Latter Day Luxuries

[jwphillips2]

I know most of you remember "Full Service" gas stations where they'd check your tires and oil and clean your windshield while they were filling your tank - free (not the 38 cent a gallon gas)! But, some of you may remember getting eggs, butter, and milk delivered to your door from Westmoreland Dairy and their "all Jersey cows". They'd even bring ice cream!!

I remember Dad calling up the dealership and a salesman would come pick us all up for a new car test ride. In this case it was a new '56 Packard Clipper. The dealerships would send a car of your choice and a salesman. If you liked the car, you'd go back to the dealership and get the paperwork signed and drive your new car home that afternoon.

I dunno, maybe all of these were replaced by free WIFI Hotspots.

[gwilson]

If you have a relationship with a sales person, you can get similar service. Depends on the salesman though really.

I'd love to have the milk, eggs and such delivered. And I have stopped in to full service gas station down the street from me a couple times when I was hurting really bad, it was REALLY hot outside and I was in a suit or I was just feeling lazy. The gas was, on avg, prolly 50 cents more per gallon and you'd get attitude from the attendant (if he actually came out) and he won't check your tires, wash your windshield or check your fluids unless you ask. Tip is expected. And if you ask him to check your fluids, expect him to say you need something.

[brucesw]

All the dairies used to deliver. We lived in Lake Jackson where Westmoreland didn't deliver so we used either Carnation or Sanitary Farm Dairies which used to have the plant on West Gray. I remember the first time I saw a tanker truck that said 'milk' and I thought 'No, milk trucks look like this.'

Delivery to your stoop was actually a step down in service. My Dad's family operated one of a half dozen or so small family dairies serving the Heights in the 20s. The older children were awakened at 2am to help with the deliveries (there was a second round of deliveries in the afternoon) using a Model T pickup. Milk was taken in to the kitchen and placed directly in the ice box. Doors were not only unlocked, sometimes the only door on a house was a screen door.

My Grandfather kept his cows (Jerseys) on leased land on what was then called Yale Rd., an extension of Yale Street that is now Veterans-Memorial.

My Dad always preferred Carnation milk because of their cream-top bottles. He was raised on the milk of Jerseys which was very rich in butterfat and he didn't like homogenized milk so he'd always drink the pure cream off the top of the cream top bottles.

Edited November 2, 2007 by brucesw

[jwphillips2]

Amazing link to the milk delivery trucks, thanks. I remember milking the cows in the late afternoon and shipping it out the next morning up on the Arkansas farm. We had Holsteins. I remember Grand Dad cleaning the milking machines, but there were a few cows you had to hand-milk.

As far as personal service goes, I guess technology has its price on de-humanizing our society.

BTW that's the same Borden (Gail) that laid out the streets in Houston, was one of the first news printers, invented condensed milk, mayor of Galveston, etc....

[Vertigo58]

1. Grocery sacker taking your paper bagged groceries to your car. Seldom see any more.

2. Doctors visiting your home if someone was sick.

3. 5 hamburgers for one dollar

4. Free calendars at local pharmacies

5. Pretty elevator girl in depratment stores that ask which floor you want to go to or announce depts to occupants ie; "Haberdashery going down"

6. Teacher or principal of your childs elementary coming over to chit chat about school events (not your bad behavior)

7. Minister or father also visits your parents to speak of church activities.

8. Cant forget curb service at Drive-In restaurants by pretty carhops.

Wow, I could go on! Good old days for sure

[Sharpstown Bill]

If you asked, the Carnation or Foremost milk truck guy would give you a paper hat or pen if thet had extras

[Vertigo58]

If you asked, the Carnation or Foremost milk truck guy would give you a paper hat or pen if thet had extras

1. Thats right and I recall Baird Bread paper hats being given but not sure where? They were flat and had the red/blue zig zag design.

2. An actual person coming to your doorstep to collect for your newspaper subscription.

3. Girl Scout cookies being sold at your door (shocked if you could do these days)

4. Telephone booths with folding doors (except in these cases)

5. Actually having the whole family sitting all together at once for dinner each night? No distractions ie, cable TV, video games, pathetic, rude cell phones.

[Gary]

Great thread. I remember most of the things you guys are talking about.

I also remember cloth diaper pick up and delivery. I lived in the country, and the diaper service would still come to our farm. What's funny/disgustiong was mom washing those nasty things in the toilet...LOl. Thank God for disposables.

