Nostalgia ......remembering the fun stuff from when we were kids !

[GKL]

For those of you who grew up during the time before home microwave ovens should remember those frozen dinners in the aluminum trays.

You had to heat them up in a regular oven, and if you let it get cold you'd have to reheat it in a regular oven (some of them were fairly good though)

 

[T-Man]

I'd really be curious to know how many of the toys in here have been banned for either containing lead paint or were choking hazards. Amazing there are any of us left to tell the tale of them.

 

[diggin4clad]

For those of you who grew up during the time before home microwave ovens should remember those frozen dinners in the aluminum trays.

You had to heat them up in a regular oven, and if you let it get cold you'd have to reheat it in a regular oven (some of them were fairly good though)

View attachment 499671

We had the occasional frozen dinner but it was always Swanson.....Turkey was my favorite.

 

[GKL]

I'd really be curious to know how many of the toys in here have been banned for either containing lead paint or were choking hazards. Amazing there are any of us left to tell the tale of them.

Thanks for bringing that up, it is appreciated !

There are more than you might think, some are obvious, some might surprise you, there are too many to simply list them all here.

Do an internet search using the following words:

vintage toys dangerous

and check out several of the results, some links might cover toys other links miss.

It is sad that anyone suffered because of toys that should not have been sold, or even normally safe toys that were used improperly, as a kid I think I tried to be on the careful side but I still tried goofy stuff that I'm thankful now didn't go wrong.

Some toys have been banned or modified, some are still sold today even though they cause a lot of injuries, I just read that the backyard trampoline sends about 90,000 people to the hospital per year, sling shots can be very dangerous but they can still be bought, toys with small magnets can be very dangerous if swallowed, there is too much info to list it all here.

Now I realize there is a line somewhere between personal freedom and trying to avoid children getting hurt by toys with a high potential for causing harm, but I want to avoid getting political so I'll just say let's just use common sense with toys that have a potential for causing harm.

Some of the toys you might not think would be dangerous might surprise you, when doing a search online it included something as simple as a child's hammock, and those Clacker toys, and likely many others.

Now some of the toys that were somewhat surprising that they ever got put on the market to begin with were ones that actually included radioactive material, and one where kids melted lead. (seems like the early chemistry sets included some pretty dangerous chemicals too)




While this is meant to be a thread where we remember the fun stuff from when we were kids, I am glad the topic of the potential for harm from some toys has been brought up, even with today's toys people need to caution their kids to use them properly with common sense as even a safe toy might have the potential for harm if not used responsibly.

 

[GKL]

We had the occasional frozen dinner but it was always Swanson.....Turkey was my favorite.

I'm sure we had Swanson too, likely got whatever was on sale that week

Turkey was good, and I liked the fried chicken too.

Amazing how much more patient we had to be in those days before microwave ovens, where we might have had to wait about 40 minutes after the oven heated up could you imagine today's kids if they no longer had the use of microwave ovens ?

 

[GKL]

There are some more I am sure, but here are some of the games I remember playing from when I was a kid (some maybe as a teenager)

 

[diggin4clad]

Here's a few of the things I still have from my childhood......An Uncle Sam bank, the Mr. Toad book, a set of dominos and two Fox and Crow comics.
I bought this set of "Double Nine Dominoes" back around 1957 or 1958 and have had them ever since. Sue and I play an occasional game of Dominoes, generally in the winter when we're more likely to be cooped up at home.
The Uncle Sam bank was the one I got for Christmas one year back in the early 1950's. My mother always encouraged my brothers and I to save our money.
The Mr. Toad book was mine and I got it in 1949. I saw the Disney animated movie in the theater and after that just had to have the book.

 

[diggin4clad]

An Archie comic and some ads from comic books. I actually bought the soldiers from the ad and they were absolute JUNK !

 

[GKL]

Here's a few of the things I still have from my childhood......An Uncle Sam bank, the Mr. Toad book, two Fox and Crow comics and an Archie comic.

An Archie comic and some ads from comic books.

Neat vintage stuff !

I'm of course familiar with the dominos, Archie, (and stuff in the ads) but the other specific items are new to me so it's neat to see vintage stuff I wasn't aware of !

 

[diggin4clad]

More stuff from comics and a Twilight Zone book which tells a lot of information about the show and details from each episode. Who can forget Charles Atlas and his program to make you a "He-Man" instead of a 98 pound weakling.
The National Geographic magazine is one of a few hundred that my grandfather had. I ended up with some of them when he died.

 

[diggin4clad]

This is me in 1949 looking at my Mr. Toad book that's in a previous post to this thread. At that time I was only 3 years old and couldn't read yet , but I could look at the pictures. One of the adults would read the book to me.

 

[diggin4clad]

A 1929 calendar I picked up at a flea market about 10 years ago for a couple of dollars.

 

[GKL]

More stuff from comics and a Twilight Zone book which tells a lot of information about the show and details from each episode. Who can forget Charles Atlas and his program to make you a "He-Man" instead of a 98 pound weakling.
The National Geographic magazine is one of a few hundred that my grandfather had. I ended up with some of them when he died.

Yep, those ads could promise so much for so little money

Not from my childhood collection I no longer have but I think I have one or more old comics I got somewhere over about 25 years ago.

