Retropolis | Everything retro!

Kindergarten Valentine's Day 1969

Submitted by Mary on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 11:57am (9 reads)

Do you remember swapping Valentines in school? Our teachers would make a list of everyone in the class and we would take that list home and begin our project. The first part of the project was selecting the box of Valentines. During my childhood, Valentines were always sold in boxes covered with red cellophane that had just enough clear cellophane so that you could peak inside at the Valentines. read more...

How do I determine how old my vintage brooch or pin is?

Submitted by Mary on Sun, 02/07/2010 - 10:15am (3 reads)

I found this video on YouTube that will help you begin to determine the age of your vintage brooches and pins based on the clasp / catch in the back of your brooch. You cannot determine how old a brooch is by the clasp alone. There are exceptions, of course. For example, you will certainly find older brooches with newer, replacement pins on the back. So, the clasp alone does not determine the age, but in general, it's a great place to start. read more...

Gio Ponti: Furniture Designer, Artist, Industrial Designer, Architect and so much more

Submitted by Mary on Sat, 02/06/2010 - 2:56pm (4 reads)

Gio Ponti was an Italian architect (and so much more, as you will see in the video created by read more...

And now.... a Vintage Valentine Commercial

Submitted by Mary on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 10:47am (9 reads)

If you love vintage Valentines, you'll love this vintage Valentine commercial, which is from around the late 40's - 1950's. Before television, Coco Wheats used to have a children's radio show, starring Happy Hank.

In this vintage Valentine TV commercial, Happy Hank shows children the 20 colorful Valentines they will receive if they send in just 10 cents and the Little Crow seal. Can you imagine - just ten cents! Plus, half of the Valentines are MOVING Valentines. read more...

Black History Month: First Interracial Kiss Between Two Men on Network Television

Submitted by Mary on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 9:19pm (7 reads)

Yesterday I discussed the first interracial kiss between a man and a woman on TV. read more...

Black History Month: First Interracial Kiss on Network Television

Submitted by Mary on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 10:43am (10 reads)

I was looking at a long list of African-American firsts on Wikipedia and I saw this under the year 1967: "First African-American interracial kiss on network television: entertainers Nancy Sinatra (white) and Sammy Davis, Jr. (African American) on Sinatra's variety special read more...

1950's Dating Tips

Submitted by Mary on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 3:58pm (8 reads)

Say, how would you like to know what kind of activities would be fun on a date in the 1950's? Love is in the air, Valentine's Day is less than two weeks away, and it's time to start thinking about what you'll do on Valentine's Day. These sweet teenagers have some swell ideas for your 1950's Valentine's Day date. Now, hurry and make a decision. They're gonna break out the ice cream!

Sakowitz Bros. of Houston, Texas was a GORGEOUS department store

Submitted by Mary on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 11:43am (18 reads)

Retropolis has been celebrating the fifteen happiest states in the United States. Texas is number fifteen. That doesn't mean that it's at the bottom of a list. It's still happier than 35 other states in the country. read more...

Vintage Valentine's Day Crafts - How to make a vintage-inspired Valentine tag

Submitted by Mary on Sun, 01/31/2010 - 9:51pm (45 reads)

There are only two weeks left until Valentine's Day! Time to create Valentine's crafts! read more...

How to make Snow Cream

Submitted by Mary on Sat, 01/30/2010 - 9:42pm (22 reads)

We're excited that we finally got snow here in the South. We only get a few days of snow a year, so we try to make the most of it by making snowmen, sliding down whatever hills we can find (we don't have a sled, so sliding will do), admiring the sound of silence that comes with snow, enjoying the crunch we hear when we walk in it, gazing at the brightness of all that whiteness, etc. read more...