Innehållsförteckning för September 2021 från Reminisce Extra

“Dress like you are going to meet your worst enemy today.” Nuns taught her how to sew She grew up in a Catholic orphanage; her father took her and her four siblings there after their mother died. She started as a seamstress She also moonlighted as a club singer, where she picked up the nickname Coco. Comfort was crucial to her An avid outdoors-woman, Chanel started designing clothes for herself, stripping away superfluous elements and borrowing details from menswear. She began by selling hats in Paris in 1910 Five years later, she launched her couture house. She was the first dressmaker to design a perfume When American GIs landed in France in 1944, they lined up at her Paris shop to buy Chanel No. 5. Chanel invented the “little black…

For much of the early 20th century, housekeepers expected to see three delivery professionals at their doors—the mailman, the milkman and the bread man. My dad, Alphonse Poyant, worked for My Bread Baking Co. in New Bedford during that time. He made door-to-door deliveries of bread—nothing fancy, nothing artisan—climbing up many flights of stairs at the apartment buildings we called double- and triple-deckers in the city’s north end. In the Great Depression, many customers could not afford the 5 to 10 cents for a loaf. My dad, kind and generous, usually worked out a payment plan for those customers. If a family was in dire straits, Dad took money from his own pocket on the family’s behalf. Dad’s routine started early each morning. He owned a wagon, which he loaded…

DURING THE VIETNAM War, I was stationed at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand (NKP), as the air traffic control tower crew chief. In the fall of 1966, we learned that the Bob Hope USO tour was making a stop at our base. Because military bases have to operate around the clock—and because Bob Hope was such a big deal—command decided to fly a few of us to another base to see an earlier show. That way, we could be on duty while the rest of our base attended the performance. Despite this great plan, a few people on our base missed part of the show that day anyway. During the performance, a plane skidded across the runway on landing and crashed into a ditch. No one was hurt, but I had to…

1950s The Old West, including Hopalong Cassidy (above), Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickok, and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. 1960s The Space Age, especially The Jetsons, Star Trek and Lost in Space. Also, psychedelic colors. 1970s The Partridge Family, The Incredible Hulk, Happy Days, The Six Million Dollar Man and Mork & Mindy. Also daredevil Evel Knievel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and big-rig truck drivers on their CB radios. 1980s Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Knight Rider, Heathcliff and The Dukes of Hazzard.…

During the filming of Rio Bravo, my sister Sharon and I got to visit Old Tucson, the studio where the movie was being filmed in 1958. A girlfriend’s parents managed a restaurant visited by some of the actors from the movie. We walked in and saw The Duke himself—John Wayne—playing poker. We didn’t interfere with his game. When we left, we nearly ran into Ricky Nelson, who was my heartthrob. He was quiet and shy, but he still took time for a picture with us. Then we heard a familiar voice—Dean Martin! He was friendly and fun, engaging us in conversation. We told him we hoped to go to Los Angeles, California, the following year, and he invited us to visit him at his family’s home in Beverly Hills. He…

When I was a high-schooler in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, in the mid-1970s, nothing compared to the sound of an approaching marching band—the sharp staccato of the snare drums, accompanied by the boom of the bass drum. One of our band’s majorettes, I kept the beat in style, raising my knees high as I marched in my white leather boots, their black and red pompoms swinging. Those boots were made for click-tapping down the street, and not for comfort. The stiff leather uppers held a felt lining and paper-thin insoles. Metal cleats and taps on the heel and toe of the rigid leather soles sounded a rhythmic fanfare as we marched, and if I wasn’t careful, those slippery soles could cause an embarrassing wipeout! On our legs were the regulation skin-colored pantyhose,…

A PHOTO TAKEN IN 1956 shows my sister Marianne in a pretty dress and braids, and carrying her lunchbox, as she is about to get on the bus for her first day of first grade. I’m by her side crying because I am losing my first constant playmate. Marianne, it turns out, was sad, too, but not because she would miss me. “I didn’t like my lunchbox,” she says. “Mom chose it and it was cute, with little pastel flowers. But I wanted an Annie Oakley lunchbox.” Marianne admits that she pouted enough that later Mom did buy her an Annie Oakley lunchbox. If only one of us had kept it—an Annie Oakley box and Thermos can sell for as much as $600 on eBay. We’re both sad all over…

Theresa Burnham and Earl Frederick Skillings, my parents, were both born in the town of Pine Point, Maine, in 1924. Mom had three siblings, and Dad was one of nine. Their families lived near each other, and from the time they were in a playpen, the two were always together. As teenagers, they liked each other, but Mom was a tomboy and wanted nothing to do with romance. She graduated from Scarborough High School in 1944 and went to work first at the South Portland shipyard, then at the New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. as a telephone operator. Like others in his family, Dad dropped out of school at 16 to help support his family, working as a painter and a lobsterman. In 1943, Dad joined the Navy, serving…

WHEN BOB HOPE TOURED Vietnam in December 1969, I was with the 48th Transportation Group based at Long Binh, and among a lucky few chosen to chauffeur for performers during their visit to the 1st Infantry Division base camp at Lai Khe. Even luckier for me, I was assigned to drive for the Gold Diggers—18 beautiful young singers and dancers. It was truly a thrill, but not quite the highlight of the occasion. At Lai Khe, while waiting backstage, I noticed a man standing by himself, so I strolled over for a chat. As I got closer, I realized that it was none other than Neil Armstrong—the man who had walked on the moon a few months before. I excused myself for intruding and started to back away, but he…

