Stay Two Car Lengths Behind
Lassie, Come Aboard
All aboard Grandpa’s 1955 Chevy pickup for Greg, Kevin, and Paula, joined by Rex atop bales of hay. Walter and Barbara Mohr’s family farm near Millington, Michigan provided many great photo ops throughout the 1960s.
And who wouldn’t want a kiss from Rex?
And The Living Is Easy
As the temperature drops, folks still enjoy the outdoors.
As we jump from 1943 to 1964, the outdoors continues to hold its allure.
Sometimes being outside may pose problems…
But ultimately, fresh air does a body good.
Because Boys Like Chemistry
Girls didn’t have anything to do with chemistry back in 1940; they were busy using typewriters, at least according to Junior Scholastic magazine.
With no TV to entertain young people, they had to settle for pictures in the paper to show them what they missed–like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Does he look familiar to you?
While historical dramas would put today’s teens into a coma, folks actually ordered albums to listen to, over and over, till they shoved some history in their noggins.
Or you could wait till Wednesday and listen to the radio.
And in the meantime, you could learn some simply atrocious jokes.
Get ‘Em Vivid
You guys, I have this January 1933 Spur magazine, and it’s only black and white on the inside. But the cover has color, and it’s a-MA-zing! Check out this Firestone ad on the inside cover. It hasn’t faded a smidge.
The Spur was a fancy-pants magazine that cost a whopping 50 cents in 1933. The horsedrawn carriage was meant to be quaint. But inside, they advertised all kinds of worldly vacations for those who still had means.
The colors on the inside back cover are just as amazing, even 86 years later.
The back cover, to me, looks like a 1970s ad that’s trying to look like the 30s, but this really WAS the 30s. It doesn’t state the actress, but it looks like Joan Crawford to me. That hat! Those sleeves! The ring! The cigarette holder!
Bread At EVERY Meal
Do you want to be healthy? Chow down on carbs three times a day. Oprah may say nay/neigh, but it worked for Joanna Bard.
My December 2, 1940 copy of Junior Scholastic touts the merits of delicious, starchy bread.
Included inside was a fun news quiz! Don’t all teens like news quizzes? This one is a doozy!
Tonight We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 1999 (Plus 20 Years)
Now THIS is a party! Colored lampshades, white tuxes, bobbed silver hair, moonlight at sea…
Most folks weren’t having a great 1933. While the unemployment rate reached an ungodly 25%, the idea of enjoying the luxury of an offshore cruiser was largely unattainable. But perhaps you could win the affection of a ruddy-complected captain.
Clever Senior Quips 1952
Some high schools allow seniors to come up with quotes for their yearbook. By that fourth year, teens are tired of learning, and they fancy silly sayings. But these Midland High School quotes are in a whole different realm.
By the way, geophagy is the practice of eating earth or soil-like substrates such as clay or chalk. A perruquier is a maker of wigs.
I like how Lil Slowpoke was already looking 40 years into the future!
Peasants Are Downers
Old magazines did not mince words. This September 1933 Fortune magazine told it like it was. American bicycles were mostly for kids’ recreation. German women, however, used them to go fetch vegetables.
Strap your scarves on and off to market with you, proles!
Meanwhile, in America, nearly nude (especially in 1933!) women cavorted through neighborhoods on handlebars. What fun The Depression was! How could these gals have known that in only three months, Prohibition would be repealed by FDR, and everyone could toss their moonshine and swig legit ale? Happy days are here again!
Slam Dunk
I’m not sure exactly what this gentleman is dunking, but I know it ain’t donuts and coffee. I’ve sung the praises of Shorpy before, but it’s been many moons since I last visited the site. They have the most amazing high-res images, including this April 1941 shot of a tavern catering exclusively to African-Americans. Note the Snow White murals in the background. And those hats!!
It’s fun to zoom right into their faces and wonder what they were thinking.
Marshmallow Santas Replaced By Heart Candy
Well, it’s three days after Christmas, so the retail shops are full of Valentine’s candy, like this generous portion of chocolates from 1949. You realize by next week, that pic will be 70 years old?
I don’t know about you, but I visit Walgreen’s weekly. Mostly to see if they have Arizona green tea on special, but also to peruse the chocolate aisle and grab a box (or five) of Russell Stover. I am familiar with every Russell Stover chocolate, chew, or cream that exists. I could rank them all in order. Roman nougat would be near the top, and I don’t even know what makes it Roman. The pinkness? But only in dark, not milk. I get the yellow box.
And I can never eat just one.
What about you? Do you eat boxed chocolate? Does it remind you of Forrest Gump? Do you prefer Whitman’s?
You Should Hear How He Talks About You
Casting aside his usual job duties of managing and motivating underlings, Supervisor Thompson spent most of the yearbook staff party throwing shade at other guests. First he ordered Christi to bite her pearls to see if they were real (they weren’t), then drew a map showing DeWayne exactly where the belt department was in Foley’s, should the thought ever occur to him to purchase one. DeWayne then attempted a saucy retort about Thompson’s monstrous spectacles, but it sadly missed its mark. Thompson was on to the next unfortunate fashion victim in no time.
Seriously–what WAS it with those huge lenses? Even Wonder Woman sported them.
I Don't Get It 