There Went the Indians

Shoot 'em dead, full of lead, in the head, they'll be dead.

Here Come The Cowboys

There Go The Injuns

Cowboys are after them. Chasing the Indians, they'll catch the Indians.  Ride with the Cowboys, catch all the Indians now...  Now the battle's over, the Indians are all dead.  Boys and girls are sleepy, time to go to bed.

Nothing like vigilante justice and genocide to lay the 1950's youth to rest.

Sweet dreams.

Cartoon Dishes

I found this pair of cartoon-themed dishes at a sale last week for 50 cents each.  First up is this Yabba Dabba Doo-riffic Flintstones bowl by Deka from 1978, perfect for those Saturday morning bowls of sugary cereals.

Next is this plate featuring "off model" (thanks for the term, Karswell, I knew there was name for that!) Looney Tunes characters.

 The plate is unmarked, but may be made by Lenox.

These off model (there's that term again) drawings of the characters always bugged me.  Couldn't they find someone who knew how to draw them?

Elmer almost looks like his early incarnation as "Egghead".

Golden Pagoda

I found this 1950's menu from Los Angeles' Chinatown's "Golden Pagoda" restaurant among the travel brochures I found here.

There wasn't much information on Golden Pagoda online other than it was/is also known as Hop Louie.  The building appears to be the same.  I couldn't get any closer on Google Street View.

Beyond the price differences, I noticed the menu also differs in the lack of some of the items Americans have come to expect on a Chinese menu.  In my best Peppermint Patty voice, "Where's the General Tso's chicken?!  Where's the Egg Foo Young?!  Where's the Potstickers?! Where's the Crab Rangoon?!" And no Kung Pao, Szechuan, or Hunan style to be found here.

Don't bother looking under that yellow paper, it ain't there either! But you will find some dishes not found on today's menus such as Roast Pork Fried Rice, Pork Noodles, Chicken Woh Mein, Chinese Peas Chowyoke, Tomatoes Beef, and Lup Chong.

They also served a fairly wide variety of liquor.

Of course, what we Americans recognize as Chinese food differs greatly from authentic Chinese cuisine and in fact many dishes we've come to love were really born here in America.  While other traditional dishes such as Chop Suey (yes, it actually is based on a Chinese dish called tsap seui) and Chow Mein were brought here and modified for American tastes, other dishes sprung up right here in our own country.  Crab Rangoon appeared first at Trader Vic's in 1956 and  General Tso's Chicken appeared sometime in the 1970's (a few restaurants claim its creation).

Dirty Books

I found these filthy, nasty books in the basement of a house at a recent estate sale.  No, the content wasn't filthy, the books themselves were.  The edges of the pages were covered in mold and other things I don't want to think about, but I liked the covers and they were cheap.

"The Hardy Boys, What Happened at Midnight"...stays at Midnight? Copyright 1931.

1950's Travel Brochures

I found these 1950's travel brochures at a sale yesterday.  After waiting 15 minutes for a gentleman to sort through and cherry pick the best brochures (not that I begrudge him other than he beat me to it), I finally had a chance to go through a pick out a few.  Then while checking out, I'd discovered the man before me had ditched some at the checkout table, so I grabbed those too.  By the way, I ran into the same man at a later sale and had to wait for him again!  Always one step ahead of me!

First up is a brochure for Weeki Wachee Springs which I recently posted about.

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

After many months off, get ready for the long-awaited and highly-anticipated (at least I hope it is) return of "What was on TV".  Last year at this time, I bypassed the entire month of April because the issues were catalogued behind May for some reason.  By the way, the issue also marks the return of "The Mad Annotator", "R", this time joined by "V" as they vie for the best shows of the week. Also returning is the assist from friend John.  You think I alone can pack this much acerbic and witty humor into a post?  Silly reader.  Anyway, without further ado, I give you Olivia Newton John, whom I always called Olivia Fig-Newton John when I was a kid.  See, I had an incredible sense of humor even back then.

Mid Century Home Builders Calendar, 1964

I came across this and another calendar with a similar theme from the same building supply company (Monroe Building Supply Inc. in Columbia, Illinios) at a sale recently (in Columbia, Illinois of course).  Each month of the calendar features a home with building plans on the back along with some interior decorating ideas.  Some beautiful designs and excellent execution by the artist (intials QA or OA).

Pain in the Neck

Having suffered from neck/back pain for the past 3 weeks (not to mention, the past 30 years), I thought I'd offer the following as a public safety service.  From 1953, published by the J. B. Lippincott Company under the medical guidance of William K. "Call Me" Ishmael, F.A.C.P. and Howard B. Shorbe (the "B" is Bargain!), F.A.C.S.  I give you "Care of the Back".

I hate when people do this at the movie theater.

Yeah, like this girl!

Pretty much how I sit at work.  Might be part of the problem.

I'm seriously considering this:

Korea in Black and White

I found these pictures at the same sale where I found the photo in my previous post. They are of a military base in Korea in the early 1950's.

Wouldn't You Like to be a Pepper Too?

I found this photo at an estate sale last weekend and it immediately reminded me of the cover to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

All the King's Men

In my opinion, the 1970's were the golden age of board games.  Just prior to home video games taking over, these games were plentiful and provided great escapism for a child.  After all my years of going to sales, I still see some I've never heard of, like this Parker Brothers game "All The King's Men" from 1979.  

Similar to chess, only 3 piece types are used on each side: 1 King, 4 Knights and 7 Archers.  Movements are dictated by the space the piece resides on.

I never played chess when I was a kid, but the graphics and realistic figures of this game would have hooked me.  I loved anything medieval-themed.

Winding Up to Easter

I picked up these Easter wind-ups at a sale for a quarter each last week.  They're not terribly old, but I thought they were neat.  The first one probably dates from the 1970's or '80's and is made in Taiwan.

Wind it up and it pushes the baby bunny in the carriage.