Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[HudsonHawk]

Wasn't there an attempt during the Depression to boost consumer spending by mucking around with the date of Thanksgiving to give an earlier and longer Christmas shopping season?

Prior to 1939, Thanksgiving was always the last Thursday in November. Most of the time that was the fourth Thursday, but not always. 1939 was a year that had five Thursdays in November, and Roosevelt declared that the penultimate Thursday would be Thanksgiving Day, one of the reasons being it would allow an extra week for merchants to advertise and sell Christmas goods. He did it again in 1940, moving the holiday to the third Thursday. The change, of course, confused and angered people and some states refused to change. Some celebrated Thanksgiving two weeks in a row. Congress finally passed a resolution in 1941 stating that it would be the fourth Thursday in November, most of the time that being the last.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Originally, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of November -- the problem was that in 1939, the last Thursday fell on November 30th, and commercial interests complained that this cut a week off the Christmas shopping season. Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins took up the matter with President Roosevelt and convinced him to move Thanksgiving ahead a week.

This was very controversial, because the announcement of the change was made in August. Thanksgiving was a very big day for college and high school football, and schedules had already been drawn up -- forcing schools to scramble to reschedule already-planned events. There was also a flurry of partisan criticism -- although the change had been promoted by the sort of business associations commonly aligned with the Republicans, GOP leaders attacked FDR for his "tampering with time-honored tradition" -- which tradition was only 76 years old at the time -- and mocked the new date as "Franksgiving." A little less than half of the 48 states refused to recognize the new date, and declared Thanksgiving on the 30th instead of the 23rd, and a few states compromised and celebrated Thanksgiving twice.

The argument continued for the next two years, with the petty partisan rancor getting worse -- people were asked in the street whether they observed "Franksgiving" or "Republican Thanksgiving," and families were being split over the issue -- and finally in 1941, Congress passed a law establishing the fourth Thursday as the one and only date. Until then Thanksgiving had never been a matter of Federal law -- it existed each year only by tradition and by Presidential proclamation -- but now it was a matter of statute.

This whole imbroglio is also responsible for one of the best lines in the 1940 pop tune "Way Back In 1939 A. D.," which is filled with topical trivia relating to the events of that year: "One Orson Welles, two Thanksgivings, and Three Little Fishes..."

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ Good to know as a country we could always act stupid.

As always Lizzie, thank you for an impressive amount of knowledge on a relatively obscure topic.

 

[sheeplady]

The school I teach at used to put up several trees and a menorah in the hallways. The items are owned by the school, but when the staff member who did it moved from an administrative assistant to a higher position that opened (and her old position was cut) these items no longer go up.

Quite honestly, given the focus we have on productivity I'm not surprised. It has nothing to do with being anti-holidays; simply no one has the time, and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to stay late, unpaid.

 

[dnjan]

I graduated high school in 1965 and I had no idea how to write a check or balance a checkbook. ...

I periodically take it upon myself to "educate" the checkers at grocery stores as to how a check should be processed by actually writing a check to make my payment. Amazing how often the checker needs to call a manager for help.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Lots of places here won't take checks. Not because the staff doesn't understand them, but because they've been stiffed once too often.

Remember when storekeepers would post bad checks on the side of the cash register or in the front window of the store to warn everyone who the deadbeats were?

 

[dnjan]

Yes, my favourite hardware store quit taking checks a number of years ago.
However, grocery stores here still take them.

 

[tonyb]

Lots of places here won't take checks. Not because the staff doesn't understand them, but because they've been stiffed once too often.

Remember when storekeepers would post bad checks on the side of the cash register or in the front window of the store to warn everyone who the deadbeats were?

Yup, on both accounts.

If there are sufficient funds in the buyer's account (or if he or she has overdraft protection) the debit card system will approve the purchase and the funds will find their way to the payee's account. Bing, bang, boom.

Add this to my reasons for being suspicious of personal checks. I still see older people (people older than me are becoming a less frequent sight, so I'm referring to relatively few folks) who write checks at the supermarket, etc., which slows down the checkout process and keeps everyone behind the old timer waiting unnecessarily. I tolerate this because 1.) I have little choice but to, and, 2.) I accept that old habits die hard and I beg others' indulgence with some of my Neanderthal ways. Never mind that it's easier to swipe the card and enter a PIN, once you've done it a couple of times. That's especially true for us knuckle-draggers, although some still refuse to believe it.

