What products do you miss?

**Jimaz** · April-15-13, 07:22 PM

Back in the 60s the airlines gave passengers little 5-packs of real cigarettes. An uncle [[who didn't smoke) gave it to me, a little kid at the time. I didn't know what to do with it so I just gave it to my mom. I really think he didn't know any better.

Come to think of it, I had a different uncle who once gave me a bag of magic mushrooms. I didn't know what to do with it so I just gave it to....

Why am I suddenly hearing the theme song for The Addams Family?

**old guy** · April-15-13, 09:15 PM

Ahh, uncle's. I've often wondered if my family didn't have a copy of How a Dysfunctional Family Functions, and thought it was a bible.

**45thParallel** · April-16-13, 02:58 PM

I miss the "Sure Fresh" brand of potato chips that were sold at independent grocers in the 70's/early 80's. I also miss the old McDonald Dairy order/delivery service. They had the 2.5/3 gal milk jugs [[shaped like a small suitcase) with the the pushbutton valve. Delicious milk available at will without having to haul out the carton, LOL!!

**JBMcB** · April-16-13, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

You might try asking if they still have that behind the counter. I think that's an ingredient used in illegal meth manufacturing.

I don't think they make anything with pseudophedrine anymore. You can still get real Sudafed behind the counter, though, which is named after the chemical. It's not quite the same thing as those old gel-caps, alas.

**gnome** · April-17-13, 05:54 AM

I miss the sound of bells on ice cream trucks.

The current sound of Turkey In The Straw being blasted through a RadioShack speaker is terribly grating. If 3 or 4 different ice cream trucks cruise through a neighborhood you can be serenaded by Pop Goes The Weasel, Turkey In The Straw, and that JingelheimerSchmidt guy for 5 hours a night.

bells. Sweet bells.

**Downriviera** · April-17-13, 08:58 AM

I'm with ya.

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**Gistok** · April-18-13, 01:15 AM

Gnome....I too miss the ice cream truck bells...

Although it's not a product I necessarily miss... it does provide a lot of nostalgic memory... 20 Mule Team Borax... and Death Valley Days.... commercial and TV show... ran from 1953 until 1970...

**oladub** · April-18-13, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

20 Mule Team Borax... and Death Valley Days.... commercial and TV show... ran from 1953 until 1970...

And the borax hand soap that came in a tin with a twist top was "Boraxo".

**Gistok** · April-18-13, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by oladub

And the borax hand soap that came in a tin with a twist top was "Boraxo".

Thanks Oladub... I never did see the actual products [[my mother never used used them)... but only from the Death Valley Days show...

**rb336** · April-18-13, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Gnome....I too miss the ice cream truck bells...

Although it's not a product I necessarily miss... it does provide a lot of nostalgic memory... 20 Mule Team Borax... and Death Valley Days.... commercial and TV show... ran from 1953 until 1970...

20 mule team is still around...as is boraxo

**Gistok** · April-18-13, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by rb336

20 mule team is still around...as is boraxo

Ah yes.... but the mules have gotten smaller...

**gnome** · April-18-13, 08:42 PM

try not to think too hard about Patty appearance in Playboy years later.

**rb336** · April-18-13, 09:02 PM

I miss softee kooshes! I saw one go for $25+ on ebay a while ago

**Hermod** · April-19-13, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by old guy

Dr. Pepper in the long neck glass bottle when it had sort of a hint of fruit taste or something you couldn't quite put your finger on.

Sort of like prune juice and had the 10-2-4 on the bottle. I also remember when you couldn't get Dr. Pepper in Detroit. I got introduced to it at age 18 when I went to school in Virginia and it was something I had never heard of. Six cents a bottle in the vending machine.

**Hermod** · April-19-13, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

I'm with ya.

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Only rich kids got the thirteen cent Good Humor bars and their seven cent popsicles.

Blue collar kids paid a dime for the ice cream and a nickle for the popsicle.

Attachment 18940

**canuck** · April-19-13, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by gnome

I miss the sound of bells on ice cream trucks.

The current sound of Turkey In The Straw being blasted through a RadioShack speaker is terribly grating. If 3 or 4 different ice cream trucks cruise through a neighborhood you can be serenaded by Pop Goes The Weasel, Turkey In The Straw, and that JingelheimerSchmidt guy for 5 hours a night.

bells. Sweet bells.

