Happy New Year, Be It 1913 or 2017.

2017. The number looks so foreign to me. The teens are almost over and I still haven't gotten use to the 2000 part.

This postcard is postmarked December 31st, 1913 from Murphysboro, Illinois and was sent by the parents of Charles Kepferer to his residence at 1117 N. 18th Street, St. Louis, Missouri.  I wonder if they were used to writing the 1900 part.

Catching up with The Grossman's

Waaaaaay back in 2011, I posted these turn of the last century Christmas postcards. They were sent to various members of the Grossman family including Alma and Masters Edd and Harry.

What was on TV December 26th, 1981 through January 1st, 1982

The week between Christmas and New Year's was always prime TV viewing for me, being off for two weeks from school. Let's take a look at that week in 1981. Excuse the skewed images. The spine was broke on this issue.

RIP Carrie Fischer

Silent Night

I pick these plastic mini-Nativities up whenever I see them at sales. It's become an addiction.  It's amazing how many variations there are.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Wow.  Christmas already.  And 6 posts for the month of December? Pathetic. This post would normally have been strewn throughout the month as individual posts, but given it's Christmas high tide, I'm giving all my presents at once.  These are all the Santas I've found in the past year.

 This stocking label was generic enough that I could use it on my own mantel this year.

Good Housekeeping, December, 1954

Unlike the last Good Housekeeping I posted, this issue from 1954 doesn't spark any memories for me, being a good 13 years before I was around, but the contents pretty much sum up everything I love about the 1950's. Enjoy! 

Uncanny Finds, Christmas Edition

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have a soft spot for vintage cans. Add vintage Christmas to that equation, and you've sold me.  Here are some Christmas-related cans I've picked up over the years. Some of these may be repeats.

Christmas Greetings

"Greeting cards have all been sent, the Christmas rush is through..."
from The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas, Darling."

If only that were true. Every year I vow I will get my Christmas cards out early.  And every year I find myself in mid-December without having sent a one. This year is no different. What's worse is each year I seem to have less motivation to do it.  It's not that I'm not in the Christmas spirit.  Heck, I've got Christmas spirit oozing out my ears. But nobody seems to participate in this time-honored ritual any more.  So for every 2 cards I send out, I might get 1 back, and that's even after having drastically reduced the number of cards I send. I'm not sure if it's because of the constant contact we have with friends and family now through social media, or if we've just gotten lazy. But, I know eventually I will get my cards out again this year, even if it will be last minute once more.

Since I don't have most of my readers' addresses, I'm offering this bounty of vintage Christmas cards as my wish to you all for a very Merry Christmas. I bought all of these at one estate sale; one family's accumulation of their own friends' and family's well-wishes from an age when we were social without electronic media.

Christmas Comes Early

Just when I begin to give up hope for the current state of garage sales, I stumble upon one at an unexpected time, in an unexpected place with some unexpected finds.

December is not what I would consider garage sale season in St. Louis.  Temperatures were in the '20's Saturday morning. I was on my way to pick up my son from a college class when I noticed a sign that said "Estate Sale".  I made a mental note and continued on to pick him up.  On our way home, we stopped by.  I could see it wasn't technically an "estate" sale as just the garage door was up.

I didn't see anything from the street that interested me, but decided I'd come this far, I might as well look.

Nobody was in the garage and I didn't see anything immediately, but then I noticed a box of vintage Christmas C6 light bulbs.

The Putz House of Bremen

I found this unusual "putz" house at a sale this past summer. I initially didn't pay too much attention to the scene on the front, but when I got it home and took a closer look, clearly something very peculiar was taking place.

Good Housekeeping, December 1975

Okay, I know I've been really slacking lately.  Will an old copy of Good Housekeeping appease you? No? Well, take it anyway. It's all you're getting. 

Along with the Sears Wish Book and the Swiss Colony catalog, the Christmas editions of my mom's magazines always heralded Christmas for me.

Sunday Funnies, November 27th, 1977

One of my earliest memories is being sprawled out on our kitchen floor on a Sunday morning reading "the funnies" while my mom cooked breakfast above me. This section from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on this date in 1977 features some familiar faces whose strips continue to today.

Thanksgiving Holiday Fun

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers (and anyone else celebrating today).  Enjoy this Thanksgiving Fun section of "Busy Bee Holiday Fun".

