I'm So Old That I Remember...

[Marlingardener]

Airplanes were not flying cattle cars. There was leg room, people dressed well to travel, and getting there was half the pleasure.

 

[Andy M.]

Airplanes were not flying cattle cars. There was leg room, people dressed well to travel, and getting there was half the pleasure.

My first flight was at the age of 12-13. Mom and I flew cross-country to visit my brother and his family. We flew on a DC-6. It had propellers. It took us 25 hours from Boston to Sacramento because we stopped everywhere there was an airport along the way. I wore a sport coat with a shirt and tie for the trip.

 

[taxlady]

Yeah, I remember airplane travel when it was pleasant. I was only five for my first flight: Los Angeles to Copenhagen on the brand new "polar route". It was a propeller plane, a DC-6B and it stopped in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and on Greenland before landing in Copenhagen. Both stops were for fuel. Five year old me remembers that flight taking several days, but I have been assured that it was not several days. The cabin crew gave me a pin with wings, like the pins that the crew wore. At the time, that was more special to me than the marble paperweight with a small bronze plaque engraved with my name, the date, and the fact that I was one of the first 500 commercial passengers to fly a polar route. I still have the paperweight. I have no idea what became of the pin.

Polar route - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Back then, and into the 1970s, I always looked forward to the food on SAS. It was really good and served on beautiful, ultra modern (albeit plastic/melamine) tableware with elegant stainless steel cutlery.

 

[dragnlaw]

Remember when planes gave you little trinkets? I still have a tiny 'emergency sewing kit' with an Air Canada logo on the bag, about the same size as a match folder.
Needles, various coloured threads. Have to go and check it see what else is in it. Long time since I've looked at it.

and of course, now I have to rememver where it is! Was always in my purse, but now....

 

[GinnyPNW]

When I was very young, we didn't fly. We traveled by train. Mostly from L.A. CA to Houston, TX. I think Mom feared nose bleeds on planes. She got them on the trains anyway, at any significant altitude. When I got a little older, Mom just put me on a plane! All by myself, to travel to Texas and spend the summer with cousins. I have a ton of cousins in Texas, no siblings at home. I suppose she thought it good for me. It was. But that first solo plane trip was a bit scary!

 

[msmofet]

Remember when planes gave you little trinkets? I still have a tiny 'emergency sewing kit' with an Air Canada logo on the bag, about the same size as a match folder.
Needles, various coloured threads. Have to go and check it see what else is in it. Long time since I've looked at it.

and of course, now I have to rememver where it is! Was always in my purse, but now....

Probably has a needle threader.

 

[Kathleen]

I was a senior in high school when I had my first flight. It was really exciting and was booked through the school. We all dressed nicely and were on our best behavior. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Please and thank you. The co-pilot made a lot of trips into the cabin to be friendly. We were very flattered until he asked where we would be staying. Our chaperones were not amused.

 

[Andy M.]

Probably has a needle threader.

View attachment 66037

Strange, I never used to need those . . .

 

[dragnlaw]

POOF... and there goes his head, again!

keeping count...

 

[Aunt Bea]

The annual ritual/ordeal of putting up and taking down the storm windows.

Washing the windows with hot water and vinegar then drying them with an old newspaper. Shaving down the tight window frames and packing strips of cloth into the cracks of loose windows frames.

 

[blissful]

I was on the rifle squad in high school. We flanked or led the flag on the field for football games. We tossed the rifles flipping them end to end and twirled them. Things you could be arrested for now.

 

[dragnlaw]

Don't they still have something like the ROTC in High Schools there?

 

[blissful]

I don't know.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I’m not sure about rifle drills with marching bands but high school trap & skeet teams are active in many parts of the country.

It’s controversial but IMO we have little to fear from young people involved in such activities.

 

[Kathleen]

Don't they still have something like the ROTC in High Schools there?

Many high schools still do.

 

[dr morbius]

"Wood" paneling.
Filament lights.
Stereo towers with "components" and enormous speakers.
Alarm clocks with rotary numbers that "clicked" once a minute to show you the time.
Bean bag chairs.

 

[Jusa]

Ashtrays on airplanes.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Restaurants that offered interesting complimentary bread baskets and relish trays.

We had one old German restaurant that offered a huge relish tray.

The huge tray was brought to each table for people to make their selections.

This note from the owner, Mrs. Mirbach, appeared on the bottom of each menu.

Please help yourself to all you want on the Salad Tray, BUT Please Do Not Waste.
THIS IS IMPORTANT

 

[msmofet]

Restaurants that offered interesting complimentary bread baskets and relish trays.
View attachment 66121View attachment 66122
We had one old German restaurant that offered a huge relish tray.

The huge tray was brought to each table for people to make their selections.

This note from the owner, Mrs. Mirbach, appeared on the bottom of each menu.

Please help yourself to all you want on the Salad Tray, BUT Please Do Not Waste.
THIS IS IMPORTANT

I miss those.

 

[taxlady]

Those relish trays - when I was kid, one of our favourite restos for birthdays and other special occasions was called the Fireside Inn (somewhere in the San Fernando Valley, probably on Ventura Blvd.). It was one of the things I loved about going there. They put a relish tray plate at each table.