I'm so old that....

[Grumpy]

..

[Marcm157]

My first job at 13 was pumping gas at a Power Test gas station. We checked oil, washed windows (with a clean squeegee) and pumped your gas! Those were times that can NOT be duplicated today. At 14 I was changing oil and doing brakes. By 15, I was pretty much doing full mechaical work, tires, tune ups, valve adjustments etc. Life was great back then! I so miss those days!! Worked there until 17 when I went into the Air Force and from there the New York City Police Department. I always turned wrenches as a second job though...

[nambarc]

Full service gas station. Those were the days

[Route 66 Traveler]

My first real job. Worked after school from 4-9pm for $1.00 an hour. When the minimum wage went up I got a raise to $1.10 an hour. Took my weekly pay to fill the car with gas and take my girlfriend out to a fancy restaurant.

Every year when the new cars came out it was fun it find out where they hid the gas cap

[Randel J]

Nowadays, kids think a full-service gas station is where you can buy gas, snacks of all kinds, a Big Gulp drink and maybe a souvenir T-shirt!

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by Randel J

Nowadays, kids think a full-service gas station is where you can buy gas, snacks of all kinds, a Big Gulp drink and maybe a souvenir T-shirt!

On family road trips when I was a child, the only stops my father made was to refuel the car and bathroom breaks; and the majority of the stops covered both of these.

My maternal grandparents lived in Baltimore and the drive time to there from Pittsburgh back then was about six hours. The only high-speed driving was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that we used from Irwin to Breezewood. The Toll back then was less than a penny per mile- 90 cents. I remember it because we always handed the toll collector the toll ticket and a dollar bill and got a dime change in return. Before we left home, my mother would make sandwiches and coffee that we'd have while on the road. A treat, though, was stopping at the Burger Chef in Hagerstown, MD, for hamburgers, fries and milkshakes.

[Marcm157]

Anybody from NY remember these???

[RPR]

Rest area was a single car pull off that may or may not have an old concrete picnic table.

[Duke4857]

I am so old, that there were no small generators to charge batteries when camping.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Never heard of a rechargeable battery back in the day. All I had were dry cells..

[Old and soft]

So old, we never used to have to make reservations on month long trips out west. Just pull into a national park, and set up the pop up on a site wirh water and electric.

[JimD]

I remember when postage was 5 cents.

[Route 66 Traveler]

…….and Penny Post Cards….

[RPR]

I remember airmail.

[Route 66 Traveler]

We lived in Postal Zone 6….then came Zip Codes with a lot more numbers to remember.

[Route 66 Traveler]

What about glass milk bottles with cardboard tops left on the front porch? Pop the top off and get the yummy cream right off the top of the milk. Later in the day came the Helms bread truck selling bread that was baked that morning….and the fresh donuts!!

[JFlightRisk]

I (fondly) remember when cars and trucks were painted pretty colors instead of the black, white, and silver of today. Two-tone was everywhere, and you could order a new one in primer if you wanted to have it done up yourself in a custom job.

[Route 66 Traveler]

And huge white-walled tires. It was my job to keep them clean on my dad’s ‘53 Plymouth.

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by Duke4857

I am so old, that there were no small generators to charge batteries when camping.

Camping in the 50's & 60's, All we had for light were candles, flashlights, kerosene and gasoline lanterns. Our tent had no floor and only ties to keep the flaps closed. You had to usually walk to a water spigot with a picnic jug or large pot for water. For washing dishes you used two basins- one for washing, one for rinsing. Electricity? Forget it. A/C? Maybe at the camp store, but don't bet on it unless you''re camping in the south. The campground's kiddie playground? Swings, a sliding board, sandbox and maybe something a spin & puke. Entertainment? A 16mm film in the amphitheater or a lecture by a park ranger.

Yup, Camping was real different back then.

[Thomson]

I had a stamp collection where the denominations started at 2 and 3 cents. Who remembers when John Glenn got out of the Mercury capsule and said "What a fireball of a ride."