A little nostalgia…

[Randyzzz]

Sorry it isn't a Ruger, but I thought some of you might enjoy it. A little collection of old stuff I set out today. ( my wife likes to move furniture/pictures at least twice a year… an empty shelf in the sideboard appeared and I filled it. ) I like my little display.

A 60's slot machine, a PO Box door made into a little bank, a 1910 Baby Hammerless, an old $1 bill, and my Dad's good luck silver dollar, 1923 vintage. The edges are flattened because he used to bounce it and catch it between flights during WWII.

The dishes below are from the Cafe de Paris from 20th Century Fox Studios. We have a pretty full set. My father-in-law was the head of electrical there.

 

[Bruce51]

Nice display I keep a few things on the shelf as well. An old rotary phone and a six transistor radio, grandma's box camera and other momentos.
Was carrying a silver dollar a thing to do back when our parents were part of the greatest generation? Because my dad also carried one dated 1922 year of birth and a 1925 mom's birth year.
Just a small token in my inheritance but in perfect condition.
Bruce 51

 

[Randyzzz]

Unfortunately I never asked my Dad about the silver dollar. One of many things I wished we had talked about…

 

[Highstandardguy]

My Dad always carried one in his billfold. It's worn almost smooth and I still have it. I have no idea how long he carried it or if he had it while in the South Pacific during WWII, but he always had it in my memory.

 

[contender]

The comments about how many older gentlemen carried a silver dollar is familiar with me too. My Dad was also a survivor of the Great Depression. He did share some stories of hunger, & being broke. But by the time I'd come along,, he was well past that & successful. Yet,, he also carried a couple of silver dollars in his pocket all the time. As he'd say; "Always keep a few dollars in your pocket,, so you can always buy a meal." Now,, when silver was taken out of circulation in 1964,, Dad switched to the the Eisenhower Dollars. When he passed, there was a pair of worn Eisenhower dollars left behind. My brother & I each have one.
I have chosen to keep a pair of $1 bills folded in my wallet to carry as a memory of my Dad, AND to never be totally broke.

 

[Deer Hunter]

I also carry my dads lucky silver dollar (1880 date). I remember a lot of older men who carried some denomination of lucky coin. As a boy I carried my lucky dime from my birth year. I still pat myself on the back for never dropping that dime on a candy bar. Oh, how many times that dime burned a hole in my pocket (lol). And I always keep a $2 bill hidden in my truck and one stashed between my phone and case, just so I can't be accused of being a 'vagrant', according to dad. Although, throughout my life, I can't ever remember knowing or hearing of anyone being arrested or jailed as a vagrant.

 

[Randyzzz]

Well, I do know why my Dad thought the dollar was lucky. It was his birth year. He was a test pilot- plus he trained to take a B25 off a carrier for a second Doolittle type raid that never materialized. But he crashed 4 times on test flights, and walked away from all 4 . ( None in the B25's.)

He used to joke that if he crashed one more he would be a Japanese Ace.

 

[Armybrat]

Sorry it isn't a Ruger, but I thought some of you might enjoy it. A little collection of old stuff I set out today. ( my wife likes to move furniture/pictures at least twice a year… an empty shelf in the sideboard appeared and I filled it. ) I like my little display.

A 60's slot machine, a PO Box door made into a little bank, a 1910 Baby Hammerless, an old $1 bill, and my Dad's good luck silver dollar, 1923 vintage. The edges are flattened because he used to bounce it and catch it between flights during WWII.

The dishes below are from the Cafe de Paris from 20th Century Fox Studios. We have a pretty full set. My father-in-law was the head of electrical there.


View attachment 42520

My brother had a bunch of those little banks made from PO Box doors and distributed them to family members.
Gave mine to my oldest son.
Brother was CEO of a major hospital in Austin during the 1970s - He oversaw the construction of a new hospital and the demolition of the old one. Prior to the demolition, he went in the old building and salvaged about a dozen of the PO Boxes from the hospital mail room and set them into the little wood box frames.
Pretty neat thing to have.
I salvaged the lower counter cabinets from a nurses' station on the 3rd floor, and it still serves as my garage workbench.
Sure was a chore dragging it down those two long flights of stairs though.
This is the old now-demolished hospital that dated from 1902…

 

[Highstandardguy]

My Dad always carried one in his billfold. It's worn almost smooth and I still have it. I have no idea how long he carried it or if he had it while in the South Pacific during WWII, but he always had it in my memory.

Today I got it out and gave it to #3 son.

 

[Bruce51]

Ok I'll play as this thread has a bit of WWII nostalgia. A few things from the memory box. Mom and Dad's HS rings. Service bars with army of occupation star. Wings but a flight engineer not a pilot was in transport planes. A bracelet made in the philippines the rest just 1940 and 50's. My dad was a staff sergeant who arrived in country after the bombs were dropped. Helped with POWs and other concerns. All he ever told us about was honey buckets and getting the POWs to drink two beers. They all had beriberi. I have letters written during that time I read them twenty years ago.

 

[callshot]

I put an Eisenhower dollar into a hole in a piece of maple wood to make a belt buckle. Poured resin over it so it isn't spendable.

 

[Jeepnik]

It doesn't get much more nostalgic than this.

 

[ole442]

I also carry my dads lucky silver dollar (1880 date). I remember a lot of older men who carried some denomination of lucky coin. As a boy I carried my lucky dime from my birth year. I still pat myself on the back for never dropping that dime on a candy bar. Oh, how many times that dime burned a hole in my pocket (lol). And I always keep a $2 bill hidden in my truck and one stashed between my phone and case, just so I can't be accused of being a 'vagrant', according to dad. Although, throughout my life, I can't ever remember knowing or hearing of anyone being arrested or jailed as a vagrant.

Back, years ago when I worked for GM/Delphi, I used to carry an 1880 Morgan silver dollar. That was the birth year of my grandfather.....my Mother's Dad! I called it my "pocket dollar"! A good friend and co-worked liked it and I gave it to him. He said he still has it. I might dig anther 1880 Morgan out of my stash and start carrying one again!

 

[Randyzzz]

Ok I'll play as this thread has a bit of WWII nostalgia. A few things from the memory box. Mom and Dad's HS rings. Service bars with army of occupation star. Wings but a flight engineer not a pilot was in transport planes. A bracelet made in the philippines the rest just 1940 and 50's. My dad was a staff sergeant who arrived in country after the bombs were dropped. Helped with POWs and other concerns. All he ever told us about was honey buckets and getting the POWs to drink two beers. They all had beriberi. I have letters written during that time I read them twenty years ago.

This is making me want to dig out what's left of my WWII memorabilia. I still have my Dad's dress uniform, and a bunch of bars and a few medals. And a ton of the marksmanship qualification bars. Plus a bunch of German medals. Let me see what I can find. My Dad and I used to go to garage sales in the early 70's looking for WWII items. A lot got sold but there still some in a box…