Houston, the Paper has Landed

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and moonwalk.  I thought I'd celebrate it with a couple copies of newspapers I've picked up from garage and estate sales over the years.  At one time I had quite a few copies of the papers from the week of the moon launch to landing, but I've cleaned them out over the years.  Below are the St. Louis Globe-Democrat's and St. Louis Post-Dispatch's take on the event along with some vintage ads celebrating the landing.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat July 21st, 1969 edition  

Wacky Puzzle

A couple Halloweens ago, I blogged about my memories of receiving Wacky Packages in my treat bucket one Halloween back in the 70's.

I found this Jaymar Wacky Packages puzzle at an estate sale for $1 a couple weeks ago.  It's from 1973 and features Wacky Package cards from Series I, II and III.  The picture is a montage of Wacky Packages in various sizes.

Magic Rock Envy

My sister always seemed to get all the cool stuff.  Maybe it was just little brother jealousy, but I always envied the things she received for Christmas, birthdays, or "just because".  She had a Pet Rock, I didn't.  She had a Mood Ring, I didn't.  I envied her Dawn dolls. I envied her Barbies. As I just wrote, I envied her "Screamin' Eagle" button. And I envied her Magic Rocks.

I'm No Chicken -- Okay... Yes I am...

I don't know why, but these posts lately all begin with an admission.  For this one, it's that I was a chicken when I was a kid.  Well, let me refine that a little.  After all, I had no problem jumping off the roof of our house (just to see if  it would break my legs) or attempting to jump a creek on my bike a la Evel Knievel (it ended like many of Evel's jumps -- badly).  No, I wasn't a coward.  But I was chicken of roller coasters.

In the 1970's, my family took an annual trip to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.  At the time, the only roller coaster there was the dark ride "Fire in the Hole".  Actually, "Fire in the Hole" can hardly be called a roller coaster with a top speed of 27 mph and the largest drop being 20 feet. But to me it felt like 100 mph with 60 foot drops. I'm sure the darkness added to the illusion. So I would stand outside the ride and wait for my family to ride. It probably wasn't until the 6th or 7th grade when I got the nerve to ride it again. I laugh now when I see 4-year-olds getting on the ride.

In 1976, America was abuzz with the Bicentennial.  Everything was patriotic, even roller coasters.  Six Flags over Mid-America announced it's latest ride attraction, "The Screamin' Eagle".  It was the last roller coaster designed by Golden Age roller coaster designer John C. Allen. At the time, it was the tallest (110 feet) and fastest (62 mph) roller coaster winning it a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.

It was probably this fact that won my dad over in taking us there that summer of 1976.  I rode many of rides including the smaller "River King Mine Train" which was slightly faster and taller than "Fire in the Hole".  I hated it.  So there was no way I would attempt "The Screamin' Eagle".  But my sister was really excited about it and my dad accompanied her.  After completing the ride, riders received the following button.

I really envied my sister receiving that, but not enough to brave the coaster.

When I got older, I did ride "The Screamin' Eagle", but they were no longer handing out buttons.  I also became a roller coaster fan, although that was a fairly brief window before I aged out.  These days, my back and neck can't take them and the wilder ones induce vertigo and motion sickness. I guess I'm still a chicken at heart.

What a Bunch of Yo-Yos

My life of crime has been well-documented on this blog here and here.  Allow me to incriminate myself one more time.

In the 3rd grade, my then girlfriend (yes, girlfriend. I started early) told me she had overheard two boys on her bus talking about hiding their Yo-Yo in the bushes on the playground.  I'm not sure why they would hide a Yo-Yo.  Perhaps it was contraband at the school. But she told me the location and at recess, sure enough, we found a Duncan Butterfly Yo-Yo hidden there.  So what did I do? I took it. Some kind of "finders keepers" logic I guess, but I do feel bad about it all these years later.  Imagine those kids coming out, excited they were going to be able to play with their Yo-Yo and.. "Son of a?!"  I still have it. It stares at me some nights.  Okay, it doesn't, but I do feel guilty when I see it.

I found this "Jo Jo" at a sale today.

I Want My MTV 1912

The 1912 Mt. Vernon, Illinois High School Band.  Taken from an interior photo of the Jefferson County, Illinois "Facts & Folks" book published in 1978.  This morning's find for seventy-five cents.

What Was on TV June 10-16, 1978

While looking for a "Friday Flashback", I came across this TV Guide post from June 2014. It was from back when I only scanned certain pages and it was severely lacking in content.  So, I decided this one needed a refresh and repost.  I'm leaving my original contents, but have updated them and added additional comments and content.

Enjoy!

Okay, I know it's been over 2 months.  But I'm full of excuses.  My PC was down for a month of that time after a harddrive failure.  Then I was on vacation for 2 weeks of the other month.  The remaining 2 weeks, I'll just throw to the wind and blame life in general.

I'll mark my return with another installment of What Was on TV.  This time, it's June 10-16, 1978.  I generally try to align these with the actual week, but I'm a week late.  But let's face it, this TV Guide is already 15 years out of date, so does it really matter?

This cover reminds me of television's UFO fascination of the 1970's, almost rivaling that of...today?  I recall watching shows like In Search Of and Project Blue Book. I also recall being terrified I was going to be abducted.  Thanks TV!  (***Update*** Apparently, there was no show called "Project Blue Book". It was called "Project U.F.O."  I maintain it's another victim of the "Mandela Effect").