Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Reminisce Extra

“It was always a joke!” DIANA BARNETT PURDY “It was a damn good looking car for its time. I don’t understand why it failed.” CHRIS ASTLE JR. “We had one. I thought it was cool.” GARY A. PRESTAGE “My dad had an Edsel wagon. It was a great car, ahead of its time. Loved it!” CAROL BAKER BORGUS Join the conversation at FACEBOOK.COM/  REMINISCEMAGAZINE…

When Louise Joy Brown—the world’s first test-tube baby—was born in England in July 1978, people had already been offered a preview of this milestone event nearly a decade earlier in a bizarre science fiction song. Halfway through “In the Year 2525,” we hear lyrics predicting life in 6565: You’ll pick your son, pick your daughter too, From the bottom of a long glass tube. Told mostly in increments of 1,010 years—from 2525 to 9595—the tune’s lyrics were laden with postapocalyptic and nightmarish visions of life dominated by dehumanizing, soulless technology. Denny Zager and Rick Evans had begun as a Nebraska folk duo. In 1964 Evans wrote (in 30 minutes) the pair’s lone claim to fame. With money they borrowed, the two recorded “In the Year 2525” on the tiny Truth…

My mother, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, was serving along with three other women as an election judge in one of Chicago’s municipal elections on April 3, 1979. During a lull in voter traffic, common during the hours when most people were at work or school, one of the polling officials came in with a huge smile on his face. “I have a surprise for you,” he said. “Be back in a minute.” He went to the doorway, beckoned with his hand and stepped aside. In walked a tall, handsome man. The women were speechless. My mother was the only one who instantly knew who the man was. “You’re the Rifleman!” she blurted out with immediate recognition. The man grinned and in his deep Brooklyn accent replied, “That’s me. Chuck Connors, in…

My mother, Doris Lightman, divorced my father, Benjamin Lazow, in 1936, the year I was born. They had been married only one year. Apparently Dad was a charming cad, and my mother’s four brothers made him promise he would disappear from our lives when I was born, so my father never laid eyes on me. After that, my mother became a single working mom before it was common. In those days, there was no child support and the government did not garnish wages. So only when they could find my father did my mother get a check for $10 from the family court. Despite my fatherless childhood, I was raised in a warm and cozy cocoon. I lived with my mother, my maternal grandparents and two uncles until the latter…

My partnership with Tupperware started in the late 1950s, when I was a high school student and 4-H member in Irvington, Nebraska. I went with my mother to a Tupperware party at a neighbor’s house. My mother and three of her friends pooled their money to buy a set of square containers that would fit their husbands’ sandwiches. I decided that day that I wanted to host my own party. Even though I was still in school, I had experience doing public demonstrations from my 4-H shows and a love for the kitchen. I threw a lot of Tupperware parties for my dealer. When I got married and had a baby, I became a dealer. After the birth of my third daughter I found myself the sole supporter of my…

ROBYN SENDS A LETTER This is the letter my son Henry Wharton received from his 7-year-old sister Robyn while he was stationed in Vietnam. He kept it in his pocket until he returned home. PAULINE WHARTON • NEW MARKET, AL WHAT ARE THE ODDS? My brother-in-law Richard Morrison, 19, right, met his brother Thomas, 20, during a 1967 night patrol in Vietnam. Both survived and returned to their hometown of Canton, Ohio. FRANCINE MORI • FLORAL PARK, NY MY HUSBAND, Donald Ray Tanner, spent a year in Vietnam with the Army. His unit inherited a black-and-white dog from the previous men stationed there. Don liked to talk to the local people, and when not on duty, he borrowed bicycles, motorbikes and even a water buffalo to ride around the area.…

We didn’t know if the lights could be used, but the men could imagine the tree all lit up. Our brother, Sgt. David Erhardt, was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base in South Vietnam in 1966. Periodically we sent him care packages that included envelopes of Kool-Aid to add to the potable water to disguise the chemical compounds added for purification. We also sent cookies, but they were often reduced to crumbs by the time they reached their destination. Yet even the crumbs were scooped up and enjoyed. By late November, we wanted to send something that would spell “home” in capital letters. One of our most important family Christmas rituals started with gathering around the tree and singing “O Tannenbaum.” So we decided to send David a Christmas…

“Don’t Bring Me Down” was the last song on ELO’s 1979 album Discovery, the band’s eighth. Keyboardist Richard Tandy nicknamed the LP “Disco Very” for the obvious disco influences. But some fans hear hints of the New Wave sound that came after disco in the last song, with its heavy drums, driving guitar and aggressive pacing. “Don’t Bring Me Down” was ELO’s highest-charting hit in the U.S. (No. 4) and the U.K. (No. 3). Though the band was the Electric Light Orchestra, “Down” used no strings. ELO leader Jeff Lynne fired his string players soon after the recording of Discovery finished.…

