Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: funk51 on December 19, 2019, 09:55:04 AM
-
who remembers woolworth's store ? or ever been in one
-
who remembers woolworth's store ? or ever been in one
DAMN IM OLD
I hate you ;D
-
Used to go to woolworths in Framingham ma with my dad early 80s and loved it.
-
Used to go to one in Haverhill MA w/ my Ma.
Though I don't remember much, I was like 8 when it closed...
(http://www.roadarch.com/10/1/mawool.jpg)
(http://www.roadarch.com/10/1/mawool3.jpg)
(http://www.roadarch.com/10/1/mawool2.jpg)
-
Used to go to one in Haverhill MA w/ my Ma.
Though I don't remember much, I was like 8 when it closed...
(http://www.roadarch.com/10/1/mawool.jpg)
(http://www.roadarch.com/10/1/mawool3.jpg)
(http://www.roadarch.com/10/1/mawool2.jpg)
Yeah all I remember is sitting at the counter on a red stool and eating toast and oj my favorite breakfast as a kid.
-
im 53 I was on the tail end of them going away they had them but not many used to get a root beer float when my grand mother went there for her fabric she sewed and made blankets
-
Used to go into Woolworths to look at their fish when I was a kid. They didn't disappear till the 80'/90's.
-
who remembers woolworth's store ? or ever been in one
I think the largest one was on 16th St Mall in Denver early 2000s. I was in Boulder but I believe I passed it on the mall bus ride, just don't remember.
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/75/c7/3a/75c73a32620f6d520979b63c42645924.jpg)
-
All these places faded out just like the good old drive in movies... good times people hanging out eating before the movie sitting on beach chairs outside nice summer night watching a movie outside..
now it would be people doing drugs and shooting at each other
-
The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, setting trends and creating the modern retail model that stores follow worldwide today.
The first Woolworth store was opened by Frank Winfield Woolworthon February 22, 1879, as "Woolwort…
They are all over south Africa who knew.........
Woolworth closed its remaining variety stores in the United States in 1997, thus abandoning its traditional general-merchandise retail business there. After renaming itself Venator Group, Inc., in 1998, the company operated retail stores in North America, Europe, and Australia into the early 21st century.
-
I worked at Woolworths in high school.
-
They are all over south Africa who knew.........
Woolworth closed its remaining variety stores in the United States in 1997, thus abandoning its traditional general-merchandise retail business there. After renaming itself Venator Group, Inc., in 1998, the company operated retail stores in North America, Europe, and Australia into the early 21st century.
Woolies is huge in Australia .........
-
Woolworths became Foot Locker.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Woolworth_Company
-
Yep, I used to visit Woolworth stores. I also ate at Howard Johnson's and Chock Full O Nuts restaurants.
"Better coffee a millionaire's money can't buy."
-
Of course I remember the store!
-
The Australian Woolworths is not related to the USA Woolworths.
-
I last remember going into a Woolworth in the 1980s.
"1"
-
The Australian Woolworths is not related to the USA Woolworths.
Just like Vince B. is not related to Vince G. , :D
-
who remembers woolworth's store ? or ever been in one
(https://i.postimg.cc/9MPM3dgg/woolworth-s-store.jpg)
One of my older sisters worked there as a teen.
She worked in the store.
Her boyfriend, now husband, worked in their restaurant/ food court.
-
Good Old Days...
-
The Australian Woolworths is not related to the USA Woolworths.
I see.
The UK Woolworths, which went defunct less then 10 years ago, was related to the American Woolworths and split off from the American parent company ,in the early 80's.
Apparently, some UK branches served hot food in cafes ,like the US Woolworth's, though,personally, never did see one.
(https://buildingourpastdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/fig311-fww01_01_0029_003.jpg?w=640)
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2f/79/ac/2f79ac7b87319e4444314154f7d30cfe.jpg)
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bc/83/7f/bc837fda69bd469e1431322f14469610.jpg)
-
Yeah they were great, we had one near us. Really big toy and candy sections, which were all that mattered when you were a tot.
-
I worked at Woolworths in high school.
SF1900 works there still.
-
I bought Mickey Mantle autograph baseball bat and a catchers mask at Woolworths when I was a kid.
That bat was a monster. Hit some big bombs with it until it finally cracked.
-
I last remember going into a Woolworth in the 1980s.
"1"
Yea me as well 78 80 in that area 13 or 15 years old
-
SF1900 works there still.
:D
-
Fine dined at the Woolwofth counter many times.
The special was usually the hot turkey sandwich smothered in gravey with a lump of smashed potatos, a scoop of veggies and a small amount of cranberry sauce in a little paper cup.
(Ask for more .. and you got it!)
Or if you were in a hurry ... you could go to the pizza counter and get a loaded slice of pizza for 29 cents plus a dime for a Coca-Cola.
And that cable car ride was a dime also which included a transfer so that you could could return home no matter what part of San Fran you lived in.
-
What was once a dime ... now costs five dollars!
And you don't even get a transfer!
-
Good memories going to Woolworth (and eating there) when visiting my grandparents in Timmins Ontario during summers in the 70s.
-
Good memories going to Woolworth (and eating there) when visiting my grandparents in Timmins Ontario during summers in the 70s.
