Top 25 Things Disappearing From America

[David In Indy]

This is very interesting, but I was sorry to hear about the wild horses. And Drive-In theaters were a lot of fun to go to when I was a kid. I can't remember the last time I even saw a drive-in theater around here. 10 years? Maybe more.

http://www.walletpop.com/specials/top-25-things-vanishing-from-america?photo=8&icid=200100397x1206016747x1200310509

[Berit]

I've got a personal check, my mom's cousin in Seattle sent it to me. It's $150. It's so expensive to cash it in Sweden that $150 hardly covers the cost.....

I think I'll frame it. Next time she comes she'll get a good laugh 

There aren't any personal checks in Sweden anymore, hasn't been for many years. Only cards. And the Internet Bank. Maybe that's progress......

[mariez]

That is interesting, David - and some of it is sad, too.

Drive-in movies were fun as a kid.  We didn't get to go often, but it was a real treat when we did.  We wore our pajamas and brought our pillows! 

My favorite tree in our front yard fell victim to the emerald ash borer and had to be cut down a few years ago.    

I wrote a "handwritten" letter of condolence just last week.  When I send my out of state relatives birthday cards, I still always include a handwritten note.

And I'm on dial-up right now!   

Marie

[David In Indy]

That is interesting, David - and some of it is sad, too.

Drive-in movies were fun as a kid.  We didn't get to go often, but it was a real treat when we did.  We wore our pajamas and brought our pillows! 

My favorite tree in our front yard fell victim to the emerald ash borer and had to be cut down a few years ago.    

I wrote a "handwritten" letter of condolence just last week.  When I send my out of state relatives birthday cards, I still always include a handwritten note.

And I'm on dial-up right now!  

Marie

Another tree we rarely see anymore is the Dutch Elm. Remember when they were being attacked by that parasite? We used to have elm trees everywhere around here, but not anymore.

I remember seeing lots of birch trees here too. Their bark looked like paper. Suddenly they disappeared. Dad said it was because the climate here is a bit too warm for them and that's why they disappeared. They are growing all over the place up in Michigan. But I also remember seeing a few birch trees in Evansville when I lived there, and it's warmer down there than it is here. So I don't know.

Yeah, we sometimes went to the drive-in with our pajamas and pillows too. And blankets! Once we were a bit older Mom and Dad didn't make us do that anymore. We always brought lawn chairs and we'd sit out in front of the car to watch the movies. And the Pendleton Pike drive-in had a small amusement park, so it was a lot of fun to get there early so we could ride on the rides.

[pnwDUDE]

I was at the fire hall one day, and one of our new 19 year old volunteers wanted to use the phone. I told him there was one he could use out in the truck bay. He comes back ten minutes later, and said, "Wow, I've never had to dial a phone before." It took me a few seconds to understand what he ment--he'd never used a rotary-dial phone.

Brad

[injest]

I was at the fire hall one day, and one of our new 19 year old volunteers wanted to use the phone. I told him there was one he could use out in the truck bay. He comes back ten minutes later, and said, "Wow, I've never had to dial a phone before." It took me a few seconds to understand what he ment--he'd never used a rotary-dial phone.

Brad

 

I remember getting into trouble with my aunt right after she got the first in home phone we had ever seen...back then you could dial your own number, hang up fast and it would ring! We did it over and over...we were a simple lot and easily entertained! 

[David In Indy]

I remember getting into trouble with my aunt right after she got the first in home phone we had ever seen...back then you could dial your own number, hang up fast and it would ring! We did it over and over...we were a simple lot and easily entertained! 

I remember that! I used to prank Mom and Dad with that all the time!

[David In Indy]

I also remember sitting down on the floor one day playing with the telephone and I dialed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2, 3... (etc). I can't remember where or what I called, but I got in BIG trouble for it the following month when my parents got the phone bill. I never did it again. 

They always told me NOT to play with the phone because they were afraid I'd call China.

[injest]

I also remember sitting down on the floor one day playing with the telephone and I dialed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2, 3... (etc). I can't remember where or what I called, but I got in BIG trouble for it the following month when my parents got the phone bill. I never did it again. 

They always told me NOT to play with the phone because they were afraid I'd call China.

