Stormy
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That was my late brother Scottie's job when we were kids.
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Skills For "Living The Era"
- Thread starter LizzieMaine
- Start date
That was my late brother Scottie's job when we were kids.
Stanley Doble
Call Me a Cab
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- 2,808
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- Cobourg
In the late 50s and early 60s the grade school I went to had brown paper covers for the text books. Pre printed with cutting lines and folding lines marked. They were provided free of charge by a candy company and had the company's ads printed on them. At the beginning of the year the teacher handed them out with the text books and our first homework was covering all our books.
The same candy company (Neilson's Chocolate) also provided large colored maps on rollers. These hung over the blackboard at the front of the room and could be pulled down like a window blind.
The same candy company (Neilson's Chocolate) also provided large colored maps on rollers. These hung over the blackboard at the front of the room and could be pulled down like a window blind.
hatguy1
One Too Many
- Messages
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- Da Pairee of da prairee
I remember those too, but I think our district's pull down maps were a commercially purchased product. The teachers had to watch those things cause every now and again one would unhook and smack their hand when they went to pull it down or get it to retract.
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Stormy
A-List Customer
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Last edited:
F. J.
One of the Regulars
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- The Magnolia State
Wringers . . .
My mother did the exact same thing when she was a child.
It's like touching a hot stove, though. You're only going to do it once before you learn to never do it again!
My mother did the exact same thing when she was a child.
It's like touching a hot stove, though. You're only going to do it once before you learn to never do it again!
Shangas
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 6,116
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- Melbourne, Australia
Once, when I was a teenager, I lit a fire in the living-room.
Like an idiot, I forgot to open the damper in the fireplace and the whole house filled with smoke and set off the fire-alarm.
Gosh I felt stupid. I managed to open the damper in the end, and opened the windows to let the smoke out. No damage done, but the house smelt like a barbecue for a while.
Like an idiot, I forgot to open the damper in the fireplace and the whole house filled with smoke and set off the fire-alarm.
Gosh I felt stupid. I managed to open the damper in the end, and opened the windows to let the smoke out. No damage done, but the house smelt like a barbecue for a while.
Last edited:
hatguy1
One Too Many
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Used to do that (or the reverse and leave it open long after the fire was out) a lot more often. But then I made a simple flip sign that said "damper open" on one side and "damper closed" on the other and hung it from the mantle. Almost never happened again after that.
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LizzieMaine
Bartender
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Nobert
Practically Family
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- In the Maine Woods
Once, when I wanted my kid brother to quit bothering me, I closed the door on him. Not hard, but I didn't realize his three-year-old fingers were in the gap between the door and the jamb, until he started shrieking in pain. He wasn't hurt too badly, fortunately, but it was quite traumatic for him and I felt horribly guilty about it. Nevertheless, we managed to overcome, and to this day, we both still use doors.
EliasRDA
One of the Regulars
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- 193
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- Oceanic Peninsula (DelMarVa) USA
I had a teacher slam my hand in the door when I was in like 3rd grade. I was bored because I needed to be skipped ahead a grade but the school didnt recognize that at the time.
Teacher got mad about something & didnt see me, she yanked the door hard & bam. She was damn lucky my folks didnt sue her & the school for that, it was the early 70's in a very small village school which my mom sort of grew up in so she knew they didnt have the money anyways & her taxes she paid would be part of the settlement. I wasnt seriously injured she told me, just lost the nails off a couple fingers, no lasting damage.
Her mom had a wrangler, but my mom really didnt like using it too much, she has never told me why.
I remember defrosting our chest freezer & fridge freezer in the 70s using hot water & pans, hated doing it too, was such a pain in the rear.
Oh well, some things of the old days I wouldnt mind having back, some things I'll gladly leave in the past. 8)
Teacher got mad about something & didnt see me, she yanked the door hard & bam. She was damn lucky my folks didnt sue her & the school for that, it was the early 70's in a very small village school which my mom sort of grew up in so she knew they didnt have the money anyways & her taxes she paid would be part of the settlement. I wasnt seriously injured she told me, just lost the nails off a couple fingers, no lasting damage.
