First up is this nice tin-litho whistle, an appropriate advertising item for Whistle "golden orange refreshment". I can just imagine it in an ice-cold bottle, neon orange and intensely sweet and tart.
I have a few more examples of vintage employee badges, starting with this one from American Motors Corp. in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Hey, I've been there! AMC generally made cars such as the Nash Rambler, the Gremlin, the Pacer, the Javelin, and even four-wheel drive vehicles such as the Jeep Wagoneer. To name but a few.
I love this next item, a well-worn badge from the Empire State Building Corporation. Nearly all of the nickel plating has worn off, somebody had this for many years. They probably had to keep giant gorillas from climbing the edifice (a squirt bottle usually worked), a never-ending job. "I wish I'd never heard of Skull Island!".
Next is a little Good Luck charm that belonged to my mom, she thinks she got it from a vending machine. I always loved the little four-leaf clover under the clear bubble, and always feel luckier when holding it.
Here's a photo of a little bracelet sporting charms of some popular foodstuffs, such as Heinz cooked macaroni, tomato juice, and soups, along with Chase and Sandborn coffee, Shredded Ralston cereal, and a can of Old Dutch Cleanser, DON'T EAT THAT. Years ago I shared photos of a similar charm bracelet, but I'd forgotten all about this second example.
And finally, yet another employee ID badge; I'm guessing it is post-WWII (though perhaps not by much), from General Electric's plant in York, Pennsylvania.
There is much more STUFF FROM THE BOX to come!
Major-
ReplyDeleteYeah, that Empire State Bldg. Corp. badge has seen quite a bit of action. One wonders just what caused such wear.
I love the charm bracelet as it reminds me of one my mom had, but consisted of silver [possibly] Sterling cute little items - many with movable parts. I should still have it somewhere, but was unable to locate it.
Were all the 'gals' who worked for General Electric in York, PA that cute-? (I wonder what 'electrical goods' she put her finishing touches on-??) I've been to York.
Thanks, Major.
Still remember when it felt like every little plastic or metal token had a loop or a hole to put it on a chain. As a little boy I'd try to break off the the loops because they identified them as for Girls.
ReplyDelete[JB finishes picking up all the balloons, streamers, and confetti from last nights 20th anniversary party.]
ReplyDeleteMmmMMm... "Golden Orange Refreshment" sounds pretty good right now. Like you said, icy cold, with condensation dripping down the side of the bottle. I'm guessing it was a type of soda, not just juice? (Although juice would be good too.) The back of the whistle reminds me of the little single-use salt packets we used to get with our fries, way back when. You bend the packet in half to break the paper open, and then you shake/pour the salt from the cylindrical ridges onto your bag of fries. Of course, then you dip you fries into your chocolate shake!
Giant gorillas... whatcha gonna do. Can't live with 'em; can't live without 'em. But I guess they serve their purpose. Just keep that squirt bottle handy!
Hmm, That four-leaf clover looks a little plastic-y to me. Is it real? I've found a few four-leaf clovers in my youth; spending a half hour pawing through a patch of clover on a summer's day.
When the charm bracelet came up, I thought, "Hey! We've seen that before!" But you claim this one is different... OK then. ;-)
Seeing the lady in the last employee badge conjures up all kinds of thoughts about who she was, what she did, what kind of life did she have. I wonder if she's still with us? Probably not; she'd be about 100 now.
I'm gonna go with the whistle today. I like the colors. I like the orange refreshment. I like that it reminded me of old-timey salt packets. (I wonder if they still make those packets?)
Thanks, Major. My hankering has been sated... till next time.
I love that whistle, even though I've never heard of the drink. I just checked and it is still made! There is a store called Galcos in Highland Park, CA, which sells all sorts of older and hard-to-find brands of drinks and candy. I wonder if they carry "Whistle"?
ReplyDeleteThe American Motors Corp. pin gives me warm fuzzies, because my first car was an AMC Hornet.
"I wish I'd never heard of Skull Island!"
My name is Dwan. You know, like Dawn, except I switched two letters to make it more memorable.
Major, is that a real four leaf clover preserved under that plastic bubble? I guess on second glance it does look like plastic, but I love it, and it's even more special because it is/was your mom's!
Interesting....I know about the company Ralston (Ralston/Purina) but I didn't know that one of their products (cereals?) was actually called Ralston! How odd that a can of Dutch Cleanser is included along with otherwise edible products. I guess it isn't odd, if it didn't come that way and someone just attached the charms themselves. Incidentally, Faye Dunaway beats Mara Hobel with a can of Dutch Cleanser, in a 1981 movie whose name escapes me at the moment.
