Balsa Wood Planes Bring Summer Fun

There’s an interesting story behind the creation of Guillow balsa wood airplanes. It began when a former WWI U.S. Navy aviator by the name of Paul K. Guillow started a company called Nu Craft Toys in 1926 out of his barn. His experience and interest in aviation led to the introduction of a line of military airplane models made out of balsa wood. The first official aircraft flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright had occurred in 1903, only 23 years prior. Airplanes were still very much a novelty. In 1927 when Charles A. Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris, the nation’s interest in aviation soared. As a result, Guillow’s model airplane kits were very much in demand, making it necessary to move his toy company to a larger place, and again to an even larger one in 1933 to the present location at 40 New Salem Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The name of the company was changed to Paul K. Guillow, Inc.

The first product line of balsa wood airplanes made available was of WWI biplane fighters that sold very well right up to the mid 1940’s. During WWII balsa wood was harder to get since it was being used to produce life rafts and life jackets for the war. The 1950’s saw a renewed interest in balsa wood airplanes that continues today.

Retroplanet.com carries two models of balsa wood planes, both with a 12-inch wingspan. There’s the Jetfire Balsa Wood Glider and the Sky Streak Balsa Wood Airplane, which is a rubber band-powered plane.

Get a bunch of these planes this summer for when you’ve got friends and family over. Set them loose in the sky and have a blast. They can also be used for races. See who can make them go the fastest or the highest! They always make great party favors, too.

Kellogg’s Vintage and Reproduction Items

Exciting results can be accomplished by mixing new and vintage items together in a display. Here in the Retroplanet.com offices, we have combined a vintage Kellogg’s cereal restaurant display with some of our new Kellogg’s vinyl collectibles and cups. Below the display, we placed a Kellogg’s “Sweet Eatin’ Carnival” metal sign. The result is a very colorful and fun display.

Please blog-in and share some of your decorating ideas.

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

American Experience:

1939 - Clara Adams (NYC) returns from her 16-day trip as an airplane passenger, and would set a world record as the fastest airplane passenger to go around the world.

1945 - 1st atom bomb explodes in New Mexico at Trinity Site, Alamogordo

1955 – Disneyland opens its doors in Anaheim, CA

1969 – Apollo 11 was launched, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin to the moon!

1977 – New York City experiences a 25-hour blackout caused by lightning bolts striking power lines in Westchester County. This shut down the Indian Point generating station on the Hudson River. More lighting bolts followed, shutting down other facilities, until all five boroughs had lost power. Widespread looting and arson ensued.

1985 - Christa McAuliffe chosen to be the 1st schoolteacher on a space shuttle mission

1987 - Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North concludes 6 days of Congressional testimony

Movies & TV:

1951 – For the 1st time, a sporting event (horse race) was telecast in color on CBS

1961 - John Chancellor becomes news anchor of Today Show

1968 – The soap opera “One Life to Live” premieres on TV

1968 – “Yellow Submarine,” The Beatles’ animated film, premieres in London

Music & Radio:

1939 - Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James Band

1967 - The Who, opening for Herman’s Hermits, begin a US tour

1972 - Smokey Robinson & Miracles give their final live performance at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Washington, DC

1978 - BBC bans Sex Pistols song “No One is Innocent”

1985 - “Live Aid” concert raises over $70 million for African famine relief. Venues were held at JFK stadium in Philadelphia, Wembley Stadium in London, and Sydney and Moscow. It was shown on TV via satellite, with approximately 1.5 billion viewers from 100 countries.

Celebrity Headlines:

1957 - John Coltrane, rocker and US jazz sax/composer, dies of cancer at 30

1959 - Billie Holiday, jazz singer, dies of drug OD at 44

1966 - Frank Sinatra, 50, marries Mia Farrow, 21, in Las Vegas

1974 - John Lennon is ordered to leave US in 60 days or face deportation

1988 - Michael J Fox marries Tracy Pollan

The Arts:

1946 - Dr Ben Spock’s “Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care” published

1951 – “Catcher in the Rye,” a novel by JD Salinger published

Sports:

1961 - Ty Cobb, (Detroit Tigers), dies of cancer at 74

1988 - Florence Joyner sets the women’s world record in the 100 meter at 10.49 seconds

1988 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets the women’s heptathlete record of 7,215 pts

Technology & Inventions:

1936 - 1st x-ray photo of arterial circulation took place in Rochester, NY

1939 - Dr Roy P Scholz, St Louis MO, is 1st surgeon to use fiberglass sutures

1961 – The 1st in-flight movie was shown on a TWA flight

1967 - 1st air conditioned New York City subway car introduced (R-38 on the F line)

Speed Racer Comic Strip Character 1966 to Present

In 1966 Speed Racer originated as a Japanese comic strip (Manga) called “Mach Go Go Go.” The creator, Tatsuo Yoshida, modeled Speed after Elvis Presley’s racecar driver character from “Viva Las Vegas”, and the Mach 5 was inspired by James Bond’s Aston Martin from “Goldfinger.”

