryanMy Dad had an old Oldsmobile that he kept running well after its expiration date. Think it was a 1958 Olds 98 and it had almost as much chrome on it as rust. It had these huge tail fins and the gas cap was actually hidden under one of them. Gas attendants would look around, yank on the license plate and give up.
Looking back, the interior of that car must have been tremendous. I remember driving with five adults and another kid from NY to Philly and back for a Giants game and not being squeezed at all. It was three men in the front and two adults and two kids in the back.
My Father didn't allow kids in the front under any circumstances.
I know a lot of people that are very possessive of their cars. I have never been that way even when I had expensive cars. To me they are just cars, a mode of transportation. If something happens to it, you fix it.
As a family, we would name our cars. The Olds was the Super Chief, our wagon was The Flying Cloud. One Fathers Day, my two sisters put stick on letters spelling out The Flying Cloud on the tailgate and then put glitter all around it. My Dad naturally loved it and was heartbroken when vandals removed it a day or two later.
I've never felt the urge to name one of mine.
Quote: DRichI know a lot of people that are very possessive of their cars. I have never been that way even when I had expensive cars. To me they are just cars, a mode of transportation. If something happens to it, you fix it.
I hate people like that. One time I was loading up some equipment in a friend's pickup truck, and he was like, "Dude, careful, don't scratch the bed." And I just stopped and looked at him and said, "IT'S A F***ING PICKUP TRUCK."
it seems to me like they become like your friend
it makes me sad when it makes sense to give one up - especially one that never or almost never broke down
Quote: lilredroosterit is funny how you can get emotionally attached to cars - not because they're great cars - but because you spent so much time in them and know them so well
it seems to me like they become like your friend
it makes me sad when it makes sense to give one up - especially one that never or almost never broke down
I inherited my Godfathers 1994 New Yorker when he died in 1997. He'd had a string of great Ford's but he was vain and always drove with a fedora on. In 94, the New Yorker was the only car that he could fit in with his hat. I rarely used it for a few years but as time went by it became my workhorse. I finally junked it in 2014 when Mazda offered me $150 trade in and the junkie offered me $400.
A day or so later, I drove by and it was sitting out on the street, stripped of hood, trunk, front windshield and tires. To my utter shock, I felt horrible about it. It's the only time I felt emotional about getting rid of a.car.
Quote: AZDuffmanIt is not all great. I had a brand new company car, less than 1000 miles,
We're talking about two different
era's. I was in the 60's and early
70's, sounds like your're 30 years
or more later. Never had anything
happen like you describe. Gas tanks
then were different, the filler tube
went straight into the tank, no
way it would shut off before full.
Quote: billryanThere was a chain upstate, around Glen Falls, that had three or four attendants dressed like ice cream men who would descend on your car. One guy cleaning windshields, another checking oil, another pumping gas. They had some sort of promo where if they didn't get it all done in a certain time, it was all free or something.
We'd only get there once every couple of years but it was fascinating.
Texaco had a similar setup at the 1965 NY Worlds Fair.
That system was a carefully developed 8 step plan.
Quote: lilredroosterit is funny how you can get emotionally attached to cars - not because they're great cars - but because you spent so much time in them and know them so well
it seems to me like they become like your friend
it makes me sad when it makes sense to give one up - especially one that never or almost never broke down
I saw someone riding my bike a week after I sold it. Remember breaking up in high school? Then you'd see the girl at a party the next week on another dude's arm?
It didn't hold a candle. I didn't know whether to cry or kill him.
Humans will pack bond with anything. Just ask Chuck Noland.
when you didn't get 15 scam emails and 4 scam phone calls every single day
somebody might try to rip you off but it was pretty rare