Man what we have become coming up on 2020.... :'(
-
What was once a dime ... now costs five dollars!
And you don't even get a transfer!
More than that.
>
https://www.sfmta.com/fares/cable-car-single-ride
MuniMobile: Adult & Youth
$7.00 ($8.00 Effective 1/1/2020)
Clipper Card: Adult & Youth
$7.00 ($8.00 Effective 1/1/2020)
Cash
$7.00 ($8.00 Effective 1/1/2020)
Senior/ Disabled/ Medicare: 7am-9pm
$7.00 ($8.00 Effective 1/1/2020)
Senior/ Disabled/ Medicare: 9pm-7am
$3.00 ($4.00 Effective 1/1/2020)
-
SF1900 works there still.
They were a great company to work for.
I was sad to see them go under.
-
anyone remember this phrase on the tombstone.
-
SF1900 works there still.
SiFi is North American rep for 'Biceps Supinator Machinery, well known Australian product !.
;)
-
When I was around 13 years old I was hanging oiutside Kresges a 5 and 10 store.............well I looked up and saw this cat with Hells Angelels colors on..............mind you this was in Springfield Mass...............long story short the dude bought me a hot dog from the vendor on the corner.................. .told all my friends like I was king shit LOL ;D
-
IRON, Thanks for the update on the cable car fees.
Once upon a time I had family members living in an ecpensive apaartment 'up thar' at the top of Nob Hill who rode that cable car on a daiy basis for 10 cents a ride and that included a tranfer to hop on the street car .... but now a days they most likely woould not be able to afford it.
I wonder if those folks who live up there get some sort of a monthly discount?
Here was one of my favorite places to eat on Powell Street a block or two from Market Street way back when.
Anyone ever been there?
-
WES, Here are some KRESGES photos to enhance your memory ....
That store appeared to be very similar to Woolworth's. Where was the one you mentioned above located?
-
Here's a place which most likely no GetBigger has ever seen ....
-
IRON, Thanks for the update on the cable car fees.
Once upon a time I had family members living in an ecpensive apaartment 'up thar' at the top of Nob Hill who rode that cable car on a daiy basis for 10 cents a ride and that included a tranfer to hop on the street car .... but now a days they most likely woould not be able to afford it.
I wonder if those folks who live up there get some sort of a monthly discount?
Here was one of my favorite places to eat on Powell Street a block or two from Market Street way back when.
Anyone ever been there?
Went to SF on family vacation trip (3 kids and mom & dad) in 1969. We all rode the cable cars.
We even had easy parking and walked all over.
Nowadays, the parking would be $25 to $50 and 'ol Dad couldn't afford those cable car rides, and we'd have to hop and skip over the excrement from the "homeless" drug addicts and shiftless bums.
That's progress.
-
Here's another long gone store.
My mother carried me out of a Grant's store upside down around age 3 while I was having a temper tantrum.
I remember looking at a yellow backhoe from an upside down perspective that was in the parking lot.
Nobody called Child Welfare. No evident lifelong trauma effects.
(http://www.mihp.org/wp-content/gallery/wt-grant-co/wt-grant-1966-78-yearbook-ads.jpg)
-
Here's another long gone store.
My mother carried me out of a Grant's store upside down around age 3 while I was having a temper tantrum.
I remember looking at a yellow backhoe from an upside down perspective that was in the parking lot.
Nobody called Child Welfare. No evident lifelong trauma effects.
(http://www.mihp.org/wp-content/gallery/wt-grant-co/wt-grant-1966-78-yearbook-ads.jpg)
we had one of those in my small town than it became another 5 and 10 store called spillane's and now in 2019 it's a gym. also a ben franklin's
-
where grant's used to sell monkeys is the leg area the candy counter area is now arm land. the office area is now an aerobics room
-
My granny and grampa got me one of these from Woolworths for christmas 1972. Best present ever. You cant even buy toy guns like these anymore. No indeed you can't.
-
Spent many evenings here after I got my first car.
Bob's Big Boy on Van Nuys Blvd. in Van Nuys CA
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/45/d1/6945d126a2ac932c4353b02ac81e791c.jpg)
-
My wife and I would eat here when we were dating. Best menu item was "Those potatoes"....layers of hash-browns and sour cream with green onions...yum.
Hamburger Hamlet, West Hollywood, CA
(https://www.laweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hamburger_hamlet.jpg)
Those Potatoes
(http://s2.grouprecipes.com/images/recipes/original/4633339480.jpg)
-
My wife and I would eat here when we were dating. Best menu item was "Those potatoes"....layers of hash-browns and sour cream with green onions...yum.
Hamburger Hamlet, West Hollywood, CA
(https://www.laweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hamburger_hamlet.jpg)
Those Potatoes
(http://s2.grouprecipes.com/images/recipes/original/4633339480.jpg)
I would send that back, it looks bland and tasteless
-
I would send that back, it looks bland and tasteless
Looks can be deceiving. Trust me, it wasn't bland and tastless.
-
I remember going to the Woolworths that was in the Mall connected to the Sears Adam Walsh was abducted outside of, which always made it an unsettling experience. I want to say it was open until at least 1994. They had some of the best ice cream cones in town there.
