Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[3fingers]

The last time I received a cigar for a birth was in the mid 1980s when I was working at NBC in New York. Lots of babies born since then, but no cigars passed around.

I do remember a chocolate cigar or two since then, though.

I was in our local news stand / tobacco shop a while back and noticed he still had a few baby cigars in stock. When I commented that it had been quite a while since I had received one he replied that he only kept a few because the tradition had gotten so rare but on that rare occasion someone would ask for them he didn't want them to be disappointed.

 

[Zombie_61]

Things that have disappeared in my lifetime.

Dressing up mostly with what you could find at home,
perhaps a cheap paper mask from the 5 & 10.

Hanging out with the gang (no grownups).
Going from house to house (no malls)

And not worrying that someone would put something bad
in the candy.

View attachment 88737

"Ben Cooper" was the standard Halloween costume when I was growing up in the 60s. Thin vacuformed masks painted badly by some cretin with an airbrush, held on your head by a dubious length of elastic that may or may not snap before you reached the end of the street, and garish "flame retardant" coveralls that had some vague connection to the cheap hunk o' plastic covering your face.

Ohhh, yeah, that'll scare the neighbors!

 

[scottyrocks]

Maybe, old-fashion analogue society 1.0 is gone. Same, as black, rockin' coffee is gone by today's latte machiato-kids.

I drink it black, no sugar. Always have. Although I don't know how rockin' it is.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Regarding those Ben Cooper Halloween costumes, I had a friend who used to say that - like a lot of things foisted on young folks in the 50s/60s by our elders - their approach indicated vaudevillian thinking.

Rather than actually being decent costumes, they instead proclaimed "Look, I'm the Frankenstein Monster!" Like all you needed was a rimshot on the drums afterwards to punctuate the joke. They were created by people who didn't understand that you actually wanted to be your costumed character and take it seriously, not trivialize it by putting the artifice front and center. It would take later generations of costume creators that weren't tainted by old-school Halloween-is-just-a-dumb-kiddie-holiday thinking to evolve today's more sophisticated "realistic" costumes.

(Also, speaking as someone in my sixties: It's worth noting that Halloween in general is a vastly bigger holiday now than it was back then. It was only for kids: you didn't see adults spending a fortune on costumes or throwing elaborate Halloween parties. And at a time when religion and societal repression was still powerful, nobody but teenagers took zombies, serial killers, vampires, etc., seriously. There were no adults fascinated with horror and gore. It would take the Boomers and Gen-Xers becoming adults for this kids holiday to become mainstream, not to mention a huge biz that rivals other holidays for spending.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Trick-or-Treating itself only became mainstream in the 1920s. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Halloween was a rather unpleasant, destructive fesitval dominated by young men who'd get drunk and go around vandalizing things -- soaping windows, tipping over outhouses, releasing farm animals, and such as that. Temperence groups and church organizations like the Epworth League made a deliberate effort to defuse this by promoting Halloween parties for kids in church halls, to try and recast the holiday as a time for innocent wholesome fun, and by the early twenties the Boys got on board with this campaign as well. By the thirties, the old-fashioned Halloween lived on only in the memories of ill-tempered middle-aged men who complained about the sissification of the festival.

Licensed character costumes were being sold in the Sears catalog by the mid-1930s, with Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Charlie McCarthy the most popular, along with generic "soldier," "princess," "ghost," "devil," and "skeleton" outfits. These made an effort to look reasonably accurate -- the Ben Cooper "wearing my character on my stomach" concept didn't come along until the postwar era. Frankenstein, Dracula, and such characters were conspicuous by their absence -- if you wanted something like that, you'd have to make it yourself, but photos of Halloween parties in Life and other publications of the time show a much stronger emphasis on storybook and pop-culture characters than on horror or fantasy figures. I suspect the popularity of the latter type of costume had to wait until the horror films of the thirties became common fodder for late-night television in the late 1950s, inspiring the whole "Famous Monsters of Filmland" movement. It's likely that relatively few children would have seen these films in theatres during their original runs -- they were largely considered to be "adult" attractions, and parents were discouraged from bringing the kiddies along.

As recently as the '70s it was bizarre to see anyone older than twelve partaking of Halloween -- my mother had a policy of handing out Brillo pads wrapped in Halloween bags to anyone she thought was "too old" for Trick or Treat.

 

[scottyrocks]

my mother had a policy of handing out Brillo pads wrapped in Halloween bags to anyone she thought was "too old" for Trick or Treat.

Charlie Brown always got a rock.

