Knott's Berry Farm photo circa 1975


A couple of years back, I found a box of old slides at my parents house, and slowly converted them  into digital format.  The picture below is of my brother and I at Knott's Berry Farm in 1975. (I'm the little fella on the right).


We lived in Southern California at the time, and while I lived to go to Disneyland, my old man couldn't get enough of Knott's Berry Farm.  We visited the park quite a bit, and the old man would snap pictures at every turn.  I may have to post more of them in the near future.


Retro ashtray





I'm not sure what persuaded me to buy this ash tray at the local thrift shop, as I don't even smoke.  However, as an enthusiast of retro design, I couldn't pass up this wicked mod piece of sculpted glass. 

I can just picture a businessman in the 1960's spending a quiet evening in his Holiday Inn hotel room, drinking a scotch on the rocks, and putting out his Winston butts in the ashtray next to his bed as he reviews business reports.  Can't you?

Recycled Cycles - my favorite bicycle shop in Northern Colorado

by Darrin Vindiola


Not too long ago, my bride and I stepped out for a leisurely stroll about town in Fort Collins Colorado, and one of my first stops was Recycled Cycles.  I often pop in to peruse their used parts section for different bike projects I'm usually up to my elbows in.  On this particular day however, I stopped in to be nosy and admire their stock.  (Hope they didn't mind).  Here's some pictures to give you an idea of what Recycled Cycles has to offer..


 Ladies one speed Schwinn 'Collegiate'
a steal at $149.00



 Men's Schwinn 'Speedster' Cruiser



 Beautiful Schwinn Cruiser Trike
Dig that nifty BEER err.. "Drink" holder built into the frame!





Schwinn Beach Cruiser Tandem
My bride has been bugging me forever to get a tandem bicycle for us.  If there is one model I would definitely consider buying, it's this Schwinn Cruiser tandem.  Style and comfort complete with a seven speed hub, and two cool "drink" holders.

Now that's what I call a FAT tire bike!



My favorite section of the store..


Vintage bikes galore!


I MUST get some of these grips for my bike!




Schwinn 'Fritz Flyer' and 'Apple Krate' reproductions



And it's not just vintage and retro bikes that Recycled Cycles sells. They also carry mountain bikes, road bikes, exercise bikes, heck.. even bamboo bikes.  There is a bike to fit any persons need or interest, and if you're ever in Fort Collins, do yourself a favor and stop in and visit them.

I had an incredibly great time during this visit, and it must have showed.  My bride looked at me as we were leaving and said "You are so happy right now.  Maybe you should be working in a bike shop."  I told her I had indeed given it some thought, but since my passion lies within beach cruisers, vintage, and retro bikes, I'm not sure how marketable or relevant I could be in the field.

My personal projects and bike builds keep me happy, and who knows.. maybe someday I'll be able to parlay that into something more.  I'm just glad there are shops out there like Recycled Cycles that help to keep my passion alive and burning.




Retro Bicycle memories - Part Two

by Darrin Vindiola


Like many folks, bicycling holds a very special place in my heart.  Biking was my first taste of freedom and independence, and as we all know.. it's a sweet taste indeed. Many people feel the same way about automobiles, and while I also loved my cars, bicycles just seem to have left me with more magical and wondrous memories.


I feel kind of bad for my kids in regards to biking. Mainly because they never got the chance to have rich and fulfilling experiences with their bikes, similar to the ones many adults my age experienced as kids.  Chock it up to a combination of things like where we live, and the state of society, but I wouldn't dream of letting my kids do half of the things I did back then.  The 1970's and 80's were simply a much different time.

I can't begin to count how many times my friends and I were gone from sun up to sun down, riding our bikes all day long across town and throughout the countryside.  We'd start out by getting up at the crack of dawn and packing lunches for ourselves which usually consisted of sandwiches, chips, and some sweets.  We'd stop by the gas station to get some bottled soda, and then it was off for a day of exploring and adventure.