-
I remember going to the Woolworths that was in the Mall connected to the Sears Adam Walsh was abducted outside of, which always made it an unsettling experience. I want to say it was open until at least 1994. They had some of the best ice cream cones in town there.
Good you remember the ice cream cones. Best not to think about scary stuff, like being abducted.
-
I don't remember
-
Good you remember the ice cream cones. Best not to think about scary stuff, like being abducted.
That was already beaten into my brain constantly by my mom, since it was the 80's. But you couldn't not think about him when you walked through the same toy aisles he did.
-
as far as stores go hess's was the high end store and two guys was the low end store in the 50's 60's and 70's. two guys became a fitness america gym in the 80's which is now long gone.
-
I worked at Two Guys one summer in the auto department in 1977.
$2.20/hr.
On my first day on the job a middle aged couple switched the price stickers on a set of car stereo speakers and I didn't catch it.
The department manager was cool about it.
Those were the days when every department had it's own cash register to check people out.
-
WES, Here are some KRESGES photos to enhance your memory ....
That store appeared to be very similar to Woolworth's. Where was the one you mentioned above located?
[/quote
Thanks for the memories Funk...................c orner of Main and Worthington Streeets downtown Springfield Massachusettes.
-
We had:
Zayres
Two Guys
Bradlees
Lechmere
Ames
Woolworth
Western Auto
Kresges
Steigers
Forbes& Wallace
Topps
Cant remember anymore but I`m older than dirt.
-
JB Hunter
JM Fields
Edwards
Freddie's
Present Co.
Century
Neisner's/Big N
Retail is a brutal business.
-
as far as stores go hess's was the high end store and two guys was the low end store in the 50's 60's and 70's. two guys became a fitness america gym in the 80's which is now long gone.
I met my future wife at Robinson's in Beverly Hills in 1962. We both worked there. She was the assistant manager in toys and I worked in display. We made arrangements for our first date in the employee lunchroom/cafeteria. Almost every penny she made, she spent at the store in woman's clothing, the jewelry dept. and the beauty salon. The few pennies I made, paid my rent $75 a month for a 1 bedroom court cottage a block off Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, transportation, groceries and bar bill. I might have made gross about $280 a month. I was 18 years old.
Robinson's was a highend store that paid a minimum wage salary. :)
(https://cdn2.lamag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/07/R500090682-photosize-.jpeg)
-
Following up on the previous post. On my wife's and my first date we went to the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills and saw Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O'Toole, Alex Guinness, Anthony Qiunn and new comer, Omar Shariff. After almost 4 hours watching a film that took place in the desert we were parched. ;) It was the winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1962).
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/WilshireTheater_01.jpg)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51MGIXsVpcL._SY445_.jpg)
-
i started working in 1967 when i was 16 years old made a whopping 1.60 an hour. when i got paid on fridays i would drive to the boulevard drive-in [still in business] and buy 5 hamburgers for a buck and down them good times. this was when america was truly great.
-
Following up on the previous post. On my wife's and my first date we went to the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills and saw Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O'Toole, Alex Guinness, Anthony Qiunn and new comer, Omar Shariff. After almost 4 hours watching a film that took place in the desert we were parched. ;) It was the winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1962).
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/WilshireTheater_01.jpg)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51MGIXsVpcL._SY445_.jpg)
one of the best films ever made
-
i started working in 1967 when i was 16 years old made a whopping 1.60 an hour. when i got paid on fridays i would drive to the boulevard drive-in [still in business] and buy 5 hamburgers for a buck and down them good times. this was when america was truly great.
Why was America great? Not saying it wasn't....just interested in knowing your reasons for thinking this.
-
My wife and I were movie buffs back in the day. She and I actually attended the premier of Cleopatra at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, CA. We are somewhere in this crowd of people in the photo below. It was a wild experience.
(https://i0.wp.com/martinturnbull.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Los-Angeles-premiere-of-%E2%80%9CCleopatra%E2%80%9D-at-the-Hollywood-Pantages-Theater-on-Hollywood-Blvd-summer-1963.jpg?w=650&ssl=1)
-
Why was America great? Not saying it wasn't....just interested in knowing your reasons for thinking this.
everything seemed better, simpler times if you will. gas was 25 cents a gallon. you went to the movie theater or a concert and didn't wonder if you were going to get shot. cars had personality. people seemed to care for each other more, there wasn't any internet and smartass phones.
-
everything seemed better, simpler times if you will. gas was 25 cents a gallon. you went to the movie theater or a concert and didn't wonder if you were going to get shot. cars had personality. people seemed to care for each other more, there wasn't any internet and smartass phones.
Good calls. Not sure about gas being cheaper though since with inflation it might actually be less expensive today....or not.
From 1960 through 1965 nominal gas prices bounced between 30 and 31 cents a gallon while the inflation adjusted price fell from $2.48 to $2.33. But then the nominal price of gas started to climb and by 1970 had increased 20% to 36 cents a gallon but on an inflation adjusted basis gas prices had actually fallen to $2.19. And by 1972 gas on an inflation adjusted basis was a real bargain at $2.04 a gallon. At this point OPEC felt they were being cheated as the value of the dollars they were receiving were becoming worth less and less. So they started squeezing prices, which drove nominal prices in 1981 up to $1.35 and inflation adjusted prices up to $3.51. Note that this price was higher than the price during 1934 and 38 but below the 1918 price.