Corky

I've been a little lax in posting lately, so I thought I'd pull out all stops and offer this postcard of a stunt-boating clown named "Corky".

What was on TV November 1st through 7th, 1980

1980, like this year, was an election year.  My first thought looking at this cover was, "I didn't know Phil Donahue ran for president."  It's actually John Anderson, whom I've never heard of before.  He did win 6% of the popular vote in that election, but of course Ronald Reagan won with 50.7% of the vote carrying 44 states.  And no, this is not an invitation to get political (past or present) in the comments.

Halloween Post Mortem

Well, Halloween has passed us once again.  Given October is my most active month of blogging, I like to review how I faired in readership.

Overall, my monthly readership more than doubled with over 15,000 hits in October.

Wreck the Halls with Bowels of Ghoulies 2016

Welcome to Halloween 2016!  As usual, I didn't get to post everything I wanted, but I think I did pretty good. I did manage at least one post per day.

 My final post closing out the season is dedicated to my annual yard haunt and decorations.  Ever since I was a kid, I envied the people who went beyond the normal scarecrow on the porch and really put on a show for the kids.  It inspired me to create my own display and laid the foundation for my love of Halloween.  I hope you enjoy and a Happy Halloween to all!

On October 31

I found this album of 78's at a garage sale last weekend.  The black cat and Jack O' Lantern caught my eye.

The Scarecrow

I picked this book up at an estate sale Friday for two reasons.

Recipes

Halloween is nigh and with zero hour approaching, I thought I'd offer some last minute recipe ideas for your Halloween party. You are having one, right?

General Foods Corporation Monthly Dessert Calendar, 1940

Halloween Highlight

If yesterday's "Hallowe'en Party Fun" courtesy of "Hospitality Homes" wasn't enough to plan your party, perhaps this Holiday Handbook published by Highlights Children's magazine can fill the gap.

Hospitality Homes October, 1952

This issue of Hospitality Home published by Hot Point Appliances (and Anderson's Appliance Store) contains some "Hallowe'en Party Fun" along with helpful hints for the 1950's housewife (and husband!).

Scholastic Halloween

This October 1961 edition of "News Explorer" was published by Scholastic Books and is the standard flyer we all received in grade school plus some additional news and features.

Amscan Owl

This "honeycomb" owl Halloween decoration was made by the Amscan Company and probably dates anywhere from the 1960's to 1970's.

Flicker Eye Skeleton

Each year as Halloween draws near, I realize I still have an abundance of things to post and start throwing out random items.  This year is no diffferent.

This flicker-eyed skeleton is hollow blown plastic.  He measures 7" tall and is attached to a string. I have no idea of his age.  I have him hanging in front of my computer. When you turn him back and forth, his eyes appear to roll.

Die Cut Blow Out

The big day approaches quickly.  I was going to post these die cuts separately thinking I'd need to stretch things out a bit, but it looks like I have enough to finish out the season.  Up first is this Beistle trio of witch, cat and ghosts. By the way, the orange in these scans don't do the die cuts justice, they are much brighter and vibrant in person.  No amount of color adusting can replicate it.

Doing her best "Kilroy" impersonation.

We Interrupt this Countdown for an Important Radio Announcement...

I was contacted by Neil Pellegrin who hosts a 1950's R&B show on WWOZ radio in New Orleans. He had come across my recent post about Ernie "The Whip" Bringier and requested permission to play the tracks on his show tonight at 7:00 p.m. Central.  It's fund raising season and he'll be hosting a few local R&B legends as well as a protege of Ernie, "Tee" Eva Louis Perry, an R&B performer herself.  Neil thought everyone would have a good time hearing Ernie's voice again.

If you'd like to listen in (and maybe throw a few bucks their way), the show will be streaming at wwoz.org.

Wilton's Halloween

This Wilton Cake catalog from 1978 displays some of their Halloween-themed decorations.

Fangs for the Memories

I recently picked up these "Horror Fangs" at an estate sale.  I believe I paid $1 for them.

Click and Clack

This pair of "clickers" was a recent find. They were made in Hong Kong and probably date to the 1970's.

Nightmare

This 1963 issue of "Casper and Nightmare The Galloping Ghost" may not be exactly Halloween-themed, but hey... Ghosts.