On one such excursion, my best friend and I came up with the brilliant idea of spending a Saturday riding our bikes on railroad tracks in the country.  The prospect of doing something that to our knowledge, no other kids in our parts had ever attempted, excited us to no end.  The infinite amount of railroad track, as well as having no idea where it was going to take us, awakened the explorers within us.

We both had BMX bikes with big knobby tires, which served us well while "riding the rails" .  The ride was unbelievably bumpy and rough, and we had to ride at a pretty slow pace so as not to rattle our teeth loose.  Later in the day when the bumpy ride was starting to wear thin, we had no choice but to continue our journey, as everything else but the railroad track was covered in thick vegetation.   We had a blast for most of the day until late afternoon, when we learned exactly what saddle sores were.  I think we spent the last two hours of the day walking our bikes along the track, because we were too sore to sit down on them any longer.  Our hands and feet were tingling and numb from the pounding they took all day long.  We laid down to go to sleep that night and felt as if we were still shaking and bouncing even though we were laying perfectly still.  And talk about worn out!  I don't think I ever slept as sound as I did that night.

Some might not immediately see the fun and adventure in that story, but I assure you we had plenty of both along the way.  We did things like eating our lunch under a railroad bridge, stopping by streams just to watch the water roll by, and putting our ear to the railroad track to see if any trains were approaching from miles away.  We felt like the only kids on earth, and we daydreamed big.  We talked about how we would survive if we had to run away on our bikes in the event that the U.S. was invaded by some hostile force.  We wondered if we could build a river raft that we could ride all the way from Colorado to the Mississippi.  We pondered just how far we could make it across the U.S. on our bikes, if only our parents would let us try.

The sense of freedom we felt during our adventures was divine, and with good reason.  There were no ties to our home life and personal realities during these excursions.  We also had no electronic leashes like cell phones that mom and dad could use to check on us. We truly had a sense of independence and freedom, but still had the security of being able to go home at the end of the day.  There was no grind, or weight of the world to shoulder once we got back home.  We were kids going back home to be kids.  Talk about being totally worry free.  I'm not entirely sure I've experienced that feeling since I was a kid, nor do I know if I can ever come close.

As a boy, I viewed my bikes as a personal extension of myself, kind of how people view their cars.  I always took great pride in meticulously building and customizing each and every bike I owned.  When I got my first car at the age of fifteen, I carried my BMX bike in the trunk for about a year.  This of course was when car trunks had more square footage than your typical New York apartment.  I thought it was a great idea, because if my car broke down, I'd have a way to get back home.  But mostly I did it because I didn't want to feel like a total sell out.   Like so many of my other friends, I eventually ditched bikes all together, and began using my car exclusively as a more convenient means of transportation.

Fast forward to 2010 when I purchased my Schwinn Beach Cruiser.  Buying a retro bike is something that I wanted to do for several years, and doing so has yet to disappoint.  I got rid of my 21 speed mountain bike to make way for my retro red one speed cruiser.  I personally prefer slower paced bike rides where I can better enjoy the scenery and my surroundings.   Not to say that you can't do the same thing with road or mountain biking, but everything from the shifting of gears, to ergonomic positioning, were things I was personally never too fond of.  

I wanted to get back to bicycling basics in the truest sense, and to me, that was going back to riding a one speed bike.  A few of my friends scratch their heads and still don't understand why I bought a one speed, but back in the day before multiple gear bikes were all the rage, one speed bikes were all everyone rode.



 My Schwinn freshly assembled right out of the box


My old man used to tell me stories about when he was a kid in the 1950's, and how he and his friends would ride their one speed Schwinn's and Hawthorne's all over Los Angeles California.  Not only that, they would ride for miles up the surrounding hills and mountains.  He mad many a trip from the Chino area, all the way up to the Prado River Dam.  He said they would ride until their legs felt like they were going to fall off.  But, as with any bicycle trip uphill, the payoff was the nice ride back downhill.  I rode up my share of hills and mountains as a kid as well.  There's nothing quite like the feeling of riding down a monstrous hill with a good stiff breeze blowing through your hair.  Mind you, I don't have quite as much hair for the wind to blow through these days.. but the sensation is still every bit as good as when I was a kid.