From there nominal prices fell moderately over the next 17 years and inflation itself moderated falling from 13.5% in 1980 to 1.86% in 1986 and then increasing to 4.82% in 1989. This resulted in drastically cheaper gas on an inflation adjusted basis with the lowest recorded inflation adjusted price for gas occurring in 1998 at $1.48 per gallon. In 1998, overall price inflation made it look like gasoline prices were rising, so most people didn’t realize that gas was actually cheap on a historical basis. But they knew it intuitively since a smaller portion of their budget was going toward gasoline. In fact, gas had gotten really cheap by historical standards allowing people to buy gas guzzlers like SUV’s and Hummers.
https://inflationdata.com/articles/inflation-adjusted-prices/inflation-adjusted-gasoline-prices/
-
Why was America great? Not saying it wasn't....just interested in knowing your reasons for thinking this.
Uh, you were there...
-
Uh, you were there...
Yes I was...born in 1944. That's why I wonder why someone would think those times were so great. Yeah the economy was great....during the 1960s the United States experienced its longest uninterrupted period of economic expansion in history. While there were good things happening, not everything was positive. By the end of the 1960s, economic prosperity was being eroded by persistent inflation. The Sixties dominated by the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Protests, the 60s also saw the assassinations of US President John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In the 1970s, moves meant to prevent unemployment instead did the opposite, ... Yet these unusually bad economic times were preceded by a period in which ... Some actually thought that the great inflation was a good thing. As inflation accelerated and interest rates began to rise rapidly in the late 1970s, many S&Ls began to suffer extensive losses. The rates they had to pay to attract deposits rose sharply, but the amount they earned on long-term fixed-rate mortgages didn't change.
For many people in the United States, the late 1970s were a troubled and troubling time. The radical and countercultural movements of the 1960s and early 1970s, the Watergate scandal, the Vietnam War, uncertainty in the Middle East and economic crisis at home had undermined Americans' confidence in their fellow citizens and in their government.
Does any of this seem familiar? The populist conservative movement known as the New Right enjoyed unprecedented growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It appealed to a diverse assortment of Americans, including evangelical Christians; anti-tax crusaders; advocates of deregulation and smaller markets; advocates of a more powerful American presence abroad; disaffected white liberals; and defenders of an unrestricted free market.
In the early 1980s, the American economy was suffering through a deep recession. Business bankruptcies rose sharply compared to previous years. Farmers also suffered due to a decline in agricultural exports, falling crop prices, and rising interest rates. The 80's decade (group of ten years) is sometimes called the "Greed decade". The annual inflation rate remained under 5 percent from 1983 through 1987, which was a good thing. Federal deficits soared throughout the 1980s. The U.S. trade deficit hit a record that same year. A stock market crash in the autumn of 1987 led many to question the stability of the economy.
The U.S. economy dipped into recession in 1991, and then began a slow recovery in 1992. As a result of the poor economy and other factors, the federal budget deficit began heading upward again. The financial industry was particularly plagued with problems, with numerous savings institutions, as well as some banks and insurance companies, either collapsing or falling into such a shaky state that the federal government had to take them over.
Don't get me wrong, there were good times too. It seems in many cases the younger and more innocent of the world one is the better everything seems. Our memories and how they play out are interesting. Many people choose to remember positive experiences rather than negative ones. Sometimes, I think these people are the wise ones. Others argue that you have to be realistic about the past imperfect if you are to forge forward. So yeah, I sometimes am nostalgic about the good ol' days, but I also remember the not so good ol' days too.
Good Ol' Days
The Script
Up in the bar all smoking cigars
While we were drinking Irish whiskey straight from the jar
Talkin' 'bout them better days are not that far
Whoever's coming back to mine you better bring the guitar
You play a sad song, yea sing it from the heart
Tell a sad story, yea tell it from the start
Pass me on the pain that you made into art
Yeah, pierce it through my skin like a heroin dart
When
Someone strummin' on the strings and they're spittin' things
Everybody's movin' groovin' vibes when the other sings
They gon' kill you with the passion and the soul
When the first verse drops, you be fighting back the tears and all
While another man's crying in his beers and all
While his woman is sayin' cheers to it all
Ain't no shame in the game, just the way we were…
-
JB Hunter
JM Fields
Edwards
Freddie's
Present Co.
Century
Neisner's/Big N
Retail is a brutal business.
We had JM Fields too...........never would have remembred that without your post.
-
We had JM Fields too...........never would have remembred that without your post.
I remember buying a fishing rod there.
-
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.QpkfPNCYFbQz19hG9O68DgHaEa%26pid%3DApi&f=1)
Stuckey's...
-
one of my favorite rides from back in the day. circa 1973.
-
.
-
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FmaPp4Lpx94yPe%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1)
"And stay outta the Woolsworth!"
-
one of my favorite rides from back in the day. circa 1973.
Funk,
We must be related. I had a blue 76 Cutlass Supreme. 350 4-barrel carb.
Got totaled unfortunately.
Like this but sky blue...
