Vintage Soap Ads

Some of you know I make and sell handmade soap.  Don’t get me started about store bought soap! (Unless you have a good half hour to spare).  I fought joining Pinterest for a long time (I know you’re wondering where the heck those two idea connect! Bear with me.) Well I finally gave into Pinterest.  I discovered (for me) it was a good way to book mark webpages I wanted to come back to.  In the process I’ve started pinning my soaps and others as well.  And today I came across a pin from another person for a couple vintage soap ads from the 1940s.  You have to read these!  They’re too fun not to share.

Vintage Ad 1: http://file.vintageadbrowser.com/l-27s6sk8u4j6d4r.jpg (Not sure who to give the credit to as this is the only link I have to them).

Vintage Ad 2: http://file.vintageadbrowser.com/3i3dzoa1ynpmhk.jpg

Pictures from the Past: Jennifer

The Year is 1984!

My little brother and me!

I went with this picture this month because I have a special announcement to make!  This is probably one of my favorite pictures of my brother and me. And it plays into my announcement 🙂  My brother was a couple months old in this picture.  I was about 3 and 3/4 years old.  There was a 4 year age gap between my bother and I basically growing up.  He’s not so little now!  He out grew me in height (just barely).  And I think he’d be doing more of the protecting than I would, but for a long time I was the protector.  And I loved being a big sister (still do).  Now my little brother and sister-in-law have made me an aunt! Or a soon to be aunt!  In July 2012 we’ll be welcoming a new addition to the family and I’m so excited!  So congrats to Will and Danielle and here’s a post dedicated to you Will.  I love you!

• My brother is about three months old here.
• We were living in Hanua, Germany.  My brother was born in Frankfort, Germany.
• I got the sled for Christmas and my mom said she always wished it had sides and back cause it was tricky pulling us on it without us falling off.
• We owned that wood sled for years and years.  I remember using it when I was in fourth grade to sleigh down this huge hill in the back of our apartment complex in Kansas.
• I’d just started preschool and loved it.
• My brother had his days and nights messed up 😀 He’d sleep through the day and keep my mom up at night.

It happened this year: 1984

• The Summer Olympic Games are held in Los Angeles.  The Winter Olympic Games are held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
• USSR And soviet block boycotts the Olympic games in retaliation for Western Boycott in 1980
• Aids Virus identified by French Immunologist.
• The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
• The Space Shuttle Discovery has its maiden voyage.

Cost of Living:

• Average Cost of new house $86,730
• Median Price Of and Existing Home $72,400
• Average Income per year $21,600.00
• Average Monthly Rent $350.00
• Movie Ticket $2.50
• 1 gallon of gas $1.10

Pictures from the Past: Tricia

Tricia (left): "So, as I was saying—" Julie: "I'm out of here. Already heard this one."

Here I am at ten months old in 1959. We lived in Braintree, Mass. My three older siblings liked to squeeze me a lot. Can you blame them?

Random tidbits from 1959

o Cost of a movie ticket is $1.00; a loaf of bread—20 cents

o Popular films include Ben-Hur, Some Like It Hot, and North by Northwest

o Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone premieres on CBS

o Mattel introduces the Barbie Doll

o First Grammy Awards ceremony

o The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the “sheaves of wheat” design.

Major events during 1959

o Alaska become 49th state; Hawaii becomes the 50th

o St. Lawrence Seaway linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes opens to shipping

o Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba

o The Dalai Lama is forced to flee Tibet

Pictures from the Past: Emilie

Nothing shows the passage of time quite like kids growing up. I don’t look a whole lot different here in 2004 than I do now, but the munchkins on either side of me sure do! Yesterday, Boy Munchkin turned twelve, and his sister will turn eleven in March. WOW!!!! Back in college, I baby-sat these two quite a bit, then lived in their finished attic for a year until I graduated and moved “to the corner” of their placemat-map of the US.  I get to see them once, sometimes twice, a year now, and in between, I miss them and their parents a lot.

In the intervening time, I guess a lot has changed for me, too.  In Dec. 2004, I was:

• a junior at Purdue University (go Boilers!), majoring in creative writing
• just a few weeks from formulating a plan to allow me to spend the following summer studying in Ireland, which in turn allowed me to graduate a semester early, in Dec. 2005
• majoring in creative writing, covering entertainment for the student newspaper, and wondering what in the world I was going to do for a living after graduation
• just starting to check out Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program
• having the occasional conversation with a grad student at church who, less than two years from then, would become my husband
• NOT considering the possibility that I would EVER move to Seattle…silly me

Major Events of 2004 (outside my sheltered university life):

• George W. Bush is elected for a second term as president (my first time voting in a presidential election, btw).
• An earthquake in the Indian Ocean creates a tsunami that ravages several south Asian countries and kills nearly 300,000 people.
• Martha Stewart is sent to prison for insider trading.
• The Summer Olympics are held in Athens, Greece, a fitting tribute to the ancient games which provided the format of our modern ones.
• Afghanistan holds democratic elections for the first time.
• And, the greatest lasting impact from 2004: Facebook launches at Harvard.