Her mom had a wrangler, but my mom really didnt like using it too much, she has never told me why.
I remember defrosting our chest freezer & fridge freezer in the 70s using hot water & pans, hated doing it too, was such a pain in the rear.
Oh well, some things of the old days I wouldnt mind having back, some things I'll gladly leave in the past. 8)
Grnidwitch
A-List Customer
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- Illinois
I need to walk where you do..................
Add bacon frying and toast just out of the toaster to the coffee brewing and you have heaven..
Add bacon frying and toast just out of the toaster to the coffee brewing and you have heaven..
WifeyRobinson
New in Town
- Messages
- 45
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- BeaverCleaverville
I know we've discussed laundry soap before but I did find a fabulous recipe that works even if you have a modern washer (he even)
1 bar zotes grated fine
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
1 cup oxyclean
I mix it all together and use 2 tablespoons for regular load 3 for heavy. It's fabulous!!!
1 bar zotes grated fine
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
1 cup oxyclean
I mix it all together and use 2 tablespoons for regular load 3 for heavy. It's fabulous!!!
LizzieMaine
Bartender
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- Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
How To Repair Damaged Leather Goods.
You have an old purse, briefcase, or other leather article that's split stitches and spilled its contents onto the floor. Or the stitches on the Goodyear welt of your favorite pair of shoes are splitting. You don't have to hunt for a cobbler to fix it and you don't have to throw the item away and spend extortionate money to buy a new one. If you can see, and hold a tool, you can fix it yourself.
The easiest way to do this is with an item which was extremely common in the households of the Era -- a self-stitching leather awl. This looks, at first glance, like an ordinary awl, but it's really a remarkble bit of ingenuity. The handle holds a spool of waxed leatherworker's thread, and a chuck at the end of the handle holds one of several different leatherworkers' needles for various applications. It looks like this:
These devices are readily available at any outdoors-supply or sporting goods store, or you might very well already have one in that box of miscellaneous junk you inherited from your grandparents.
Let's say you need to fix your briefcase. Simply empty out all the stuff you've been carrying around that caused the stitches to rip, and find a spot with good light to do the work. Pick out the torn thread and make sure the holes aren't damaged, and then find the last good stitch before the damaged spot. Thread your sewing awl by completely unscrewing and removing the chuck. Pull about a foot of waxed thread off the bobbin in the handle, wind it one turn around the tension post, and then run it thru one of the four small holes at the base of the chuck. Select an appropriate needle -- usually a straight needle about the size of the existing thread holes will do -- and insert it into the chuck with the grooved side facing the thread. Pull the thread thru the eye of the needle, rethread the chuck, and screw it down as tight as it will go. It won't screw all the way to the handle, but this is normal because of the displacement caused by the needle. You are now ready to sew.
Push the needle thru the far end of the last good stitch and pull all the thread thru the hole. Then pull the needle back, leaving the thread threaded thru the hole. Proceed to the next existing hole, push the needle thru, pull it back half way, and you should have a loop in the thread. Pull the long, free end of the thread thru the loop and pull the needle all the way out, pulling the thread taut. The free end thread will now protrude from the hole you just exited, and you'll have a tight, secure lock stitch between that hole and the first one. Repeat this procedure until you finish the repair. Double stitch the last stitch to secure the end, and cut the thread off as close to the work as you can. Apply a matching color of shoe polish if the contrast between the new thread and the old is too jarring to your sensibilities, or leave it as it is, however you prefer.
You have now repaired your damaged bag, and you have saved a good bit of money. Put the tool away until the next time you need it, and feel good about your accomplishment.
You have an old purse, briefcase, or other leather article that's split stitches and spilled its contents onto the floor. Or the stitches on the Goodyear welt of your favorite pair of shoes are splitting. You don't have to hunt for a cobbler to fix it and you don't have to throw the item away and spend extortionate money to buy a new one. If you can see, and hold a tool, you can fix it yourself.