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/4e/95/cf4e951cfda9c5da96bf8132bcb29e1b.jpg)
-
SCOTT, I kinda think I recall one or two STUCKEY's situated off the highway and located between Barstow and the California/Nevada line on the way to Vegas.
If I recall right they sold candy as their main product.
In fact today there is still the skelital remains of an old Stuckey's in the desert along side Highway 15 which looks something like this..
-
Back in them good old days ... some federal agency offered a plot of desert land for free.
But you had to build a livable structure on that small plot of free land and provide your own source of water.
So just about overnight small structures of about 500 square feet with a water-tank trailer parked outside sprung up a few yards off both sides of the desert road once you passed Baarstow heading into Las Vegas.
AS far as I know none survived but if you look close you'll see a few of these abandoned structures along your ride to the gambling capital of the world.
-
Funk,
We must be related. I had a blue 76 Cutlass Supreme. 350 4-barrel carb.
Got totaled unfortunately.
Like this but sky blue...
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/4e/95/cf4e951cfda9c5da96bf8132bcb29e1b.jpg)
nice
-
Regarding the old days things were better. Most women stayed home taking care of the kids. A guy could work in a factory and make enough for a house, car and vacations. I know I lived next to an embroidery factory. Entire blocks of family would go to church. People owned guns but no one ever thought about being an active shooter. It was a better time.
-
^THIS^
-
^THIS AGAIN^
But I gotta add ... Kids would fill up on Friday night beers and ....go out in search of the original day San Francisco HIPPIES and beat them up!
That the 'baddest' that I can recall.
-
And before Disneyland opened, every major city or town up and down the California coastline would have a much cheaper version of the Mouse House.
San Francisco had Playland at the Beach where you could spend all day on various rides for 99 cents ... and that included the diving bell and the roller coaster and the merry-go-round and some wooden racing horses and somethung called Laff in the Dark.
There were similar attractions in San Diego, Santa Monica/Venuce, Long Beach and Santa Cruz.
Even Disneyland was inexpensive back then. Only 10 - 35 cents for an A, B, C, or D ticket and a park entry fee of about $3(?).
$10 would get you through the entire day ... unless you bought too many Mickey Mouse hats.
Here are some San Fran Playland at the Beach photos, but now it's simply rows and rows of expensive apartments.
The bravest kids would ride that roller coaster standing up until they reached the tunnel. Not sure ... but I think one kid was killed on this ride when he didn't see that tunnel commen!
-
Regarding the old days things were better. Most women stayed home taking care of the kids. A guy could work in a factory and make enough for a house, car and vacations. I know I lived next to an embroidery factory. Entire blocks of family would go to church. People owned guns but no one ever thought about being an active shooter. It was a better time.
that's what i'm talking about exactly. the best of times.
-
Regarding the old days things were better. Most women stayed home taking care of the kids. A guy could work in a factory and make enough for a house, car and vacations. I know I lived next to an embroidery factory. Entire blocks of family would go to church. People owned guns but no one ever thought about being an active shooter. It was a better time.
These things are all true of times past. It is also true that middle class people bought or rented much more modest homes and in general had much simpler lifestyles.
Compared to today, automobiles were mechanically and technically very simple. Also many, if not most families got by with owning just one vehicle.
Groceries were less expensive too, but the selection was limited only to what was locally available. We sometimes had fresh trout from the fish market. And yes Oldtimer, milk was delivered to the door on weekdays.
One of the advantages of stay at home moms was that some of them did a lot of things people today pay others to do for them. My mom cooked and cleaned the house. Sometimes she'd knit a sweater for me. Most of them would have fit a 300 lb. 7 ft. giant, but I wore them anyway. She didn't sew or darn socks. Mostly she laid out by the pool reading books. Before we had a pool, she and I would drive to the beach every weekday, weather allowing. State Beach in Santa Monica, CA was less than a 30 minute drive.
Dining out was a special and infrequent occasion. Chinese and Italian restaurants were the most common places to go for a fancy dinner. Maybe once a month, my dad would drive over to Barone's restaurant in Studio City and bring home one of their iconic rectangular pizzas. Each of us would eat two slices, three if we were really hungry. If you can believe it, Barone's is still there in the exact same location 60 or so years later. The family owned restaurant started in 1945.
(http://nebula.wsimg.com/fda732812584f330e6b944e1efcf0dd3?AccessKeyId=978D35D3E3DFDE9D73DE&disposition=0&alloworigin=1)
Instead of smart phones that do everything but wipe our butts, we had a single landline outlet with one black rotary dial phone connected to it. Later we had snazzy Princess phones. Many folks contended with party lines which might be busy just when you wanted to make a call which was kept very short.
In 59' my parents bought the fanciest television available. It was in a blond wood double door cabinet with a ginormous 27" screen and a remote control that was housed in a matching end table with wires that ran under the rug to the back of the TV. There were something like three channels which went off the air a little passed midnight.
My step-dad was a self employed painting contractor, so his income varied with how many customers he had at any given time. As a result, my mom and dad often borrowed from the bank. There were no credit or debit cards, just checks. Sometimes, when a customer failed to pay at the conclusion of a job, my mom would float a check for food or to pay utilities in hopes that there would be money in the bank to cover it by the time it was deposited, which was usually many days later.
