Looking at this old Montgomery Ward catalog page, I’m struck by how much detail went into a baby doll’s carriage. Folding hoods, big wheels, curved metal frames and colorful bodies—these were little versions of the carriages adults pushed around town. Wards even called them “Authentic English-Style Prams,” making a toy sound like a luxury purchase.
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But those prices weren’t quite the bargains they appear to be! Using 1955 as a comparison year, the featured $12.99 red-and-white carriage equals roughly $162 in today’s dollars. The $16.88 Deluxe Coach would be about $211. The $7.99 Good Coach comes to around $100, the $9.79 Better Coach about $122, and the $4.98 Economy Coach roughly $62. The catalog’s exact year isn’t confirmed, so these are approximate inflation comparisons.
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That puts things in perspective. A fancy doll carriage could be a substantial birthday or Christmas gift. A child might fall in love with the deluxe model while a parent quietly checked the economy price.
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The play itself was simple. Tuck the doll under a blanket, adjust the hood and head out for a walk. No screen or programmed storyline was needed. The child decided where they were going and what their baby needed.
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Today’s doll strollers can look like the compact models parents use now. The styles have changed, but children still enjoy copying grown-ups and caring for their dolls.
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Shopping has changed even more. We can compare stores and read reviews in minutes now. Back then, a catalog page could hold our attention for weeks. We studied the pictures, circled favorites and hoped someone would take the hint. I think that anticipation was part of the fun.
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Did you have a doll carriage like one of these—or remember leaving a catalog open to the toy you wanted?
DO THE FONZIE — WHEN HAPPY DAYS GAVE THE FONZ HIS OWN DANCE
I had forgotten that Happy Days actually gave Fonzie his own dance.
This is from the 1979 episode “Stolen Melodies,” and the setup is pure Happy Days. Leather Tuscadero, played by real-life rocker Suzi Quatro, has written a song called “Moonlight Love.” After auditioning for the television show National Sok Hop, the song suddenly turns up credited to another group.
Naturally, Fonzie isn’t going to let that slide.
He shows up at the TV studio, confronts the people involved and eventually takes over the microphone himself. Instead of letting the other band introduce its new dance, Fonzie brings out Leather and announces a brand-new one:
“Do the Fonzie.”
And then the Fonz actually has to dance.
The song was written especially for the show by Jim Dunne and performed by Suzi Quatro. The dancing was choreographed by Shirley Kirkes, so somebody really did have the job of figuring out exactly how Fonzie should dance without making the coolest guy on television look completely ridiculous.
Quatro was already a successful rock singer and bass player when she joined Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero. She later recalled that she was touring Japan when the show called her back to audition for the role.
By this point Fonzie had become such a pop-culture phenomenon that Happy Days could invent an entire dance around him and it somehow made perfect sense.
And just about a year later, one of Henry Winkler’s famous Fonzie leather jackets went into the Smithsonian.
Do you remember “Do the Fonzie” — and would you have tried this dance at a sock hop?
WENDY’S IS GOING YELLOW AGAIN — AND THIS 1977 COMMERCIAL SHOWS WHY
I just read that Wendy’s is bringing back the classic yellow, and this old commercial suddenly seems very timely.
To clarify, they’re not turning the restaurants yellow again. Starting September 28, Wendy’s began rolling out the old yellow packaging at U.S. locations — cups, burger wrappers, fry cartons, nugget boxes, Frosty containers and more. It’s expected to continue into 2027.
And apparently I’m not the only one who remembers it. Wendy’s says fans have been asking for the yellow to come back for years.
Take a look at this commercial from 1977. This was Wendy’s “Hot & Juicy” era, and the chain had only just launched its first national television campaign. The yellow cups and that red-and-yellow restaurant look were becoming part of the Wendy’s identity most of us would remember for years afterward.
I also found something I didn’t know. The very first Wendy’s opened in Columbus, Ohio in 1969, but the original restaurant exterior was actually blue and white. Yellow became much more prominent as Wendy’s grew through the 1970s and eventually became one of those things you instantly associated with the place.