The easiest way to do this is with an item which was extremely common in the households of the Era -- a self-stitching leather awl. This looks, at first glance, like an ordinary awl, but it's really a remarkble bit of ingenuity. The handle holds a spool of waxed leatherworker's thread, and a chuck at the end of the handle holds one of several different leatherworkers' needles for various applications. It looks like this:
These devices are readily available at any outdoors-supply or sporting goods store, or you might very well already have one in that box of miscellaneous junk you inherited from your grandparents.
Let's say you need to fix your briefcase. Simply empty out all the stuff you've been carrying around that caused the stitches to rip, and find a spot with good light to do the work. Pick out the torn thread and make sure the holes aren't damaged, and then find the last good stitch before the damaged spot. Thread your sewing awl by completely unscrewing and removing the chuck. Pull about a foot of waxed thread off the bobbin in the handle, wind it one turn around the tension post, and then run it thru one of the four small holes at the base of the chuck. Select an appropriate needle -- usually a straight needle about the size of the existing thread holes will do -- and insert it into the chuck with the grooved side facing the thread. Pull the thread thru the eye of the needle, rethread the chuck, and screw it down as tight as it will go. It won't screw all the way to the handle, but this is normal because of the displacement caused by the needle. You are now ready to sew.
Push the needle thru the far end of the last good stitch and pull all the thread thru the hole. Then pull the needle back, leaving the thread threaded thru the hole. Proceed to the next existing hole, push the needle thru, pull it back half way, and you should have a loop in the thread. Pull the long, free end of the thread thru the loop and pull the needle all the way out, pulling the thread taut. The free end thread will now protrude from the hole you just exited, and you'll have a tight, secure lock stitch between that hole and the first one. Repeat this procedure until you finish the repair. Double stitch the last stitch to secure the end, and cut the thread off as close to the work as you can. Apply a matching color of shoe polish if the contrast between the new thread and the old is too jarring to your sensibilities, or leave it as it is, however you prefer.
You have now repaired your damaged bag, and you have saved a good bit of money. Put the tool away until the next time you need it, and feel good about your accomplishment.
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- down south
Maybe this is not the right thread for this, so feel free to relocate if necessary.
I can remember as a kid never drinking out of any kind of glass at my grandmothers house that hadn't either at one time held jelly or something, or came buried in a can of oatmeal. The jelly glasses didn't have threaded rims, either. Back then you popped the lid loose with s bottle opener and mashed it back closed when done. These jars often had little designs screened on them or were decoratively molded. When you had used all the product it was a real glass, not a recycled jar. Also I remember my grandmother getting all kinds of glasses and small dishes in the oatmeal. Kind of like the prize in a box of cereal, I suppose.
I imagine the collecting and using was pretty widespread back in the day, as it was definately a good way to save money. Especially if there were kids in the house, they can break some dishes.
I was going to post this in the 'vintage things that have disappeared in your lifetime' thread, but they haven't disappeared entirely.
Here's one for scale
These small (8 oz.) juice glasses once held Doña Maria concentrated mole sauce (a popular condiment and cooking sauce in Mexico, for those who didn't know already). The lid pops off, not screws off, and there's a nice glass for your morning o.j. left over. Folks south of the border still know how to be thrifty with a buck.
I suppose another 'vintage thing that has disappeared' though is the notion of an 8 oz. serving of juice for breakfast. Nowadays in our super sized society even a 'small' drink is twice that, but that's another thread I guess.
I can remember as a kid never drinking out of any kind of glass at my grandmothers house that hadn't either at one time held jelly or something, or came buried in a can of oatmeal. The jelly glasses didn't have threaded rims, either. Back then you popped the lid loose with s bottle opener and mashed it back closed when done. These jars often had little designs screened on them or were decoratively molded. When you had used all the product it was a real glass, not a recycled jar. Also I remember my grandmother getting all kinds of glasses and small dishes in the oatmeal. Kind of like the prize in a box of cereal, I suppose.
I imagine the collecting and using was pretty widespread back in the day, as it was definately a good way to save money. Especially if there were kids in the house, they can break some dishes.