In 1967, the comic strip was adapted into an anime program for Japanese television. Speed Racer was known as Go Mifune, which is why he wears a yellow G on his shirt. The M on his helmet stands for Mifune Motors, the family business.

The English rights were acquired in 1967 by Trans-Lux, an American syndicator, and a major editing and dubbing of the show was done. Go Mifune became known as Speed Racer. Each of the other characters’ names changed too, and they sport a letter on their shirts corresponding to their Japanese first names.

The dialogue was spoken at a very fast pace in order to explain the complicated plot lines and match them with existing lip movements. They never quite matched, and that was part of the charm of the show.

The main story line revolved around Speed, a young ambitious man on his way to becoming a professional racecar driver. Speed drove the Mach 5, a technological marvel. The Mach 5 had many gadgets that assisted Speed win the races he entered, such as mini wings that slid out from under the car and helped the Mach 5 jump long distances.

Speed always managed to get himself into dangerous situations, and his girlfriend Trixie, along with his family helped get him out of trouble. His older brother, Rex, disguised himself as Racer X and acted as the mysterious hero that often aided Speed with his misadventures.

Since 1967, Speed Racer has been syndicated nationally, and ran in the afternoons for nearly 20 years. Speed has made guest appearances on such shows as “Scooby Doo” and has been referenced in many movies such as “Slap Shot.” Speed Racer and his crew even starred in a Volkswagen commercial in 1996 and a commercial for Geico in 2004.

As anime and manga become increasingly popular in the United States, it is hard to believe that Speed Racer was introduced to Americans back in 1967. As one of the first Japanimation series ever to be syndicated in the United States, Speed Racer holds a place in history and in the hearts of everyone that grew up watching and shouting “Go Speed Go!”

Speed Racer collectibles and memorabilia have always been popular items. Since the movie came out in May of 2008, the demand for these items has grown. Check out our website for Speed Racer and Racer X poseable figures, bobble heads, signs and much more!

Automats in New York City

I remember hearing about the New York City Automats from my mother as I was growing up. Ironically, the first automats were not in NYC, but in Philadelphia. But first, for those of you who are not familiar with them, what was an automat?

In 1888 Joe Horn and Frank Hardart were two hard-working and driven men with a strong desire to run a restaurant. They became partners and opened up a 11 x 17 foot lunchroom without space for tables, only a counter long enough to accommodate 15 stools. Soon, their lunchroom became famous for its New Orleans-style French-drip coffee and the quality of the food that was served. Before long, these two very ambitious and service-oriented gentlemen were running several lunchrooms in Philadelphia. As the number of restaurants grew, they found the need to have a central commissary where all the food was prepared and supplied to the various lunchrooms. In 1900, they were approached by a salesman who heard of their ambition and success, and approached them with drawings of a machine, that up until then, had only existed in Europe. Invented by the Swiss and manufactured in Germany, it was modeled after the “waiter-less restaurant” in Berlin.

This new restaurant was called the Automat. In 1902 the first Horn & Hardart Automat opened on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The early automat machines were not like the sleek, chrome and glass machines used later in New York. The original prototype was made of brass, and was more decorative than functional. The windows displayed a sample of the food that could be ordered, not the actual dish. For hot dishes, a coin was deposited, and one waited until the food was sent up the basement on a dumbwaiter. A second coin was deposited to retrieve the food from behind the window.

Eventually, automats evolved into the Art Deco-style machines that were installed in New York City. The first Horn & Hardart Automat was opened in Times Square in 1912. Seated at glass booths inside the Automat were ladies that would convert bills and larger coins to nickels to operate the food machines. It’s been said that they were so adept at their jobs that they could grab a dollar’s worth of nickels without looking or counting them. The nickels were placed in the slots beside the various cold foods that were available. The knob was turned, and the food was rotated into the slot. The door could then be lifted, and the food taken out and placed on a tray. Behind the machine, an Automat employee would place another plate of food in the machine. One could continue from window to window until they put together their meal made up of a sandwiches, rolls, pie etc. Hot foods were selected from a buffet-style table. When the customer had everything they wanted, they sat at a table or counter to eat their meal.

