# Souvenirs of yesteryear (1950s-1960s) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550 "2025-08-28T13:55:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/21 "2025-08-28T19:50:33Z")
I grew up in Newport Beach, CA where it never snows, but the gift shops still sold snow globes featuring the famous Pavilion there. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/22 "2025-08-28T20:57:04Z")
As a collector - yes, they flourished with the rise of the stable coloured injection moulded plastics industry in Hong Kong in the late 1950s, although were around as a more carefully made and costlier item much earlier, made in both Europe and US. They are still around but the classic half-domed small thing with different elements made specifically for Attraction X are effectively extinct in the wild. The new generation is glass spherical globe, a beautifully designed and painted resin base and internal element. Some represent high quality art and design and some are generic tat. The relative cost of each item is much higher, but the industry (and challenge to building a comprehensive collection) remains. See and admire a [collecting colleague’s collection here](https://www.andyzito.com/snowdomes/collection.html). One item not specifically mentioned above was the [12 inch ruler in some lurid colour, or more demure hardwood](https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/332412909474), that had a fat paper strip running down the centre with photos proclaiming you’d been to Attraction X / Town Y. Usually proudly displayed at school after the return from the long vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/23 "2025-08-28T21:07:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > They used to have a guide to take you through the tortuous paths and stairways through the interstices, but it’s now self-guided. And the cave with fluorescent minerals (none of them native to NH) has been taken out. There was something similar the last (and only) time I went to **Rock City, GA.** In addition to the crevasses and precipices you could walk through aboveground, they had carved out an artificial cave in part of the unguided tour that had day-glo dioramas of fairy tales. Which I enjoyed, but it didn’t seem very connected to the rest of the park, especially since they took out the gnomes from the above-ground section (except for one hidden in a corner like an Easter Egg). ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/24 "2025-08-28T21:08:41Z")
For several years, my parents used to buy pennants for my brother and me nearly every place we went. The walls of my room were plastered with probably a couple dozen of them. I have no idea where any of them are now. I haven’t seen a tourism-based pennant in decades. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/25 "2025-08-28T21:20:23Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Penny Pressers** – put your own penny in, along with a few quarters and turn the handle, and your penny will be remolded into an ellipse with an image of whatever you’re visiting. Actually, these are still around. We had one of those at the museum I worked at in Little Rock. People would stop by the museum specifically because they were collectors who wanted to get their pennies pressed. It was wild. I had no idea there was a penny presser fandom. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/26 "2025-08-28T22:05:45Z")
When I was growing up, the prominent souvenirs in our house and in my maternal grandparents’ house were souvenir tea towels (or kitchen towels, as they are sometimes called in the U.S.). I fondly remember ones from Victoria, B.C. and Australia. I still buy them even now, but they’re getting harder to find (in my experience). [![](https://d2q7r0rjkm1t8k.cloudfront.net/uplister/images/fdffc9c49b1956721347eaa623a05426.png) ](https://d2q7r0rjkm1t8k.cloudfront.net/uplister/images/fdffc9c49b1956721347eaa623a05426.png) ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/27 "2025-08-28T22:16:30Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > (Did we ever have a thread devoted to the postwar “-a-rama” usage?) Demi-famous author [and dear family friend] Roy Bongartz was working on a book-length collection of weird and wonderful ‘a-rama’ usages and sightings when he passed during a cross country research road trip. Alas, this was the paper notebook era, and his first draft was lost with him. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/28 "2025-08-29T04:34:36Z")
Another souvenir of my youth that I haven’t seen in a while: a glass beer stein etched with the name of the site you visited. We had maybe half a dozen of those. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/29 "2025-08-29T11:05:37Z")