The Everyday from the Past: Bill

This is  a bill from the Civil and Municipal Engineer Office in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey for Sewage Purification from 1916!  I love this stuff!  1916!!!  That’s before World War 2!  In fact this bill was issues while World War 1 was going on, before the 1920s was in full swing!  It might be silly to get excited over these small and rather irrelevant documents, but this is history I’m holding in my hands I love it!  It excites me every time I look at these documents!

 

Pictures from the Past: Tricia

1960 — Facts About Me

• I think this photo is actually from 1961 when I was three. But since I highlighted 1961 in my last Pictures from the Past, I decided to focus on 1960.

• As you can see, we were big on shower caps. I used to wonder why women often wore shower caps in the past and not today. I figured it might be because they used to go to the beauty shop once a week to get their hair done. A shower cap saved their “do.”  (Since as a three-year-old I didn’t go to the beauty shop, I have no idea why I’m using a shower cap.) Anyone have different theories on shower cap usage? 😀

1960 — World Events and Miscellany

• Soviet missile shoots down US U2 spy plane
• The United States launches the world’s first nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier the USS Enterprise.
• Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to protest the discussion of the Soviet Union’s policies toward Eastern Europe.
• John F. Kennedy elected US president
• Xerox introduces the first commercial document reproduction machine
• Cost of a gallon of gas — 25 cents
• Aluminum cans used for the first time
• The Flintstones TV show premiers
• Wilma Rudolph, a former polio patient, wins three gold medals in sprint events on the track. She is acclaimed as “the fastest woman in the world.”
• The Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1960 World Series in Game 7, on a home run hit by Bill Mazeroski for a 10–9 victory over the New York Yankees. It was the first time in the history of the Series that a homer had won the championship.
• The farthing, used since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
• Ancient biblical scrolls are discovered in a cave one thousand feet above the Dead Sea.

Pictures from the Past: Emilie

Step aside, William and Kate:

Okay, so it wasn’t that far in the past, but in honor of the huge wedding last week, my contribution to Pics from the Past is from September 30, 2006.

• On that day, just after 12:30 p.m., my dad walked me down the aisle of New Haven United Methodist Church in New Haven, Indiana, to Bach’s “Sleepers Awake,” played by my childhood piano teacher.
• Mike and I had been a couple for seventeen months and three days before that point, and I had declared my intent to marry him five days before our first date.  I didn’t say this to him, of course, but to my close friend Lana, who, along with her husband, Glen, officiated the ceremony.
• My dress was an off-the-shoulder satin A-line–the dress of my dreams–and it skimmed the floor in my bare feet, sparing me the need to wobble in high heels.
• My veil was a gift from bridesmaid and college roommie, Abby.  She and her mother sewed left-over toulle onto a comb and sewed a border of white satin ribbon along the edges.  On the comb they glued sprays of pearl beads and tiny flowers.
• The pearl necklace was my grandmother’s, as were the diamonds on my rings.  Her “illusion top” setting drew stares from the jeweler, who asked if Mike knew those had been out of style for over fifty years, but I loved it and have received compliments ever since.
• We were married near my home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana, honeymooned in Savannah, Georgia, drove to a second reception in Mike’s home town of Fort Mill, South Carolina, then I joined Mike in his apartment in Redmond, Washington.  We still bless the travel agent who figured out all those flights!

Tidbits from 2006

• Pluto is officially demoted from “planet” to “dwarf planet.”  (My ring bearer, who was six and on a huge astronomy kick, cried because he thought Pluto had been destroyed.)
• A suspected terrorist attack using liquid explosives on transatlantic flights is thwarted.  Its lasting effects are felt by all of us who routinely squeeze our toiletries into three-ounce containers when we fly.
• Montenegro declares independence from Serbia.
• Housing prices were still on their way up.  In greater Seattle, at least, they were close to a record high by the end of the year.
• Finally, in a nod to last week’s happy couple, on April 21, 2006, Queen Elizabeth II turned 80.

Pictures from the Past: Jennifer

The Year is 1990!