1903 James L. Kraft, a Canadian immigrant, buys cheese from Chicago wholesalers and sells it by horse and wagon to local shops. His brothers soon join him, and J.L. Kraft & Bros. Co.is incorporated in 1909. 1914 In Stockton, IL, J.L Kraft & Bros. buys a plant for processing cheese in tins to make it less perishable. Kraft patents his method in 1916. 1937 Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner is introduced in the United States and Canada. 1943 During World War II, Americans can get two boxes of Kraft mac ’n’ cheese with one food ration stamp. Sales surge to 50 million boxes. 1954 Hello, blue! Kraft packaging gets a new color after being yellow for almost 20 years. 1975 The first new shape: Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner with…

50 GOLDEN YEARS Until cartoon characters began to grace metal lunchboxes, the carriers were known simply as lunch pails or lunch buckets, holding midday meals for blue-collar workers, above. All of that began to change in 1935, after Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tinware firm Geuder, Paeschke & Frey Co. licensed a relatively new cartoon character—Mickey Mouse—and slapped the rodent’s likeness on the side of a lunch pail. It sold for less than a quarter. Fast-forward to 1985, when Sylvester Stallone as Rambo adorned what is considered the last metal lunchbox design of the golden era. In the 50 years in between, experts estimate that some 120 million metal lunchboxes in more than 450 designs made it to market in North America. Most of them sold for $3 each or less. NEW ON…

My dad, Ray Cauwet Sr., who died several years ago at age 93, had a cherished recollection of meeting Babe Ruth in 1923. Dad grew up in the Mission District of San Francisco, and was an avid baseball fan all his life. He and his father went to every game of the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League. Two of the team’s stars, Paul and Lloyd Waner, lived next door. The Waner brothers played for the Seals in the early 1920s before moving to the major leagues. Both outfielders, they were amazing hitters. Paul was known as Big Poison, and Lloyd, three years younger, was Little Poison. Paul and Lloyd were later elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition to his love of the Seals, my…

1 This model debuted in 1966 as an upscale alternative to the Ford Mustang. 2 A series of redesigns made this the brand marketing centerpiece, with dealers located “at the sign of the cat.” 3 This penultimate version of the model shared its platform with the Ford Thunderbird. 4 This car’s trim edition is named for Massachusetts’ capital. 5 During this car’s model year, the flagship of Chrysler Corp.’s new “cloud cars,” the Cirrus, was named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year. HOW’D YOU DO?  Answer is on page 56.…

STUDENTS EAGER to learn the cha-cha’s playful moves flooded dance schools. Here, the manager of the Arthur Murray school of dance in London demonstrates the steps with his wife in 1957. Cuba was hot in postwar America. Intrigued by its complexities, tourists were enamored of a tropical culture they saw as exotic. Dancers in Miami and New York were hooked on a Havana import from the ’40s—the mambo, which featured blistering footwork and occasional acrobatics. In 1954, a version with quick, checked steps—cha-cha-cha—helped dancers match the mambo’s syncopated rhythms, and fueled a new craze. Merriam-Webster was swept along, and gave cha-cha an entry (page 10).…

IN EARLY 1964, I FLEW commercial and military aircraft from North Carolina to South Korea. In South Korea, the Army assigned me to Camp Casey, situated along the likely invasion route out of North Korea, a few miles from the DMZ. That December, Bob Hope brought his USO show to Camp Casey. With him were five of the most beautiful women that I had ever seen, including Miss World and the actress Jill St. John. At the end of the show, Hope sang his signature tune, “Thanks for the Memory.” As he left the stage, I wanted to leap to my feet and shout, “Take me with you!” I didn’t of course, but I longed to be home for Christmas, as did most of my fellow soldiers. I sometimes think…

Metal lunchboxes, and the Thermos bottles tucked inside them, performed a practical function for schoolchildren. They helped keep sandwiches fresh, soup hot and beverages cold. But for millions of baby boomers and beyond, they did so much more—providing an identity for their young owners, conversation starters among peers and even entree to the cool kids’ table in the cafeteria. Is it any wonder these pieces of the past are among today’s most popular collectibles? As kids return to school this month toting their nondescript insulated lunch bags, it’s fun to look back on the colorful metal containers that were such an apt reflection of pop culture. John Conner, 54, of Portland, Oregon, explains part of the appeal of these metal gems. “They remind us of when we were young, watching…

AT ANY GIVEN TIME as many as 15,000 metal lunchboxes are listed on eBay. While the auction site is a sure source for these collectibles, prices are high. You can find bargains at flea markets, resale shops, Craigslist and neighborhood rummage sales. Factors influencing price include condition, such as dents, fading or rust, whether the plastic handle is intact, and if the original Thermos bottle is included. Often, the licensed vacuum bottles sell separately. Prices range from about $15 at rummage sales to hundreds of thousands for a collection, says Allen Woodall Jr. of the Lunch Box Museum. “If a seller isn’t aware of the value, you can get a rare, mint lunchbox for $100 or less.” Much less, in some cases. John Conner paid 50 cents for his The…

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