Things you could order over 50 years ago that you can't order now !

[JethroB]

Riding in pickups. Into the 70’s local farmers came to town early each summer mornings to pick up us town kids to work in the fields, mostly tobacco, sometimes watermelons or cantaloupes. We would all pile in the truck bed, sit on the rails, or sit on the tailgate with feet dangling. Stop by the gas station to get ice for the water cooler and a Coke & junk food for breakfast. A quick round trip home for lunch. I had five summers of that. Some of my best memories are in those hot fields working with 8-10 of my friends.

 

[stuckmotor]

In the seventies in Louisiana you could bring your guns, knives and bows to school where they had classes in weapon safety and proper handling.

Our shop teacher used to borrow my pocket knife. Nobody ever told me not to carry it.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Haven't seen any of this for a while; nor have I seen the old stand by, Lava soap.

Boraxo TV commercial from 50's - Search Videos

www.bing.com

I still can buy Lava and Borax powder here.
Great stuff.

 

[Oaktree]

Had to be a few decades ago now, but NC passed a law preventing children from riding in the bed of a truck, though if they have a seat belt, there is an adult with them, part of a parade, farm work, or an emergency, it is legal. However, to get that law passed, a couple of counties in Eastern NC were excluded. The representatives would only vote for the law if their counties did not have to comply.

Curiously, why were they so opposed to it?

Riding in pickups. Into the 70’s local farmers came to town early each summer mornings to pick up us town kids to work in the fields, mostly tobacco, sometimes watermelons or cantaloupes. We would all pile in the truck bed, sit on the rails, or sit on the tailgate with feet dangling. Stop by the gas station to get ice for the water cooler and a Coke & junk food for breakfast. A quick round trip home for lunch. I had five summers of that. Some of my best memories are in those hot fields working with 8-10 of my friends.

I worked for a general contractor summers when I was in school. When we'd go to jobsites, only the more senior employees rode in the cab, the rest of us rode in the back. This was in the late 60s/early 70s before crew cab trucks were common. Dunno what they did in the winter, but it was the slow season anyway. We'd either stand and hold onto the backboard or sit on the bed.

Those were good times, by the end of the summer I was in very good shape! Probably 75% of my time was working with the roofing crew because I was the only helper who wasn't afraid of heights.

I still can buy Lava and Borax powder here.
Great stuff.

We have lava here, dunno about Borax/Boraxo, though I haven't looked for it. Both were great hand cleaners, but so is the orange or purple goop they have now.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

2022, so fifty years ago was 1972. Chrysler Kit Car. A body/rolling chassis with a coat of white paint on it. You bought a kit car, and a donor car with the drive train you wanted. then stripped the engine and transmission out of the donor, and install them with just enough wiring, to make them meet the minimum required under the rules you raced under.

The Kit Car setups, could be shipped to your Dodge or Plymouth dealer, and the Chrysler performance, “Direct Connection” catalog had complete roll cages, engines, transmissions, and steering boxes with twice as fast ratio of the stock box.

I was still a kid in high school, so it was impossibly expensive. But I really really wanted a Kit Car Dart Sport

 

[SouthernSky]

I don’t recall the Chrysler kits but I do remember considering buying one of the hundred of kits that fit on a VW chassis. I also recall finding it impossible to find a chassis without rust back then. Undercoating, like A/C, was strictly optional and usually aftermarket.

 

[/pine]

Haven't seen any of this for a while; nor have I seen the old stand by, Lava soap.

Anyone remember a laundry detergent called "Action"...The end of the TV commercials always ended with a powerful arm and fist busting up through the top of a washing machine...
The running (elementary school) joke was:..."How do you get rid of hemorrhoids?....Put Action in your toilet"...!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I still can buy Lava and Borax powder here.
Great stuff.

Boraxo is blacksmith flux.

 

[elsievo]

Anyone remember 3% interest on your passbook savings account.

 

[Oaktree]

I do remember considering buying one of the hundred of kits that fit on a VW chassis. I also recall finding it impossible to find a chassis without rust back then. Undercoating, like A/C, was strictly optional and usually aftermarket.

And what undercoating there was back then was generally some sort of spray-on tar that did little more than trap moisture under it and accelerated rusting.