I must admit that building up my stamina to ride a one speed bike again after twenty four years wasn't easy, but it got less laborious with every ride I took.  I felt like my new Schwinn and I were made for each other, and had a blast putting some nice custom touches on her.


My Schwinn "Brunhilde" after some customization


Reminiscing about biking gets me excited as to what kinds of memories I will create to look back on in the future.  How about you?  Are you a bicycle enthusiast?  Do you have any great retro stories and memories from years past, or even recently?  If so.. I'd love to hear them!


Retro Bicycle memories - Part One

by Darrin Vindiola


It happens to me every year.  Fall rolls in, I'm not able to ride my bike as much, and it gets me reminiscing about biking memories from years past.

The first time I ever sat on a bike was in 1977.  It was a blue Schwinn, similar to the one pictured at the left.  While watching my cousin ride her new bike, I asked if it was hard to do.  She jumped off, explained the fundamentals of how to ride a bike (as well as a six year old could) and said.. "now you ride it".

I sat on the bike, started pedaling, and rode the blue Schwinn up and down the street until my cousin started screaming for a turn.  It was as simple as that for me.  No falls, crashes, or mishaps.  Riding a bike felt as natural to me as breathing.. and has ever since.  I remember my old man and uncle pulling up into the driveway while I was riding my cousins bike.  Both of them were shocked to learn that I had simply hopped on the bike and commenced to riding it.  My old man looked as proud as I felt, and surprised me soon after with a bike of my own.



My first bicycle was a 1978 Sears Free Spirit Moto Cross model exactly like the one pictured above.  During the first couple of weeks I owned the bike, I turned every nut, bolt, and screw on it.  I had no clue what I was doing.. I was simply trying to teach myself the mechanics of bicycles.  I didn't know it at the time, but this would evolve into a hobby that would last throughout my entire youth, my 20s, most of my 30s, and would once again be rekindled early in 2010.  

As I became adept at repairing and maintaining my bike, I decided to start customizing it.  I removed the chain guard, fenders, racing decorations, and reflectors.  I replaced the banana saddle with a smaller BMX racing seat, installed new alloy mag wheels, and outfitted it with all kinds of upgraded accessories like pedals, handlebars, and tires.
 

By the early 1980's, BMX biking was taking the nation by storm. While my Sears Free Spirit looked like a BMX bike, it wasn't the real deal.  I was ready to upgrade to a name brand bike with a lighter diamond shaped frame, specifically engineered to withstand massive amounts of off-road abuse.

My Sears Free Spirit now looked incredibly sharp after all of the work I had performed, and a couple of kids from the neighborhood started offering to buy it from me.  I sold it to one of my friends, and used the revenue to buy all of the parts I needed to build an entirely new bike from scratch.  

I ended up buying a beat up Schwinn Phantom BMX frame from a junkyard for $5.00.  To anyone else it may have looked like a piece of junk, but I immediately saw amazing potential.  My old man helped me sand it down and repaint it a beautiful aqua blue, and I then started building the bike from the ground up, molding it into exactly what I wanted it to be.   The funny thing.. is that once I completed my new project and rode the bike for a few months, I again got the urge to build a totally new bike.  I sold my bike to a bicycle shop in town for a nice profit, and then used the money to fund an all new project. 

I continued building and selling bikes throughout the years, and actually began to get a reputation for putting together well built and unique looking bikes.  Kids started dropping by my house to see what new projects I was working on.  On a couple of occasions, project bikes I was working on, sold before I even got a chance to test ride them.  As time went on, friends started bringing me bikes to tune up and repair, which actually generated some nice spending cash.

