Windows to the Past or Time for Slides Again

I was going through my garage sale folders and came across the collection of slides I bought last summer.  I haven't posted these yet, so, here they are, in no particular order and absent of witty comments.  Oh, I'll make comments, they just won't be particularly witty.  I'm no Charles Phoenix, but I think there are some great scenes here.  Think of me as that annoying relative that invites your over to look at their slides.

How Are You Fixed for Blades?

You may be unfamiliar with the jingle in the title.  The only reason I know it is from a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which he asks the question of an executioner.  It's from an ad for Gilette razors from the 1950's.  I found one at an estate sale this weekend.  You can actually still buy the razor refills for these.  It was in a nice, original case and priced pretty decent at $2.

You Spin Me Round Round, Baby, Right Round...

Just a week after coming across the Burger Chef Frisbee, I found more frisbees at another estate sale.  Odd, because they're not something I typically see.  And one of them brings back more memories.  I'm guessing this was also a premium from the Kmart cafe.  I bought many a bag of popcorn or soft pretzel and Coke Icee there.  This frisbee features their logo from the early '70's and is surprisingly a genuine Wham-O product.

Saturday Morning Cereal Memories

I was pondering my previous post regarding collectible McDonald's plates from the 1970's and how we didn't have them when I was a kid.  I realized a major reason was we only went to McDonald's a couple times in a year.  Another reason was my parents would never spend extra money on such frivolity as a collectible plate.  What we did have were these:

If you grew up in the 70's, you probably did as well.  These were margarine bowls.  The brand is somewhat disputed.  My first thought was Imperial.  Others on the internet recall Blue Bonnet or Parkay.  I'm almost positive it wasn't Parkay, as that was too expensive for my family.  When the margarine was gone, voila, cereal bowl.  These were a favorite for Saturday morning cereal in front of the television.  I seem to recall fighting over which color my sister and I would eat from.  I'm sure I always ended up with the pea green one...

Anyway, when I saw these sitting on a shelf in the basement of a recent estate sale, that all came back to me.  I grabbed 6 of them (there were a couple others that were too far gone) and brought them up to check out.  The person hosting the sale looked at me and said, "I'll bet you ate cereal out of those bowls when you were little."  She went on to say she had shown them to some younger people (20's) and they had no clue.

Whatever happened to jelly jar glasses, margarine cereal bowls, and butter tub Tupperware?  It seems nobody repurposes used containers like they once did.  Seems like a pretty smart thing to do.

Would You Like a Frisbee with That?

Saturday I was at an estate sale.  Frankly, a pretty messy estate sale.  Not much good there.  But in the rubble, I spotted something that sparked a memory.

Would You Like a Plate with That?

Frankly, I always found Ronald and the gang to be a little creepy.  Their Sid and Marty Krofft-esque features were a little too much for me and apparently for Sid and Marty as well as they sued McDonald's in the 1970's for copyright infringement.  The lawsuit forced McDonald's to retire Big Mac the cop and Mayor McCheese and soften the features of Captain Crook, the Hamburgler and the remaining characters.

These plates must have been offered prior to the settlement as they feature the earlier incarnations.

I bought this plate at the same sale.  It's not McDonald's, but equally creepy.  This plate is from Schnuck's, a local Missori grocery store and dates from 1980 which is about 4 years late for the Spirit of '76 vibe.

The plate is also a tie in with Six Flags over Mid-America and features non-descript characters from the theme park.  I vaguely recall these.  The one with the goggles went with the antique car ride.  The other two look like muppet knockoffs.

I paid 50 cents a piece for the plates.  They're not worth much, so they've been added to the rotation of kids plates in our house.