Do you have a tool sharpening individual making the rounds in Detroit?

There is one guy here called Tony the sharpener who has been slow cruising with an old stop and go van ever since I was a pup all over Montreal. He has old hand painted scissors and knives on the sides of this small Grumman-type truck and rings a bell incessantly.

Here in Montreal we havent had ice cream trucks roaming because of a streetfood bylaw in effect since the forties I think. The only other bells i hear is when the city guys want to turn off the water...

**Honky Tonk** · April-19-13, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by canuck

Do you have a tool sharpening individual making the rounds in Detroit?

There is one guy here called Tony the sharpener who has been slow cruising with an old stop and go van ever since I was a pup all over Montreal. He has old hand painted scissors and knives on the sides of this small Grumman-type truck and rings a bell incessantly.

Here in Montreal we havent had ice cream trucks roaming because of a streetfood bylaw in effect since the forties I think. The only other bells i hear is when the city guys want to turn off the water...

In the late 50's, early 60's, there were a few guys on foot, with this large, foot pedal powered, grinding wheel-in-a-box contraption. They wood sharpen anything with a straight blade, that needed sharpening, knives, axes, etc. The other guys I remember were Sheeny Men, [[SP?). These guys had horse drawn carts, and would go down alleys looking for scrap metal. Mom gave what we could, but the BIG thrill was feeding the horse a carrot! There was always that pensive moment when you wondered if your whole hand would disappear inside the horses mouth. All that has been gone for quite a while now.

**gnome** · April-19-13, 10:16 PM

When I lived in Birmingham a sharpening guy would ride around in an old divco and ring a single bell. A tinkling sound. Nice old guy. Was great with scissors and hedge clippers, lawn mower blades and especially knives.

on the subject of bells. My grandfather, who lived until he was 102, told me the bells on horse harnesses where customized for each farm. Hence, you could hear the Smiths or jones family coming long before you could see them.

kind of like when your neighbor has a rusted muffler, you hear him coming from two blocks away.

**Jimaz** · April-20-13, 12:04 AM

Lansky: the diamond stone can cut an edge from where no legal edge formerly existed.

**canuck** · April-20-13, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

In the late 50's, early 60's, there were a few guys on foot, with this large, foot pedal powered, grinding wheel-in-a-box contraption. They wood sharpen anything with a straight blade, that needed sharpening, knives, axes, etc. The other guys I remember were Sheeny Men, [[SP?). These guys had horse drawn carts, and would go down alleys looking for scrap metal. Mom gave what we could, but the BIG thrill was feeding the horse a carrot! There was always that pensive moment when you wondered if your whole hand would disappear inside the horses mouth. All that has been gone for quite a while now.

The horse was before my time but my dad used to tell me of the ragpickers and scrap metal guys, many of them eastern european jews doing all the alleyways of the city. The kids would sometimes run behind them and exchange rags for a few pennies etc...

**Zacha341** · April-22-13, 06:09 AM

Land Phone! Well it's hard to find sturdy units... The good old fashion heavy plastic phone. I have one along with my cordless units. Can't be beat for comfort when using apposed to those tiny smart phones with weak speaker phone capacity [[my Iphone quickly comes to mind).

**Zacha341** · April-22-13, 06:15 AM

Middle of the road digital camera! Now you either have the 'wafer thin' shirt-pocket $99 point and shoot digital camera [[with limited options) or you have to make the big jump to a big-bodied full out professional level DSLR or SLR $600+ plus unit. Hard to find a smaller camera with any manual or ISO controls, but I found some older models out there!

**rb336** · April-22-13, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

Middle of the road digital camera! Now you either have the 'wafer thin' shirt-pocket $99 point and shoot digital camera [[with limited options) or you have to make the big jump to a big-bodied full out professional level DSLR or SLR $600+ plus unit. Hard to find a smaller camera with any manual or ISO controls, but I found some older models out there!

Panasonic/Lumix have some decent midrange cameras - with Zeiss lenses I believe

**Honky Tonk** · April-22-13, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by rb336

Panasonic/Lumix have some decent midrange cameras - with Zeiss lenses I believe

I've been shooting with a Panasonic Lumix for years, [[point & shoot), I really like them. Very good quality for the money. Leica makes their lenses on the upper models.