While I absolutely loved building and customizing bikes, I was even more enthusiastic about riding them.  Biking consumed much of my waking thoughts, and was something I simply could not get enough of.  Memories of bike culture and endless adventures I experienced as a kid, will be the topic of my very next post.   Stay tuned kids..


Vintage matchbooks



A few vintage matchbooks from my personal collection..



 
This Godfather's matchbook is from 1980.  Godfather's made awesome pizza back in the day.  Their catch phrase was "a pizza you can't refuse".  I remember the folks behind the counter having no problem with a ten year old helping himself to a book of matches.  Yes, it was a much different time!


 
 
 
I picked up this matchbook a little over 25 years ago during my honeymoon in Colorado Springs.  I recently showed it to my bride and she couldn't believe I still had this in my possession.  That's me though, I tend to tightly hold on to keepsakes and mementos for long periods of time, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.



The Bali Hai in San Diego


The Castaways in Las Vegas


This matchbook below may be a bit tattered, but it's one of my favorite pieces from my collection due to the memories attached to it.  It's at the very least 40 years old, and was obtained by my father from a Circle K convenience store located down the road from my grandparents house in Rosemead California.



I have no idea how I retained this matchbook for so many years, but as I've said before.. I love to collect things!




I swear I remember seeing this little red headed fella at Circle K stores during the 70's. His attire leads me to believe that he was put in place as the company mascot during the 1960's, or possibly the 1950's when Circle K was established. I'm not quite sure how long he was employed by Circle K before being retired however.  Hmm.. .this subject may warrant some further investigation.

When I was a small boy, I used to love sitting on the front porch with my grandfather at his house.  We would sip on iced teas and Shasta soda's, watch freight trains and traffic pass by, and talk about life (as a six and sixty-five year old knew it).

While visiting my grandparents, more often than not, my granddad would pull a crisp one dollar bill from his billfold, hand it to me and say, "Darrin why don't you run down to Circle K and get us a bag of Dorito's.  I'll even let you keep the change".  Yes.. back in 1975, you actually had change left over from a dollar after buying a large bag of Dorito's!  I would quickly run to the end of the block, buy us a bag of Dorito's and maaaaaybe a half dozen pieces of candy and a couple toys for myself.  I'd rush back to my grandparents house, where my grandfather and I would subsequently plow through the bag of Dorito's all by ourselves.  We'd then go inside and flip on the old Zenith television to watch Bonanza and Mickey Mouse Club reruns.

Wow.. It's amazing that something as simple as a matchbook can trigger such memories isn't it?

Vintage Vegas matchbooks

Apart from Vegas, are complimentary matchbooks still readily available these days?   I used to have quite an impressive matchbook collection as a small child, because virtually every business gave away free matchbooks displaying their logos.  Here are a couple of the oldest matchbooks from my personal collection..





Ah yes.. The Sands hotel!!  This is where my favorite performers of all time "The Rat Pack" used to perform back in the 60's.  The Sands was demolished in 1996 to make room for the Venetian resort.

 

Here's the back side of the matchbook.  I love how the  moddern architecture and styling of the cars from this era were captured in the artwork. 



My favorite matchbooks are the ones with artwork inside the cover.  This Sands matchbook even has artwork on the matches themselves!



The Fabulous Nevada Club

An old map of Freemont Street!

I have some more vintage matchbooks tucked away somewhere, and will display them later in the week, so stay tuned..




Vintage THERMOS brand thermoses from 1971

I found these beauties a couple of years back during a retro treasure hunting expedition at the local thrift shop. I've seen thermoses like these before, but never in this good of condition, so I immediately snatched them up. One of the things I love so much about these thermoses are the art patterns. I really dig the retro mod styling that just screams 1970's! The second thing I find so intriguing about these thermoses are there durability.

