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Hi, Tony! Hope you are feeling better! I did not know you had been an antiques dealer? When we lived in CT in the 90's, I got into them and went antiquing every weekend - esp in the fall. So beautiful there, fall foliage is breath-taking.
I had quite a few pieces of yesteryear scattered around our colonial house. Parted with most upon return to SoCal- they just don't work in these contemporary houses. But I revere OLD. Always have and still do.
Something I have kept but am not currently displaying is my old key - skeleton type - collection. I also have about a dozen railroad keys and a padlock.
Thanks for offer of the digest; my kids used to read those whenever we went up to Big Bear in the winter - and still have a bunch in the closet up there in the cabin. But thank you - that's so nice of you.
Where was your store and what did you carry? Not a lot of antiques where I live now!
My store was more of a collectible store and less antiques, although I had lots of very old items. My store was located in Lusk, Wyoming a small town on the eastern side of Wyoming and on the way towards the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore. Needless to say we got our fair share of tourist and hunting season was just as busy as summer tourist. During Sturgis, we got thousands of bikers as well. In short I was able to be open year round. There were two stores here till I had to shut down due to no fault of my own, but anyway the other store was more primitives and antiques while mine had the collectibles. I specialzed in old toys, character glasses, costume jewelry, coins, kitchenware, bottles, comics, models, knives, and old cameras. I also had a hodge podge of junk that people like to rummage through. I've always been amazed at some of the things people buy. I had a lady from Australia buy a saddle one time, another from Belize buy a toaster, Some French bikers buy a bunch of old perfume bottles, some bikers from Samoa buy almost all my motorcycle toys. Bikers in general bought license plates.
Of my personal items I like the old models, Lesney matchbox toys, Auburn Rubber toys, and coins. Even though I'm retired mostly, I still buy and sell coins and costume jewelry. I started setting up at small shows to sell my jewelry. I listed it on ebay for a bit, but just can't get the values there so have stopped listing on there except for the really junky jewelry.
Its funny that you mentioned skeleton keys. I had a few and put them on a blanket pin and the mixed lot sold for 50 at auction. That surprised me as I only sold the keys by themselves for a dollar unless they were real unique. I had and still might have a church door skeleton key that was made of iron and folded in half like a pocket knife. From Germany. It might have got sold in auction. When I closed I sent some stuff to auction, but kept most because I thought I'd end up in another store somewhere else, but without the money to buy the land and build new there was no where else to go so I kind of was forced to retire a year earlier than I wanted. So this last year I've kind of had to live off my wife as I'm unable to do any physical labor and that seems to be the only kind of work around here. So I've got about 6 months left to go and then I can start collecting social security. I really would like to have the land to build a shop and open up again, but then again maybe the way the economy is it might not be a good idea.
Tony, I didn't think your store was in Tucson, but I didn't know you had been in Wyoming I remember going back to Tucson for visits and my brother taking me "junkin'" - which in the 70's and 80's meant thrift store-type places. Back when I collected old kitchen pieces. There just was not much of anything very old, When we moved to CT in the 90's , I was in hog heaven: TONS of old stuff and I learned that an antique was well over 50 years old if not the the early 1900's while more recent items were "vintage." Old toys are always fun and bring back such memories.
The German key sounds interesting - I have seen only 1 folding key and it wasn't very nice or interesting and I'm not sure what it was for. I really like when I have a story behind it, like what it was for or where it is from. My German grandfather gave me a few when I was a teenager - along with his old eyewash cup - don't ask me why that intrigued me so, but it did!
Collectibles in general seemed to take a dive when the economy did, but I see them coming back abit, even tho' we're talking more new stuff. like Hallmark ornaments, especially when "Frozen" was such a hit.
OK, better sign off now, since we've gravitated away from this blog's purpose - talking TUCSON! Hah!
I can't believe this. There used to be an email when someone posted on this thread. When I checked back earlier today, I see that you are already on to page 34!
Tucson was a rather small town in the 60s, probably less than 100K and in the summer that figure would shrink. We could probably dig up the 1960 census somewhere, but that still would not give an accurate picture as so many left from June-August. Those are the same months when you guys were probably the most active having fun; it is not surprising that you crossed paths with Schmid. In a town like Tucson, the active teenagers who hung out at the ice cream places, roller rinks, etc. would start to know each other by faces if you didn't know their name from the same neighborhood or school. That was what I suspected when I first saw the Crime To Remember episode and came on this thread to ask about it. Now that you are thinking back, people seem to remember bits and pieces.