LOL!!

me too!!

[Kelda]

We might be going to drive in during the eurobrokies gathering!

[Jeff Wrangler]

I remember getting into trouble with my aunt right after she got the first in home phone we had ever seen...back then you could dial your own number, hang up fast and it would ring! We did it over and over...we were a simple lot and easily entertained! 

I don't remember that, but I remember party-line telephones. 

And telephone "numbers" that had letters in them: EX5-5555.

And when we went to visit my grandmother, if my mother wanted to telephone my aunt, whose phone number was in the same exchange as my grandmother's, she only had to dial the last four digits of the number.

[David In Indy]

We might be going to drive in during the eurobrokies gathering!

You still have drive-ins in Europe? You're lucky Kelda. Drive-ins are quickly disappearing over here. At least they are in my part of the country. I miss them. They were a lot of fun.

[David In Indy]

The last time I was at a drive-in was when I lived in Evansville. Starlite Drive-in was about a 15 minute drive from my house, across the river in Henderson, Kentucky. It was located way out in the country on highway 60, with lots of woods all around it. It was beautiful. I think we saw Con-Air and Casper the last time I was there. I don't know if Starlite is still open or not.

[Kelda]

Id never even seen a drive in i didnt think they existed in europe but apparently there is one in Brussels.

[David In Indy]

Id never even seen a drive in i didnt think they existed in europe but apparently there is one in Brussels.

Well I hope you all decide to go to the drive-in! You'd have lots of fun... especially if you go with a bunch of brokies!!

There's something magical about sitting outside under the night sky watching a movie with your friends. I know that probably sounds a bit corny, but it's true. I really do miss those drive-ins.

[Penthesilea]

You still have drive-ins in Europe?

We barely had them to begin with. I don't know about other countries, but drive-in theatres always were a rarity in Germany. I just checked Wikipedia, it says at their hayday there were about two dozens drive-ins in West Germany (60 million people), and only one in East Germany (twenty million people).

Today, there are only five drive-ins left in West Germany, but oddly they opened new ones in East Germany after the iron curtain fell, and some of them are still in use. Most people in Germany have never been to a drive-in theater and know them only from US movies. I guess the movies are the reason they became (relatively) popular in East Germany after the iron curtain fell. Everything which was percieved as typical West (meaning the Western world) or American was highly desirable back then.


So even if drive-ins are on the decline in the US, I bet you still have much, much more of them than we have.

We were lucky and had a drive-in in the next bigger city. Of course my parents never-ever would have taken their kid anywhere in the evening (what a shocking thought ). But when I was a teenager, we went on our own. I remember the bad sound of the loudspeaker you would hang into your window.  And I remember making-out in the backseat more than any movie

[Jeff Wrangler]

I don't suppose anybody will miss outhouses. ... 

[Artiste]

There are still some party telephone lines in the USA! But now rare ?

[David In Indy]

My grandmother had a party line. I remember picking up the phone and eavesdropping on the other party's calls. My grandma would get REALLY mad when she caught me doing it! She could tell who the incoming call was for, by the way the phone rang. It rang differently for each party.

And I might be telling my age here, but when I was VERY young, our phone number was Lincoln 5-1126. When I was 5 or 6 years old, it changed to 545-1126.

And grandma's was something like (long distance operator) Bramble #-#### Ring 2. I don't remember her full phone number anymore, just the Bramble and ring 2 parts. lol

[CellarDweller]

I don't suppose anybody will miss outhouses. ... 

ya think? 

[McNell]

Ponderosa restaurants....when I was a kid that was the place to go...don't see them anymore...

[JudgeHolden]

Horny toads. They were everywhere when I was a kid, we called 'em dragon babies.They secreted some substance from their eyes that looked like blood, which freaked girls out, so right there was guaranteed entertainment value, put one in your sisters jewelery box and wait for the scream.

I dont know when I last saw one. Its not down to global warming or development, as they like hot weather and theres still plenty of empty remote areas of the SW. Whatever happened to those horny toads.