Maybe the lady on the G.E. badge was the live model for "Mother" in the Carousel of Progress. Or maybe Jane? Uncle Orville?
Thanks for sharing more "Stuff" with us, Major!
What a job - shooing simians off the Empire State Building. “It wasn’t the airplanes - ‘twas a squirt bottle that scared off the Beast.”
ReplyDeleteMy sister has (had?) a charm exactly like your mother’s, given to her by our grandmother around 1976. That photo brings a big smile to my face.
TM!, finally - a reference to my favorite Jessica Lange/Charles Grodin team-up! And I find it totally inappropriate that you referenced that other film on a day when the Good Major shared an item that belonged to his dearest Mommy. No more wire hangers for you!
Thanks, Major!
The Box never disappoints.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite today is the Empire State badge, but Mom’s good luck charm has to be in the running for sentimental value.
The canned food and cleanser has to be the oddball standout. I wonder on what occasion it was awarded? 5 years? Ten years?
And the General Electric badge, a face, but no name? Some ID.
Thanks Major, rummaging through the Box is always fun!
JG
Nanook, I imagine that the person who owned that Empire State Building badge did something pretty physical - probably for decades! My mom used to sometimes collect Sterling silver charms, she got rid of most, but gave me one that looks like one of the old “semaphore” LA stop signs (with moving “blades”). Did you get a Peppermint Patty when you were in York?
ReplyDeleteDBenson, I respect your commitment!
JB, I had to have some drunk people carted away in a wheelbarrow. Shameful. I guess “Whistle” could be juice, but I’m getting a “soda” vibe. I love that artificial orange flavor (ditto grape soda), now I wish I had some in the fridge. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen those salt and pepper packets recently, but I don’t know where. The clover is definitely plastic! I thought it was real when I was a kid, though. I often wonder about the people pictured on the employee badges that I own, and yes, assume that most of them passed many years ago.
TokyoMagic!, I’ve been to Galcos, my old girlfriend and I would walk out of there with heavy bags full of weird sodas in glass bottles. I haven’t been for years, and now I doubt I’d bother to drive there just for that (she had to get paintings photographed for her “archives” at a place not too far from Galcos). “Dwan”, what a dumb name, and a disappointing movie - but Jessica Lange was smoking hot! I’ve still never seen “Mommy Dearest”, I often thing famous bad movies sound fun, but then discover that they are just BAD. I’ll bet that lady worked at GE for many many years, I hope she liked her job.
Chuck, if a gorilla ever charges you, you’ll be safe with a squirt bottle. Or a can with some pennies in it. Or am I thinking of a cat? Oh well, you’ll figure it out! I think my mom’s “good luck” charm is much older, I am quite sure she had it since the 50s at least. As a “monster kid” I was so excited for that “Kong” movie (remember the awesome poster?), but it was kind of a dud.
JG, part of me wants an upgrade on an Empire State Building employee badge, but part of me likes that the one I have is so well-used. I’ve never known if people put those charm bracelets together themselves, or if they bought them “as is”. Today’s example feels like some kid attached the charms. Supposedly those Heinz can charms are from the 1930s. Maybe that picture badge also went with an ID card that was pinned under it?
Major, both conjectures are correct, as my Mom had two charm bracelets.
ReplyDeleteOne was a replica antique that Dad bought for her in Columbia State Park (the California Gold Rush town, not the cocaine capital, Chuck), no charms were added to it as it was meant to be “complete” as it was.
The other was a bracelet of links designed to have charms added. For years, every time we visited a new place she would buy a charm and Dad would add it to the bracelet. It was only costume jewelry, but the sentimental value was tremendous.
I am sure I have them around somewhere, but I haven’t seen them for years. I haven’t seen charms like those for sale much either lately, maybe they have gone out of fashion.
JG
Major, I think the clover charm my grandmother gave to my sister wasn’t new and probably dated back to the ‘50s as well. She had a lot of little knick-knacks like that squirreled away in drawers that she would give is occasionally, especially if we found them interesting. I miss her a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe 1976 Kong film definitely didn’t live up to the posters, where he standing with one foot on each of the Twin Towers and fighting either jet fighters or a combination of jets and helicopters while holding a nondescript mass of crushed something in his right hand. Still, I have a soft spot in my heart for it as the first PG film I ever saw. I think it also does a better job of portraying the Beauty and the Beast aspect of the story than the 1933 original, even if I like the 1933 version (which I didn’t see until a year or two after the 1976 version) better.
JG, I knew immediately what you meant. A visit to Columbia State Park when I was six is a strong childhood memory.
ReplyDelete