Now on to the Dairy Queen at Prince and Stone. I had an apartment very close to the ice cream place at one time (two minute walking distance actually). It was a very small Dairy Queen into the early 90s. There was only a walk up window with maybe a table and some benches outside. I am pretty sure that location only served ice cream.
There was a 7-11 on Roger and Flowing Wells. I distinctly remember hanging out with my friends and playing the arcade games. Later on, there was a pizza place that I enjoyed very much adjacent to the 7-11 which may have been converted into a Circle K. Speaking of Circle K's, when I lived on Stone and Prince, it seemed there was a branch of that convenience store on every single corner of the Old Pueblo except the one I lived on. haha
Musicfreeq: unless Amphi was in a different location in the 60s, you must be very familiar with the intersection as an alumni. Not that there was very much there; the Dairy Queen would have been the only landmark. In later years, Prince and Oracle had some shopping and places to eat such as Eegees on the SW corner and Weinershcnitzel (did I spell that right lol) right off campus. .
Now that I know most of the readers are familiar with the same section of the city I am, I want to introduce another character and see if you remember him. There was a very eccentric, extremely thin man who could be seen running in the street in that vicinity. He had bleach blonde hair and very fair skin. This would be from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, but that time span could go much earlier and/or later. Occasionally I would take the bus (route 16 along Oracle) and he would get on and giggle intermittently. Two nicknames I heard people call him were Goober and Psycho. Anyone have an idea of who I am talking about?
azmemories: OMG! I'm so glad you talked about your first apt., because I totally forgot our second address after moving from my family's house: it was on E. Windsor. I can remember walking to the DQ with the walk-up window! I was looking at the map, and I can recall walking thru a dirt field to get there. Maybe walking down Stone first and then cutting thru? This would have been 1968-69. It was very handy to Amphi as well, 'cause my mom, who worked in the office there, would come over for lunch.
I don't remember any geezer guy as you describe, but I know it was a tad bit of an adventure to make this hike, alone, pushing the baby stroller. On one occasion, a turkey vulture - remember them?? - came swooping down and I was struggling to pull the canopy over the top of the stroller to protect my daughter.I could feel his talons tangle in my hair and I was petrified. The shadow of his wingspan was immense over us and I thought my heart would beat right out of my chest
And Amphi was on a street called Yavapai. Is it still?
I know absolutely that Der Weinerschnitzel existed at that time, because I craved those silly PLAIN hot dogs - no mustard even! - when I was PG, and my husband would stop and bring me one on his way home from work, a 2nd shift at the newspaper. If he happened to work overtime, Weinerschnitzel would be closed and I wouldn't get one and would practically cry at the disappointment! Despite the fact that we needed the $ so bad - once he had to remind me of that
And I'm glad I was right about the location of the 7-11 at Roger and Flowing Wells. We didn't go in that direction as often as we were up and down Oracle and around Prince and Stone, but I did have a friend who lived on Fairmount (sp?) which I believe was closer and we would walk to the drugstore from her place. That may have been the Meade's I spoke of earlier.
mention of the geezer in the post above made me think of the guy here in Tucson who was always on his bike in a little pair of Speedos biking around town....this was late 80s and 90s....always just wearing the little Speedos, leather-skinned, baldish, and the bike always seemed too "tall" for him as he was always standing up as he pedaled, it seemed.....
many locals knew this guy as he biked around seemingly all the time.....
anybody remember him?....I think he was even mentioned in the paper when he died as he was a bit of a local icon....
mention of the geezer in the post above made me think of the guy here in Tucson who was always on his bike in a little pair of Speedos biking around town....this was late 80s and 90s....always just wearing the little Speedos, leather-skinned, baldish, and the bike always seemed too "tall" for him as he was always standing up as he pedaled, it seemed.....
many locals knew this guy as he biked around seemingly all the time.....
anybody remember him?....I think he was even mentioned in the paper when he died as he was a bit of a local icon....
I know EXACTLY who you mean!! That was a perfect description of him. It would be hard not to see him at least once as he biked ALL AROUND Tucson. I seem to remember him wearing only speedos or short shorts and maybe flip flops, no shirt or hat.
That is sad news that he died.
In addition to Goober or Psycho, there was another individual, rather short, who could often be seen around Tucson carrying a huge golf umbrella. He had blonde hair that was kind of long, except his was more darker and wavier than the bleach colored straight hair of the bus giggler.