I remember only two big vacations with my mom a stepdad. I remember two vacations. In 57' we drove up the pacific coast on highway 101 to Vancouver, BC. This trip lasted just long enough to drive there and back, maybe five days total. In 59' my parents rented a beach house south of Santa Barbara for two weeks. My dad worked during the week and came up on the weekends. The place and the rent was shared with my parents' best friends, who had three kids.
Looking back at those times, it would be accurate to say my parents lifestyle was above average and sometimes beyond their means. They spent all of what my dad made keeping up the facade. Unlike a lot of families we had two vehicles, my dad's truck and the family car, which was usually a late model Cadillac or Lincoln. This was their drive 57'
(https://c8.alamy.com/comp/B6FCD1/1957-cadillac-at-a-classic-car-show-in-belvidere-new-jersey-usa-B6FCD1.jpg)
-
Good stuff, Prime.
Did you meet any movie or TV stars living where you did?
-
Hey. PRIME, What is or was the name of that restaurant that was located across the freeway ftom Universal Studios in which the waiters/ waitresses would suddently start singing Broadway songs and/or light opera?
I think that the Peter Falk (the Columbo character) either killed or had his wife killed shortly after a nice meal at that place and I had nothing to do with it.
PRIME, More details on that story (which I don't got) might be of interest to these GetBig characters!
And how many Enchaladas and Margaritas have you had at Casa Vega in which one of the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" scenes was filmed ?
If you know nothing about neither of these fine LA dining joints .... you surely can't br a true nor total Southern California inebriate!
I've had a few too many Casa Vega Tequila shots and Margaritas with many of 'them thar' weekly TV personalities and never, but once, was a fist thrown in my direction.
Also ... One of the best steaks I've had in my life-time was served to me
while fine-dining at Musso and Frank's after a few Martinis at
the bar as seen in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which was stirred, not shaken, by a 90 year old mix-o-lo-gist who worked there when the place first opened.
And it was Brad Pitt who claimed my bar-stool in that Musso and Frank's bar scene. And it was also he who was the stunt character in that movie which I was involved with too damn many years ago.
But I sure as hell din't get no credit as the ending credits rolled!
I had a talk with Dominic Dunne while on that bar-stoll (look him up) about his movie biz involvement and those 90 cent Martinis kept on coming!
Actually I have no idea what those Martinis cost back then. Maybe you can remember.
But those definitely were some damn good old days with many a story I should tell some day ... but most of it ... youse characters would not believe!
Here is a non-believer to start ... Once upon a time I held an OSCAR in my hands and gave an acceptance speech while someone twice my size entered a mansion to ensure that steps were taken to avoid adverse publicity for a major star as well as a major studio.
It turned out that my job was to retain that Oscar so that it woud not end up being a murder weapon.
Apparently I did a decent job and that guy received his Oscar back.
But he had to apologize first ... And I've liked him ever since.
SORRY! I'm reminising way too much about them good old days!
-
IRON,Yes ... I met or hung around with a lot of movie personalities ... in front of or in back of the camera.
I actually cherish one precise moment!
That short moment of time was when I met EDWARD EVERETTE HORTON an old character actor who was big time way back when
It was during the filming of Perils of Pauline (the Pat Boone version) and Edward was involved in the scene where they are attempting to freeze Pauline (Pam Austin) in a block of ice and he was having a problem with a line with the worl "congeal" in it which required 13 takes until he got it right.
Every time he fucked it up he'd come to me and apologize for no apparent reason that I was aware of.
And each time I'd tell him, "It means to 'freeze up'!"
And he'd say, "Why the hell don't they just let me say that?"
But I'd just shrug my shoulders and he'd once again take his position while poor Pam Austin patiently laid in a glass box filled with icey 'smoke'.
The exact same thing happened when we were on the James Garner TV set when it took a good number of takes to get the scene in the can.
He came over more than twice to apologize even though he didn't know who the hell I was.
Actually my main job was to get bottles broken over my head or to simply assist the bigger guys to solve problems that the studios wanted to solve privately and without adverse publicity.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ... could have been so much better!
-
Prime, HOW in a fluck U get converted to socialistic ideology ::) ???
Looks like U loved Americana in yours teens ???, & now ::)
-
IRON,Yes ... I met or hung around with a lot of movie personalities ... in front of or in back of the camera.
I actually cherish one precise moment!
That short moment of time was when I met EDWARD EVERETTE HORTON an old character actor who was big time way back when
It was during the filming of Perils of Pauline (the Pat Boone version) and Edward was involved in the scene where they are attempting to freeze Pauline (Pam Austin) in a block of ice and he was having a problem with a line with the worl "congeal" in it which required 13 takes until he got it right.
Every time he fucked it up he'd come to me and apologize for no apparent reason that I was aware of.
And each time I'd tell him, "It means to 'freeze up'!"
And he'd say, "Why the hell don't they just let me say that?"
But I'd just shrug my shoulders and he'd once again take his position while poor Pam Austin patiently laid in a glass box filled with icey 'smoke'.
The exact same thing happened when we were on the James Garner TV set when it took a good number of takes to get the scene in the can.
He came over more than twice to apologize even though he didn't know who the hell I was.