Checks still have their places, but those places are becoming fewer and fewer. Me, I shed no tears for their demise.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
I will, however, go to my grave not understanding why aforementioned old timer doesn't even begin to write the check until his or her (usually her, in my experience) entire purchase is rung up and bagged up.

I've had the misfortune of being behind some blue hairs who take their sweet effing time to dig through their purses for their checkbooks and ink pens. ("Oh dear, my pen isn't working! Would you happen to have one, young lady?")

At times like that I just remind myself that she's somebody's mother.

 

[dnjan]

I should add that I do this (writing a check at the grocery store) when there is no line. Nice thing about being retired is that I don't need to shop in the busy weekend or after work periods.

Separately (but somewhat related) - the gradual disappearance of places that accept cash.
Yes, there are still a lot of places that do, but the last time I checked a fiver still said "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private".

 

[tonyb]

^^^^
Now that's a new one on me. My eyebrows rise at that as well.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

In God we trust. All others pay cash.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I suspect the no-cash policy comes from being robbed one time too many. After all, if the felons know there isn't any cash in the till, there's no sense trying to stick the place up.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Hence the security measures at the pot shops here in Colorado. The merchants don't have access to the regular banking system, so the transactions are all in folding money.

A young father of two was shot dead while moonlighting as a guard at such a shop near here a couple three months ago. Suspects still unidentified (or, if the cops know who they are, they ain't saying). It does nothing to diminish this tragedy to note that the killers escaped the scene without gaining so much as a dime.

 

[dnjan]

I suspect the no-cash policy comes from being robbed one time too many. After all, if the felons know there isn't any cash in the till, there's no sense trying to stick the place up.

I think it is not wanting to deal with cash and making change.
Have you tried to pay cash for a drink in the economy section of a major airline lately?

 

[Zombie_61]

...Remember when storekeepers would post bad checks on the side of the cash register or in the front window of the store to warn everyone who the deadbeats were?

There are quite a few places here in southern California--usually liquor stores and privately owned restaurants--who still do this. I don't know how effective it is beyond alerting customers that those establishments deal with a lot of deadbeats.

...Separately (but somewhat related) - the gradual disappearance of places that accept cash.
Yes, there are still a lot of places that do, but the last time I checked a fiver still said "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private".

Every once in a while I'll joke with a cashier, "You still take cash, right?", but the first time I encounter an establishment that refuses to accept cash will be the last time I visit that establishment unless I have no other choice.

I think it is not wanting to deal with cash and making change...

I'm inclined to agree, but because I'm convinced most of the people responsible for such transactions can't do the math in their heads and won't be able to return the proper amount of change on the spot.

 

[ChiTownScion]

The only place that I regularly pay by check now is the dry cleaners: if you opt for a credit /debit card, they charge an additional amount. A few cents. I wouldn't mind, but Frau Pennypinch has a fit about such things.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Separately (but somewhat related) - the gradual disappearance of places that accept cash.
Yes, there are still a lot of places that do, but the last time I checked a fiver still said "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private".

Good point. Does any one know the legal points around this as - once dnjan said it, it kind of rang a bell with me - I thought businesses had to accept cash as it is legal tender?

 

[LizzieMaine]

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx

The current law, adopted in 1965, defines "legal tender" as a legal "offer" of payment, as opposed to, say, Monopoly money. It doesn't assume any federal power to compel anyone to accept currency when offered -- the individual states, however, may adopt such laws if they choose. The idea is this law allows merchants to refuse at their discretion to accept, for example, high-denomination bills or a sock full of pennies in payment for a transaction, but it also leaves the way open for merchants to refuse all cash transaction if they so choose.

Of course, when this law was adopted, there was no such thing as ATM cards, let alone "Apple Cash" or whatever it's called, so the current situation was never envisioned by those who drafted or adopted this law.

 

[Fading Fast]

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx

The current law, adopted in 1965, defines "legal tender" as a legal "offer" of payment, as opposed to, say, Monopoly money. It doesn't assume any federal power to compel anyone to accept currency when offered -- the individual states, however, may adopt such laws if they choose. The idea is this law allows merchants to refuse at their discretion to accept, for example, high-denomination bills or a sock full of pennies in payment for a transaction, but it also leaves the way open for merchants to refuse all cash transaction if they so choose.

Of course, when this law was adopted, there was no such thing as ATM cards, let alone "Apple Cash" or whatever it's called, so the current situation was never envisioned by those who drafted or adopted this law.

Thank you Lizziepedia.