Mesa Starlite Motel

This sign is no more.  My father-in-law sent me an article that they were taking down this iconic sign in Mesa, AZ.  We were there but can't recall if we saw this in person or not.

King's Food Host

Many good memories of King's Food Host.  I think we went to the one on Grand in West Des Moines most often.  The cheese frenchee comes to mind.  For me it was the Cherry 7-Up Float.

Of course it was the novelty of picking up the phone and ordering.  I still have a very clear picture of my first time calling in the order and looking up to see a guy answer the phone.

Here is a copy of ad that ran in the Roosevelt Roundup...

Corvettes and car hauler

Here is animage of something I had.  Two cool Corvette fastbacks with hide-a-way lights.

My first bike

I didn't think I had a picture of my first bike.  And for some reason I thought I got it when I was 9 but I was actually 10.  I have now found pictures of me getting it on my birthday.  Sears banana seat bike.  Purple...kind of sparkly seat.  Not a Schwinn Stingray but I liked it.

Here is me with the bike...



Here is an image that I think matches what I had.  Lower right portion of ad.

Radio Flyer - Our wagon growing up

Recently gave this away to a man with a young daughter.  He appreciated what it was and wanted to fix it up and have her help.  Don't know the full history but I'm sure it came with the house so certainly pre-dates 1960.  I will at some point research the logo used on the side to get a better idea of a date.  Definitely got used.  I remember having an old pillow/cushion in it.  Certainly got used around the yard.  I'm sure we put Boots in it or tried.  I also remember riding it downhill between 64th and 65th like a go-kart.

A pretty cool cereal premium

These came in Rice Chex from what I can find out.  Had these as a kid.  Worked with a rubber band..  You would put a plane on the aircraft carrier and pull back and then launch.

Spoon Sitters

These were really cool.  Had a slot on the bottom to slide onto a spoon while you ate your cereal and also had hands/paws that curved to hang onto the bowl.

I had a green Pooh and a gold/yellow Pooh.  Also had a blue Christopher Robin.  No longer have.  Here are some images I found.

Great Shakes

This was a drink mix.  Had a plastic container with a lid.  Add mix and pour milk to a line in the cup and shake.  Not bad.  Probably liked the container more.  Not as good as Nestle's Quik.

Here are a few images.

Tiddly winks

These came in Trix cereal.  This is an image I found.  Something I used to have.

Frito Mini Monsters

In addtion to the Frito Bandito erasers, they had a series of mini monsters.  I still have a couple of these but didn't remember where they came from.  I'll post pictures of mine later.  They had names.  I called my orange guy with the knife "Nick Knifeman".

Gas stations when I was a kid

These were stations in Des Moines and a little out of town (in no particular order)

The Standard station in Windsor Heights is where the family went.  As kids, we hung out at Derby...mostly to get air in our bike tires.  We would go to Standard to ask for stickers for our notebooks...notably STP and Wynn's.

• DX
• Texaco
• Phillips 66
• Standard
• Derby
• Fina
• Shell
• Sinclair
• Union 76
• Gulf
• Mobil
• Clark
• Conoco
• Skelly

Frito Bandito Eraser

Frito Lay made pencil erasers in the 60s and/or 70s.  Haven't pinned down the dates.  The main character was the Frito Bandito.  They also had W.C. Fritos (I still have that one) and the Munch Bunch.

I had a blue Bandito and a yellow one.  My yellow one lost a gun (leg) so I put a straight pin in for a peg leg.

I will post a pic of W.C. later.  Here are some images...

Not mine but just like it

Bendix 526C

Dad gave a radio like this to Mom for Christmas in 1948.  They were married in 1949.  The radio was given to me.  The first two pictures are from the internet to compare to mine.  The radio still works.  Dean and I spent many nights tuning in out of the way radio stations and helped fuel my interest in radio.

 

Here are a few pictures of the one I have (looks like it could use a little polishing)...

 

 

Little green car

I've got a little green car that I always thought was cool.  I like it because it's old, it's small and it's simple.

With a little research, I found out it was made by a company called Barclay's.

Here is what they look like.  They are a little bigger than a quarter.

Here is mine...

Water Rockets

Had water rockets like these as a kid.  I don't remember how high they went but pretty cool at the time.