Actually my main job was to get bottles broken over my head or to simply assist the bigger guys to solve problems that the studios wanted to solve privately and without adverse publicity.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ... could have been so much better!
Horton hears a Who (he wasn't in this but his name was!)...He possessed a distinctive voice and look. Thurl Ravenscroft is another fine voice actor.
-
Hey. PRIME, What is or was the name of that restaurant that was located across the freeway ftom Universal Studios in which the waiters/ waitresses would suddently start singing Broadway songs and/or light opera?
I think that the Peter Falk (the Columbo character) either killed or had his wife killed shortly after a nice meal at that place and I had nothing to do with it.
PRIME, More details on that story (which I don't got) might be of interest to these GetBig characters!
And how many Enchaladas and Margaritas have you had at Casa Vega in which one of the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" scenes was filmed ?
If you know nothing about neither of these fine LA dining joints .... you surely can't br a true nor total Southern California inebriate!
I've had a few too many Casa Vega Tequila shots and Margaritas with many of 'them thar' weekly TV personalities and never, but once, was a fist thrown in my direction.
Also ... One of the best steaks I've had in my life-time was served to me
while fine-dining at Musso and Frank's after a few Martinis at
the bar as seen in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which was stirred, not shaken, by a 90 year old mix-o-lo-gist who worked there when the place first opened.
And it was Brad Pitt who claimed my bar-stool in that Musso and Frank's bar scene. And it was also he who was the stunt character in that movie which I was involved with too damn many years ago.
But I sure as hell din't get no credit as the ending credits rolled!
I had a talk with Dominic Dunne while on that bar-stoll (look him up) about his movie biz involvement and those 90 cent Martinis kept on coming!
Actually I have no idea what those Martinis cost back then. Maybe you can remember.
But those definitely were some damn good old days with many a story I should tell some day ... but most of it ... youse characters would not believe!
Here is a non-believer to start ... Once upon a time I held an OSCAR in my hands and gave an acceptance speech while someone twice my size entered a mansion to ensure that steps were taken to avoid adverse publicity for a major star as well as a major studio.
It turned out that my job was to retain that Oscar so that it woud not end up being a murder weapon.
Apparently I did a decent job and that guy received his Oscar back.
But he had to apologize first ... And I've liked him ever since.
SORRY! I'm reminising way too much about them good old days!
Do you mean Vitello's Restaurant on Tujunga Avenue in Studio City where Robert Blake's wife, Bonnie Bakley was found murdered? To the best of my knowledge, neither of Peter Faulk's two wives were murdered. Wednesday night was Opera night at Vitello's. I've never been there, but I heard about it. My wife and I liked to eat dinner at Miceli's in Hollywood where the waiters and waitresses would serenade customers in Italian. On every table was an empty straw bottle of Bellini Chianti with a dripping lit candle in it.
When I wanted excellent Mexican food, I'd go to suburban East L.A. where the food was home cooked and served in the owners converted living room. I have no recollection of ever dinning at Casa Vega on Ventura Blvd. My step-dad and I would have lunch at the Hot Dog Show on Ventura Blvd. near Coldwater Canyon. My wife and I preferred the Plush Pup on Sunset Blvd. where you could see and be seen sitting on the patio out front. My step-dad and I would also have an afternoon snack at the Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. -Best apple pie ever! Did you ever eat at Smokey Joe's in Beverly Hills....you know, the place with sawdust covering the floor and the oil rigs out back pumping oil. My step-dad said the each time the arm on the rig pumped it was another 5 cents. -Seems like a pittance today.
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/41/c6/6941c635b91862694243fc565ebce339.jpg)
Did you ever eat at Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood? What a dive! One of the female cooks was famous for sticking/storing that one too many to hold raw hamburger patty under her arm until she cooked it. Hamburger Mary's was the place all the actor wannabees and extras hung out cause it was cheap. I think the Hollywood unemployment office wasn't too far away. It was walking distance from the Troubador where I once heard Oscar Brown Jr. sing 'The Snake'. It is a killer song and he sang it so well, with so much drama.
Martini's were never my drink. I could barely afford a beer at the Cell on Melrose. I'd make one .25 cent beer last a whole evening, unless someone bought me another. Maybe that's why I'm not a beer drinker today. LOL.
The closest I ever got to an Oscar (in this case Oscars) was a these two sister's house on Sunset Blvd. in the Palisades. I can't remember what I was doing there or who else I was with. The Oscars were for best score or some other musical category. I remember them being very dusty, sitting on a book shelf in the living room. My wife grew up living next door to Oscar Levant off Sunset Blvd on Roxbury Dr. in Beverly Hills, does that count? I think both houses are still there. Too big and too expensive to tear down and rebuild, I suspect.
I don't know your age, but if we are close in age, we could have run into each other back in the day. My life calmed down a lot after my wife was pregnant with our son. That's when we decided to move to Portland where living was more affordable and life was more sane.
-
5 and Dime as I remember as a kid my parents and grandparents called them.
-
5 and Dime as I remember as a kid my parents and grandparents called them.
Been to a lot of five and dime stores in my life.
The 40s, 50s and 60s were great although things started to go south with the arrival of the hippy culture in the late sixties. Ugh...Fucking hippies. And yes, there was racism but it was as it has always been, i.e., prevalent on every side humanity.
