DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... The "Remember When"? thread.....

Haha. I can see it clear as day without having been there. 🤣 Back in the day something like that would be on a Saturday "to do" list -- fully knowing it may take all day and three or four gallons of gas.

My wife and I do a lot of vintage shopping, your other post reminded me of the heft of everything from the past. Just holding the phone receiver up to your ear was a chore. A case of Coke was glass bottles in a wooden crate. People packed stuff in a 40lb trunk to travel.

I recently bought one of those old full size free standing radios... about four feet tall with the built in speakers. Needs a full restoration and the tubes need to be tested... I pulled the whole board and that damned thing is not an ounce less than ten pounds. 🤣

Forgot about this thread.

Cars. And skiing.

Early/mid 70's. 9 of us would load up in a car and go skiing. For a week at a time. In 1 car. Either a Ford LTD, or my parents Dodge something.

I was young and sat on mom's lap. In the trunk, the first thing in was a "portable" tv. About 2 1/2 feet wide. (the cheap places we stayed didn't have tv's, and we always went during bowl season).

Then my parents and the other adult couple's ski boots would go in the trunk. Clothes for 9, ski's on the roof, and some food. We didn't eat out back then except for maybe once during the week. Granted, my older brothers were only 10-11, and the other couples 2 kids were about the same age. Somehow, in those cars back then, 8 could sit - not comfortably of course. But, it was only about 6 hours away.

I don't think may people were very concerned about the gas. It was 29 cents a gallon. Since it's the "Remember When" thread not only was it 29 cents a gallon, they would give you something called trading stamps when you bought gas and groceries. You could save them up and cash them in for things around your home such as China, small appliances and bedding. As I remember the most popular brands of those trading stamps were Gold Bond, S&H Green Stamps and Top Value stamps. Mom would save them up and get things for around the house with them. For those too young to remember they worked a lot like those Marlboro miles only a much bigger variety of far more useful things.

Many items such as glassware, place settings and other things were given as gifts for filling up at many service stations. Stations would also compete for your business with what they used to call "gas wars". They would compete back and forth lowering their prices to compete for your business. They were referred to as service stations because not only did they pump the gas, they would check all of your fluids, wash your windshield and check the air in your tires if you requested. Not everything has changed for the better.

These days I often wonder what the hell they mean by "customer service". When you grew up during a time to see what customer service actually looked like it's not hard to see it's virtually no longer existent.

Yeah, no concern for the gas price. I only say that to point out 'Peen and his dad likely went to three different towns and the car got 15 MPG. 😁

And those gas stations had the 3x4 steel cigarette cases strapped to the pole by the pump @ 35 cents per pack.

Those gas jockeys would move around the vehicle. Hit the pump, pop the hood, check the oil and antifreeze, clean the windows... and lean in at the end and tell you your front passenger tire looks a little low. Ninjas in coveralls.

Even at 29 cents gas was somewhat of a concern. Not in proportion to today...I remember many times just putting $1 in the tank because I only had $3. Now days you pretty much need $100 in the pocket if you are going out to do anything. I am sure you remember when if you had $20 in the pocket, you were rolling in the clover, treating your friends to burgers and whatnot.

What was the old McDonalds commercial...get two burgers, a fry and drink and get change back from your $1 bill.

Yeah I do remember. The first time I ever had a taco at Taco Bell they cost a quarter. Starting out early in life my pay was low. But it sure stretched a very long way.

Remember the Yugo? I had a friend with one and road in it a couple of times.

Remember when kids weren’t completely soft and could run all over town by themselves? GenX never had the luxury of being allowed to be whiny and soft. Parenting in the 70’s broke the long tradition of kids being seen and not heard… then those kids gave the world the eighty’s and ninety’s… the last two GOOD decades. Everything has gone down hill since IMO.

Like I said earlier, it doesn't seem to stretch as far today, but people also spend money on things that aren't necessary. People don't need cable TV or multiple streaming services. When you get down to it people don't need cell phones. I'll give it to you a cell phone might be a necessity since you can't find pay phones anymore. It doesn't have to be a contracted service. A basic Trac phone is all one really needs.

Everybody says Mom needs to work. Well Peen I agree back in the day not a single family I knew had these bills

Cable TV
Cell Phones
2nd, 3rd, or 4th cars.
We didn't go out to eat twice a week, and order out another 4 times a week.
We didn't spend a fortune on grocery delivery fees and surcharges.

I will say this about phones ......

My mom pays $75/mo to ATT for really basic phone service. What a ripoff.

I pay roughly $18/mo for VOIP phone and $20/mo for my cell. I pay each annually, but when my Magic Jack comes up for renewal, I will have to decide whether or not I still feel it is worth it. (My cel it through Mint Mobile, with unlimited talk/text and 15 GB data ... which is more than enough with so many places having WIFI available for free)

I am shocked at how people can afford to, essentially, double their restaurant food bill and having a service deliver it for them.

I won't take your entire concept to task. But I will say such phones are a great way for parents to stay in touch with their children and track where they are. It's a great way to insure your children can reach out to the to 911 in case of an emergency. They're also a means many use to get a great deal of information.

I only use mine as a phone. You know, the name by which it's called. And of course with my grandchildren it's texting because well, that's what they do.

And as far as what people used to spend on such things?

People didn't even have many of those options to choose from. So nobody can say whether they would have used those options if those options had been available. More and more both parents work, there are so many extracurricular activities for children that a second car in many cases is a need, not a luxury.