 

[Fading Fast]

...As recently as the '70s it was bizarre to see anyone older than twelve partaking of Halloween -- my mother had a policy of handing out Brillo pads wrapped in Halloween bags to anyone she thought was "too old" for Trick or Treat.

I have the same memory - in the '70s, it was a "kiddie" thing and the older kids (mid-to-late teens) were too "cool" for Trick or Treating. Their thing (a throwback to what Lizzie says Halloween was in the 19th and early 20th centuries) was "mischief" night - the night before Halloween when the "older" kids would "lightly" (at least in my neighborhood) vandalize the neighborhood by throwing eggs at cars, turning over garbage cans, putting toilet paper in people's trees, etc.

My family wasn't into Halloween, so I don't have too many memories of it from being a kid. And, then, when I was in my late teens and twenties in the '80s, it all but fell off my radar. However, quietly at first, it seemed to become a bit of an older kid / young adult holiday in the '90s and, now, it seems to be full-blown all-ages party. My guess, the secularization of our culture opened up a gap for a non-religious holiday (plus, removed any stigma it had about being a "pagan" holiday).

 

[Doctor Strange]

One could also say that it's about the youthenizing of our culture, and the erasure of many of the differences between young folks and grownups. There used to a real wall between the fun of childhood and the seriousness of adulthood that wasn't breeched much. Adults were supposed to be beyond silly things like Halloween. But now, nobody puts childish things away anymore.

He said... as a 62-year-old animated cartoon buff and major superhero fan!

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Trick-or-Treating itself only became mainstream in the 1920s. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Halloween was a rather unpleasant, destructive fesitval dominated by young men who'd get drunk and go around vandalizing things -- soaping windows, tipping over outhouses, releasing farm animals, and such as that. Temperence groups and church organizations like the Epworth League made a deliberate effort to defuse this by promoting Halloween parties for kids in church halls, to try and recast the holiday as a time for innocent wholesome fun, and by the early twenties the Boys got on board with this campaign as well. By the thirties, the old-fashioned Halloween lived on only in the memories of ill-tempered middle-aged men who complained about the sissification of the festival.

Licensed character costumes were being sold in the Sears catalog by the mid-1930s, with Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Charlie McCarthy the most popular, along with generic "soldier," "princess," "ghost," "devil," and "skeleton" outfits. These made an effort to look reasonably accurate -- the Ben Cooper "wearing my character on my stomach" concept didn't come along until the postwar era. Frankenstein, Dracula, and such characters were conspicuous by their absence -- if you wanted something like that, you'd have to make it yourself, but photos of Halloween parties in Life and other publications of the time show a much stronger emphasis on storybook and pop-culture characters than on horror or fantasy figures. I suspect the popularity of the latter type of costume had to wait until the horror films of the thirties became common fodder for late-night television in the late 1950s, inspiring the whole "Famous Monsters of Filmland" movement. It's likely that relatively few children would have seen these films in theatres during their original runs -- they were largely considered to be "adult" attractions, and parents were discouraged from bringing the kiddies along.

As recently as the '70s it was bizarre to see anyone older than twelve partaking of Halloween -- my mother had a policy of handing out Brillo pads wrapped in Halloween bags to anyone she thought was "too old" for Trick or Treat.

Speaking of Forrest J. Ackerman's "Famous Monsters of Filmland," (I bought it from the first issue, much to my parents' dismay). It was in FMOF that I first saw advertised some of the more sophisticated costume accessories. I really wanted the Creature From the Black Lagoon mask and gloves, but never could afford them. Many years later I got to know Forry himself. God what a character!

 

[dnjan]

... - in the '70s, it was a "kiddie" thing and the older kids (mid-to-late teens) were too "cool" for Trick or Treating. ....

And yet, as a college professor, the past few years I would keep a case of wine near the door in case any of my students dropped by to "trick-or-treat".

 

[ChiTownScion]

One of the things that I like about Halloween is that it is (at least now) the only holiday that younger kids can enjoy that really is just for them. Sure, the kids can pig out on Easter candy and they get Christmas gifts, but there's always someone around to reality check them with a "true meaning" behind those holidays. There are a few religious types around here who don't allow their kids to celebrate Halloween because of supposed sinister origins: I find that a bit amusing, and I always get a kick out of the little kids and their costumes.

 

[Zombie_61]

Regarding those Ben Cooper Halloween costumes, I had a friend who used to say that - like a lot of things foisted on young folks in the 50s/60s by our elders - their approach indicated vaudevillian thinking...