This is me in 1949 looking at my Mr. Toad book that's in a previous post to this thread. At that time I was only 3 years old and couldn't read yet , but I could look at the pictures. One of the adults would read the book to me.

Wow, neat that you not only have the book but the picture of you looking at it that young ! (wish I had done a better job of holding onto some of my fun childhood stuff)

Hey, I still have the 5 drawer clothes dresser I used as a kid maybe as young as about 7 years old - we painted it and we still use it in the bathroom to store bathroom supplies, hey, if it looks okay why not ?

Also, the woodgrain design formica dining room tabletop I remember from as young as 16 years old (and maybe earlier) we still use as our dining room table, I just had to build new legs for the bottom, hey, it looks good and is very solid so why replace something you are happy with ?

A 1929 calendar I picked up at a flea market about 10 years ago for a couple of dollars.

Neat calendar but could have had a different ad, but at least it's a healthy type ad

 

[GKL]

I remember after the pocket size transistor radio became more affordable by the early/mid 60's my uncle bought some to give as Christmas gifts, while I did think some of the vintage classic rock of the 50's/early 60's was neat, and I occasionally listened to baseball games, what got my attention was while listening to the talk broadcasts one evening I remember being amazed that a radio broadcast was on ALL night because I remember as a kid staying up all night once to find out for myself (remember, this was still the days when TV stations signed off the air at night (about 1am I think)

Anyhow, this is not my old radio, just an example from back then of one I found online:

 

[GKL]

My preferred method as a kid for deciding what cereal to buy each week - who has the best prize inside !

 

[diggin4clad]

Yep, those ads could promise so much for so little money

Not from my childhood collection I no longer have but I think I have one or more old comics I got somewhere over about 25 years ago.



Wow, neat that you not only have the book but the picture of you looking at it that young ! (wish I had done a better job of holding onto some of my fun childhood stuff)

Hey, I still have the 5 drawer clothes dresser I used as a kid maybe as young as about 7 years old - we painted it and we still use it in the bathroom to store bathroom supplies, hey, if it looks okay why not ?

Also, the woodgrain design formica dining room tabletop I remember from as young as 16 years old (and maybe earlier) we still use as our dining room table, I just had to build new legs for the bottom, hey, it looks good and is very solid so why replace something you are happy with ?



Neat calendar but could have had a different ad, but at least it's a healthy type ad

The calendar has a different ad each month and they're all items you'd find in an old drug store. February is advertising "Rexall Orderlies" a laxative, and March advertises Peptona"pep tonic".
April....Puretest Castor Oil
May.....Cara Nome beauty products
June....Symphony brand stationery
July.....a first aid kit
August..Rexall brand milk of magnesia
September...Kleenzo brand tooth brushes and tooth powder
October..Rexall cod liver oil
November...Kantleek brand hot water bottles
December...an assortment of holiday gifts, chocolates, perfume, grooming aids, etc. etc.

 

[davidlhyde63366]

pocket radio

I remember after the pocket size transistor radio became more affordable by the early/mid 60's my uncle bought some to give as Christmas gifts, while I did think some of the vintage classic rock of the 50's/early 60's was neat, and I occasionally listened to baseball games, what got my attention was while listening to the talk broadcasts one evening I remember being amazed that a radio broadcast was on ALL night because I remember as a kid staying up all night once to find out for myself (remember, this was still the days when TV stations signed off the air at night (about 1am I think)

Anyhow, this is not my old radio, just an example from back then of one I found online:
View attachment 499763

Had one something like that was a big deal. Also recall getting a calculator in high school very basic , but very impressive back then . Now could buy one that does the same functions for a dollar.

 

[GKL]

The calendar has a different ad each month and they're all items you'd find in an old drug store. February is advertising "Rexall Orderlies" a laxative, and March advertises Peptona"pep tonic".
April....Puretest Castor Oil
May.....Cara Nome beauty products
June....Symphony brand stationery
July.....a first aid kit
August..Rexall brand milk of magnesia
September...Kleenzo brand tooth brushes and tooth powder
October..Rexall cod liver oil
November...Kantleek brand hot water bottles
December...an assortment of holiday gifts, chocolates, perfume, grooming aids, etc. etc.

Neat assortment of vintage items !

Calendar reminds me of how I used the old TV guide that came in the Sunday paper to double check what shows or movies I liked came on that week, this was in the days before VCRs where you could record a show for later, when I was a kid you had to watch it when it was on or wait for the next time it came on

Had one something like that was a big deal. Also recall getting a calculator in high school very basic , but very impressive back then . Now could buy one that does the same functions for a dollar.

I still have an old Radio Shack battery operated pocket calculator that has red LEDs, whenever I can find where I put it I can take a pic and post it, it is from at least the 1970's but maybe even the 1960's, (I'll have to check the model number when I find it) and guess what - it still works !

 

[John Madill]

Swanson frozen tv dinners had a box front that looked like a tv and the meal was what was on the tv "screen".

 

[GKL]

Swanson frozen tv dinners had a box front that looked like a tv and the meal was what was on the tv "screen".

I found the design of box you mentioned, looks like it was one of their earlier designs, (if not the earliest)

EDIT TO ADD: Just went back and read the info below where I found that pic, looks like it is the earliest design after all, here is a quote from that page:

"In 1954, Swanson revolutionized the American meal with its TV Dinner. The frozen, three-compartment platter sold for 98¢"