Now the entire going out to eat so much and crazy delivery prices we're 100% in line with.

But when my daughter was growing up I certainly would have wanted her to have a cell phone. I just didn't have that option.

You forgot the $5 cup of latte once or twice a day.

I have my own machine for that. Not sure what the cost for a latte is down to now, I suppose it could be $5.

Coffee. Black. At home. 6 cups a day. Costs possibly 20 cents a day.

I have heard people say they cost more. Maybe they aren't lattte...I have never had one. I drink black coffee. I have never had a latte, frappe or whatever the hell they are called.

I do have a K-up brewer. I use the Starbucks Sumatran. It's a good dark coffee that brews out a bold cup

LOL....my wife has a friend named Buffy. That should tell you all you need to know. I've only met her twice. The second time we did the subject of K-cups came up. She started talking about landfill space being short and K-cups being a big problem, bla bla bla.

Maybe I was a bit irritated, I'll admit to that, but I told her as long as we have the Grand Canyon we have more landfill space than we could use in 1000 years. Needless to say my wife wasn't very pleased with me once we left the restaurant.

Your wife may not have been pleased with you but damn that was funny!

Supposedly K-cups are still unable to be recycled, which is ridiculous. That said, it takes all of 2 seconds to discover that there are K-cup alternatives that CAN be recycled. They sell these brands at Costco.

Also, they make refillable K-cup pod thingies where you can plop your own coffee and reuse the 'cup'. When I had a Keurig I found this to be the best way to a good cup of coffee out of that thing.

I do. So you rode in it a few times. My question is how many times did you have to push?

At the office every couple of months some one will leave a reusable KCup next to our Kuriegs. To be used one needs to change a part and that won't happen on the commercial grade machines we use.

I tried one of those, even bought special filters to supplement the screen mesh. I still ended up with grounds in my coffee. I'd rather just fill up the Grand Canyon than mess around with that.

Now that you mention it, I do remember buying the "wrong" version once.

That's a bummer. Once I got it all figured out I had great results... it did take a little trial and error, though.

I was watching a Youtube about HS in 1978 done by someone with a home video camera. Some of it was taken outside the school at dismissal. One thing that took me awhile to hear in the background was cars not starting on the first try. I immediately recalled cars needing 2, sometimes 3 turns of the key before it would kick in.

Anyone else remember this?

Typically before fuel injection. Sometimes chokes would stick, which would create problems, both starting and running .... carburators would gunk up more easily than fuel injectors, and other problems.

I usually carried carb cleaner and starting fluid in my 1st 3 or 4 cars.

No doubt. Electronic ignitions were a great improvement.

Speaking of chokes...my first vehicle was a 53 Dodge truck my Grandfather gave me. It had a manual choke switch on the dash. Pull it out or push it in.

I wish that Frank Sterle’s country inn was still open. On 55th. Closed a few years ago but it had a great run. What Id give right now for their chicken noodle soup followed up with a schnitzel. They used to bring it out on those square carts. Man was that good. And the original Hofpra house in Cleveland. Grandma would get so ticked at us for not behaving in there. 😆 Beautiful times.

Your post also made me lament the closing of Sokolowski's in Parma.

Sokolowski’s had great food. Breaded pork chops and kraut. Does anyone remember Steve’s Hot Dogs on Lorain? Awesome place.

Was that the one that was close to W 44th?

Yep. Also seen in the opening for the Drew Carey show.

That was a hell of a place. My late dad did a chili dog eating contest with a buddy of his there decades ago. They both agreed to tap out mutually after 10 I think.

Pansies.

I'm just old enough to remember this from my earliest kid days.
Getting a fuelup at the local gas station was like a NASCAR pit stop.

I loved the sound of our car's tires ringing that pneumatic bell inside the station... it meant that I was about to get a show.

That one, I'll never understand.
I drink coffee. I drink it black. At home.

If I think I might want coffee after I leave my house, I take a small THERMOS® with me.

The only times I've ever spent money at a Starbucks outlet is at an I-80/90 rest plaza.
Always, the same order: "Coffee. Black. That size [points to cup stack matching Clem's desired volume]."

It gets me what I want, with a minimum of dialogue... and I don't need to learn a second language to get my caffeine fix.

Starbucks: the perfect example of the power of marketing: giving consumers permission to spend outrageous money on unhealthy luxuries that they've been convinced are daily necessities.


People are dumb.

.02

I may get a coffee outside the house now and then but I have been drinking it black since the early 70's. When I do, 95% of the time it is a brew from McDonalds or a Circle K type store. Something for a buck and change I grab from one of the cup holders in the car where I toss change.

Yes I remember back to a time that people clearly understood the difference between want and need. That's one part of the past I truly miss.

I think most people understand the difference between wants and needs. I think where people are lax is knowing the difference between being able to afford their wants and not being able.

You could be right but I'm judging my opinion based on their priority lists. You know, they have the latest IPhone but can't pay their utility bills kind of situation. Then when I listen to them talk they say they "need" everything they don't actually need. Maybe it's simply their lack of being able to communicate their thoughts properly.

But basing it on both their words and actions I'm not so sure.

I read an article from a guy that was trying out for the Olympic speedskating team. There was a female skater that was also trying to make the team that was complaining that she couldn't afford the food and supplements she wanted to take, but she came to practice with a 7 dollar cup of Starbucks every morning. He asked her if another 200 a month would help her out and she said that would just about cover what she needed, but she wouldn't give up her Starbucks.