Child of the 1980's - The Drive-In Theater

                Drive-In movies were a huge part of the lives of children and young adults during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Though drive-ins technically existed prior to World War I the first true patented drive-in opened in Camden, New Jersey in 1933.  Even after that they did not become a true part of culture until the 1950’s.  The growing popularity of drive-ins was evident at this time.  In 1948 the United States had less than 1,000 drive-ins compared to 17,000 indoor theaters.  By 1958 the numbers were changing with roughly 4,600 drive-ins opened in the country and approximately 12,000 indoor theaters.

                Drive-ins were a welcome change from what could be crowded indoor theaters.  First off one could sit in their own vehicle and watch a movie.  In fact the largest drive-in theater for a long time was located in Dearborn, Michigan and used to hold 3,000 cars.  It was eventually surpassed by the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop.  When the 1980’s began the drive-in was still going strong with approximately 3,500 screens located across the country.  However this decade would end quite differently.

                Growing up on Cape Cod I remember vividly going to the Yarmouth Drive-In located along Parker’s River.  There were also screens located in Hyannis, Dennis, East Falmouth, and Wellfleet.  During this time in the early 1980’s I got to see movies such as Return of the Jedi, E.T., Flash Gordon, and even Friday the 13^th Part III at the Yarmouth Drive-In.  It was such a thrill as a child barely in kindergarten to be able to lay down under a blanket with pillows and snacks and watch a movie on a screen that was between 90-100-feet wide.  Shows started at dusk and were double-features.  The first movie was usually the more family friendly since it was likely that the kids would be wide awake and wired for the show.  The second movie was usually a little looser, probably not R-rated, but likely a solid PG, or PG-13.  It felt like an adventure, a unique experience, being outside yet feeling like you were in your own living room.

Dennis Drive-In courtesy of Cinema Treasures

               
      The 1980’s began with five drive-ins on Cape Cod, and 3,500 nationwide.  By 1990 that number was below 1,000, and there was only one survivor on the Cape and that was in Wellfleet.  What caused the downfall?  Causes range from the rise of cable television to the wider availability of VCR’s.  Drive-Ins did not totally vanish, and still haven’t, but today they are more of a niche, something neat to experience once during the summer if possible, not a weekly ritual like in its heyday.

So for Cape Cod children of the 1980’s wondering what happened to the other four, here are the answers.  In East Falmouth the Cod Drive-In was first to go as it closed in 1980.  Today it is the site of J.R. Brody’s and Falmouth Lumber, a concrete slab likely where the tickets or refreshments were sold is still there.  The Dennis Drive-In on Hokum Rock Road closed shortly thereafter.  In its heyday it had room for nearly 1,000 cars and even had small planes landing and rolling up to watch movies.  Today it is an overgrown field near an industrial park.  If you walk around you can see old pavement, concrete slabs, and an occasional speaker or speaker pole.  The Yarmouth Drive-In I frequented as a child closed next in 1985.  Today it is an open field across from Capt. Parker’s Restaurant on Rt. 28.  The last Cape drive-in to close was the Hyannis Drive-In which shuttered in 1987.  Today it is a shopping center anchored by Toys R Us, Home Goods and Shaws.

Wellfleet Drive-In today courtesy of Wellfleet Cinemas

The Wellfleet Drive-In is still hanging on and has now found a second life as children of the 1980’s wish to recreate that old drive-in magic with their children.  Today there are only 336 drive-ins left in the country, that’s about 7% when compared to the prime of the late 1950’s. 

What movies do you remember seeing in the 1980’s at the drive-in?  Do you get the chance to go today?  For a trip down memory lane check out Drive-In Theater.com, and stay tuned for more buttery and sugary treats 1980’s style!

Click here for my last Child of the 1980's blog about Mascot Mania!

Child of the 80's - Mascot Mania Vol. 1

                The brand mascot has been a part of business for as long as advertising has existed.  From as far back as the first half of the 20^th century companies have tied their success to a familiar face that represents their product.   Before World War II there were icons such as Speedy Alka Seltzer, the Quaker Oats man, the Sun Maid Raisins Girl, and Mr. Peanut. 

