Thursday, August 31, 2017

Leftovers Day 31 -- Did I Measure Up?

When I decided to begin this purge of unblogged items a month ago, I had no idea it would last the entire month. And believe it or not, I still have leftovers. But I'll be taking a break from these posts for a while (collective sigh heard across the world). I hope there was something of interest or amusement among them for you. I guess what I'm saying is, I hope I measured up.  HEY! That leads me into my final leftover.  There is so much wrong about this item.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Leftovers Day 30 --Summer's Cooling Down

Since we're winding down summer this coming weekend, I thought we'd take a look at an icon of summer travels, the humble cooler.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Leftovers Day 29 -- Green Duck, Smokey Bear

This stamped metal button of Smokey the Bear was made by the Green Duck Company of Chicago and probably dates from the 1950's. 


Monday, August 28, 2017

Leftovers Day 28 -- Survivor

Some might call this trash, but I call it a survivor.  


Sunday, August 27, 2017

Leftovers Day 27 -- Home is Where the Heart Is

I found this set of Libby bar glasses earlier this year.  I loved the motif. They're entitled "Home is Where the Heart Is" and is a look at homes through the ages.  From African native...


Saturday, August 26, 2017

Leftovers Day 26 -- Rat Pack

Who were the Prairie Street Rat Pack?  We may never know.  But they apparently got together for a reunion of sorts on August 9, 1969.  I suspect it was a car club which were popular in the 1950's. I do like the art.


Friday, August 25, 2017

Leftovers Day 25 -- Men in Hats

I found this photo booth photo strip at an estate sale among some other items that appeared to have come from a wallet.


Thursday, August 24, 2017

Leftovers Day 24 -- Go Fly a Kite

I remember the first time I saw a Gayla "Bat" kite in our local Ben Franklin.  I thought it was the coolest looking kite I'd ever seen, the home-built box kite our neighbor had notwithstanding. I was used to the standard homemade diamond kites my dad would make for me. I never could get one of those up in the air, no matter how long the tail.  I bought the kite and brought it home.  We had a large field behind our house and I ran there before my mom had the car in park.  After unwrapping, applying the eye stickers and attaching the string, I let it fly.  The wind was favorable and it went straight up. It was easiest kite flying I'd ever experienced.  I let more and more string out while watching gleefully as it climbed to new heights. Suddenly, it took a quick dive to the left and landed in the highest branches of a very tall oak tree.  I wound the string in quickly as I ran to the tree. Looking up and immediately recognizing I couldn't climb the tree, I thought, "Maybe I can pull it out with the string". I gave a few tugs and the string broke.  My new kite was hopelessly trapped, its wing pierced on branch. There was nothing I could do. I walked back to our house with a broken spirit. All summer long when I walked the field, I saw it flapping its wings helplessly in the wind, its black plastic disintegrating more with each visit.

While this isn't the exact kite I had, I was elated to find it at a garage sale for 50 cents, still in its original packaging.


Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Leftovers Day 23 -- Good for Life

I picked up this Dr. Pepper bottle opener at a garage sale in St. Louis City some years ago. The sellers had a number of vintage items all priced at $1 or less.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Leftovers Day 22 -- George Washington Bathed Here

Sometimes you find the strangest things at estate sales.  


Monday, August 21, 2017

Leftovers Day 21 -- Wallets over Mid-America

This wallet was somebody's souvenir from Six Flags Over Mid-America in Missouri.  It doesn't look like it got much use. The front features some of Six Flags' classic rides such as the Log Flume, the Moon Cars and the Mine Train.


Sunday, August 20, 2017

Leftovers Day 20 -- Saludos Amigos!

Somebody chose to save this paper dinner place mat as a reminder of their stay at one of the Hacienda Motel or Hotels.  We'll never know which one. 


Saturday, August 19, 2017

Leftovers Day 19 -- Popcorn Party

I'm a lifelong popcorn addict.  Home-popped, carnival-sold, store-bought, fake-butter-drenched-movie-style, it doesn't matter. I also have a soft spot for popcorn makers.

Most people are familiar with the West Bend brand Stir Crazy popper.  A some point, some genius at the West Bend company realized you could increase your popcorn production by introducing a sleeve to raise the elevation of the domed lid resulting in a literal Popcorn Party.  To him I say, God bless you sir.  But clowns? Why did it have to be clowns?


Friday, August 18, 2017

Leftovers Day 18 -- South St. Louis County Yesterday & Today

Today's post is one of those that will be interesting to only a few. Hey, that is NOT every post!

Anyway, I found these aerial photos of south St. Louis County (my stomping grounds) from when Interstate 55 was being developed near Lindbergh Boulevard.  You can see South County Mall with the famous Famous & Barr dome to the right.  It's parking lot is still under development. You can also see how much of the land was still farm land and residential at that time.  Interstate 55, still in development, dead ends South of Lindbergh.


Thursday, August 17, 2017

Leftovers Day 17 -- Hey Wilton!

Perhaps nothing is more inexplicable than the success of  the TV show "Alf" in the 1980's.  Well, maybe the fact Wilton made a cake pan out of him is.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Leftovers Day 16 -- Wild Rider

I found this figure in a box lot of other miscellaneous toys.


Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Leftovers Day 15 -- Milton Bradley Pac-Man Board Game

By 1982, America was in full-blown Pac-mania. It's not surprising Milton Bradley tried to cash in with their own version.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Leftovers Day 14 -- Tom Foolery

This dime store disguise was originally sold by Ben Franklin (the store, not the Founding Father) for 10 cents (of course).


Sunday, August 13, 2017

Leftovers Day 13 -- Little Pink Houses for You and Me

Back in 2015 I attended the estate sale of a bona fide hoarder. On the property was a dump where the homeowners threw out things they apparently no longer needed, but couldn't let completely go (or maybe they just refused to pay for trash service).  I decided to take a look through the dump just to see what I might find.  I came across a disintegrating cardboard box filled with pink plastic wall tiles.


Saturday, August 12, 2017

Leftovers Day 12 -- You've Got Mail!

This mail signal is meant to trigger a flag when the mailbox is opened.  You can then visually see if mail has come without hiking your 1/4 mile country driveway.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Leftovers Day 11 -- $5 Fill a Bag

There are a couple estate sale companies in my area that have a unique end to their weekend sales.  On Sunday afternoon, the sale is closed down and then re-opened a short time later as a $5 fill a bag sale. Some companies require you to use their bags, but others will allow you to use your own, within reason, I'm sure.  They would probably have an issue if you showed up with a lawn bag.

I do not traditionally attend these kind of sales, but a while back, I passed on a vintage space-age aerial antenna I wanted. Priced at $20, it was more than I wanted to spend.  I figured if I could get it for my $5 bag along with some other ephemera I had left behind it might be worth it.

Just like the opening of any sale, there was a line at the door. I was about 15th in line.  I was not prepared for what happened when the door opened.  As soon as it did, the line surged like a wave and I could see people in front of me grabbing everything in sight and throwing it in their bag.  One person took their entire arm and swept everything off of a table into their bag.  I heard glass breaking and objects falling everywhere.  It was chaos. It was like that episode of "Laverne & Shirley" when they won the free shopping spree at Slotnik's Grocery store.


Thursday, August 10, 2017

Leftovers Day 10 -- What's the Combination?

Combination locks date back to the Romans when multi-dial locks were used. The first commercially-viable single-dial lock was invented in 1910 by American Lock Company.

I found this Elgin lock with it's original instructions at a garage sale some time ago.


Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Leftovers Day 9 -- Ai Yi Yi Yi

Given the current political climate, you might be surprised to know we once not only welcomed our friends South of the Border, but in fact immortalized them in crude caricature rubber pencil toppers.



Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Leftovers Day 8 -- Dog 'n Suds

I'm starting to see a pattern with the things I buy at garage sales. A lot of them stem from things I always wanted, but didn't have as a kid.  Today's offering is no different.


Monday, August 7, 2017

Leftovers Day 7 -- Queen Mary

Kellogg's offered this cardboard Queen Mary (some assembly required, okay, a lot of assembly required) as a premium from Cornflakes cereal in the 1930's.  It doesn't appear to be made from the packaging itself, so it was probably a mail-away premium.


Sunday, August 6, 2017

Leftovers Day 6 -- Hot Air

Since 1973, Forest Park here in St. Louis (not to mention the skies over St. Louis) has hosted an annual hot air balloon race. I don't think it's really a competitive race, considering you're at the mercy of the winds.  It's become a fairly big event with large crowds gathering for the "balloon glow" the night before.  Apparently, in 1978, The Colonel entered the fray as is evidenced by this character glass.


Saturday, August 5, 2017

Leftovers part 5 -- Mickey Orange Juice

I remember kids having these in the '70's and me desperately wanting one.  Not known for splurging on such frivolities, my parents rarely bought orange juice and when they did, it was the frozen, canned variety. I still remember how is would *plop* into the pitcher of water before stirring. The ice crystals never melted and were rough when you swallowed them.


This picture from Pinterest shows its original packaging.


Friday, August 4, 2017

Leftovers Part 4 -- O Solo Mio

I'm not sure if this lighted, plastic gondola was a decorator piece or tourist item or both. The gondolier detaches from the boat. It's marked Hong Kong.



Thursday, August 3, 2017

Leftovers Part 3 -- Bugs

Today's leftovers come directly from the dime store, still in their packaging. The suggested gag is to place the bugs in your friends' drinks. The plastic in the bugs is probably more toxic than an actual bug.



Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Leftovers Part 2 -- Lions and Tigers and...well...no Bears... Sorry...

Today's leftovers: Circus Animals (and some filler). These are flocked plastic toys and were probably carnival prizes. The lion has plastic jeweled eyes.  The tiger probably did too at one time, but has gone blind.


Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Leftovers Part 1 -- It's a Trap!

After writing this blog for 7 years, I've accumulated a lot of things that just never warranted blogging about. But still, they interested me enough to buy them from various garage and estate sales over the years.  I generally photograph or scan everything I buy, but most languish in my "Garage Sale Finds" folder, unloved for years.  But no more.  I'm going to unleash a flurry of misfit garage sale finds the likes you've never seen over the next few weeks (or until I get bored with it).

Nothing much to say about these, just fun to look at it.  First up: Booby Traps. Enjoy!