Why on earth would she have saved these...?

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

Very fun Robert! A friend's mother has been collecting boxes of products for over 30 years now. Always fun to travel down memory lane when scanning over the stacks Pringle's!

Sooooo, Fred did score some vaccums? One wouldn't happen to be a Hoover, would it ;-)

Ben
 
Robert, I'm glad these things "found" you! There might be a handful of people on the planet that would appreciator this stuff. Truth be told I have a small collection like it in the attic too, my mother saved a few things for UPC codes and such for refunds and at one time or another cleaning for a party they got shuffled into the attic where they remain to this day.
 
Robert your email answer is correct!....My Aunt in Western Pennsylvania has totes of this stuff, all labeled and filed, and it is one big chore to prepare and seperate and mail this stuff in, each manufacturer is different, some want just the UPC mailed in, others the front cover, some a box top, a few the whole package, she has a book of who gets what and how many per envelope, for a windower with a small Social Security income, this helps her out a lot, they send her checks for cash as well as coupons to buy more of their products, somewhat of a vicious cycle.....people do what they have to to survive....odd though her house and contents is vintage by luck, she saved and bought and made stuff last, from the Norge fridge with the metal icetrays, to the Frigidaire double oven stove, to the Maytag wringer, to the Philco TV , all of which still works, we go to visit and it's like going back in time, she got indoor hot water and a bathroom about 1992...but still has to bring in coal to bank the furnace in the winter...odd to us but a way of life for her and the neighbors, their just used to it...

what a great find though just the same....ideas for this stuff is endless...
 
Not many UPC labels

showing in those photographs. When did those get started anyway? I know they were in use in 1988, in time to amaze GHW Bush.

As far as saving stuff for a purpose, in the 50s and 60s a lot of people believed that saved packs from PallMall cigarettes could be traded for wheelchairs for disabled WWII vets. My dad smoked them, and he believed it. We had maybe a dozen grocery bags filled with empty PallMall packs the last time I was aware of it. I don't know whether my dad was ever convinced otherwise.
 
"WOW" is about the only way I can describe my thoughts.

It's amazing how the depression era folks saved EVERYTHING. I found that out when I helped my grandmother clean out several storage units, on top of the massive accumulation at the house, after my grandfather passed in 2001. I'm still perplexed about the purpose of saving hundreds of old catchup vials.
 
I love the pics

These are great! I got a good chuckle over a couple in particular:

"Diet imitation margarine"

Shouldn't that be called "imitation imitation butter?"

Jell-o 1-2-3: "One mix separates into three layers!"

That is a little scary if you ask me!
 
This is one of the most delightful threads we've had here in a long time....brings back many, many memories. Thank you Robert!!
 
Great find, but some of those products are downright scary.

Imitation margarine? As opposed to what, real margarine?
 
Depression years

I remember when I was a kid and we'd go up to Nebraska for the Holiday's. My grandparents had a little stove in the basement (wood/coal burning) and that's where grandpa would burn trash at in the wintertime. Grandma always would complain that she got tired of burning her fingers on those short little wooden matches. I asked her why they didn't buy the longer matches. Grandma said, in her depression era voice, because these are free and the long ones cost money and your grandpa won't let me buy them. I have to go to the bank and get these.

Maybe that's why, when he passed away (after retiring from farming 40 years earlier due to bad health) he had a very large sum of money in stocks and bonds and t-bills, you name it.

It seemed that he thought this funny thing called rural electrification was a pretty good idea so he bought stock. Same thing with that new fangled thing called a telephone.

Grandma was a redeemer/clipper, too! Anyone remember the Hi-C offers/projects?

duetboy
aka Jeff
 
Interesting comment duetboy. Kind of had the opposite experience with my mom. She was born in '21, and grew up during the depression, had some tough times. But her response was to get what she wanted. Nice home, great furniture, good clothes, travel, she managed to get it. She saw no value in dying with a wad of money in the bank. And because of her attitude we had a great childhood, and she lived her life to the fullest. Totally opposite of your grandfather. I'll take her approach any day...
 
Nurdlinger

If memory serves correctly, I believe UPC codes started to debut during 1983 or somewhere in that area. I remember seeing an episode of M*A*S*H where the nurses are distributing Hershey bars to the patients, and on the back of one was a UPC code.

The first time I saw the scanning of products in "action" was in 1984 when my brother and I were in Albuquerque visiting my sister for the Thanksgiving holiday. She had sent us to one of the grocery stores to get something. Back then when the product was scanned, it announced the name of the product. It was kinda eerie to hear the names of all these things being said simultaneously by an electronic male voice, especially when five checkers were doing their job at the same time.
 
Of course, there are two dates with UPC codes--when they were first available period, and when they were in use in a given area.

I seem to recall having heard classmates talk about UPC scanners in the 70s, but no store we shopped supported them. Most had price stickers and mechanical cash registers. But one grocery store my parents liked actually had no stickers--you'd grab the item you wanted, and write the price on the can or box with a special pen they provided. A cost cutting measure, I assume. (People must have been more honest then--because I can easily imagine people today building in creative discounts!)

I saw my first UPC scanner when a new grocery store opened near our house. I can't remember when that store was built--but, as far as I can figure it, it would have been right about 1980. I'm sure it was promoted as the store of the future. Ironically, the store had a relatively short future--by the mid/late 90s it was closed (after a few name changes), and today the building is a thrift store.
 
Imitation margarine? That must be butter...

I find that "Jell-O 1-2-3" product interesting: separates in three layers. I know fat/water, but what is the third layer?
 

Similar threads

paulg
Admiral range 1958 questions
Replies
8
Views
9
paulg
paulg
william8
Speed Queen TC5 Anniversary and sudsing issue.
Replies
18
Views
38
william8
william8
D
Refrigerator review, WRFF3436RZ00, WP french door
Replies
6
Views
21
lakewebsterkid
L
mark_wpduet
Countertop Ice Maker (help)
Replies
4
Views
8
mark_wpduet
mark_wpduet
keymatic
Servis becomes reality......
Replies
19
Views
20
keymatic
keymatic

Latest posts

Back
Top