                For children of the 1980’s, or any decade for that matter, it is easy to think back and remember which mascots or pitchmen made you want to buy a product.  For this blog I am going to share five of my favorites.  I am going to try going a little deeper and hopefully sparking some memories with these picks.  They are in no particular order, so let the flashbacks commence!

1.  Chester Cheetah – Cheetos

                Who could forget this smooth talking animated cheetah that started representing the snack company beginning in 1986?  His catchphrases were: “It ain’t easy bein’ cheesy.” and “Cheetos, the cheese that goes crunch!”  In the beginning Chester was animated in the traditional way before moving to CGI in the 21^st century.   He would always attempt to take others’ Cheetos and ultimately fail in an over the top cartoonish way.  Though this character still exists today there’s no doubting children of the 80’s have fond memories of his heyday.

2.  Fast Talker - Micro Machines

            These miniature vehicles were cool if you were a boy in the 1980’s. They were made even cooler through the commercials featuring extremely fast talker John Moschitta Jr.  At one point he was the world record holder being able to articulate 586 words per minute, his record has subsequently been broken twice.  The toys were hugely popular in the late 1980’s with Moschitta appearing in roughly 100 commercials as the Micro Machines Man.  The catchphrase he used, albeit very quickly, was: “Remember if it doesn't say Micro Machines, it's not the real thing!"

3.  Energizer Bunny

            Bursting onto the scene in 1989 was this now-classic advertising mascot.  The bunny equipped with an Energizer battery to power it began its run as a way of comparing how long he company’s batteries would last in comparison to the competition.  In its initial commercial a group of mechanical bunnies beat snare drums when the pink bunny came in beating a bass drum.  It then wandered into several fictitious commercials with the tag line ‘Still going…nothing outlasts Energizer, they keep going and going…”  Since then the fluffy mascot has appeared in well over a hundred commercials with no signs of slowing down.

4.  Snausages Dog

            Though the product line is still going strong today the mascot of these dog treats has been reduced to an image on the packaging.  The product created by Ken-L Ration debuted in 1984 with a commercial featuring the dog repeating the products name as it poked its head out from behind bushes and trees.  The Snausages name became well known throughout the 1980’s, later adding another classic commercial for their Snausages In A Blanket.  More than thirty years later Snausages is still going strong with the happy dog mascot still adorning the products and website.

5.  Cookiepuss et al – Carvel Ice Cream

                Founded in 1929 by Tom Carvel this ice cream company was huge back in the 1980’s.  The ice cream cakes became the stuff of legend with the unique designs being given different names such as Cookiepuss, Fudgie the Whale, Dumpy the Pumpkin, and a Santa Claus among others.   Carvel reached its zenith in 1985 with 865 stores grossing more than $300 million.  I can remember the Carvel store in the K-Mart plaza in Hyannis back then.  It was fun to go and see the made up cakes, even if I didn’t get one.  Though there are only about 400 stores open today Carvel still has a strong presence in supermarkets with its ice cream cakes.

                Those are only a few of the famed advertising mascots from the 1980’s.  There will definitely be a Volume 2 coming up, but for now enjoy the memories, and classic commercials here.  Stay tuned for more gnarly 80’s flashbacks! 

Click here to check out my last Child of the 1980's blog Mixtape Madness!

Child of the 80's - Mixtape Madness

                In a day when MP3’s are the common way people listen to music it is easy to forget the days of the classic mixtape.  Despite the advances in technology of the 21^st century it is still possible to find audio cassettes out there.  They may be increasingly rare now but in the 1980’s they were the go to mode of listening to music.  Do you remember?

                The audio cassette was invented in 1962 by Philips and progressively gained traction in the music genre during the 1970’s, battling it out with 8-track tapes.  However cassettes really took off in the 1980’s with the growing availability of the Sony Walkman, the portable cassette player.  It was introduced in the United States in 1980 and as of 2009 had sold more than 200 million units.  As important as the Walkman was for making ones music portable, there was another invention that changed the game just as much: the dual deck cassette recorder.