TELL US HOW TO FIND YOU Whether you send your submission via mail or email or post it online, include your full name, daytime phone number, email address and mailing address. If you have a post office box, tell us your street address too. HELP US SORT THINGS OUT Include the name of the department your submission is for (Motoring Memories, Growing Up, etc.) on the first page of your submission or in the email subject line. For any photos you submit, please identify the people, city, state and year the photo was taken. We reserve the right to use submissions in any section of our magazine, or elsewhere. We do not return unsolicited materials. Send quality photo reprints or email high-resolution JPEG files (300 dpi at 8x10) so you…

BEST OF ROUTE 66 Route 66, the Mother Road, runs through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Along the way, find lodges, cafés, motels and historic districts. Where did you get your kicks on Route 66? Label your story “Best of Route 66.” SOAPBOX DERBY Remember junkyard visits in search of the right axle and wheels for your go-kart? Soap Box Derby competitions took the sport even further. Did you make a go-kart or join a Soap Box Derby race? Show us your wheels. Label your story “Soapbox Derby.” U.S. BICENTENNIAL The year was 1976, the U.S. had been a country for 200 years and everyone joined the celebration. What made the year special for you? How did you mark the occasion? We want…

YOU’VE GOT GREENS Get fresh greenery from North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains in vintage arrangements shipped right to your door, like this Fraser fir and white pine mailbox hugger, topped in pine cones and your choice of bow. $40 and up (plus shipping), GARDENSOFTHEBLUERIDGE.COM HOLIDAY CHEERS A 2-by-2-foot letter crafted from true-looking evergreen boughs is sure to find a special spot on a door, window or shelf, year after year. Spruce Alphabet Wreath, $59, BALLARDDESIGNS.COM ON TOP OF IT Sometimes the big one just isn’t enough. This little battery-operated, LED Light-Up Tabletop Tree comes ready to add classic holiday cheer to the dinner table, nightstand or any available slim horizontal space. $39, WESTELM.COM MERRY & BRIGHT Balsam Hill specializes in realistic-looking faux greenery, including this 6-foot LED-light Vermont white spruce…

Born Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors on April 10, 1921, in Brooklyn, NY. Played two professional sports: basketball with the Boston Celtics during the 1946-’47 season and baseball with both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. Received $500 for his first acting role, a police captain in the movie Pat and Mike (1952), starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Left professional sports in 1953 to act full time. Inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, 1991. Appeared on the cover of TV Guide six times. Died Nov. 10, 1992.…

I FELT THAT I WAS CINDERELLA AND JIM WAS A PRINCE IN HIS MARINE DRESS BLUES. Spending money on a gown for me was an extravagance. My mother was a widow, but she found the means to buy me a dreamy dress of baby blue taffeta silk with tiny ribbons on the bodice and a bow in back. I was to wear it to the 183rd Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Nov. 10, 1958, with Sgt. James C. Bowler, the love of my life at the time. Jim was stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, while taking military intelligence classes. I’d met Jim that fall at Whalom Park Roller Rink, in a nearby town, when he asked me to skate to the couples song. Although friends called…

Duke, my four-legged pal and member of the K-9 unit in Okinawa, Japan, was introduced to me in April 1970. He had been an Army sentry dog for five years and had five tours of Vietnam behind him. With that much service time, Duke was well-seasoned. During our first field training session, explosions were ignited all around us. My job was to hit the ground, and cover and protect Duke’s eyes and ears with my left arm. My thinking was a bit slow that day. Maybe it was the Japanese beer from the night before, but when the explosions went off, I froze. Duke, on the other hand, lay down and waited for me to cover his head with my arm. My training slowly kicked in and when I looked…

TIMMY TOOK A LONG SIP OF HIS COKE AND SIGHED. “THIS IS IT,” HE SAID. “THE LAST DISCO SONG.” Disco was a blast for us ’70s kids, but I wonder how our moms ever got through it. My own gentle mother surely cringed at what passed for music wafting from my stereo. Yet she never complained, not even when my brother Danny and I turned my canopy bed into a stage. Or when I insisted on having a life-size poster of Shaun Cassidysatin jacket and all—grace the outside of my bedroom door. My friend Julie lived in a strict Mormon household, but her mom didn’t bat an eye when we set up our own discotheque in her backyard—and decided to call it The Garden of Eden. We thought disco would…