And Wendy’s was growing fast. In March 1978, less than nine years after opening the first restaurant, they opened location number 1,000.
This commercial also reminds me of what Wendy’s was selling back then — “Hot & Juicy” hamburgers made to order with whatever toppings you wanted. A few years later came the salad bars, baked potatoes and, of course, “Where’s the beef?”
Funny how something as simple as the color of a cup can bring all of that back.
Do you remember the yellow Wendy’s — and would you like to see them bring back more of the old restaurant look too?
Put Yourself in Bruce Jenner’s Shoes—1978
I remember Bruce Jenner on the Wheaties box, but this sneaker line had slipped past me. This 1978 ad promoted “Bruce Jenner Footgear by Roblee,” turning the fame of the 1976 Olympic decathlon champion into a pitch for everyday footwear.
These were Brown Shoe Company products, and the selling points were surprisingly practical. The shoes came in narrow, medium and wide widths, with leather, suede and nylon styles, cushioned insoles and rubber soles. One gray jogging shoe even featured a silver reflective strip for nighttime runners.
What catches my eye is how the ad brought Olympic glory down to the neighborhood level. You didn’t have to compete in ten events—or even be much of a runner—to buy into the image. The copy welcomed weekend athletes, too. And that outfit! The striped pants, open-collar shirt and colorful sneakers make this a little time capsule of late-1970s sportswear.
Roblee appears to have faded away as an active shoe brand, but its parent company survived. Brown Shoe Company is now called Caleres, the company behind familiar names including Naturalizer, Allen Edmonds and Sam Edelman. A forgotten sneaker line, but a company whose shoes are still around.
Do you remember these shoes, or was Jenner’s Wheaties box the one that stuck with you?
Gomer Pyle Sings — The Voice Nobody Expected
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. was mandatory viewing in our house. My dad was a Marine sergeant, so there was no missing it.
Like everyone else, I knew Gomer for the “Shazam!”, the “Goooolly!”, and the way he could drive Sergeant Carter absolutely crazy. That was the Gomer we expected every week.
What I didn’t expect was that voice.
The first time I remember hearing Jim Nabors really sing, everybody in our house stopped and paid attention. That huge baritone just didn’t seem possible coming from the same guy we knew as Gomer Pyle.
What I learned later is that television audiences had actually heard Nabors sing before Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. even premiered. He showed off that voice on The Andy Griffith Show in 1964, and by 1965 Columbia Records had released his first album, Shazam!
By 1967, the show was fully embracing Jim Nabors the singer, including his powerful performance of “The Impossible Dream.”
That contrast is what made him so memorable to me. One minute he was making us laugh, and the next he could stop the room with that voice.
I still remember everyone in our house listening — including my Marine-sergeant dad.
Do you remember the first time you heard Gomer Pyle sing?
Far Out in the Kitchen with Frigidaire
Dig that avocado green! Between the wood cabinets, flower-power wallpaper, and a microwave big enough to look like mission control, this kitchen was the happening place to be. Frigidaire promised “quality and value,” but let’s be real: the appliances had the whole pad looking groovy.
Who remembers when every kitchen seemed to come in avocado green or harvest gold?
Remember Hush Puppies?
Looking at this old Hush Puppies commercial, I had to wonder — are they even still around?
Turns out they certainly are.
This commercial comes from Hush Puppies’ 1964 campaign, “We’re making the sidewalks softer this year.” And they didn’t just say it. They actually had people walking across sidewalks that seemed to sink under their feet.
I found out they created the effect by painting and scoring pieces of foam rubber so they looked like real sidewalk. Pretty clever for 1964. World Radio History
Hush Puppies had only been introduced in 1958, but they caught on incredibly fast. By 1963, an estimated one in ten American adults owned a pair. The whole idea was comfort — soft brushed pigskin, cushiony soles and a casual shoe you didn’t mind keeping on after work. TTABVUE
And of course there was that basset hound. Even if you never owned Hush Puppies, chances are you knew the dog.
