Old Cars, The Roadside, and Petroliana
When it comes to cars, they don't build 'em like they used to! Remember the trips to the shore with the
family in the back of a '57 Chevy? Those cars are still considered the classics and we love them today
as much as we did back then. I can remember sitting in the back of my uncles' old cars with my cousins.
We could ride all the way from Baltimore to the Atlantic shore and hardly know parents were in the front.
That back seat seemed huge to a kid and the ride was a lot of fun. We listened and sang to the
music as we listened to Del Shannon singing "Runaway" on the AM radio.
We baby boomers have memories of traveling which go back to before the Interstates. Today you whisk down highways
that all look the same and pass nothing interesting unless you exit the highway. When we were kids we
saw the world from the two-lane highway with all it's billboards, signs, gas stations, eateries,
and tourist attractions. Interstates may have made travel more convenient, but we've lost so much. Getting there
is no longer "half the fun."
How the gas station has changed! The little white buildings topped with terra cotta have given
way to the multi-purpose, self-serve stations. The young men in uniform saying,
"fill 'er up?" are history. You must pump the gas yourself. They have long ago stopped giving away
free glasses or toy dinosaurs to keep you coming back. Jingles like "Atlantic keeps your car on the go, go, go
so keep on the go with Atlantic" still ring in our minds, but they are long gone.
Don't lose heart.
If you miss the days of the old gas station, much is around for collectors as "petroliana."
Enjoy the pages below that will show you the days of the cars, the road, and the gas station!
The Food and Fun
We booomers were the first generation to grow up with fast food.
Here in Maryland we began with Gino's. The burgers were less than a quarter and the seating
was in your car in the parking lot. At Gino's the popular burger was the Gino Giant. This was something
like a Big Mac or Whopper but it had a special "secret sauce." It tasted like
Russian dressing (might have been Russian dressing!). Alas, the Gino Giant is now just a tasty
memory. None of the other burgers taste like the Giant!
In our nearby community of Linthicum there was a drive in restaurant called Chuck's. It managed
to remain standing into the 1980's. Of course someone did it---took paradise, and now there's a
parking lot. Locals will never forget the incredible milk shakes nor the feeling of stepping into the past
at Chuck's. The strip mall standing there now is convenient but I doubt anyone will ever be
nostalgic for strip malls.
Going on road trips to New Jersey we always stopped at the Hot Shoppe or at
Howard Johnson's. And on the road to Ocean City, MD on Route 50 there was Stuckey's
where we bought pecan roll candy. Some of these places are still around, but they
are declining in number.
Diners still exist. Most are refurbished to look "retro" or are built to look that way.
They are probably the best examples of mid-twentieth century roadside architecture we
have remaining. Fortunately diners are seldom made to look "modern." The jukeboxes are usually still
there, although the music has changed. And the prices are very different!
Drive-in movies are slowly vanishing, although rumor has it they are making a comeback!
The ones still operating just aren't the same.
You can listen to the movie through your radio now. No more getting cold with an open window
holding that old speaker. Drive-ins were an experience of their own!
The lines to get in, finding that workable speaker, watching the kids
at the playground, going to the concession stand when the
dancing cups and hamburgers on the screen urged us, "let's go out to
the lobby...", and missing most of the film because it was a great place to "neck" (as
we called it then).
You could see the drive-ins long before you got to them. There would be a very large screen
with either a large theater name written on it which faced the highway or you could see the screen
itself if the parking lot was closer to the road. I remember the Governor Ritchie Drive-In in Glen Burnie, MD
and the Edmondson in Catonsville. We had such wonderful times there but alas, again, they took paradise and
there are two parking lots. The Chesapeake Square Shopping Center sits exactly where the Governor Ritchie was.
A Pizza Hut is in the place of the screen. The Edmondson was replaced by a Home Depot. Convenient, but we'd
rather have the drive-ins.
Visit some of the memories.
The Collectibles
Those little items of our youth...if only we'd have collected it when we thought it was just junk!
Soda bottles, cans, and advertisements. Old pins and maps. Dolls and other toys.
Things with logos of a company are popular to collect. If the product is no
longer made, the collectibles are all the more valuable. Coke and Pepsi had their logo on
just about anything and everything. Their stuff is widely collected and many sites
link you to antique stores which sell all of it.
Each of us threw away something we wish we'd kept. For me, it was a box
of baseball cards that would be very valuable today. My parents couldn't tell a
girl exiting her tomboy years she'd want those some day!
There were things that we would not even have thought of collecting. Light bulbs, transistor radios,
irons, toasters, and on it goes! How many
tacky souvenirs did we get and then toss out? Oh, to have those today!
Some of the old things are still around in our homes. We have them in the attic or mom or dad handed them down.
How about the Melmac plates? We had a set of multicolored dishes I set at the table each evening being
sure everyone had their favorite color. I managed to get the red sugar bowl from dad. I have also
found some of the old Fiestaware. Then there are those old blenders and other kitchen utensils. Often
we do not realize things are practically obsolete. When is the last time you used an egg beater?
Some
of the sites here take you to those items as well as collectibles and pictures of what others
have collected over the years.
Graphics |
Nostalgia
gbond@
erols.com