Children's Play Mate Magazine, October 1950

Unlike the Halloween edition of other children's magazines I've seen over the years which might offer a few pages of Halloween, a poem and a craft or two, this October 1950 is chock full of treats and goodies.  Almost every page features some form of Halloween enjoyment along with some great art.

Dennison Die Cut

This Dennison Die Cut wasn't in the best condition when I found it, but I couldn't pass it up.  I've never seen it before and I loved the artwork.

Revenge of the Owls

This book titled "Little Sunbeams" dates from 1921.

Crankenburger

Recently, I bought a 45 record at an estate sale just because of the sleeve it was in.  Well, not really because of the sleeve, but because of what was on the sleeve.

Halloween Hang Up

I found this Halloween door hanger in a box lot I bought at an estate sale about a month ago.  

Halloween Mask-o-rama

It's time to display some of the Halloween masks and costumes I've picked up over the past year. Most are unmarked and unidentified.  Let me know if you recognize one.

Gurley Witch

Gurley candles, such as this witch, were a Halloween staple of the 1970's.

Fun World Pumpkin Inflatable

While there are no markings on this pumpkin inflatable, it's attributed to Fun World, Inc. and was made in the 1970's.

Racheting Up a Halloween Frenzy

When I first saw this ratchet noisemaker at an estate sale, I almost passed on it.  It was in a bag of other miscellaneous junk for $4 and frankly, I have enough noisemakers.

I came back the next day (50% off) and it was still there, so I went ahead and bought it. I assumed it was just another New Year's Eve noisemaker, but when I got a closer look at it at home, I noticed the imagery was a little different.

Light Up the Night

My parents had no qualms about sending me out into the night alone on Halloween. Their only rule (really, my Mom's rule as my Dad didn't even know what I was doing most of the time) was that I was not to go Trick or Treating before 7:00 p.m. because "people are still eating".  When the time did come, I'd slip on my Ben Cooper plastic mask with eye-holes so small, a mouse couldn't slip through them, and head out into the darkness without a flashlight or a scrap of reflective tape, walking a single-lane road without sidewalks. I'd like to think my Mom at least said, "Listen for cars" (I couldn't watch for them because, again, the eye-holes), but I don't think she did.  Panting through that tiny slit of a mouth (I had to walk a pretty good distance to even take in 10 homes), I managed to avoid being hit or abducted.

Clearly, other parents in the '60's and '70's did concern themselves with their children's safety and did provide them with illumination on Halloween night as is evidenced by these flashlights.

Cat Nap-kins

It's always fun this time of year, as I pull things out of my big box o' Halloween finds, to come across something I've not just forgotten I'd bought, but can't even remember buying.  That was the case with these vintage Halloween napkins.

Jack and Jill October, 1951

This October 1951 issue of "Jack and Jill" was another in the same lot I bought that was featured in last month's post.

Have a Dynamite Halloween!

I've spoken before about my love for Scholastic Publications when I was a kid.  The day that flyer arrived along with the day the books I ordered came in made school that much more tolerable. 

Dynamite magazine was published by Scholastic and sold through those flyers.  It was aimed at elementary school students through 6th grade, but I read it (somewhat ashamedly) long after that.  It was edited by Jane Stine, wife of R. L. Stine who also occasionally worked on the magazine (known simply as Bob Stine at the time), so it should come as no surprise that it frequently highlighted monsters.

Don't Lose Your Head

When I saw this shrunken head hanging from a bar at an estate sale, I immediately grabbed it.  Well, first I made sure it wasn't real.

Frankenstein or Bust!

When I found this mini-Frankenstein bust (I know, Frankenstein was the Doctor, he's Frankenstein's Monster, blah, blah blah. Hey, it's on the bust!) in a bag of miscellaneous toys last summer, I had no clue where it came from.

Witchcraft Primer

Though technically not Halloween, this "Eclectic Primary History of The United States" published in 1884 covers (if very briefly) the Salem Witch Trials.

 

Speak-Easy

The first mask posting of the season is this Ben Cooper "Speak-Easy Mask" from 1984.

Sliding into Halloween Once Again

Here are a couple Halloween-themed 35mm slides found among the many I picked up this past year. What's spooky about this one is the kid is completely unfazed.