The food in the Automats was always prepared fresh each day. Leftovers were not allowed. Because of this, and the sanitary way the food was dispensed, customers were reassured that the food they were buying was fresh and safe. It was also very affordable, which was important to the working class people who ate at the Automats. This was especially true during the Depression. When times got really tough, people were known to make a type of soup from the hot water and ketchup at the Automat. Homeless people were known to nurse a cup of coffee all day to stay out of the cold.

On the brighter side, the Automats were a bustling place, especially in the location on Broadway in Manhattan, where you could have been seated beside an actor or dancer. As was written in the NY Times, “Indeed, for generations of New Yorkers, the Automat vending machine was the source of the archetypal workaday lunch. Throw your nickels in the slot, open the window, pull out the roast beef and the sweet potatoes, watch the coffee pour out of the lion-, dolphin- or duck-head spigot, sit down at a table with three other strangers, eat, bus your own tray and leave.” My mother was one of the thousands of people that worked in midtown Manhattan in the 1950’s as a keypunch operator at Lever Brothers on Park Ave. She was the first person I heard about Automats from. Many people have probably never heard of or seen one of them. The last remaining New York Automat, on East 42nd Street, closed in 1991. Automats are making somewhat of a comeback in New York again. There is a sentimental attachment to them for a lot of people, and a few restaurants have acquired the automat machines and are using them either for decorative purposes, or as displays for their food. They will most likely never be back the way they were before, having been replaced by less wholesome fast foods served from drive-through windows. Like a lot of other things, automats were a reflection of the time in which they existed.

Quotes from some famous Automat customers:

“I have always thought that the Automat in New York has the best scrambled eggs in the world.” — Gregory Peck

“Oh, be still my heart! I used to shine shoes when I was fourteen years old. And when I was a little ahead, I would stop at Horn & Hardart.” — Tony Curtis

“I lived at the Automat. They had the greatest chocolate milk. When I moved to Philadelphia, I apportioned less than two dollars a day to eat on, and the Automat was the only place I could do it.” — Dick Clark

“I went to the Automat all the time. I grew up going to the Automat. The food was delicious. And it was wonderful.” — Woody Allen

“The first time I came to New York, I had a meal at the Automat. I had heard about the Automat, and I had to go see what it was all about.” — Leonard Nimoy

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

American Experience:

1938 - Howard Hughes started his flight around the world, which took him 91 hours to complete

1944 - World’s largest circus tent catches fire at the Ringling Brother’s and Barnum & Bailey Circus afternoon performance; 168 die (Hartford, Connecticut)

1953 – New York Airways offers the first scheduled commuter passenger service by helicopter in the United States.

1955 - Congress authorizes all US currency to say “In God We Trust”

1957 – The Surgeon General announces that there is evidence to support the theory that cigarette smoking is linked to lung cancer.

1969 - US troop withdrawal begins in Vietnam

1985 – Customer dissatisfaction with the new formula of Coke leads the Coca-Cola Company to announce it will bring back the original Coca-Cola to sit on shelves with the New Coke. It will be called Coca-Cola Classic.

Movies & TV:

1954 – “Dial M for Murder”, a Hitchcock film, was in theaters starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings

1956 - Dick Clark made his 1st appearance as host of “American Bandstand”

1968 – “One Life To Live” debuts on ABC at 3:30 pm

1971 – “Love Story” starring Ryan O’Neil and Ali McGraw was in the theaters

1974 – Walter Cronkite of CBS is rated the most trusted and objective newscaster on television in a national poll

Music & Radio:

1946 - “The Adventures of Sam Spade” debuted on ABC radio.

1949 - “Dragnet” premieres on NBC radio

1954 - Elvis Presley records his 1st hit, “That’s All Right”

1955 - “Rock Around Clock” by Bill Haley & Comets hits #1 on Top 100 chart

1965 - Rock group “Jefferson Airplane” forms

1965 - The Rolling Stones hit the top spot on the “Billboard” chart with “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”

1965 – The Beatles album “Beatles’ “VI” goes #1 & stays #1 for 6 weeks

1967 - Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” is released

1967 - Doors’ “Light My Fire” hits #1

Hollywood Headlines:

1955 – Clark Gable Weds Kay Spreckels

1956 – After 16 years of marriage, Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier announce they are expecting their first child.

1975 – 10 Days after they married, Cher files for divorce from Gregg Allman

Sports:

1951 - Sugar Ray Robinson was defeated for only the second time in 133 fights by Randy Turpin.

1956 – Stan “The Man” Musial of the St’ Louis Cardinals beat out Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams to win Player of The Decade

1973 – Billy Jean King wins her 5th Wimbledon title, defeating Chris Evert

Technology & Inventions:

1949 - The first practical rectangular television picture tube was presented, priced at $12

1960 - The first Etch-A-Sketch went on sale, selling over 50 million units during the next 25 years.