[Vertigo58]

Great thread. I remember most of the things you guys are talking about.

I also remember cloth diaper pick up and delivery. I lived in the country, and the diaper service would still come to our farm. What's funny/disgustiong was mom washing those nasty things in the toilet...LOl. Thank God for disposables.

Remember them hanging on clotheslines all over.

Imagine what hell women also had to go through when washing ALL clothes. Check out the old washing machines where the clothes had to be hand fed into the rolling bar as you had to turn it to squeeze out water, etc. Pure back-breaking Hell. Actually there is so much women had to physically do before modern day appliances couldnt name them all. Whole other topic for sure.

[Native Montrosian]

My mother remembered picking up wood chips when she was six (1933) in Texarkana to start the Monday fire under the outdoor cast iron washpot in which the sheets were boiled. I saw the same washpot in 1972, but it had flowers planted in it.

[Vertigo58]

Mom says she still remembers her big brother having to crank up the motor of his Model T with that winding bar and the car would start up. You know just like they had to crank up the old Victrola's.

Now I know why people in the old photos looked so husky and strong, women too!

The down side was short life expectancy, yikes!

[foxmulder]

1. Grocery sacker taking your paper bagged groceries to your car. Seldom see any more.

Wow, I could go on! Good old days for sure

They still do that at food town in Pasadena, both of them. I work retail and more and more people expect you to carry there crap out.

[silverartfox]

My mother remembered picking up wood chips when she was six (1933) in Texarkana to start the Monday fire under the outdoor cast iron washpot in which the sheets were boiled. I saw the same washpot in 1972, but it had flowers planted in it.

During WWII we were living a tiny rent house in Houston's East End and had no washing machine (no one had a dryer back then). My mother did the laundry in the back yard with 3 tubs and a washboard. A few times a year, she would light a wood fire under the wash pot and boil all the linens to get them extra white. Our laundry was dried on the clothesline. Getting it dry before it rained or was pooped on by birds was always a concern. At the end of the war. a washateria opened nearby and she took the laundry there to wash it, but it was her preference to dry it on the clothesline at home, weather permitting.

Nowadays, proponents of the green movement are urging us to go back to hanging laundry outside to dry. I must admit, no fabric softener can ever give linens the wonderful fresh smell they get from being dried in the sunshine.

[silverartfox]

They still do that at food town in Pasadena, both of them. I work retail and more and more people expect you to carry there crap out.

No matter where you work in retail, the increasing lack of any kind of customer service is appalling, as is the attitude of many employees. Until quite recently, I worked retail, too.

Sackers at most grocery stores - even the Gulfgate HEB - will generally ask women if they need help with a carryout. In the more upscale neighborhoods, one still has a choice of paper or plastic bags and my sources tell me that the carryout tips run $1 - $2 per bag.

[moni]

1. Grocery sacker taking your paper bagged groceries to your car. Seldom see any more.

2. Doctors visiting your home if someone was sick.

3. 5 hamburgers for one dollar

4. Free calendars at local pharmacies

5. Pretty elevator girl in depratment stores that ask which floor you want to go to or announce depts to occupants ie; "Haberdashery going down"

6. Teacher or principal of your childs elementary coming over to chit chat about school events (not your bad behavior)

7. Minister or father also visits your parents to speak of church activities.

8. Cant forget curb service at Drive-In restaurants by pretty carhops.

Wow, I could go on! Good old days for sure

I guess one of things that make small town living so nice, we still have our groceries taken to our cars and if we leave our address, they will deliver free of charge. We still have carhops on skates at some local restaurants. Our pharmacies give us free calendars as does our banks and we always see the local teachers and ministers (fathers) at courthouse events for chats. We don't have elevator girls though. Also, we don't get 5 hamburgers for a dollar. One reason the grocery stores bring the groceries to your car, they don't want to have to round up the carts left all over the lots.

[Fringe]

Although I don't remember there being to many "elevator girls", I do remember elevator operators in the downtown stores. I always wondered who would want that job. Going up and down in a 4X6 box all day. It's a pretty useless job but definitely shows how important customer service was back in the old days.

[Vertigo58]

Although I don't remember there being to many "elevator girls", I do remember elevator operators in the downtown stores. I always wondered who would want that job. Going up and down in a 4X6 box all day. It's a pretty useless job but definitely shows how important customer service was back in the old days.