                
     This invention meant that no longer would people have to ‘only’ listen to whichever tape they had, or listen to the radio.  This invention meant that now we had the ability to take our favorite songs off of different tapes and make our own personal mixes.  The most widely used brands in the day were Maxell and Memorex.  This was a fabulous way to give gifts to friends or crushes back in the 1980’s.  A personal mixtape could say things that the old school love notes could not.  If you gave someone a tape with Foreigner’s ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’ it meant more than ‘roses are red, violets are blue.’  Plus you could always write a little love note on the inside of the tape sleeve, or on the tape’s label.

                One aspect of the tape recorder in general, not just the dual deck, was the ability to record off of the radio.  This meant if you timed it just right you could possibly snag that track you’ve been dying to have without having to buy the entire cassette.  It was the 80’s version of digital piracy.  Still this was often thwarted when radio DJs would talk and talk over the musical intro to the song, or play some sort of station ID just before the song ended.  Getting a clean crisp recording or a favorite track was nearly impossible.  I can remember countless times I wanted to grab my favorite song off of Cape 104 or PIXY 103 using my SONY dual deck and having to make do with it being talked over at the beginning or end.   

                Every now and then when going through boxes in my mother’s basement I will come across old mixtapes that are now 20-25 years old.  I was still creating mixes until the turn of the 21^st century, this time ripping music from my compact discs.  
    
     According to StorageCraft.com it is thought that in pristine condition audio cassettes can have a lifespan of thirty years.  However ones that have received lots of playback tend to last half as long.  This is just a heads up for anyone with classic mixes that one day they may want to play on some retro tape deck.  They might work, or the tape might get caught in the gears of the player, and we all know that winding the tape back in using a pencil can be a pain in the ass!

                Thanks for reading and be sure to come on back for more bitchin’ 80’s memories! 

Click here for my last Child of the 80's Blog about living the Happy Meal life!

Child of the 1980's - The Happy Meal Age

           “You deserve a break today!” 

The Golden Arches, the king of fast food, and surely a big part of the childhoods of most 1980’s kids, that is McDonald’s.  For me trips to McDonald’s in the 1980’s are associated with birthdays, good report cards, and successful sporting events.  The first half of the 1980’s also included another thing during McDonald’s trips, that being the Happy Meal.  I spent my early childhood years excitedly ordering them during my special trips to the fast food giant, eagerly anticipating the toy inside.

                When I first experienced a McDonald’s Happy Meal they were still a new choice.  The very first were tested locally in Kansas City markets in October 1977 before being launched nationally in June 1979 at a cost of $1.10.  The idea of a colorfully illustrated lunch pail type package aimed toward children is credited to a McDonald’s advertising executive named Dick Brams.  The very first nationally released Happy Meals had a circus wagon design and had handles on top to make it easy for kids to carry.

                Inside of the package children were greeted by a hamburger or cheeseburger, cookies,  and small French fries, in addition to a small drink of their choosing.  This would remain the same until McDonald’s introduced their Chicken McNuggets nationwide in 1983.  In recent years the company has attempted to become more health conscious by giving the options of apple slices and milk in addition to the old standbys.

                The first toys inside the Happy Meals were subpar compared to later years.  Kids would find a ‘McDoodler’ stencil, a ‘McWrist’ wallet, or an eraser shaped like a McDonaldland character inside.  Those characters included Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, Mayor McCheese, the Fry Kids, and more.  Children were likely pleased with their toys since there was nothing else to compare them to, today though it would be seen as a disappointment.

