Egg fights. Going to the chicken farm and getting a flat (2 1/2 dozen) cracked eggs for $1.50 then about dusk heading to the 'idiot strip' for a fling. Stuffing 1/2 a bale of hay in a 55 gallon drum with just a bit of drain oil in the bottom, poking a small hole at the base of it, then lighting it and taking off. And watching at a distance as the smoke rolled out of it till somebody would smother it out. Painting the rock in front of high school. Picking up a kid's VW and putting it 'tween two trees so it couldn't move. Swiping the male teachers' paddles one at a time till we had all of 'em then hanging them up in the school lobby. Locking underclassmen in wall lockers. Swirlies. Crawling thru road culverts, getting halfway thru only to have a 'friend' plug the end so you'd have to go back the same way you came in. Picking up pop bottles along the road for 2cents each. And occasionally finding an "adult themed" picture book along the way, which usually caused a bit of a distraction for a few minutes. Or more. . . Going to the lovers lane and tapping on somebody's steamed up window, then running like crazy! Dad giving me a dollar on Sunday morning to go to the store and get the Sunday paper, a pack of Old Golds, and a jelly roll cake for breakfast dessert. And bringing back change.
The high school and college letter sweaters we used to wear. Usually a loud color that represented our school and with horizontal stripes on the upper sleeve. When you won a letter for whatever sport you participated in, it would be sewn on the sweater. We used to wear 'em with white socks and those loafers that had the little slot on the front that you put a penny in.
Hence the name they were called by most - penny loafers. Who that grew up in the 50s or early 60s didn't have a pair of them? Such memories!
raceron1120: Gee, that brings back memories. I was one of the guys who, one night, painted the rock in front of our high school "Class of 61."
Pushing the family sedan out of the driveway after mid-night to joy ride until almost day light & coasting in with the lights & motor turned off. Some times a friend would do the same with his parents family car & we would play ditch'em. (i.e. try to lose each other by turning our lights out chasing around the neighborhoods. It was great fun until the cops caught us.
Sitting in the back seat of my parent's '57 Chevy while we went to downtown Dallas to pick up my dad after work. Looking out the window to see what was cool parked out in front of Custom Automotive.
Watching the jalopy races from Gardena, CA. on black & white TV channel 5 with Dick Lane every Sunday afternoon from 1957-1965.
Driving on those old concrete 2 lanes and the rhythmic "ka-thump ka-thump" that the tires made on the tar strips. Skate keys for the old time skates that clamped to your shoes.
Rather hot summer in the late 60's which caused the highway to buckle near our house. Watching the crews put out smudge pots to warn folks of the impromptu speed bump ahead. Running across said highway to small country store/gas station to trade in pop bottles and get a Grapette. Going with Mom to visit one of the town's librarian/teacher types and marvelling at the front engined short wheelbase rail chassis shoved in the corner in their back yard. It belonged to her husband. As a broke eight year old, I was unable to purchase it from them. LOL My uncle taking me to watch him race slot cars in Tulsa in the mid 60's. Funny how this stuff pops up in my mind, when I have a hard time remembering what I had for dinner last night.
Said skates were used to build our own skateboards around '63, '64, back when you never even heard of a store-bought skateboard. We pulled the skate apart into its two halves and Dad fastened each half to the end of a 1x6 board . . . skateboard, '60s style.
Flipping quarters to get extra money for gas. The parts display motor on a stand at my local "Parts City" auto parts store was a 409 with a dual quad Offy intake, Cal Custom Valve Covers. The "Speed Shop" section at J C Pennys. Anyone remember that? You could actually buy a set of headers, a Hurst Shifter, Intake and Holly Carb at Pennys! Being in awe of two seniors who were a year ahead of me in Auto Shop who won the National Plymouth Troubleshooting Championship, and got scholarships to MoTech! Doing my first cam install in one of the bays of the local 25 cent car wash, because my dad didn't like us working on cars in his driveway and leaving oil stains on it.
Any Detroit/Michigan guys remember Fred Wolf broadcasting the races on TV from the state fairgrounds?
This thread is amazing. I've been reading all day. These stories on earlier times are a big reason I'm into these cars. From a 25 year old.... I sincerely thank you gentleman for sharing. Lots of life lessons in here. Thanks again Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Dan, I remember my dad watching the broadcasts of races in the mid and late 50s. I have a NASCAR schedule from 1956 that has the state fairgrounds listed as one of the venues they raced at that year. I also remember going with my dad to the old M59 Speedway, it was a few miles west of Pontiac to watch the jalopy races. We lived about 10 miles west of that track at the time.
Yeah tfeverfred -you got that right! I also still have a pair, not sure of the brand (they're NOT Buster Browns ); I wear 'em on occasion but not with white sox anymore... I dug out some old family pictures from the 50s & saw my then - 14 year old sister in a 1955 Christmas photo. As usual back then she was wearing her black and white saddle shoes. And I - being a wee lad of 5 at the time, was wearing my Hopalong Cassidy shirt & get-up.
Take a ride on I-16 if you miss the thump thump. At about 80mph it sets up a weird occilating wave in my antenna. We still carried the old style skate keys as skateboarders in the eighties. Only thing they'd work on the board was the kingpins, but they made for a great brass knuckle substitute.
People giving mincemeat pies and fruitcake during the Holiday Season. I remember the fruitcake being in a large tin. People always talked about how good they looked, but nobody had the heart to eat either one. That was some nasty s**t!
Warshaskis(?) on South State Street Chicago.Got to go there once when we were on vacation.Really neat place.Still had wood floors.All kinds of REAL engines on display. God luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Warsharskis and JC Whitney was same company the catalogs just had differrent covers!At least in the late to mid 60s when I started getting them here in the North East. JC Whitney was what we found in speed shops or on magazine shelves here A cousin in California sent me a warsharskis catalog and it wasd the same one I had from JC Whitney but with the differrent cover every page/add was exactly the same.
I remember back in 1961 when the guy who rented a room in our house backed over my sled with his 1960 black Ford convertible.....man, was I ever pissed!!
Hahaha! Oh man, this is great! Gives new meaning to the thread title . . . Shit, I remember the time in 1960 when Carolyn Cashman and I played doctor on the sidewalk, right in front of God and everybody, oh ignorance is bliss!
As a teenager in the late 70's, I remember owners of cars for sale, NOT listing the cars 396, 383, 427 or 426 Hemi power plants. They didn't want to scare away potential buyers with a gas guzzler.
Back in the late 50s/early 60s, horseback riding on hot, steamy summer days and finding a secluded spot along a stream or pond and going skinny dipping - all of us - boys and girls. Ahhhh, the innocence of youth!
For a dollar I had gas and smokes for the weekend (3 gallons and 1 pack). My chick and friends lived close and I wasn't smoking a lot at 16. I quit 14 yrs ago tho
The Jalopy Journal
