online community focused on sharing and reminiscing about video, audio, and images that stir our memories of the past – old television, theme songs, commercials, print advertisements, the sights and sounds you remember
The Jeep, after proving itself as a reliable, go anywhere vehicle during World War II, the United States Postal Service used the Jeep CJ-3A two wheel drive Jeep Dispatcher from 1955 through 1964 and the DJ5 model which had a 4 wheel drive option. The last Jeep used was a Jeep Cherokee 4×4 in 2001.
Many of us remember the iconic red, white, and blue paint scheme for the carrier trucks and mailboxes. I remember someone saying the truck went from being primarily white and the mailboxes going to all blue as a cost saving measure since they only have to stock one color to paint them. However, I have not been able to confirm this at this writing. It was probably something I heard on the news.
The post office then switched to the Grumman LLV (Long Life Vehicles) trucks, these are the truck we see on the road at this writing (2021). It’s the same Northrop Grumman Corporation that manufactured the F-14 and F-18 fighter aircraft. These vehicles are coming to an end of their life cycle. There are many companies vying to replace the Grumman’s, many companies from overseas. Hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles are being considered. My mail carrier just started driving a white Dodge Ram van with a USPS sticker on the front doors.
Who remembers the Valentine cards we shared with our classmates in school? I remember being excited receiving one from the girl I had a crush on only to realize we had to exchange cards with everyone in the class. I wonder if they still allow kids to do this? I guess it depends from school system to school system.
In 1977, George Lucas broke box office sales records with Star Wars. While working on the sequel CBS suggested the idea of a holiday special. Lucas passed the project on to others. It’s Star Wars, how could it lose? We will find out after this.
In 1978, CBS approached George Lucas for a full length Star Wars Holiday Special. Lucas was busy with The Empire Strikes Back. CBS insisted that it be like a variety show, so the show was put in the hands of veteran variety show writers and producers.
George Lucas insisted that the show center around Chewbacca’s family but insisted on no subtitles to the unintelligible family.
So, we have guest hosts like Art Carney in a futuristic Ed Norton as an appliance salesman carrying the dialogue.
Before there was even a Food Network, Chewbacca’s wife watches a cooking show with an eight armed Harvey Korman doing his best impression of an alien Julia Childs.
Korman also plays a malfunctioning instructional video of what appears to be a Radio Shack 50 in 1 project kit.
The show was stretched for time with scenes like this futuristic Cirque du Soleil hologram to entertain the little Wookiee.
Grandpa then had his fantasies fulfilled, no, I’m not kidding, with sequinned dressed Diahann Carroll. I can’t believe this made it past the censors at the CBS Practices and Standards. Cher was actually offered the part but wisely turned it down.
The Wookiees Facetime with Mark Hamill and R2D2, as well as a scene from Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leia, with C3P0 in order to have a cameo for all the Star Wars stars.
In keeping with the variety show angle, Jefferson Starship of all groups appear to entertain and soften the spirits of the Imperial Patrol. In an interview with Vanity Fair, former lead singer for Starship said, “It was such a strange iteration of the original big-screen-movie concept and your regular variety-show, Carol Burnett vibe,” he says. “I was like tripping on it myself, man.”
Bea Arthur who was famous for the TV character Maude at the time wanted the public to be aware of her previous Broadway talents as a singer. After pouring drinks down Harvey Korman’s volcano head, she bursts into song with this number.
At the time, there were only three networks and the Star Wars Holiday Show came in second, being beat by Love Boat.
In the end, all character unite with globes, donned in red snuggies and walk into the sun while Carrie Fisher sings.
In the same Vanity Fair article George Lucas was quoted as saying that if he had the time and a hammer, he would personally “smash” every bootlegged copy of the special; otherwise he has yet to come clean on the matter.
Which just proves the old saying, if you want a job done right, do it yourself!
In 1972 National Lampoon ran this parody Volkswagen ad as a comment on the infamous 1969 Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick incident. (Volkswagen sued National Lampoon for using the name, logo and image of a Volkswagen automobile without permission.)
This sketch is from one of the most popular TV comedy shows in the UK. It ran for almost seventeen years and regularly drew a large audience. The Two Ronnies as it was called starred Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett and in my house was required Saturday night viewing.
At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, American Shirley Babashoff was supposed to be the female version of Mark Spitz. Babashoff was a threat to win six gold medals. Instead, she won just one gold medal and four silvers. In every race she lost, she lost to an East German. The star of the East German women’s swimming team was Kornelia Ender (pictured here). Babashoff was immediately suspicious of the East Germans because of their muscular builds and deep voices. She claimed the dressing room ‘sounded like a coed room.’ At the time, Babashoff was criticized as a sore loser. The press dubbed her ‘Surly Shirley.’ After East Germany collapsed in 1989 the truth came out: East German athletes were regularly given steroids via injections to increase their athletic capabilities. Babashoff now campaigns to have the East German medal results nullified.
Undated: Kornelia Ender of West Germany smiles after a swimming event.
Mandatory Credit: Tony Duffy/Allsport
Gunsmoke, the TV show was based on a Radio show by the same name. Gunsmoke ran from 1955 to 1975, with 635 episodes in total. In this scene, Festus explains the story of Moses, and how he parted the waters.
Check out these bands playing in the Bay Area of California back in July 1976. An eye-opener is to look at the prices to see big-name entertainment. $8 a ticket was the highest ticket? I checked the same paper a decade later and the highest price was $16. The Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator says $1 is now worth $4.66 in 1976 dollars, so an $8 ticket would be $37.28 in today’s money. $1 in 1986 has $2.37 buying power in 2020. So a $16 ticket is the same at $37.28. When did ticket sales get outrageous? BC (Before Corona) concert tickets would be going for hundreds of dollars if you could get them. What happened?
So, does anyone have memories of seeing these groups in concert?
This is sort of a history of cereals we enjoyed as kids. Cereal actually started as a granola style concoction in the 1800’s that needed to be soaked in liquid to soften it up. Water made it soggy but the milk did the trick!
So which was your favorite as a kid? How about now as an adult? My all-time favorite is probably Lucky Charms. I also like Count Chocula from time to time. Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Wheaties have stood the test of time unlike fad cereals like Mr. T and CP3Os . But what about Crispy Critters? Wow, think about that!