Since "Vaudeville" always makes me think of the comedians more than the musicians, dancers, jugglers, or any of the other acts commonly associated with the genre, I thought I'd share this. On Halloween night in 1986 they filmed part of the movie Masters of the Universe in my home town a few miles from where my wife and I lived at the time, and since I found myself with nothing better to do I thought I'd go watch. Being Halloween, at least half of the behind-the-camera crew were wearing costumes of one sort or another, but one guy in particular stood out--he was wearing one of Ben Cooper's "He-Man" costumes. Now, "wearing" isn't quite the right term, because he couldn't have been taller than 5' and was rather "portly", so in order to "wear" the "coveralls" part of the child-sized costume he had to cut the back off and use gaffer's tape to attach the front to himself. At one point I saw him without the costume and asked why he removed it. He told me he was instructed to do so because Dolph Lundgren (the actor playing He-Man in the movie) started laughing every time he saw the guy, and was ruining take after take.

One could also say that it's about the youthenizing of our culture...

"Youthenizing" or "euthanizing"? Interesting play on words there.

Speaking of Forrest J. Ackerman's "Famous Monsters of Filmland," (I bought it from the first issue, much to my parents' dismay). It was in FMOF that I first saw advertised some of the more sophisticated costume accessories. I really wanted the Creature From the Black Lagoon mask and gloves, but never could afford them. Many years later I got to know Forry himself. God what a character!

Uncle Forry was indeed a character, and I truly appreciated his ever-present child-like enthusiasm for movies. A friend and I would see him at events in the Los Angeles area, introduce ourselves when the opportunity presented itself, and comment favorably about "Famous Monsters of Filmland". At some point during those early conversations he would always ask, "Have you seen my Dracula ring?", and hold up his hand to show off the very ring that Bela Lugosi wore. It wasn't long before he would see us in the crowd at an event and come over to say hello. A very nice man who was always a pleasure to talk to.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Speaking of Halloween...we have a Halloween Tree set up in our house. It's essentially a black Christmas tree, with orange lights and various Halloween themed ornaments. Yes, my wife is kind of a holiday decorating nut. Don't get me started on the yard art...

 

[scottyrocks]

I stuck a pair of reaching-up-from-the-grave mummy-wrapped arms in the ground at the request of my wife, but that's it. haha

 

[Zombie_61]

I stuck a pair of reaching-up-from-the-grave mummy-wrapped arms in the ground at the request of my wife, but that's it. haha

Nice! I prefer subtle decorations. One couple we know used to throw Halloween parties when their kids were younger, and they always over-decorated their house to the point where we couldn't relax and enjoy ourselves because we were always concerned about tripping over something and breaking it. And they did the same thing at Christmas--the last time we were there they had twelve different Christmas trees in their house in addition to all of the other decorations. I can appreciate their enthusiasm, but it's just too much for my tastes.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Nice! I prefer subtle decorations. One couple we know used to throw Halloween parties when their kids were younger, and they always over-decorated their house to the point where we couldn't relax and enjoy ourselves because we were always concerned about tripping over something and breaking it. And they did the same thing at Christmas--the last time we were there they had twelve different Christmas trees in their house in addition to all of the other decorations. I can appreciate their enthusiasm, but it's just too much for my tastes.

Could there be the possibility, that they are "a little" maniac?

But in Germany, I would bet, that it wouldn't take much time, if you would try to find people of that kind, too.

 

[scottyrocks]

A little maniac:

 

[Zombie_61]

Could there be the possibility, that they are "a little" maniac?

Oh, definitely. He's a professional artist and she's one of those "life of the party" people who loves to be the center of attention, and neither of them are shy about "expressing" themselves. They're wonderful people and good friends, but sometimes it would be nice if they would "take it down" a notch or three.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Nice! I prefer subtle decorations. One couple we know used to throw Halloween parties when their kids were younger, and they always over-decorated their house to the point where we couldn't relax and enjoy ourselves because we were always concerned about tripping over something and breaking it. And they did the same thing at Christmas--the last time we were there they had twelve different Christmas trees in their house in addition to all of the other decorations. I can appreciate their enthusiasm, but it's just too much for my tastes.

Last year I hung one glass ball off the rabbit ears on top of my TV. That was it.

 

[Zombie_61]

We don't even bother decorating the house for the holidays any more. Our front yard is open to the street, and anything we put on display there would go missing sooner or later simply because some people will steal anything that isn't nailed down (and even then sometimes). And our cat and dog love to play with or eat anything we might put up inside the house, so that's out as well. It's just my wife and I anyway (no children aside from the two little furry ones), so there really isn't any incentive.