Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[Stanley Doble]

A guy goes to an "Open 24-hours" store and finds the clerk closing up.

"What's the deal, it says open 24 hours!"

"Oh, that's just the name of the store..."

Richard Dawson told a story about taking his shirts to a laundry that advertized "24 Hour Service" on a Monday. The clerk told him his shirts would be ready on Thursday. He asked "what about the 24 hour service?" the reply "we're only open 8 hours a day".

 

[2jakes]

A new ice cream parlor open recently with the idea that they would
offer shakes & malts like they did back in the ‘50s.

I ordered a chocolate malt.
What I got was a pre-made concoction in a small paper cup that
was so sweet it hurt my throat.

I mention to the guy that a malt consisted of real ice cream,
malt powder, milk, & was mixed in a blender using a metal container.
Adding an egg or banana were some of the options.
The contents were poured into a tall glass & included
whipped cream on top with a cherry if you preferred.
The rest of the drink on the metal container was left to the side
for me to finish.
The taste was delicious.

The guy told me he remembers them like that and added,
“it takes too much time & trouble to do it that way today.”

Oh happy days !

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

The original and probably still the largest of these convenience store chains is called "7-11" because those were the hours they were open. They're now 24 hours, but retain the name for its recognition.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

McDonalds ran into the same problem when it built hundreds of big neon signs with "15 c" sticking out of the top, and then had to change them all when they raised the price of their standard hamburger to 18 cents. Moral of the story is never, ever put the price on your sign.

Sounds like the Post Office and their "Forever" stamps. It's almost as if they're anticipating endless, frequent rate hikes* in the future but are too cheap to issue new stamps to reflect the price change.

* At one point a few years ago they had raised the rates three times over an eighteen month period or basically every six months.

 

[MisterCairo]

Sounds like the Post Office and their "Forever" stamps. It's almost as if they're anticipating endless, frequent rate hikes* in the future but are too cheap to issue new stamps to reflect the price change.

* At one point a few years ago they had raised the rates three times over an eighteen month period or basically every six months.

Canada has "forever" stamps for our domestic rate stamps. There is a "P" inside a maple leaf.

P = permanent.

As in "permanently increasing in cost".

 

[LizzieMaine]

The cost of a US first-class stamp went down two cents this week. That's the first price reduction since 1919.

 

[Fading Fast]

The cost of a US first-class stamp went down two cents this week. That's the first price reduction since 1919.

Shows the power of competition - no email / texting / scanning / etc., no two-cent reduction. That said, I was still amazed. I effectively just lost money on my small sleeve of forever stamps. The Post Office beat me on that purchase and kudos to it, I took the risk and lost - all's fair...

 

[Stanley Doble]

A new ice cream parlor open recently with the idea that they would
offer shakes & malts like they did back in the ‘50s.

I ordered a chocolate malt.
What I got was a pre-made concoction in a small paper cup that
was so sweet it hurt my throat.

I mention to the guy that a malt consisted of real ice cream,
malt powder, milk, & was mixed in a blender using a metal container.
Adding an egg or banana were some of the options.
The contents were poured into a tall glass & included
whipped cream on top with a cherry if you preferred.
The rest of the drink on the metal container was left to the side
for me to finish.
The taste was delicious.

The guy told me he remembers them like that and added,
“it takes too much time & trouble to do it that way today.”

Oh happy days !

You forgot the little cookie, on a paper doily, on a plate that some places gave you. The last place that served milk shakes like you describe, was Moncrief's Dairy Bar on Charlotte Street in Peterborough Ontario. It burned down in the late 80s. Even then, I don't think it made any money. It was an offshoot of Moncrief's Dairy which sold milk and milk products all around the area. The Dairy Bar dated back to the 1930s and I think they kept it open for old time's sake.

 

[MisterCairo]

Scooper's ice cream in Stratford, Ontario, makes proper malted shakes.

Justin Beiber lists it as one of his favourite haunts back home.

I've had proper malts as well at a place called Freeze King in Seaforth, Ontario.

They're out there...

 

[LizzieMaine]

We had an ice cream/pizza/sandwich joint downtown here up until two months ago that was renowned for the quality of its malts, shakes, sodas and other such products -- you could even get a genuine Brooklyn egg cream. They'd been there for years, and were especially beloved by the theatre crew as a place to grab a quick snack during the workday. But they lost their lease because the landlord could get more money renting out the place as an "upscale men's clothing consignment shop," which if you've seen the men in this town and the kind of clothes they wear, is the most ridiculous flop-oriented/must be a money-laundering scheme business plan possible. Nuts to gentrification.