1962 - The “Telstar” satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, FL. It was the first active satellite for communications and could transmit telephone and data communications.

Automobile News:

1982 – The last of the Checker taxicabs to be made came off the assembly line of the Checker Motors Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan

30-Year Anniversary of “Punk” Going “New Wave” 1978-2008

 

2008 marks the 30-year anniversary of the start of New Wave Music. Punk rock made the scene in 1976. But it was 1978 when someone, maybe the record companies, decided to shy away from the term “Punk” and began to use the less threatening phrase “New Wave”. Some bands held onto the punk classification, like The Clash, The Ramones and The Sex Pistols. But the trend held, and more and more artists that came out as Punks were now considered New Wave. Elvis Costello, The Jam, Joe Jackson, Blondie, The B-52’s & The Talking Heads were some of these bands, just to name a few. The music from a lot of these groups has also held up pretty well over the years. If you haven’t listened to Joe Jackson’s “Look Sharp”, Elvis Costello’s “This Year’s Model” or Talking Heads’ “77”, give them a spin. You won’t be disappointed.

I have attached some old concert photos I took back in the day. Hope you like them and let us know what you think about The New Wave.

 

 

 

 

Central Theatre in Lawrence, MA

The Central Theater in Lawrence, MA was the last single-screen theater operating in the city when it closed in 1986. At one time, Lawrence had as many as 8 single-screen theaters in operation around the city, with most of them located on Broadway. I took these photos after the Central Theater closed, and as you can see it’s in pretty bad shape. In its heyday this must have been a beautiful theater. Anyone ever remember going to the Central? Blog-in and let us know.

Central Theater
11 Oak Street
Lawrence, MA 01841

 

Oh noooooooo! Mr. Bill!

Anyone who was a fan of “Saturday Night Live” in the 1970’s would recognize this as a line from Mr. Bill, one of the most famous television personalities of all time. In fact, Mr. Bill has become a pop culture icon, still seen today in TV shows, films and commercials.

Mr. Bill came to life in 1974 when Walter Williams created a short film starring a Play-Doh doll named Mr. Bill. His homemade movie, a parody of bad animation, won a contest held by “Saturday Night Live” in its first season. Mr. Bill became so popular that he spent seven years on Saturday Night Live, and his appearances grew to 10 spots a season.

In each episode of “The Mr. Bill Show”, a series of mishaps leads to Mr. Bill being injured. Unintentionally, Mr. Hand, a man shown only as a pair of human hands, would hurt Mr. Bill, his dog, Spot and his wife Sally. Other times it would be Mr. Bill’s enemy, another clay character named Sluggo inflicting the injury. The story always ended with Mr. Bill being seriously hurt, dismembered, or beheaded, and he would utter the famous squeal, “Oh noooo!”

The public so loved Mr. Bill that he was outshone only by John Belushi and Gilda Radner in a survey to see who was the public’s favorite “Saturday Night Live” personality. In 1980, his long stint on “Saturday Night Live” came to an end, but he did not disappear from the public eye. The 1975 movie “The Mr. Bill Collection,” a compilation of his appearances on SNL, sold hundreds of thousands of copies on video. Mr. Bill even had a best selling book in 1979 called The Mr. Bill Show that climbed to #1 on The New York Times bestseller list.

Throughout the years, Mr. Bill starred in TV specials with Dick Clark and Bob Hope, and was a regular host on USA-TV’s “Night Flight.” He worked with Shelly Duvall on Showtime’s 1986 movie “Mr. Bill’s Real Life Adventures,” and he also starred in the 1993 movie “Mr. Bill Goes To Washington,” a short film that ran with the movie “Ernest Rides Again.” In 1998, Mr. Bill made forty appearances on the Fox Family Channel in the series called “Ohh Noo! Mr. Bill presents.”

Mr. Bill has also been featured on many Public Service announcements. In 2004, he helped educate people about the loss of Louisiana’s coastal marches and swamps with a film called “New Orleans – The Natural History.” This film included ten new Mr. Bill adventures in a campaign to help save the wetlands, and predicted the effects of a hurricane on New Orleans before the devastation of Katrina took place.

For the past 34 years Mr. Bill had been making America laugh at his misadventures. From his first appearance on “Saturday Night Live” to his current job as star of MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign, he has always been able to make people smile or cringe with his funny antics. Even though he is just a doll made of clay, he is unforgettable, and will surely go down in history as one of America’s favorite characters of all time.

Check out the Mr. Bill dolls and collectibles available on our website so you can create your own hilarious adventures with this loveable character!