Everybody loves Vintage People! They come in all shapes and sizes, there's something for everyone.
First up, from "sometime in the 1950s" comes this photo of two boys living out their gridiron dreams for Dad's camera. "If there was such a thing as the Superbowl, I would be kicking the winning point!". The boy looks like he is holding the door open for a lady carrying lots of packages. His dog Stinky got out of the way just in time to avoid being clobbered by that football; meanwhile, Gramps is enjoying the show.
This next one is from May, 1960. This happy lady sure is enjoying her glass of apple juice! Why, I've never seen anybody enjoy apple juice so much. At first I thought maybe she was relaxing in her semi-finished basement, but now I am thinking she might be in a motel room.
And finally, from August 1968 is this photo of a young boy, squinting in the afternoon sun as Grandma looks on. She loves him, and he loves her! That car sure is swell... I wish I could see the license plate better so we would at least know where these folks lived. Maybe New Jersey? American Samoa? Kuala Lumpur? We'll never know.
I hope you have enjoyed today's Vintage People!
Major-
ReplyDeleteI love the pipe, rebar-? and rope surrounding the 'football field'
The gal with the apple juice-?? (if only... HIC-!) is sitting in front of a Sylvania B&W television set - enclosed in a metal case. Uncertain of the year or model - but probably late-1950's.
Grandma and her grandson-? are standing behind a 1966 Mercury, possibly in Emberglo metallic.
Thanks, Major.
Dig that crazy TV with the controls on top!
ReplyDeleteI love these kinds of pictures! Reminds me so much of looking through pictures at my grandparents’ houses.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a 1967 Illinois license plate on Grandma’s Mercury.
Great start to a weekend. Thanks, Major!
In the first picture, I'm pretty sure no one is actually moving! They're all WAX!!! Unfortunately, they melted right after this pic was taken...
ReplyDeleteIn picture number two, people are obviously up to shenanigens. I don't know what that means, but I don't approve! So there, people!
Lastly we have helpful superhero Grandma Lady telling Junior not to stand behind cars tn driveways because of the hightened "squishing factor." Good advice, Grandma Lady, good advice!
That first one looks like a Norman Rockwell painting, with Norman included.
ReplyDeleteFun stuff, Major! I’m with Chuck, really enjoy these.
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty sure I’m related to the folks in the last photo, it all looks so familiar.
JG
At first I got an “office” vibe from the second picture, but I guess the TV kinda rules that out.
ReplyDeleteThese are great pics. Love that TV, Nanook. Noticed there's a Zippo lighter on the counter behind apple juice lady. Nothing like a smoke with your juice.
ReplyDeleteCan't get enough of these types of photos. Relatable for some of us olders who grew up in similar times. That first pic looks like my cousin's yard in Connecticut, circa 1954.
Looks like Grandma is sizing junior up to see if he'll fit in that trunk.
Thanks Major!
Cigarettes, "apple juice" and a black and white TV...looks like my childhood! I love the hard lines of the Formica counters and cinder block walls. Frank Lloyd Wright used a lot of cinder blocks in his designs in the "Circle Period". TV is fabulous. Love the controls on the top. The TV has it's own little Formica stand too- it probably was on a lazy susan! Funny story: my grandmother ordered us some apple cider at a pub where children were allowed, as long as they didn't enter the bar. It didn't taste like traditional apple juice, but it was a bit apple-y and fizzie too! What fun we had...just like this lovely lady in the photo. Oh well...those were the days! Don't judge too harshly...Granny was a nurse in London during the Blitz- not much phased her, and children always had a wee bit of wine at dinner, and a wee dram before bed. Very much a different time!
ReplyDeleteNana has a sweet ride, I loved the age of the land yacht. Plenty of room to spread out. Today, you don't get in a car, you put it on. That tv reminds me of watching cartoons at 6:00 am on Saturday morning.
ReplyDeleteNanook, those metal bits sticking out of the lawn look like injury-makers. Nothing like being impaled on some rebar to make your day a bad one. I thought about researching that TV, but I’m glad you did it for me so that I can relax and eat chocolates in my pool! Also: “Emberglo” is my new favorite word.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I dig it! It’s the most, daddy-o!
Chuck, well, it could be an Illinois plate, but I have been to Illinois, and am familiar with its mountains, deserts, canyons and buttes. That photo sure doesn’t look like the Illinois I know!
Stu29573, those poor people, trapped by some science fiction device that froze them right in the middle of some awkward poses. As for photo #2, I’m with you, I don’t approve of people enjoying themselves AT ALL. That lady should be dressed in a long black dress like a Quaker, and holding a glass of warm buttermilk. Now THAT’S refreshment! I can forgive the kid standing behind that car while Grandma is right there, but I hope he didn’t make a habit of it. Squishing isn’t as fun as it sounds.
Lou and Sue, Norman periodically threw one of those nearby bricks at the kids if they weren’t entertaining enough. We’ve all done it.