I was going to post this in the 'vintage things that have disappeared in your lifetime' thread, but they haven't disappeared entirely.
Here's one for scale
These small (8 oz.) juice glasses once held Doña Maria concentrated mole sauce (a popular condiment and cooking sauce in Mexico, for those who didn't know already). The lid pops off, not screws off, and there's a nice glass for your morning o.j. left over. Folks south of the border still know how to be thrifty with a buck.
I suppose another 'vintage thing that has disappeared' though is the notion of an 8 oz. serving of juice for breakfast. Nowadays in our super sized society even a 'small' drink is twice that, but that's another thread I guess.
LizzieMaine
Bartender
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The big trendsetter in this respect was Kraft Old English Cheese, which beginning in 1933 came packaged in what were called "Swanky Swig Glasses." There are probably millions of these glasses still in use -- we used them as juice glasses, and also as handy cookie cutters or things to trace a circle around for geometry homework.
Several brands of peanut butter also came in reusable glasses, and were bigger and more practical for table beverages than cheese jars.
I've been drinking out of the same old Mason jars for nearly thirty years. Never broken one.
- Messages
- 13,635
- Location
- down south
We use mason jars, peanut butter jars, jelly jars, spaghetti sauce jars.....you name it. Six kids in my house, the oldest is ten. Something gets broken at least once a week.
Shangas
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 6,116
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
dh66.
I still see stuff like that. Albeit, very rarely. We still have something similar over here. Except they're little pots of mustard. You buy the glass mustard-pot, pop the top off, finish the mustard, throw out the lid, and then you have a cute little drinking glass left over.
Unfortunately, one day I knocked it over and it smashed to pieces. I was so upset. One day, I'll go back to the supermarket and buy another jar. They're so cute! I wish more companies sold their products like this - it's a cheap way to get nice glassware and it's recyclable.
The 'mustard glasses' we had look like this:
Not the same brand, but the glass looks the same shape as this.
Apparently there's a few companies which sell mustard like this...
I still see stuff like that. Albeit, very rarely. We still have something similar over here. Except they're little pots of mustard. You buy the glass mustard-pot, pop the top off, finish the mustard, throw out the lid, and then you have a cute little drinking glass left over.
Unfortunately, one day I knocked it over and it smashed to pieces. I was so upset. One day, I'll go back to the supermarket and buy another jar. They're so cute! I wish more companies sold their products like this - it's a cheap way to get nice glassware and it's recyclable.
The 'mustard glasses' we had look like this:
Not the same brand, but the glass looks the same shape as this.
Apparently there's a few companies which sell mustard like this...
Last edited:
LizzieMaine
Bartender
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Those flat-bottomed straight-sided little mustard glasses are exactly the same thing as a Kraft Swanky Swig. Probably come from the same supplier.
Tomtheantiquarian
New in Town
- Messages
- 8
- Location
- NW Wyoming
In the summers following my second and third university years I sold ''diaper service'' to young wives expecting their first child. I found it to be very easy to make more money than many men with years of selling experience. I suspect that the fact that I was about the same age as these women helped immensely. This was in the summers of 1961 and 62.:eeek::eusa_doh:lol
They did not wish to wash diapers. We supplied them with a covered container which the driver collected every week and left them with a supply of clean and fragrant cloth diapers. Many of these young women had no laundry facilities of their own; those who did were not dreaming of washing diapers. The service was cheaper for those whose only alternative was a coin-operated machine either in the basement of an apartment building or laundromat. It was a delight for those who did have their own. We didn't actively market to repeat mothers who would have already made their decisions.
Disposable diapers were frequently mentioned, but it was easy enough to knock them out. Many women distrusted them. For the benefit of those who were interested in using them we carried a disposable diaper that they could compare to one of ours. You can guess which felt softer and smelled cleaner.
I don't believe that diaper laundries have existed for years. I suspect that there are few commercial laundries left either that pick up and deliver to homes. But in the days before automatic washers and when ironing of linens was de rigueur few women cared to deal with sheets and towels. My mother sent them out along with men's dress shirts, but the latter went to a special place where she dropped them herself.
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