Legacy Writing 365:45


Everyone seems very happy to see there’s a sale “NOW THRU CHRISTMAS.”

Here, Daniel and his grandfather are in my parents’ kitchen. If I’m not mistaken (in these old photos, I can’t go by how colors appear), they’d repainted the yellow cabinets green. Certainly I’m spying a green electric can opener and green Tupperware canisters. I love that Mother has a stack of hand-loomed potholders, though my nieces/nephews will have to tell me if they made them. I have potholders like that, but mine are from Jess, and from time to time, he still makes them for Lynne and me. And of course, the coppertone stove is there. If they hadn’t moved into an apartment after selling their house, and then my mother hadn’t moved more than twenty times after Daddy died, that damn stove would probably be in my garage right now–and still working.

The ad is from Fred’s, and until I looked online, I had no idea those discount stores are still operating in the Southeast. Way to go, Fred’s, serving the small-town bargain hunter since 1947!

I thought I’d see if I could find any sales flyers from Fred’s from the past Christmas season to compare to this one, circa 1978.

  • Nordic Fast Fry in 1978 was $9.97. In 2011, the stainless steel Elite Fryer was $19.95.
  • In 1978, the Santa Claus Gumball Bank was 97 cents. In 2011, the Dubble Bubble Gumball Bank was $6.95.
  • In 1978, a Wilson football was $9.44. In 2011, a Baden basketball was $5.95.
  • In 1978, the “Decorative Cookie Jar” was $5.00. In 2011, the one-gallon glass “Decorative Jar” was $8.00.
  • In 1978, the BB Pellet Rifle was $35.84. Forget it, kids. Now you get the Soft Dart Safety Shooting 3-gun set for $6.95 or the Military Mission set (2 guns) for $5.95 (there is no ammo).
  • In 1978, a Hot Cycle was $19.76. In 2011, a Super Cycle or Big Wheel was $19.95.
  • Too bad the clothes prices aren’t listed in the 1978 sales ad, because in 2011, items of apparel are mostly less than $10.00.

Dear Fred’s: BRING BACK THE $9.99 METAL TOOL BOX so we can all smile again.

6 thoughts on “Legacy Writing 365:45”

  1. Last week while cleaning out some drawers, I discovered the original payment book for the kitchen and bedroom furniture they bought when they were married in 1938. All solid wood 6-piece kitchen and 5-piece bedroom with mattress set all for a fourth of what a mattress set would cost today. My brother still has the kitchen set in his dining room, and I have 3 pieces of the bedroom set in my big bedroom.

    1. I’d like it better if no one ever spelled “through” as “thru” in advertisements–or English papers, because I got those sometimes.

  2. She gave me that coppertone stove, when Daniel and I moved onto Wright’s Mill Road here in Auburn. When I moved to Montgomery and got re-married, I gave the stove to Anna, she took took it to her Florida house. It lived a long life at the beach, before going off to the sand dunes and sunsets of forever!

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