Unique Gift Ideas

If you are in search of unique gifts you have come to the right place. retroplanet.com has hundreds of hard to find and unusual gifts. Whether your shopping for a birthday, anniversary, house warming or for any occasion, you will find great gifts at great prices.Here are a few suggestions:

	Check out our Ice Cream Soda Fountain Gift Set. It includes a Hamilton Beach mixer, 2 soda fountain glasses and a soda fountain glass straw dispenser. Makes a great wedding or anniversary gift.
	Our classic retro Kit Cat kitchen clock is always a hit, perfect for Mothers Day or a house warming gift.
	The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Hanging Wall Shelf is a perfect Fathers Day gift or for any motor-head on your gift list.
	Great idea. Our NY City Greek Ceramic Coffee Cup. Looks just like one of the millions of paper cups used in NY City every day but ours is ceramic. Great office gift.
	Our coffee mug diner set includes 6 of our heavy duty coffee mugs along with a stainless steel creamer and a sugar dispenser. Coffee just tastes better in these mugs !
	Add a retro diner flair to any table with our Kitchen Tableware Accessories Set. Certainly unique and a retroplanet.com exclusive.
	Our Holy Toast Stamper is a fun gift. But before you give it away stamp out a piece of wonder bread and sell it on ebay for $10,000
	Mighty Micks Gym Neon Clock. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday.
	How about a very cool Tab oversized floor pillow with great 60’s graphics
	Another gift that will have them asking, “where did you find that”, Our Stop Sign shaped floor mat. “Wipe your feet”.
So check out our Unique gift ideas page or our Great Gift Ideas by Price page the next time you need a gift for any occasion.Thanks for checking out retroplanet.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing A 1950’s Classic Soda Machine To Restore

Back when we were in the restoration business the items we restored most were soda machines. The model we restored most often was the Coca Cola Vendo 81. The reasons that made it our best seller are the same reasons you should consider it if you are planning on spending the time and money to restore an old soda machine.

A little background. The Vendo 81 was manufactured between 1954 and 1959. We are talking about the round top mechanical coin mechanism models here. Vendo used the 81 model number into the sixties but those machines have square tops and electrical coin mechanisms and are not as desirable as the 1950’s machines. The number 81, like most old soda machines, refers to the number of bottles the machine can hold.

Why an 81 ?

Size - The Vendo 81 is a relatively small machine measuring 58H x 27W x 16D and weighs in at 286 lb… Compared to the monsters you see these days it is tiny and fits nicely in your home or office.

Variety - The Vendo 81 has nine shelves so you can have up to nine different flavors to choose from when you open that glass bottle door. Most early Coke machines vend one size bottle and flavor and that is Coke.

Versatility - The shelves on the 81 are adjustable so you can fit different sized bottles including long neck beer bottles. Most early Coke machines vend one size bottle and that is the 6.5 oz. bottle of you guessed it Coke.

Esthetics - It is a great looking machine.

Now if all you drink is Coca Cola and you want to restore a single selection model such as the Vendo 44 or 39 that would be fine except that Coca Cola recently changed the size of the 6.5 oz bottles and they won’t vend in the old machines.

Vendo produced three different 81 models.

The 81A which was painted all red and had a smaller version of the Coca Cola embossing as the next model the 81B.

The 81B’s embossing on the front was much bigger and looks much more proportioned. It was painted in the familiar two color scheme White top, about a quarter of the machine, separated with a strip of chrome trim with the lower section in red. Both models have what is referred to as a small coin door.

The 81D is the newest model, large embossing on the front, two tone paint scheme but it has what is referred to as a large coin door. This was needed because the coin mechanism was able to give change so it was larger and more complex.

What happened to the 81 C ? Not sure, for some reason Vendo skipped over the C.

Vendo 81’s are getting harder to find but not impossible. Look for a good solid machine with no major dents and rust. The money you think you are saving buying a beat up machine you will spend on extra body work and paint. It should be complete also, some parts are impossible to find.

If Coca Cola is not your thing the 81 is also available in Pepsi, Royal Crown, 7-Up and a generic ( non embossed ) that was used by Dr. Pepper. These machine were manufactured by VMC. They are virtually the same machine with only slight differences. Not sure what the connection was between the two companies. Keep in mind that VMC 81’s are significantly more expensive with the 7-Up and Royal Crown machines being very rare.

 

Doc’s Pizza Oak St. Lawrence MA

Does anybody remember Doc’s Pizza on Oak Street in Lawrence MA ? It was in the old Italian Neighborhood between Lawrence and Jackson Streets. Man that place was good ! When my friends and I were teenagers and got our drivers licenses we would head down to Lawrence from Salem, NH every chance we had. Of course they had pizza and it was great, but they also made Italian spinach pie, meat pies and lamb pies. The spinach pies where made on a large tray and cut into squares. They where fantastic.

The lamb pies where also incredible, little triangles stuffed with lamb, pine nuts, spices and who knows what else. So good ! You had to be careful with the lambs however because sometimes you would take a bite and a big drop of oil would come squirting out. I ruined a couple of shirts at Doc’s but it was worth it.

Not exactly sure when Doc’s went out of business but it was sometime in the mid 70’s. I think the family running it just decided to close instead of moving when the neighborhood started going down hill. My friends and I were totally bummed. One guy I know bought a tray of spinach pie to freeze only to lose them when his freezer broke.

I took these photos on some of our last trips to Lawrence for spinach pies. As a young kid I lived right down the street on Erving Avenue in a tenement my Grandfather owned, but the neighborhood was much nicer way back then. Eventually the whole neighborhood was leveled as part of urban renewal. But I will always remember Doc’s Pizza, Pettoruto’s Market, Frasca Variety, The Union of Italy Grand Club and of course my old tenement on Erving Avenue where I grew up.

Doc’s Pizza, Frasca Variety on Oak Street in Lawrence MA

Doc’s Pizza Storefront Lawrence, MA

My friend Al leaving Docs with a plate full

My old tenement on Erving Avenue in Lawrence MA

Pettoruto’s Market on Oak Street Lawrence MA

Toilers Club on Oak St Lawrence MA

Union of Italy Grand Club on Short Street in Lawrence, MA