Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures - Do You Remember - Page 11 of 24 - 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

Glassware Give-A-Ways

I just posted about dish night at the movie theaters back in the 30’s and 40’s posting pictures of what my mom collected along with dish promotions at supermarkets during the late 70’s. It reminded me of the glassware my mom collected through Duz laundry detergent. We kids had Cracker Jacks with a free prize inside and mom had Duz! During the 50’s Duz gave away towels and during the 60’s moved to glassware. I found pictures of the two styles we had in our home mom collected and share it with my brothers who were excited as I to see them again. They are the two in the top of the picture.

The bottom left picture were the glasses Shell Gas gave away during the 70’s and the bottom right photo was the Welch’s Jelly jars that became your free glassware!

I have four brothers so a family of seven had to make the dollar stretch. So if you had buy laundry detergent make it Duz for a free glass. Fill up the gas tank? Get another free glass. Buy jelly? Again, get a free glass. There were many other glass give-a-ways. How about the McDonald character glassware with a meal purchase? I have those tucked away in the attic! What give-a-way do your remember?

Dish Night At The Movies

Back in the depression era, money was extremely tight. Movie theaters lowered prices to as low as a dime, but it wasn’t until they introduced dish night that started bringing in full houses. Many of the dish and china companies were going out of business but many of the survived because of this promotion. The give-a-way was mostly to women and each week it was a different piece. My mom went every week and was able to put together a full collection. The promotion ran through the 40’s and even the 50’s. There were many patterns offered by the various theaters across the county.

Another dish give-a-way was by supermarket chains during the late 70’s. My mom’s story about collecting a full china set for free enticed me when the Finast Supermarkets gave away china each week with a purchase. I was unable to complete the set when I joined the Navy in 1977 but my mom completed it for me while I served our country. Many other food chains across the country gave away china during this timeframe.

With Covid keeping movie goers away for over a year, maybe dish night will make a comeback!

Mom’s china from the 30’s and 40’s dish night at the movies.

My china from Finast Supermarket back in the late 70’s.

Which Batmobile Would Win In A Race?

This is a fun what if scenario. A drag race between the 1989 Batmobile or the original 1966 version? It’s as classic as Ford versus Chevy since the 1966 was built on a 1955 Lincoln Futura chassis and the 80’s built on a Chevrolet Impala. Keep in mind these are replicas and neither had jet engines as depicted on TV or the big screen. Fun to watch regardless!

New Series- The Wrath of Ken

I’m pleased to welcome Ken Lynch to TheRetroSite.com! I’ve known Ken for over 40 years when we served together on an aircraft carrier while in the US Navy. Ken has a fun wit and has Andy Rooney-ish delivery in his observations of the world. Today’s observation is buying clothes during the pandemic.

The Acid Generation- Where Are They Now

If you were a hippy back in the 60’s you are now in your 70’s. Many could be in nursing homes now! Hard to believe! Well, here is a funny parody that aired on Saturday Night Live back in the 70’s.

Happy Brady Easter!

Maureen McCormick recently shared this publicity photo on social media of a 1972 Easter publicity photo. The Brady Bunch never did an Easter themed show but they are decked out in their Easter best! I wonder if they are wearing Buster Brown shoes? I guess mom (Carol Brady) took the photo as she is not in the photo!

Spaghetti Harvest-BBC April Fool Prank

In 1957, spaghetti was not a common food in Britain. It was mainly available in cans pre-made, so at the time not alot of people knew how pasta was made. The BBC made a three minute report on their show Panorama about a Swiss family harvesting their spaghetti from trees.

It was viewed by over 7 million people and the next day the BBC received hundreds of calls asking for the authenticity of the report or how they could grow their own spaghetti trees.

I remember my mom telling this story as a child and was happy to see it years later. CNN said “the biggest hoax that any reputable news establishment ever pulled” I’d say maybe second best right behind War of Worlds radio broadcast.

Buster Brown Shoe

Richard F. Outcault create the Buster Brown comic strip in 1902 which first appeared in the New York Herald. Buster was named after Buster Keaton who was at the time a child vaudeville actor. In 1904 Outcault went to the St. Louis World Fair, selling licenses for the character and the Brown Shoe Company purchased the and introduced to the Buster Brown Shoe Company to the world at the fair. In the 40’s and 50’s Buster Brown Shoes introduced a comic book as a give-a-way, prompting the stores to rubber stamp their business name and address on the comic book.

Many of you may remember the jingle

“I’m Buster Brown, and I live in a shoe. That’s my dog, Tige, and he lives there, too,” Tige was a pit-bull terrier and his sister’s name was Mary Jane.

In 2015, the company rebranded as Calares which in Latin means passion. You may know them today as Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl’s Shoes, LifeStride, Bzees, and Rykä.

Fizzies-What Was Your Favorite Flavor?

Fizzies came in seven flavors- orange, cherry, grape, lemon-lime, strawberry, and root beer. Each package contained eight tablets for just eighteen cents. The tablets were made by the Emerson Drug Company, the same company that made Bromo-Seltzer in 1957. In 1962 Warner-Lambert bought the company and made Fizzies available internationally.

You simply dropped a tablet into water and watched the water come to life with bubbles as it turned the water to the color of the flavor. My memory was that it gave a diluted flavor to the water. Adding additional tablets did little more to add flavor. Was my memory the same as yours?

By 1968 Fizzies had double the sales of Kool-Aid. Fizzies were sweetened by either cyclamates or saccharin which were both banned by the Food and Drug Administration. They reissued the tablets with instructions to add sugar, but by then the attraction to Fizzies fizzled out.

Fizzies made a come back in the 1990’s sweetened with NutriSweet but it was short lived when the company went out of business. There was also another short-lived attempt to revive the product in the early 2000’s but only lasted until 2016. Probably the closest on the market today would be the orange flavored Airborne Immune Support Supplement.

Barney Star Grows Up (Video)

Its easy to want to remember a person from the character they played on TV not realizing they actually grow up. This was the case back in 2010 when child actress Erica Rhodes, now known as Danielle Vega who played Kim on Barney and Friends. She tried to shake her little girl image when she appeared on American Idol. She wanted to show the world that “little girls do grow up”. She made it through the first round but was later cut.

She was born on February 4, 1986 and at the time of this writing (March 2021) is 35 years old. She is currently playing the role of Ceci on Hulu’s drama series East Los High.