The brand faded from the spotlight for a while, then had another surprising moment in the 1990s when Hush Puppies suddenly became fashionable again and even received a CFDA fashion award in 1995. The Washington Post
And yes, you can still buy them today. Wolverine Worldwide still lists Hush Puppies among its brands, with about 8 million pairs sold annually across 120 countries. Wolverine Worldwide
Not bad for a shoe that once promised to make the sidewalk softer.
Did you or your parents ever own a pair of Hush Puppies?
WHEN SATURDAY AFTERNOON SPORTS HAD EVERYTHING
Looking back at this 1977 CBS promo, I’m reminded how different Saturday afternoon sports TV used to be. One edition of CBS Sports Spectacular gave us world championship boxing, NHRA drag racing, professional arm wrestling and The World’s Strongest Men — all on the same show.
The hot rods are what caught my attention. The footage came from the 1977 NHRA World Finals, a historic season that saw Shirley Muldowney become the first woman to win an NHRA world championship.
The arm wrestling has a story too. Promoter Steve Simons had formed the World Professional Armwrestling Association in 1974, hoping to move the sport out of bars and present it as a legitimate competition. By 1977, it had made its way onto national television through CBS.
And the strongman competition was brand new. This was the first year of World’s Strongest Man, won by Bruce Wilhelm. One of the competitors was Lou Ferrigno, right around the time America was getting to know him as The Incredible Hulk.
Even the boxing featured WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino.
That’s what I miss about shows like CBS Sports Spectacular. You might tune in for the drag racing and end up discovering boxing, arm wrestling or strongman competition.
Do you remember spending Saturday afternoons watching shows like this?
Saturday Morning Cartoons in 1965
It’s Saturday morning in 1965. You’ve got a bowl of your favorite cereal in front of you, the cartoons are on, and you have absolutely nowhere else you need to be.
So what are you watching?
The Beatles had become so huge that by 1965 they had their own Saturday morning cartoon. The funny part? John, Paul, George and Ringo didn’t provide their speaking voices — although when the music started, you heard the real Beatles recordings.
Then there was Atom Ant — “Up and at ’em, Atom Ant!” — a tiny Hanna-Barbera superhero with enough strength to take on just about anything.
Secret Squirrel gave us Agent 000, essentially a kid-friendly James Bond complete with trench coat, gadgets and Morocco Mole by his side.
And Milton the Monster may have had my favorite premise of the bunch. Professor Weirdo tried to create the perfect frightening monster, but accidentally added too much “tincture of tenderness.” The result was Milton — a monster who looked scary but was really a big softie.
Saturday mornings were different then. You watched what was on when it was on, and if you missed it, you waited until it came around again.
The Beatles, Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel or Milton the Monster — which one would you have been watching?
And what cereal was in your bowl?
HOW DO YOU HANDLE A HUNGRY MAN?
I remember these Campbell’s Manhandlers commercials mostly because of that jingle. It had that big, rugged sound that immediately got your attention:
“How do you handle a hungry man? The Manhandlers!”
And now I know why it sounded so familiar — it was sung by Frankie Laine, the same voice behind Rawhide. Campbell’s deliberately wanted that tough, masculine sound for the campaign.
The idea behind Manhandlers was pretty simple. Campbell’s had several heavier soups with meat, vegetables and potatoes, and they wanted to convince people that soup could be filling enough for a man who had worked hard or, in this commercial, just finished playing soccer.
Instead of inventing a completely new product at first, they grouped some of those heartier soups together under the Manhandlers name and built an entire campaign around the idea of feeding hungry men.
Looking at it today, the advertising is very 1970s. Everything is aimed at being big, hearty and masculine. But the interesting part is that the campaign was successful enough that it helped point Campbell’s toward what would later become Chunky Soup.
And that jingle really did its job. Even after all these years, once you hear those first few words, it comes right back.
Do you remember the Manhandlers commercials — and which Campbell’s soup was always in your house?
Do you like this personality?