The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph courtesy of Cookie Curci-Wright

How now: Elsie, the Borden cow, and family enjoy the pleasures of the domestic scene in an advertisement from the 1950s.

Remember When

Missing pieces of the past

By Cookie Curci-Wright

After celebrating my 55th birthday, and with the millennium so close at hand, I am reflecting upon the past half-century and some of the things that have come and gone during my lifetime. And wondering whatever happened to...

Hat-check girls: During the 1930s, '40s and '50s, 95 percent of American men wore hats, making it necessary for most public businesses to include a hat-check room on their premises. Hat-check attendants stood inside these rooms receiving and dispensing hundreds of hats during a workday.

Elevator operators: Before the "do-it-yourself" push-button era came along, uniformed attendants stood like soldiers at the elevator controls, waiting to take their riders to a requested floor.

Door-to-door salesmen: There was once a time when products and foods were brought to us door-to-door. The Watkins man delivered our cooking and medicinal needs; the Fuller brush man, our household wares; the delivery boy, our groceries; the milkman, our fresh cream; the Avon Lady, our cosmetics; the produce man, our vegetables; the fishmonger, our sea bass; and the bakery truck, our warm breakfast rolls.

Elsie, the Borden cow: In the 1950s, Borden ice cream needed a new logo for its popular dairy products, and so Elsie the Cow was created. Elsie's famous saying, "If it's Borden, it's got to be good!" became the company's popular slogan.

House dresses and frilly aprons: Before "wash and wear" and blue jeans came along, housewives of the 1930s, '40s and '50s wore practical, feminine cotton dresses with well-starched collars and white frilly aprons. A strand of pearls completed Mom's uniform from the past.

Cigarette holders: Silly as it may sound today, smoking cigarettes was fashionable in the 1940s, and cigarette holders were considered a stylish accessory to a smoker's wardrobe. FDR's use of a long black cigarette holder during his reign as president helped to promote the fad.

Shoeshine stands: Before Nike made sneakers fashionable for everyone from the chairman of the board to Granny, a man was judged by the shine of his shoes. A 25-cent shoeshine made a man feel like a million. The shoeshine boy snapped and buffed until he could see his face in the leather.

Ten cents' worth: Not too long ago, a dime could buy you a phone call, a Hershey bar, a double-scoop ice cream cone, a postage stamp or a cherry cola.

Cedar hope chests: When a young lady became engaged during the 1940s and '50s, it was customary for her to be given something called a hope chest. During her engagement, the cedar chest was traditionally filled with romantic keepsakes, linens, silver and crystal--all the necessary items for a bride to begin married life.

The 20-cent "kiddy" matinee: On Saturday afternoons, kids under 12 went to the Garden Theater. Two dimes and a nickel entitled us to see two full-length adventure films, three cartoons and coming attractions. Candy bars were a nickel.

Full-service gas stations: Before automation came along, the full-service aisle was the rule and not the exception. Smiling attendants pumped our gas, washed the windows and checked the oil, tires and radiator water--all for 40 cents a gallon.

Soupy Sales: No, that's not a brand of food. For those who don't remember "Soupy," with pal "White Fang," he was a funny, pie-throwing comic from TV's early days. Others include Beany and Cicel; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; and Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob.

Eight-track tapes: Just after LPs and before cassettes and CDs came along, the eight-track tape was all the rage. The bulky eight-tracks were cumbersome and low in quality when compared to the super sound of today's paper-thin CDs.

Halo Shampoo: This ridged bottle of golden shampoo was once all we needed to keep our natural hair gleaming. Cream rinses, hair coloring, super gels, hair blowers and other commercial hair-care products hadn't yet begun to clutter our cosmetic cabinets.

Green stamps: These stamps were given out as premiums by grocery stores and supermarkets. Faithfully collected by shoppers, each book of stamps could be redeemed at our local premium center for valuable gifts. My family did a lot of our Christmas shopping from the pages of the green stamp catalog.

Accordion music: The accordion was one of America's favorite instruments in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. The serenade of a strolling concertina, the popular sounds of accordionist Dick Contino, and polka maestro Lawrence Welk had the public listening and dancing to the musical strains of the "squeeze box."

Movie musicals: Whatever happened to the lavish movie musical? It's been a lot of years since we've left the theater humming a tune from movies like The Sound of Music, Oklahoma and Carousel, or watched the extraordinary footwork of dancers like Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.

Blue chip stamps: Blue chip stamps replaced the green stamps of the 1940s. And just as we did in previous years, we pasted these blue stamps faithfully in our booklets, redeeming them at the end of the year for a variety of free gifts. Wouldn't it be nice today to get more than just a receipt at the checkout stands? It would help soothe the pain of escalating food prices.

The three-cent stamp: Yes, in the 1940s we could actually mail a letter for three cents, and postcards were a penny. Everybody could afford to send long lists of Christmas cards at holiday time. Unfortunately, due to the high price of postage, Christmas card lists keep getting shorter and shorter.

House calls: It was a luxury enjoyed by families in the 1940s and '50s--the convenience of having the family doctor come directly to our homes and our sickbeds. The sound of his reassuring voice, a spoonful of medicine and his friendly bedside manner helped to bring about a speedy recovery. A cup of coffee and some friendly conversation were his only additional fees for the service.

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