We are all very very angry and upset about this. The ice-cream people held a wake for their business a couple weeks back, where they dished up the last of their stock, and there must've been close to a thousand people showed up -- in a town of only about 7000 people. We won't forget.

 

[Fading Fast]

We had an ice cream/pizza/sandwich joint downtown here up until two months ago that was renowned for the quality of its malts, shakes, sodas and other such products -- you could even get a genuine Brooklyn egg cream. They'd been there for years, and were especially beloved by the theatre crew as a place to grab a quick snack during the workday. But they lost their lease because the landlord could get more money renting out the place as an "upscale men's clothing consignment shop," which if you've seen the men in this town and the kind of clothes they wear, is the most ridiculous flop-oriented/must be a money-laundering scheme business plan possible. Nuts to gentrification.

We are all very very angry and upset about this. The ice-cream people held a wake for their business a couple weeks back, where they dished up the last of their stock, and there must've been close to a thousand people showed up -- in a town of only about 7000 people. We won't forget.

That is a shame - very disappointing. The ice cream, etc. place sounds like the type of place gentrification would embrace (genuine Brooklyn egg cream would make most "authentic hipsters" shake with excitement). If the new place is something corrupt - then it is even more disappointing and, sounds to me, less about gentrification and more about corruptions - in NYC, the shady businesses like that get pushed out by the gentrification businesses.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I honestly can't understand what hole they think they're going to fill with "upscale men's consignment clothing" here. The Men From Away came here to get away from wearing "upscale men's clothing" and loll around town in t-shirts and cargo shorts, and the local men dress up by washing the bait stains off their Grundens. The whole thing seems like a desperate plan to lose a crapload of money really fast.

Our only outlet for a good milkshake -- Dairy Queen doesn't count -- is now a little roadside stand two miles outside of town, which is very impractical for a quick grab when you work downtown. There's a food shack directly across the street from us that used to be a good bet for a fast lunch, but it moved to a ridiculous $16 "upscale" lobster roll menu and now offers nothing of interest to anyone who actually lives here. Bah.

At least my favorite non-ironic greasy spoon is still in business, but the owners are getting old and it's only a matter of time before it gets pushed out by some artisinal toasted-cheese sandwich place with a whimsical one-word name.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Our only outlet for a good milkshake -- Dairy Queen doesn't count --

The DQ may not have the best foo-foo milkshakes with egg cream and whatnot, but nothing beats the Oreo Blizzard. They're kind of an institution around here.

... some artisinal toasted-cheese sandwich place with a whimsical one-word name.

"Annatto"?

 

[Fading Fast]

^^^ One of my favorite corners in my neighborhood has an old-school diner on one side and an old-school Irish pub on the other. Neither is fancy, upscaled, etc,. but instead, both do what these places have done for decades: serve honest food and drink (the diner's alcohol drinks are only okay, but that is part of it) at fair (for NYC) prices, staffed by the same people or young versions of the same people that have been staffing them for years. Most of the customers are regulars from the neighborhood (thankfully, the au courant crowd hasn't "discovered" these "authentic" places and swamped them - as has happened to one of my other old favorite haunts).

The scary news is the bartender at the pub told me the building (a turn of the last century brownstone) was sold and they are worried their lease won't be renewed in two years. The neighborhood used to be full of these old pubs, but now, it is slim pickens - but there are plenty of new pubs designed to look "perfectly" old with over-engineered "authentic" drinks and food at crazy NYC prices. That's my long way, Lizzie, of saying I feel your pain.

 

[BobHufford]

You can still get great malts at Central Dairy in Jefferson City, MO.

 

[Fading Fast]

^^^ Fantastic, but they need to reinstall those wall embedded freezers with those awesome hinges and handles.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Calling a phone number to get the time and temp.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^
I had forgotten about the phone number for time & temp.

I called & it’s still available in my area.
The cheerful voice recording also gave me the current day & month
& wished me a nice day.

I'm sure “Siri” won’t mind.

 

[LizzieMaine]

In the Era it wasn't a recording. When you dialed MEridian 6-1212 you were connected to a live operator sitting in a small booth in front of a Western Union clock. She would announce the time in five-second increments for a shift of several hours before giving way to the next operator. This was not a highly-favored assignment.

 

[sufidancer]

Let me see....That little public service announcement that use to come on at 10:00 pm
"Do you know where your children are?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_you_know_where_your_children_are?
Fall out shelter signs. Boy do I miss those!