Goober would freak people out as he often sat in the last row giggling an evil chuckle at two minute intervals. As people got on the bus, he would look them right in the eye and giggle as if he had an ominous plan for them. On other occasions he could be seen running along the shoulder of a major artery like Oracle Road. The legend goes that Goober was once normal and tripped really badly from a severe drug habit and the result was described above. The substance abuse part may be true as he was very thin.
azmemories: OMG! I'm so glad you talked about your first apt., because I totally forgot our second address after moving from my family's house: it was on E. Windsor. I can remember walking to the DQ with the walk-up window! I was looking at the map, and I can recall walking thru a dirt field to get there. Maybe walking down Stone first and then cutting thru? This would have been 1968-69. It was very handy to Amphi as well, 'cause my mom, who worked in the office there, would come over for lunch.
I don't remember any geezer guy as you describe, but I know it was a tad bit of an adventure to make this hike, alone, pushing the baby stroller. On one occasion, a turkey vulture - remember them?? - came swooping down and I was struggling to pull the canopy over the top of the stroller to protect my daughter.I could feel his talons tangle in my hair and I was petrified. The shadow of his wingspan was immense over us and I thought my heart would beat right out of my chest
And Amphi was on a street called Yavapai. Is it still?
I know absolutely that Der Weinerschnitzel existed at that time, because I craved those silly PLAIN hot dogs - no mustard even! - when I was PG, and my husband would stop and bring me one on his way home from work, a 2nd shift at the newspaper. If he happened to work overtime, Weinerschnitzel would be closed and I wouldn't get one and would practically cry at the disappointment! Despite the fact that we needed the $ so bad - once he had to remind me of that
And I'm glad I was right about the location of the 7-11 at Roger and Flowing Wells. We didn't go in that direction as often as we were up and down Oracle and around Prince and Stone, but I did have a friend who lived on Fairmount (sp?) which I believe was closer and we would walk to the drugstore from her place. That may have been the Meade's I spoke of earlier.
When East Windsor was first mentioned, I definitely remember that road being in the vicinity. I had to look it up on the map to see exactly where. Did you live on a short street near Fontana and a little bit north of Yavapai? Things have obviously changed from 1968-1969, but WEST Windsor is a dirt road right off of Stone cutting through the Amphi Apartments (that was what they were called then at least). Could that be what you were thinking of?
To me that area had some character to it; at least back then. It was a nice relief from the cookie cutter subdivisions that were expanding the city to the north and east.
I had to Google what a turkey vulture was and to be honest I do not remember them. I am sorry to hear one of them attacked you with your baby in the stroller.
A little bit further south on Oracle (getting close to Drachman) there was a restaurant called North Woods. The building was shaped like a log cabin and the words North Woods was snowy with icicles hanging down. It was rather out of place in Tucson. I remember it because it was very close to the hotel we vacationed. It is long gone, but the memory prompted me to Google it once and the result was a AZ Star article that reviewed it as one of the few places in the Old Pueblo in that era for fine dining outside of Mexican. I think North Woods was Scandanavian.
I also spent my share of hours at the Village Inn that was located right as Drachman turned into Oracle going north. I am trying to think of other landmarks south of say Wetmore on Oracle that would have been there in the late 60s. My time was from the early 80s to mid-90s. Was Bumsteer on Stone (south of Grant) in existence when you were there. What about the Paul Bunyon statue on Stone and Glenn?
By the way, as of May 2013 the Dairy Queen on Prince and Stone looks like a new building that possibly accommodates patrons who wish to dine in. Google Street View is my source.
mention of the geezer in the post above made me think of the guy here in Tucson who was always on his bike in a little pair of Speedos biking around town....this was late 80s and 90s....always just wearing the little Speedos, leather-skinned, baldish, and the bike always seemed too "tall" for him as he was always standing up as he pedaled, it seemed.....
many locals knew this guy as he biked around seemingly all the time.....
anybody remember him?....I think he was even mentioned in the paper when he died as he was a bit of a local icon....
Haven't thought about Bike Man in a while. Sometimes known as Speedo Man. Used to see him on Speedway and Campbell, occasionally on Grant. I don't think he rode the Tour de Tucson.
Speaking of Oracle Road, does anyone remember the Sambo's restaurant right on the SE corner of where West Drachman curved North to become Oracle (or Miracle Mile as it was known back then) It was right across the street from the grocery store and next door to the Frontier Motel. I know they changed the name due to PC pressure. I'm not sure, but I think it was a Denny's at one time?
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I remember going back to Tucson for visits and my brother taking me "junkin'" - which in the 70's and 80's meant thrift store-type places. Back when I collected old kitchen pieces. There just was not much of anything very old, When we moved to CT in the 90's , I was in hog heaven: TONS of old stuff and I learned that an antique was well over 50 years old if not the the early 1900's while more recent items were "vintage." Old toys are always fun and bring back such memories.