Also old-fashioned storm cellars, just a dugout in the bottom of the yard with two doors and a ladder or steps. They were dark, scary holes (and usually home to centipededs, scorpions and horny toads) so I guess thats why they fell out of fashion, but in tornado country, where else do you go, If you go in the basement, your liable to have the house fall in on you if you get hit, yet about the only place I see those storm cellars is on older properties. I recall when we lived in base housing, each neighborhood had a concrete bunker to go to and ours had battery powered lights in it and no bugs.

[injest]

Horny toads. They were everywhere when I was a kid, we called 'em dragon babies.They secreted some substance from their eyes that looked like blood, which freaked girls out, so right there was guaranteed entertainment value, put one in your sisters jewelery box and wait for the scream.

I dont know when I last saw one. Its not down to global warming or development, as they like hot weather and theres still plenty of empty remote areas of the SW. Whatever happened to those horny toads.

Also old-fashioned storm cellars, just a dugout in the bottom of the yard with two doors and a ladder or steps. They were dark, scary holes (and usually home to centipededs, scorpions and horny toads) so I guess thats why they fell out of fashion, but in tornado country, where else do you go, If you go in the basement, your liable to have the house fall in on you if you get hit, yet about the only place I see those storm cellars is on older properties. I recall when we lived in base housing, each neighborhood had a concrete bunker to go to and ours had battery powered lights in it and no bugs.

what IS it with men and liking to hear girls squeal? it is my husbands favorite sound, apparently.

[ifyoucantfixit]

   Old fashiioned highway signs....BURMA SHAVE............

[jstephens9]

You would think that drive in movie theatres would make a come back with so many other retro type things around. I don't know if there are any left around here. There was one still open in Waynesville, but I doubt it is still there. When I was growing up there were at least 4 in Asheville. They are all gone now. The last one was a flea market for a long time and the screen remained but they quit showing movies years ago. About 5 years ago the stie became a giant Lowe's store. I remember going with my parents when I was little to them and it seems I remember we would take food with us to eat. They also had a concession stand and I do remember one having a playground in front of the screen. It was fun. I remember when I was in high school they were still around, but they were going downhill by then. I remember one opened and showed x rated movies. That one is now a gated community. Another thing I remember from growing up is going to drive in restaurants with my parents. All the high school teenagers and even adults would drive around and around cruising, but I remember the cheeseburgers being so good. Buck's was the most poplular one. By the time I was in high school the drive in restaurants were pretty much gone too. Now we have Sonic, but it is not the same. It always made me mad that I seemed to always be too young for a lot of those things and now I wish I had of even been younger 

[Artiste]

Any pics of such drive-ins cinemas from many of you ?

[Artiste]

Was the American auto-industry mentioned?

[Front-Ranger]

Real Milk
Real Cream
Sexy Movies
Happy Endings
Kisses
Phones with no answering machine
Dads
Moms
Aprons
Philips Head Screwdrivers
Sitcoms with a plot
Natural hot springs

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Real Milk
Real Cream
Sexy Movies
Happy Endings
Kisses
Phones with no answering machine
Dads
Moms
Aprons
Philips Head Screwdrivers
Sitcoms with a plot
Natural hot springs

I will not miss phillips head screws!

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

What the--?

Not as important as honey bees and newspapers, but I'm really stunned to hear about this--
http://www.walletpop.com/specials/departures-2008


DHL in the U.S.
DHL, the German global shipping giant, will stop shipping within the United States on the ground and in the air, effective Jan. 30, 2009. All of DHL's 18 U.S. hubs will close.




Wow.

[mariez]

What the--?

Not as important as honey bees and newspapers, but I'm really stunned to hear about this--
http://www.walletpop.com/specials/departures-2008


DHL in the U.S.
DHL, the German global shipping giant, will stop shipping within the United States on the ground and in the air, effective Jan. 30, 2009. All of DHL's 18 U.S. hubs will close.

Wow.

Yeah, I heard about that last month.  It's especially devastating news for Wilmington, Ohio - home to a large distribution hub, which will lose 7,000 jobs.  9,500 jobs in total will be lost.   

DHL Cuts 9,500 Jobs in U.S., and an Ohio Town Takes the Brunt

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/business/11dhl.html

Marie

[Front-Ranger]

I will not miss phillips head screws!

Yes, but I'll miss the drivers...DHL drivers too. Now we'll be stuck with brown and FedEx.