The Hofmann Family - December 24th 1990

• This picture was taken just after (or possibly before) mass on December 24th 1990. (Though the year is being debated.  The photo was printed on Jan. 1992.  My mom and I swear though that this picture was from Christmas 1990 and not Christmas 1991.  And since film didn’t exactly get developed in a timely manner in my family…it is entirely possible that it was a year later before we developed the film.)
• I was in 6th grade when this picture was taken and we were living in Wurzburg, Germany. (Even if this was 1991 I’d still be living in Germany :))
• My mom made the dress for Becca (my sister) and the jumper for me, which was the latest craze back then.
• My mom made a matching scrunchy for me. (My hair was super long then!)
• My brother (isn’t that the most adorable smile?) is wearing a clip on tie.
• That couch is still in the family.  My brother and his wife now have it.  It is still in great shape and the most comfortable couch you’ll ever sit on. I think it’s going on well over 20 years old…
• I had braces.  It was the start of 7 years of braces for me!

It happened this year: 1990

Headlines:

• Operation Desert Shield Begins as the United States and UK send troops to Kuwait.
• The most complete skeleton of a T-Rex is found in South Dakota.
• The US Enters a major recession.
• Nelson Mandella is released from prison in South Africa after 28 years.
• East and West Germany reunite including currency and economies.

Technology:

• Microsoft Releases Windows 3.0.
• Depletion of the Ozone Layer is discovered above the North Pole.
• 18 years after its launch the US Space Probe Pioneer reaches a distance of 46.5 billion miles beyond all planetary orbits.

Entertainment:

• The Simpsons is seen for the first time on FOX TV
• Popular films this year included: Home Alone, Ghost, Dances with Wolves, and Pretty Woman
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered this year and ran until 1996.
• Entertainment Weekly hits newsstands.

Cost of Living:

• Average Income per year: $28,960.00
• Average Monthly Rent: $465.00
• Cost of a gallon of Gas: $1.34
• US Postage Stamp: 25 cents

Pictures from the Past: Tricia

1961 ­– Facts About Me

º This is a picture of me at my third birthday party.

º We were living in San Antonio, Texas.

º I don’t remember if I asked for the Casper, The Friendly Ghost, jack in the box.  I do remember that I was often called Casper while growing up because I was so pale.

1961 – World Events

º US Cuban Exiles and CIA mount unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Castro.  Became known as the Bay of Pigs.

º Fidel Castro declares Cuba is to adopt Communism and bans free elections.

º The Soviet Union detonates a 58-megaton yield hydrogen bomb known as Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya. It remains the largest ever man-made explosion.

º John F. Kennedy inaugurated as President of the United States.

º President Kennedy asks Congress for $531 million to put a man on the moon.

º US Freedom Riders begin interstate bus rides to test the new US Supreme Court integration decision.

º Construction of the Berlin Wall begins in Germany.

º Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space.

1961 – Popular Culture

º IBM introduces the Selectric typewriter Golfball.

º “Barbie” gets a boyfriend when the “Ken” doll is introduced.

º Cost of a gallon of gas is 27 cents.

º Pampers, the first disposable diaper, introduced

º Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee for To Kill a Mockingbird.

º Popular films include 101 Dalmatians, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and West Side Story.

Pictures from the Past: Emilie

Not that he would ever read this, but this post is in honor of my younger brother, Geoff, who turned (gulp) 21 earlier this month.  So even though I spent a lot of time wishing he’d go away when we were younger, now that he’s at least approaching adulthood, I’m glad he’s around.  And some of my favorite childhood memories of him are when we were on summer vacations.

1994–Facts About Me

• This picture was taken in late July, which means I was ten and Geoff was about to turn five.
• We were in Florida with our parents.  Our vacation that year was supposed to be to Mackinac Island in Michigan, but Mom found an offer for Disney World she couldn’t refuse, so Mackinac was post-poned until the following year.
• This is my second trip to Disney World (Geoff’s first), and my second time on an airplane.  We boarded the plane, then had to get off and wait for about two hours due to a mechanical problem.  An art teacher sat near us at the gate and she sketched Geoff’s favorite stuffed animal, Puppy, and we kept that sketch on the fridge for years.
• Geoff was a daredevil with the rides in Disney World.  He went with Dad on things like Big Thunder Mountain, while Mom and I stuck to the Mad Hatter’s Teacups.  However, Geoff did freak out at Snow White’s Adventures when the witch appeared.
• Geoff had a much better time in the ocean than I did when I was four-going-on-five…as in, he didn’t swallow a mouthful of salt water and scream bloody murder:)

1994–World Events

• This is the first year the Winter Olympics begin alternating with the Summer Olympics, so that there are games of some sort every two years.  Figure skating is the big draw at the ’94 games, due to the highly publicized attack on US skater Nancy Kerrigan.  Former Olympic-eligable skaters are also allowed to reinstate their eligability, bringing back favorite champs like Katarina Witt, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, and Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov.
• (Further in honor of Geoff)  Kurt Cobain, lead singer of the band Nirvana, is found dead in his home.
• The Rwanda genocide kills hundreds of thousands.
• South Africa marks the end of apartheid by holding multiracial elections.