I ♥ Hartland

I went to an estate sale a week ago Friday in Lemay.  It was later in the morning, so I figured the good stuff would already be gone.  For some reason, they had people entering through the basement around back and the first thing I saw inside was a box of a bunch of loose plastic horses.  There were also a couple figures in riding stance.

At first I thought they were the cheaper figures you would find at vacation tourist stops, such as these I picked up a while ago. But I recongnized one of the figures immediately.

Future Shock

These slides were among a bunch of banking-related slides I picked up at an estate sale quite a while back. They date from about 1970 and feature some state of the art (for the time) computer equipment.  Others showed how they envisioned the year 2000.

The age they were living in:

The age they dreamed would someday be:

Apparently, N times Apple times Pear equals 3.  And if you don't get the right answer, they remove all the air from your vacuum chamber.

***Update: I came across another related set from this same collection which you can view here.

What was on TV August 16th through 27th, 1980

Welcome to this week's trip back into TV's  hairy-chested past.  This week it's 1980 and we visit TV's Incredible Hunks.

Memories of Mendel

A little over a year ago, I came across what I consider one of my best finds -- a cache of pictures and original recordings featuring Shirley White, an unknown Big Band singer who performed with The Phil Levant Orchestra in nightclubs throughout the midwest in the late 1940's.  Through this blog, I was happy to be able to return them to Shirley's family where they belonged.

Last month at another estate sale, I came across yet another cache of original records by another Big Band era unknown -- The Mendel Riley Orchestra.

While digging through stacks and stacks (and stacks!) of mainstream record albums from the 1960's, I recognized an original recording disc mixed among them.

What was on TV August 12th through 18th, 1978

Time for this week's TV Guide.  Technically, last week's, but you know me by now.

Stir Crazy

The most read Garage Sale Finds post as of this writing is this one I wrote a couple years ago about a large collection of swizzle sticks I bought for $5 at an estate sale.  I'm not sure why it's so popular, but I've picked up quite a few more since then and thought I'd show some of the more interesting ones.  Once again, I've tried to link to the location when possible or show a picture or two.

The Boulevard Room, Stevens Hotel, Chicago

What was on TV August 5th through 11th, 1978

Okay, it's become almost a standard opening for these, but I'm running a few days (okay a week) behind.  Another foregone assumption, friend John contributed to this post.  So without further adieu, I give you television as you knew it last week in 1978.

George Jefferson says, "Weezie, your lack of faith disturbs me."

Doing Your Share

My parents lived through the depression and World War II and it's from them I get my frugal (read cheap) ways.  They didn't need a booklet like this one to tell them how to conserve their food and stretch their budget; they learned it from their parents and were already living under rationing by necessity before the war started.  But I think it's worth a read for comparison and contrast to how most of us live now.

"Your Share" was a pamphlet published by Betty Crocker in 1943 with recipes and hints to help stretch your ration points and feed your family on less.  I found it in a bunch of other various booklets I picked up at an estate sale last Friday.

Rolling in the Doh

Before Homer Simpson hijacked the word, "doh", it was reserved for one product -- "Play-Doh".  As a child, I loved Play-Doh, but my mom hated it.  As a parent, I understand why -- it makes a huge mess.  Little dried balls of "doh" are found everywhere for weeks.  But finding these play sets for 50 cents each at a garage sale yesterday has me thinking about running out to the store for a few fresh cans.

Better Homes and Gardens, June 1970

Summer is flying by and school is just around the corner, but there's still time for some last minute summertime activities.  Like a carnival!  Fortunately for you, Better Homes and Gardens has the how-to for hosting your own backyard freakshow.

Today's Garage Sale Finds

Today I'm going to forgo my usual posting of individual finds and give a complete picture of one sale I attended this morning. It will give you an idea of the diversity of things you can find at a single sale and a reminder that vintage items can still be found out there.

The phone rang at 7:00 a.m. this morning.  It was my mother-in-law.  Usually the combination of those two things would mean something bad happened.  But in this case, she had news of a garage sale across from her house in Lemay.  It's an older neighborhood and the family had been in the house for many years, so it sounded promising.

My wife and I headed over and while she visited with her parents, I crossed the street to the sale.

The first thing I spotted was a Mego Farrah Fawcett doll.

What'll it be, Mac, the Musial?

I found this set of glasses at a garage sale a couple weekends ago.

I picked up 2 of these "Stan Musial and Biggies" cocktail glasses.

Cardinals legend Stan Musial bought into Biggie Garagnani's steakhouse restaurant in 1949.  Surpringly, I could find a single image of it on the internet.

I believe that image is supposed to be the stylized heads of a baseball player and a chef, but to me, it just looks like a pair of...er...women's attributes.

At the same sale, I bought a set of 4 1967 World Series Cardinals glasses.  Stan had retired as a player in 1963, but was General Manager when the Cardinals won their 8th World Series against the Boston Red Sox and his name appears on the glass as well.

What was on TV July 29th through August 4th, 1978

Welcome back to What was on Television this week in 1978.  And joining me once again is friend John with quips and comments.  This is another New York edition that somehow sneaked into my St. Louis collection.

This week's cover is an SNL cast shot drawn by comic artist great Jack Davis, best known (at least to me) for his work on Mad and Cracked magazines.