The big difference is that most people wanted to be good. They wanted their children to grow up in a household with a mother and a father. And they wanted more for their families and WORKED HARD toward that goal.
And criminals got what they deserved and it wasn't that "compassionate understanding" BS. Now thugs are sellebrated. Fuck That Noise.
-
PRIME, Thanks! You've mentioned a lot of places which I've long forgotten ... some of which no longer exist today.
Now I gotta apologize to Peter Faulk for confusing him with Robert Blake!
-
PRIME, Thanks! You've mentioned a lot of places which I've long forgotten ... some of which no longer exist today.
Now I gotta apologize to Peter Faulk for confusing him with Robert Blake!
Do it in prayer. Faulk passed away.
-
One importnt thing were seem to have overlooked is that ..." We were all held accountable for our own actions!"
And if we were too damn young to be held accountable, our parents would suffer the consequences!
-
One importnt thing were seem to have overlooked is that ..." We wee all held accountable for our own actions!"
And if we were too damn young to be held accountable, our parens would suffer the consequences!
These days I suspect that a lot of children, regardless of the color of their skin, don't know who their father is. If they do, it's only because they've seen his mug shot on their slutty mum's Fecebook® or Plenty O' Poon® page.
-
SCOTT, Good call on Horton Hears a Who.
Can you recall the Voice of Cheshire the Cat and the movie in which the 'voice' was 'portrayed? And the voice of one other character which he was famous for among the movie making intelligensia?
That individual was also once a well known artist in the artsie-fartsie world of Laguna Beach, Cal. If I recall right he painted colorful clowns with huge 'globs' of oil-paint.
If you know this stuff ... How do you know this stuff?
-
SCOTT, Good call on Horton Hears a Who.
Can you recall the Voice of Cheshire the Cat and the movie in which the 'voice' was 'portrayed? And the voice of one other character which he was famous for among the movie making intelligensia?
That individual was also once a well known artist in the artsie-fartsie world of Laguna Beach, Cal. If I recall right he painted colorful clowns with huge 'globs' of oil-paint.
If you know this stuff ... How do you know this stuff?
Off the top of my head I am guessing you're referring to Disney's version of "Alice in Wonderland". Sterling Holloway provided the voice of the Cheshire Cat (and later on did Winnie the Pooh!). One of my brothers is a voice actor and we have all been interested in film and music since I can recall. Big fan of George Sanders as "The Saint" and he also voiced "Shere Kahn" in Disney's "The Jungle Book" and in "Samson and Delilah" he was just great! What a superb voice he had.
I'll give it some more thought but as Pooh would say..."Oh, bother!" ;D
PS -Do you recall the mid 60s cartoon of "Alice in Wonderland" with Sammy Davis Jr. voicing the Cheshire Cat and singing, "What's a Nice Kid like You (Doin' in a place like this)"? ;D
-
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.QpkfPNCYFbQz19hG9O68DgHaEa%26pid%3DApi&f=1)
Stuckey's...
I remember Stuckey’s. Didn’t they sell pecan rolls?
-
I remember Stuckey’s. Didn’t they sell pecan rolls?
Yup. And they advertised them on billboards for miles and miles and miles... ;D
-
These days I suspect that a lot of children, regardless of the color of their skin, don't know who their father is. If they do, it's only because they've seen his mug shot on their slutty mum's Fecebook® or Plenty O' Poon® page.
My immediate family must be the exception. There have been no separations and no divorces in the last three generations. Even in my extended family divorce is almost nil.
-
Yup. And they advertised them on billboards for miles and miles and miles... ;D
Lmao yes now I’m having flash backs.
-
SCOTT, 100% correct regarding Holloway's voicing the Bhrshure Cat and Winnie. Over his lifetime he played various motion picture and TV roles .... Close to 19 according to IMDB.
Funny you mentioned George Sanders because we recently watched a movie he was in ... in which Marylyn Monroe first appeared for a class assignment called ALL ABOUT EVE, but he ws good in any film I've ever seen him in.
And I did not knpw about Sammy Davis Jr. singing, "What's a Kid Like You ...." (I'm big fan) so I found it on YouTube and enjoyed it.
Thanks for that!
-
Here's a correction regarding the Disneyland original 1955 prices,....
A one-day ticket to Disneyland in 1955 cost $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. In addition to the price of entry, each of the park’s 35 rides had a fee. Many of the attractions cost around 25 to 35 cents for adults and 10 to 25 cents for children. If you are a glutton and try everything, it could cost you $8.70 for yourself and $5.15 for each child.
-
Here's a correction regarding the Disneyland original 1955 prices,....
A one-day ticket to Disneyland in 1955 cost $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. In addition to the price of entry, each of the park’s 35 rides had a fee. Many of the attractions cost around 25 to 35 cents for adults and 10 to 25 cents for children. If you are a glutton and try everything, it could cost you $8.70 for yourself and $5.15 for each child.
"E Ticket". "Passport to Adventure(land)". These are two expressions of my long gone yoot. "A Tickets" were for what, watching "Steamboat Willie"? ;D
I have not been to Disneyland in decades. No desire to be ripped off in what was once "The Magic Kingdom" and is now "The Tragic Kingdom". Walt is spinning...