I must have been about 6-7 yrs old but do remember the pretty girls/elevator's at maybe Foley's and Penney's/Grant's downtown. They sometimes would politely ask What dept are you wanting? TOYS! I always whispered to mom. As you exited, they would say like "Enjoy shopping with us and I hope you come back".

Nowadays they would probably stay on their cell phone while ignoring you and slam the door on you as you exit.

What about the airports and airlines?

Most flights leaving Houston offered free cocktails and free meals. Thats really something long gone. Not even peanuts on most airlines. Your charged for everything. Fly the un-friendly skies?

[Vertigo58]

S and H Green Stamps!

Everytime you went to like Weingarten's or Piggly Wiggly, they would either give them to you or you bought them. I was about 6 yrs old when I started filling out my books so I could redeem for cash I think? For a kid it was like winning the lottery!$$$

Clip from Wiki: When the customer had collected sufficient stamps and stuck them into Green Shield collectors books (a task often given to amuse children), the shopper could then claim valuable merchandise from a catalogue or local Green Shield shop.

See how they would advertise on the buildings below? I just do not see this kind of stuff any more.

Edited November 8, 2007 by Vertigo58

[houwest]

I'm going to bend this thread a wee bit. Silveratfox mentioned going to the "washeteria". I remember reading some time ago that "washeteria" was a Houston word, little used except for here. Other places use laundromat. The only other term I remembered from that list was the use of "bubbler" for drinking fountain in Wisconsin. I was going to Wisconsin the day after I read the article and it stuck with me.

[sevfiv]

I'm going to bend this thread a wee bit. Silveratfox mentioned going to the "washeteria". I remember reading some time ago that "washeteria" was a Houston word, little used except for here. Other places use laundromat.

To go with the thread bend, a little article about laundromats/washaterias:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/mrpants/laundry.html

I didn't know that "laundromat" was a proprietary eponym/genericized trademark of Westinghouse.

[brucesw]

During WWII we were living a tiny rent house in Houston's East End and had no washing machine (no one had a dryer back then). My mother did the laundry in the back yard with 3 tubs and a washboard. A few times a year, she would light a wood fire under the wash pot and boil all the linens to get them extra white. Our laundry was dried on the clothesline. Getting it dry before it rained or was pooped on by birds was always a concern. At the end of the war. a washateria opened nearby and she took the laundry there to wash it, but it was her preference to dry it on the clothesline at home, weather permitting.

Nowadays, proponents of the green movement are urging us to go back to hanging laundry outside to dry. I must admit, no fabric softener can ever give linens the wonderful fresh smell they get from being dried in the sunshine.

I remember the big galvanized steel tubs - made great wading pools for us kids - but I'm not sure I ever saw my mother use them for anything other than a rinse or adding starch. I have a vague memory of one of those early washaterias where you paid someone else to wash your clothes because you weren't allowed to touch the machines. My clearest memories are of my mother's first washing machine, an upright model with electrically propelled agitator tub but hand operated clothes wringer and a built in scrub board, as I recall. I wonder how many HAIFers don't have any idea what a clothes wringer was? Yeah, clothes drying on the line and us kids running in and out of them playing cowboys and Indians, etc. And the dried clothes being sprinkled with water from a bowl before ironing because there was no such thing as a steam iron or spray bottle.

When the first coin operated washateria opened Mother was thrilled. She never had a problem with sitting there waiting on the clothes but still brought some of them home to dry on the line. She didn't even ask Dad to buy her a washer and dryer for home for a long time. And then there was drip-dry.

And the detergent your Mother used was ..... Dreft?, Rinso Blue? I think mine used Tide for ages but I'm not sure. And of course, Mrs. Wright's (?) Blueing to get the clothes white. There's an old thread here on HAIF about that.

I had a cousin, raised in Canada, just a few years older than me but already dead, who knew my Great-grandmother in the Upper Michigan Peninsula. He remembered her boiling the dishes, etc. after every meal. Kept a big cauldron on the stove for it.

[brucesw]

I guess one of things that make small town living so nice, we still have our groceries taken to our cars and if we leave our address, they will deliver free of charge. We still have carhops on skates at some local restaurants. Our pharmacies give us free calendars as does our banks and we always see the local teachers and ministers (fathers) at courthouse events for chats. We don't have elevator girls though. Also, we don't get 5 hamburgers for a dollar. One reason the grocery stores bring the groceries to your car, they don't want to have to round up the carts left all over the lots.