McDonaldland Characters

               
      Later in 1979 McDonald’s stepped up their game and had toys in the Happy Meals promoting Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  In the 1980’s the fast food giant would gain a reputation by having some legendary toys in the children’s meals.  Some of the greats include: Changeables which were essentially McDonald’s food products that transformed into robots, McNugget Buddies which were dressed in different occupational costumes, a set of colorful Halloween pails, and the iconic Mac Tonight Moon Man figures.  They also hit on many of the popular kids shows of the 80’s with their toys like Muppet Babies, Fraggle Rock, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Garfield, DuckTales, and more. 

It is easy to see why sales of the meals are still so high.  For example, according to Time Magazine in 2012 1.2 billion Happy Meals were sold worldwide.  Granted not all of the news is great, the childhood obesity rate has grown from 4.2% in 1979 when Happy Meals were introduced to 18.5% in 2017.  That is not all due to one restaurant though.  On a lighter note if you saved any of your toys from that era some are worth good money.  Some of the most valuable include the Roary the Lion Beanie Baby which can go for as much as $750, the 1990’s fad Furby’s are also quite valuable. 

Did you ever have a Happy Meal during your childhood?  Do you still have any of the toys?   Stay tuned for more killer 80’s memories!

Click here for my last Child of the 80's blog all about the Atari 2600!

Child of the 1980's - Atari 2600

                In 2017 it is hard to imagine a time when video games were primitive.  Xbox, Nintendo Wii, and Playstation have all lay claim to some incredible games and consoles.  The graphics and stories are mind-blowing with new advances in technology coming at such a rapid pace.  Handheld consoles, virtual reality, motion-capture, and more have become the norm.  However there was a time not very long ago where a dot bouncing across a screen between two sliding bars was the biggest thing on earth.  Before the more recent games where the graphics mimic reality there was a time when 8-bit graphics were the greatest thing going.  It was during this time, as a child of the 1980’s, where I was introduced to the world of video games.  It was not through Nintendo, or Sega, or Xbox, or Playstation.  It was through the granddaddy of video game consoles, the Atari 2600.

Atari 2600

                In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s if a kid wanted to play video games it was usually off to the video arcade.  It was less common for a kid to have a home console although a few did exist, specifically ColecoVision and Atari VCS.  Atari had a firm grip on the market though as they had established themselves by creating the game Pong in 1972, one of the earliest video arcade games. The Atari Video Console System was an 8-bit system released in September 1977.  It would sell for between $199-229 ($803-925 in 2017) and popularize cartridge-based consoles with games being loaded into the top of the machine.  The games would be controlled with a simple joystick coupled with one red button.  Initially Atari released nine games with its VCS: Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Blackjack, Combat, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, two versions of Surround, Video Olympics.

                Atari would change its console from the VCS to 2600 in 1982 when they released its successor the 5200.  It was around this time that I was introduced to home video games.  I can clearly remember playing games like Pitfall, Missile Command, and Pac-Man at home on weekends or after school.  Pac-Man would go on to become the top-selling game ever on Atari along with a pop culture icon.  Some of the other legendary games that came along through the Atari include Asteroids, Space Invaders, Frogger, Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mario Bros., and Donkey Kong.

Pac-Man Screenshot

                I did not get a chance to play all of those games on my home console, as the early 1980’s were still a time where video games were new and rare and still seen as a niche, or a luxury, while playing outside was the go to activity for kids.  However I loved playing my Atari, and so did a lot of other people.  When all was said and done the Atari 2600 sold over 30 million consoles and hundreds of millions of games during its time in existence.

                

     Atari’s grasp on the throne would come to an end quickly.  Oversaturation of the market led to a huge drop in sales beginning in late 1983.  They continued to slip in 1984 and 1985 with many thinking home video game consoles were fading away.  Then in late 1985 Japan brought its Nintendo Entertainment System to the United States.  It would revitalize the video game industry eventually rendering Atari obsolete and selling more than 60 million units worldwide.

                

     Ironically more than thirty years after Atari was the biggest thing in video games one can play some of the classics online.  There are original consoles still able to be found on eBay along with the popular Atari Flashback new consoles.  The company also made headlines again in 2014 when 1,300 unsold cartridges, many of them of the huge failure E.T., were uncovered in the desert in New Mexico.  Atari officials said that the burial was of over 700,000 cartridges in 1983 but was frequently dismissed as only an urban legend.

