Freaky Attraction

The annals of breakfast history are littered with the boxes and ghosts of cereals past and their sweet memories. Some, like Urkel-O's are perhaps best forgotten, but others are fondly remembered by those who grew up in front of Saturday morning television and their favorite bowlful of sugary joy. Many, of course, like "Froot Loops", "Cap'n Crunch", and "Frosted Flakes" are still around .  Others, such as "Super Sugar Crisp", have been camouflaged of their true nature, with "Sugar" becoming "Golden". But of all the lost cereals, there may be none so freaky as, well, "Freakies".

Weeki Wachee Springs

For those of you suffering the wrath of this latest winter storm, I thought you might enjoy some Florida Sunshine (and mermaids) to warm you up.

Weeki Wachee is a natural spring in Florida that  was converted to a tourist attraction in 1947.  When Newt Perry, an underwater filming location consultant for Hollywood films including the Johnny Weismuller "Tarzan" series as well as "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" films, first scouted the springs as a potential business development, they had become a  dumping ground for old appliances.  After cleaning the spring out, developing an underwater air hose breathing system and recruiting some of the local girls to play mermaids, Weeki Wachee opened and soon became one of the country's top tourist attractions.

The Mermaid disguised as a "Nutty Professor" looks more like Uncle Sam.

The ABC television network purchased Weeki Wachee in 1959 and built a larger theater situated 16 feet below surface level of the spring.  In 2008, Weeki Wachee was made an official Florida State Park.

The Chief Diner, Durango, Colorado

I'm a sucker for old postcards, especially those highlighting travel during the golden age of road trips. I've amassed quite a collection over the years, so I decided I would throw one of these out here when the mood strikes -- and the mood has struck.  First out of the collection is The Chief Diner in Durango, Colorado.

It's gone, of course.  Originally located at 2127 Main Ave., it appears a Subway now stands in its location.  That's progress.

What was on TV January 19th through 25th, 1980

It's one week until Super Bowl, an event I never paid much attention to as a child.  I was never into sports and would have likely looked to see what the other two networks were offering. These days, my sons like to watch it and have a little party.  I typically do the cooking and just enjoy hanging out and eating with them.  In 1980, it was the Pittsburgh Steelers vs the Los Angeles Rams, a team who ended up moving to my hometown of St. Louis and who may soon be returning to LA.

The Happy Home Maker

I'm always amazed at estate sales by what homeowners chose to hang onto for years.  These days our junk mail goes straight to the trash, but somebody felt this flyer from Grasso Bros. LP Gas was worth saving.  LP Gas, better known these days as simply propane, was the only option in rural areas before natural gas and possibly even electric was available.

Family Circle, January 1966

Some good ads and 1960's design and fashion.  Enjoy!

Just So You Know the Difference

*This* is Shinola:

Made by The Best Foods Inc.  These days they would need a disclaimer to warn this wasn't for human consumption.

Now that I look at it, it is kind of hard to tell the difference.

The well-known phrase was popularized during WWII and immortalized in "The Jerk".

Watching Television Tonight?

I've been meaning to scan and post this photo for some time.  I found it among a bunch of unrelated studio photographs at an estate sale a couple years back.  Given my penchant for TV Guide posts, it seemed appropriate.

I can only assume it's a promotional photo given to grocery and drug stores to show what display stands they could order to push their TV Guide sales.  The issue shown at the top of the stand is the 1956/57 Fall Preview edition.  Next to that are the words, "This Week's Issue", so I guess you would hang either a picture or an actual copy of that week's edition over that each week.  On the back of the photo are some numbers which I assume to be the dimensions of the display.

What was on TV January 17th through 23rd, 1981

Get ready to adjust those rabbit ears, it's time for this week in television once again.  This time it comes from 1981, or commonly known as "Morning in America".

Hertz Rent A Car Pamphlet

Nothing really to comment on this, just some cool graphics on this Hertz Rent-a-Car brochure.  It appears to date from the 1950's.  The company that sponsored it, Atlas Travel Service of Dayton Beach, Florida is still in business as is Hertz, of course.

What was on TV January 12th through 18th, 1980

Posts have been a little light lately, it's that time of the season. It might be cheating, but here's a TV Guide re-post from last year (with a few additional scans).  I'm not exactly running out of issues to post, but the supply is getting thin.  But don't worry, I have a brand new one coming soon.  Until then, from this week in 1980, it's America's favorite Highway Patrol Officers, Ponch and John.

Super 8 Disney

Before the days of live streaming video, DVDs or even VHS, your only option to view your favorite Hollywood movies in the comfort of your own home, short of waiting several years for them to appear on one of the 3 major networks, was to buy them on home movie film, in 8mm, Super 8 or 16mm formats.  Unless they were cartoon shorts, these films were usually extremely condensed versions of the movie or even just a few favorite clips compiled into 200 foot segments.  While we had a home movie projector growing up, it was limited to those films my father had shot documenting various vacations and holidays.  My parents never bought commercially released films and in fact I don't believe I even knew they were available.  Thanks to this 1980 Walt Disney Super 8 Home Movie catalog I found at the great film estate sale last year, I now have a glimpse into the world I missed.

How Meat Moves to Market

This comic book premium was published by Swift & Co. in 1966 and tells the story of...

Merry Mork, Robin, Wherever You Are

I found this December 1979 issue of McCall's magazine today while going through some storage tubs (it's purging time here in Garage Salin' land) and though the holidays are over, it seemed too appropriate to post now and not wait another year.  It features Robin Williams on the cover and a nice article inside.  There's also a portion of the script from the "Mork & Mindy" Christmas episode from that year.