JG, that scene in photo #3 makes me think of my grandparent’s home in Minnesota. For some reason I was always fascinated by their tiny stand-alone garage, with a little rubber ball hanging from a string - my grandma knew to stop moving forward when the rubber ball touched the windshield (she was never a confident driver).
Melissa, something about the purse with some of its contents (including a white babushka?) strewn about gives me that “motel” vibe. Not to mention the formica desk.
DrGoat, I can see that you are like me and know when a cigarette just makes life better! I do enjoy these vintage “slice of life” photos, and regret selling off so many good ones when my closets got too full of boxes of random junk. But you can’t keep it all, I guess. Ha ha, grandma has seen “Goodfellas” and wants to reenact one of the scenes!
Bu, I don’t know if there’s any such thing as “Motel Chic”, but that second photo definitely has it. I’m sure there was a logical reason why that TV had all the controls on top, but it looks rather odd today. Maybe it was the only way they could have such a gigantic screen! Fizzy apple cider sounds pretty nice, to this day I still enjoy the occasional bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Juice. Granny does remind me of my midwest relatives, and they worked hard and made do with little, so I don’t judge her harshly at all!
Jonathan, my grandparents (fraternal and maternal) were partial to enormous cars, built in Detroit. Buicks, in the case of my California grandparents, those were sweet cars (though they drank up gas).
Pic #1
ReplyDeleteThe kid holding the ball is wearing a helmet that probably belonged to his dad. The kicker has one of the new plastic helmets... before face guards.
Hmmm... a low slung rope supported by vertical metal bars where kids are playing. What could go wrong??
Pic #2
I'm thinking hard cider or tawny port rather than apple juice. It certainly would explain the look on her face.
I'm voting for motel room rather than basement. The formica, the tv on a swivel stand, the lights...
The tv is very similar to the 13" Sony I had in my room as a kid in the early 60s. Too cool!.
Pic#3
Grandma's Mercury is great. A real hunk of American steel.
Excellent post today major. We all love vintage peeps slice of life photos.
Fizzy Apple Cider was HARD cider! LOL. I think Granny had a bit too much of us at that point and it was time for us to nap...allllll afternoon!
ReplyDeleteYep, that 3rd one could be Illinois...or Wisconsin or Michigan...or any of the midwest states. That little guy sure is cute! Now, he's probably a grandpa...
ReplyDeleteNorman periodically threw one of those nearby bricks at the kids if they weren’t entertaining enough.
Yep, that's why they're wearing helmets.
Looks like Grandma is sizing junior up to see if he'll fit in that trunk.
Hahaha! Boy, these grandparents are all pretty wild, in today's pictures!
BTW, I see that KS decided to lead our Jungle Cruise...check out yesterday's post comments. Thank you, KS!
JC Shannon - one quick question: Did you ever work for Disney? Something makes me think you were also a skipper...but I may be jumbling up GDB comments (in my memory) that I've read in the past...
Actually - I think we're all misjudging Granny. She isn't sizing-up Junior to see if he'll fit inside the trunk, but rather if he's big enough to pilot that 'land yacht'-! (Perhaps she has a set of blocks inside that purse of hers, which can be used as 'extensions' for the brake & gas pedals. Go man, GO-!
ReplyDeleteMajor-
I think that TV is a 1957, '58, or '59 model. (Too bad it didn't feature HaloLight. An unintended side note, was picture interference from the high voltage transformer operating the neon tubing-!)
Also interesting is that there are no visible 'rabbit ear' antennas. All the other "portables" from that era had a pair displayed prominently, as were other model year Sylvania television sets. Makes me wonder if this particular model wasn't specifically-designed for hotel/motel use.
Grant, I did notice the different helmet styles. Those old leather kind are pretty cool, just because they look like they are from an old movie! I was joking about the lady drinking apple juice… from the delighted look on her face, I figured it was something a little bit more “grown up”. I’m glad you like these “vintage people”, I have lots more to share!
ReplyDeleteBu, aha, I was wondering if it had alcohol, but you didn’t say specifically. And like I said, I’ve had fizzy cider that was suitable for kids, so…!
Lou and Sue, yeah, I actually really did try to determine what state that license plate was from, but there’s not enough to go by. Good point about the helmets on the kids!! Grandparents from that era didn’t mess around. They’d been through several big wars, plus the Great Depression. Nothing phased them! Very cool that KS will lead our Jungle Cruise. Now all we need is piles of money to make it happen. And Jonathan was a skipper - he skipped to school and back every day, with a heart full of happiness and joy.
Nanook, ha ha, that sounds like a news story… “Grandmother Lets Three Year Old Grandson Drive Her To The Store”. Film at 11! Interesting about “HaloLight”, since that is a concept that came back not long ago. Not using neon tubes of course! Is it possible that the TV is wired to a rooftop aerial?
I wasn’t going by the license plate when I mentioned where that last picture could’ve been taken...I was just looking at the trees and house style, etc. Grandma may have driven from another state (Illinois), to visit junior. I guess we’ll never know...unless we hear from junior...
ReplyDelete