They nearly always ask if you want help with your groceries at the HEB I go to but I seldom see people take them up on it.

I recently stopped at Patek's in Shiner to pick up some Shiner dogs and saw a guy wheeling a basket with just one plastic bag in it out to the car for a lady and I thought 'Boy is she lazy.' But I came to find out they took the groceries to the car for everyone (I declined).

Last time I saw groceries being taken to the car regularly was at the Randall's I used to shop at 20 years ago by the teenaged sackers. It was The Flamingo Kid in SW Houston.

[EspersonBuildings]

I'm going to bend this thread a wee bit. Silveratfox mentioned going to the "washeteria". I remember reading some time ago that "washeteria" was a Houston word, little used except for here. Other places use laundromat.

Oh how embarrassingly true! I am a native Houstonian who lived in New York City for 13 years and once made the mistake of blurting out the word "washeteria" I was laughed at and mocked for days and called a hick! Never EVER again did I use the word washeteria. The word for me from that point on was "laundrymat"

Edited November 9, 2007 by EspersonBuildings

[Vertigo58]

I remember this name too in the sixties anyway.

Did anyone ever notice that when newer (launderette's) were being built around Houston in the late 60's that the sign was placed upside down? It took me 40 years to realize that this was to make you think of clothes spinning around in the dryer or in the wash machine! Serious. I remember there was one built in our neighborhood and I wondered how the construction guys could make such a dumb mistake, but it wasn't an error. I tried to find a pic on google but no luck, guess I will have to snap one myself and place here.

[EspersonBuildings]

Thanks Vertigo! Yea, I remember that very well! And until NOW, never understood it. I think as a kid, of course, I asked and what I remember being told was it was done to atract attention.

It's one of those things that really screws with a kid's head. Kind of like the PlaysKool thing................. Hard enough being a kid learning to spell without confusing craph like this!

[Vertigo58]

Thanks Vertigo! Yea, I remember that very well! And until NOW, never understood it. I think as a kid, of course, I asked and what I remember being told was it was done to atract attention.

It's one of those things that really screws with a kid's head. Kind of like the PlaysKool thing................. Hard enough being a kid learning to spell without confusing craph like this!

I saw one just the other day! Sign still upside down and as an extra, there is a song The Pretenders made a while back called "Watching the Clothes Go Round". Yep, rock song about passing time in a Laundramat. Describes "the delicates" whipping around, etc. Pretty cool fast song actually.

One more luxury to add:

Gas stations used to give away Hot Wheels model cars for a tank fill up. I imagine around 1969-71? My brothers and I had quite a bunch of them. Of course we made them smash into each other and eventually burned em or something insane like that. (Blame it on Godzilla films).

[Mikeytex]

As for the milk, it was in a glass container with the paper cap or stopper in the top........................

[Vertigo58]

As for the milk, it was in a glass container with the paper cap or stopper in the top........................

I remember dropping those since they weighed a ton it seemed like to a 6-7 year old kid. Helluva mess too, big chards of glass and milk every where, not to mention a big whipping! Ouch! still smarts. Yes, they had a like metal snap top, so wierd it now seems.

[silverartfox]

As for the milk, it was in a glass container with the paper cap or stopper in the top........................

Yes, and it was probably "whole milk" too, with several inches of cream floating on top of the milk! My mother poured it off and used it in her coffee.

In the 1940's, Richter's Dairy delivered glass containers of milk, cream and cottage cheese to our back door 2 or 3 times a week. The milkman wore a white uniform and military officer style cap with a black bill. Those milk bottles had not only the paper stopper with a little tab to lift it, but also a heavy paper cap secured with a thin, soldered wire. My parents saved the paper caps and the wires "because they might come in handy some time"... Actually, my mother put some sort of bluish-green powdered "roach poison" in the caps and shoved them into kitchen cabinets and behind furniture.

Edited November 13, 2007 by silverartfox

[Vertigo58]

Here is a major day latter day luxury:

American Red Cross would give FREE swimming lessons to young children. All summer long. I think now you have to pay?

All us kids got our badges at local high school gyms. It was Beginner, Intermediate, Swimmer's and most prized "Life Guard". The test were tough but well worth it. As part of the final or test we had to swim around the pool for one hour. I can never forget that. You had to switch the type of swim every 10 minutes ie; stroke, butterfly, crawl.

Anyway that was one freebee that I can never forget.