These thermoses are over 40 years old, and are still fully functional. Heck.. I can't begin to count how many thermoses I've broke over the last fifteen years! Like so many other consumer goods nowadays, things just aren't made to last. This wasn't the case in the "good old days" however. Turn these thermoses upside down and you'll find some interesting info stamped into the steel. The parts of the thermos.. cup, stopper, and filler are listed along with there respective part numbers. Like I've told my kids many times, back in the "good old days" products were made to last a long time. When they did wear out or break, they could usually be repaired or fixed at a nominal cost, because companies used to sell replacement parts for their products.

I'll never forget the coffee maker that my parents owned for the better part of thirty years. My mother set the timer to go off every morning at 5:00 a.m., seven days a week. The burner wore out twice over the years, and my parents would simply take it to the fix-it shop to get it fitted with a new one. It wasn't until recently that they could find no one to repair it, and finally replaced it with a new model.

It disgusts me how many consumer goods and appliances made today are simply disposable. It's brutally obvious that they're cheaply made and are meant to be discarded after a very limited life span. With the current push for sustainability and recycling, consumerism sure isn't helping to reduce our carbon foot print. While collecting retro items is indeed a fun hobby, it also makes me feel good to know that buying vintage can also serve as a way to reduce wasteful consumption.

An old retro phrase - and a rant on modern day vernacular

"I'm as fine as a split hair on a toad"

This one comes from my own memory banks.  Whenever my Grandfather was asked how he was doing, he would often answer with this very phrase.  The meaning?  Well.. seeing as a toad has no hair to speak of, a split hair on said toad would be pretty fine indeed!

I've used this phrase on many occasions in the past, but stopped utilizing it many moons ago.  The reason being, is that nine times out of ten, I would usually get a blank stare, and would succinctly have to explain the meaning of the phrase.  In fact.. the only time the saying was understood, was when I uttered it to folks my parents age and older.

Knowing there was no way I could be the only one to remember this endangered phrase, I turned to Google and indeed found it, along a few other variations..

  • "finer than a split hair on a toad's back"
  • "finer than a frog's hair split three ways"
  • "finer than a frog's hair split four ways"
  • "finer than frog hair"

So why don't great old sayings like this work in this day and age?  It's quite simple.. we're slowly but surely getting dumbed down.  Many people don't want to exert too much effort when deciphering a joke, watching entertainment, reading, or writing.  I'm sure I'm not the only person to see company e-mails circulate that are composed with shortened cyber words such as ROFL, THX, or IDK.

On a side note.. have you noticed that the good old fashioned double entendre is also becoming a thing of the past? (unless it's dirty or off color that is).  Not that I'm opposed to such humor.. but I miss the days where I could sit down with my kids to watch a television show, and not be bombarded with vulgar punch lines and raunchy jokes at every turn.  This type of raunchy humor seems to be a crutch for some of the most popular sitcoms on television these days.

Another trend is the desire to save as much time as one can while speaking.  Music is where I first noticed this.  When I was a kid, Bachman Turner Overdrive became known as BTO,  New Kids on the Block started being referred to as "NKOTB", I also see that Lady Gaga is now becoming more widely known as "Gaga".

Advertising execs and national retailers are now getting in on the act of simplifying brand names as well.  The Sci-Fi channel is now named "SyFy".  Wasn't "Sci-Fi" already a shortened phrase? And how about IHOP?   I don't know about you, but I personally never got winded or irritated by having to take a whole two seconds to utter the words.. "International House of pancakes", but that's just me.

I have a 1961 California school text book that is full of fairy tales, that I used in second grade.  The biggest differences I notice between this book and today's books for the same grade, are pretty distinguishable. The books of today seem simpler, with shorter sentence structure and simpler use of the English language.  The 1961 textbook didn't dumb anything down.  The words may have been a bit more complex, and while there were times my friends and I scurried to keep up in regards to comprehension, it ultimately made us better writers, speakers, as well as more articulate.

I wonder just how much more simplified and lazy our vernacular will get after a few more decades pass?  IDK.. TTBOMK, WAD.. WAEF.. most of us WILCO.

Not current on your Cyber phrase lingo?  You can decipher these abbreviations and many more at:  Net Lingo