                Despite it being mainly a footnote in the history of video gaming there is no denying the importance of Atari.  I have lots of fond memories swinging on vines as Pitfall, shooting aliens in Space Invaders, and chomping ghosts in Pac-Man.  What were the first video games you remember playing?  Stay tuned for more awesome 80’s memories!

Click here to check out my last Child of the 80's blog about my Introduction to Music.

Child of the 1980's - Introduction to Music

                Music has the ability to conjure up emotion without effort.  A favorite song can make a bad day better.  It can make a workout amazing, a road trip epic, a thunderstorm legendary, and so much more. 

                We all have those songs and artists which bring those emotions up within us.  However do you ever stop to think about where it all began?  Not necessarily how you came to love whatever your music of choice is, but how you were first introduced to music period?

                This question does not need to be relegated to a specific time or age group, someone whose first musical love was Justin Bieber is just as valid as someone who saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Music is a gateway to the soul. 

                For me as a child of the 1980’s my musical introductions definitely fit the period.  I was a child who owned vinyl albums and a Fisher-Price record player.  I was a child who was amazed by audio cassette tapes and the Sony Walkman.  I was a child who when he became a teenager saw the wide availability of something called a Compact Disc.  It was on compact disc that I purchased the album that changed my life more than any other, Nirvana’s Nevermind in 1991.  I still own that CD despite it having a severe case of CD rot after 26 years.  However I can still remember vividly two musical milestones in my childhood that I will share.  One is the first song I can actually remember playing, two is the first album I remember owning that I really loved.

                The first song that I can remember hearing was (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon. 
     I still have a vivid picture in my head of what that song brings up.  The song itself was released October 24, 1980 as the lead single from his upcoming Double Fantasy album.  The album was a comeback for the former Beatle after spending five years in a semi-retirement.  It comes as no surprise to myself looking back that my introduction to music should be connected to The Beatles as my father grew up as a diehard fan, even a member of the fan club during the mid-1960’s. 

                I have fond memories of hearing that song and album at my Nana’s house.  Though I cannot pinpoint that date I know that it must have been early spring of 1981 as I can remember windows and doors open likely as my Nana would have said ‘to air out the house after winter.’ 

                John Lennon would be murdered on December 8, 1980, only three weeks after Double Fantasy was released.  It catapulted the initially lukewarmly received album into the stratosphere.  After (Just Like) Starting Over other hits would come including Watching the Wheels, Woman, and Beautiful Boy.  It became a sad cap to an amazing musical legacy.

                The first album I remember owning and loving should come as no shock due to my age.  Michael Jackson’s Thriller album dropped just after my 5^th birthday in 1982 and I was given a copy as a Christmas present.  The nine songs became the soundtrack to my life for a time.  There were many an occasion when the openings beats of Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ would be blasting on that Fisher-Price record player that I had conveniently stuck in our living room window so that all of the neighborhood kids could come and dance in the front yard.

                It helped that MTV had videos for Billie Jean, Thriller, and Beat It on constant rotation.  Even if I had not gotten the album for Christmas, I would have been asking for it all of 1983.  The album set all sorts of sales and awards marks.  Representatives for Sony Entertainment who owned Epic Records which released Thriller said in February 2017 that the album has sold over 105 million copies worldwide.

                Michael Jackson became the biggest star in the world and his videos were legendary.  For those under 30 it might be hard to separate the more tragic figure Jackson became from the undeniable musical genius he was in the 1980’s.  Back then he was every bit the King of Pop that he named himself later on.  Thriller is to this day the only full album I have on my iPod.

                What are you first memories of music in your childhood?  No matter what your age is those first memories are strong and can shape your tastes forever.  I can look back today and realize how my parents influenced my musical preferences.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more totally tubular 1980’s memories!

Click here to see my previous Child of the 1980's blog about the Rise of Nickelodeon!