OUR FASCINATION WITH HEAPS BEGAN WHEN HARV SPOTTED A RUST-CRUSTED 1931 CHEVY. HE NAMED HER ELOUISE. My big brother Harvey, our cousin Jack, friend Paul and I hunted heaps in the Rhode Island wilds in the 1950s. It was an open season that never ended. A heap is any rolling wreck that a farmer would gladly take $10 for to get the rust bucket out of his barn. We knew there were genuine antiques out there, waiting to be fixed up. So we hunted for them in Paul’s blue ’39 Willys—a heap in its own right (though we wouldn’t say that to Paul). One heap hunter we met had found a 1920s Cadillac behind a fish market, spent a year restoring it—and two more trying to get out the fish…

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Every year at this time, I look forward to eating turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and pie at one sitting. Pie is the finishing touch, whether it’s pumpkin, apple, pecan or sweet potato. And my family comes to expect those traditions. In truth, family is the reason to celebrate. That’s why I’m so excited to share this issue’s lineup of stories with you. Stories throughout the issue focus on cherished traditions. Take “Thanksgiving Rush” on page 26. Reader Mae Elizabeth Lockwood kicks off the section with a trolley ride to the Oakland farmers market to shop for the Thanksgiving feast. The section ends with a series of Thanksgiving calamities soothed by a slice of pie. And when it comes to leftovers, regardless of the season, Tupperware has always had a…

~ ACADEMY AWARDS ~ BEST ACTOR Cliff Robertson, Charly BEST ACTRESS (TIE) Katharine Hepburn, A Lion in Winter Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl BEST PICTURE Oliver! ~ GRAMMY AWARDS ~ ALBUM OF THE YEAR Glen Campbell, By the Time I Get to Phoenix SONG OF THE YEAR Bobby Russell, “Little Green Apples” RECORD OF THE YEAR Simon and Garfunkel, “Mrs. Robinson” BEST NEW ARTIST José Feliciano ~ EMMY AWARDS ~ OUTSTANDING VARIETY OR MUSICAL SERIES Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC SERIES NET Playhouse OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES Get Smart, below…

Send some holiday cheer to the troops overseas. TREES FROM HOME, a nonprofit started by Wisconsin native Julie Stuhlmacher while her son John was serving in Iraq, ships mini trees, holiday greetings and goodies to the service member of your choice. Visit to donate or request a delivery: treesfromhome.org Send us your memories: REMINISCE.COM/  SUBMIT-A-STORY…

TUPPER TO A T EARL SILAS TUPPER had several failed inventions to his name before he found a way to turn an oil byproduct into clean, moldable plastic. He wanted to earn $1 million by age 30. He didn’t. But at 51, he did sell his company, Tupperware, for $16 million. THE NICEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THE KITCHEN  Early versions of Tupper’s line were all white and sold at department stores (left). But sales were slow until a woman named Brownie Wise threw a party to show how Poly-T’s bowls could bounce.…

WITHIN A YEAR of graduating in 1965 from Father Judge High, an all-boys Catholic school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, most of us were drafted for the Vietnam War. When we returned, we didn’t talk much about our service. But after 51 years away, I went back for the first time to see the old school. There in front was a monument for the 27 schoolmates killed in Vietnam. After seeing the names, I saluted them, sat down with my wife and cried. Suddenly the door opened and schoolkids rushed to the monument to say a prayer. They do this every school day. It was such an honor to see these heroes, who paid the ultimate price for their school and this great country, remembered this way. AT THE WALL  The Vietnam…

We had just started dating in 1975 in Kettering, Ohio, when I asked my gal, Karen, if she wanted to take ballroom dancing lessons. She agreed, and it didn’t take long before everyone, the instructors in particular, realized Karen was a Dancer with a capital D. As a teenager she’d danced with a troupe and did solos at fairs around the state. She’d won the talent portions of beauty pageants with her dancing, and choreographed shows across Ohio. Our studio was participating in a local dance exhibition, which was to feature national ballroom dancing champions and other top-ranked hoofers. One of the instructors approached us about demonstrating the latest disco craze: the bump. Karen worked me hard for that two-minute routine. Many long hours and aching muscles later, she finally…

1956 PRETTY IN PASTEL  Soft-Weve was among the first to make toilet paper in the pinks, blues, greens and yellows of midcentury bathrooms—because who wouldn’t want to match the paper to the fixtures? Colored toilet paper was popular into the 1970s, when sales waned amid warnings that it could cause skin irritation and the dyes were damaging the environment. 1965 A PEEK AT THE FUTURE  Eljer plumbing was showing baths with double sinks as early as the 1940s, though they were rare in postwar houses. This bath’s dual oval sinks, low-profile toilet and sunken tub depict a level of luxury that would have been out of reach for many homeowners in 1965. The entire look seems out of whack with the trim, minimalist ’60s. Marbled greens and yellows, gold accents,…