You drank lots of beer in your youth, eh? That sure explains a lot. 😛 I’ve been collecting patches or stickers of some special places I visit. On the roof of my car I have a cargo box, and I stick them or glue them to that — but on the inside, not the outside. So when I drive around it looks pretty squared away but when you open the box there are lots of reminders of where I’ve been. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/30 "2025-08-29T12:34:28Z")
Its probably timely to say that the Society for Commercial Archeology ([https://sca-roadside.org/](https://sca-roadside.org/)) is focussed on the task of documenting and celebrating the places associated with the great age of tourism, including diners, tourist traps, roadside rip-offs and their ephemera. Its not serious, fat-beardy-men-in-dirty-jumpers archaeology. A great place to start if you’re tying to pin down childhood memories of trips to far away marvellous places. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/31 "2025-08-29T12:53:00Z")
> [@vbob](#): > > Demi-famous author [and dear family friend] Roy Bongartz was working on a book-length collection of weird and wonderful ‘a-rama’ usages and sightings when he passed during a cross country research road trip. Alas, this was the paper notebook era, and his first draft was lost with him. Dave Barry, in his 2016 book _Florida – Best.State.Ever_ writes about finding working Mold-a-Ramas at various aging Florida tourist attractions, and about using them to generate warm plastic trinkets. He even rates the attractions using a “Mold-a-Rama” scale ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/32 "2025-08-29T13:44:37Z")
**Howard Johnson’s** restaurants used to be a really common sight. They got the contract for services on a lot of highway and turnpike rest stations, at least in the northeast, so you couldn’t miss the orange roof, teal trim, and that peak triangle with the simple-simon-and-dog-and-pieman sculpture on the top. MacDonald’s hasn’t got the style, class, or varied menu. (I got to eat at the last remaining HJs at Lake George, New York, six years ago before Covid finally killed it.) They had very interesting kids menus Featuring 2001: A Space Odyssey > **["2001: A Space Odyssey" Howard Johnsons Children's Menu (1968)](https://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2013/05/2001-space-odyssey-howard-johnsons.html)** > > Sometimes work gets in the way of blogging but I am back with lots of cool stuff. I never thought of 2001 as a children's film, but ... Or Simon and the Pieman _in space_ > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/145625347657)** or at the 1964-5 World’s Fair > **[Howard Johnson's -- about 1964 | Howard johnson's, Johnson, Vintage graphics](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/howard-johnsons-about-1964--123497214776879957/)** > > New York World's Fair Menu ------- When going to Dummer, New Hampshire we'd stop at the Brattleboro, Vermont Howard Johnson's. It later turned into a pizza place. All Howard Johnson restaurants are now closed. or skiing in Europe > **[Howard Johnson's Children's Menu #11 (1963)](https://andeverythingelsetoo.blogspot.com/2012/12/howard-johnsons-childrens-menu-11-1963.html)** > > The news keeps saying that it's going to snow here in St. Louis this week, giving me the perfect opportunity to finally post this wintery th... or rotating > **[Greasy News](https://www.facebook.com/GreasyNews/posts/howard-johnsons-kids-menu-in-1963/648658651244097/)** > > Howard Johnson's Kid's menu in 1963! Or that unfolded into a hat > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F156029671394&iid=af945b50-667d-4a13-9688-95f33eaa169b&iim=gMTg0Ljw&iia=meEwNS45CK&iiz=VyEOS4xMDA*exQ)** > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F306025719224%3F_trkparms%3Damclksrc%253DITM%2526aid%253D1110006%2526algo%253DHOMESPLICE.SIM%2526ao%253D1%2526asc%253D264183%2526meid%253D2a761627e0ac4e6da89868e39e2b81d8%2526pid%253D101875%2526rk%253D1%2526rkt%253D3%2526sd%253D156029671394%2526itm%253D306025719224%2526pmt%253D1%2526noa%253D0%2526pg%253D2332490%2526algv%253DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda85KnnRecallV1V2V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRankerAndBertRecallWithVMEV3CPCAutoWithCassiniEmbRecall%26_trksid%3Dp2332490.c101875.m1851%26itmprp%3Dcksum%253A3060257192242a761627e0ac4e6da89868e39e2b81d8%257Cenc%253AAQAKAAABcNnX%25252FcPSJ4FQoNUs8iW9d3TTdveHEGYK%25252F99oxoRSM0U4bA%25252F0pel740HFSnLmNo8XaXFf3LY94VNsllcUHn%25252FJtRSziVjKEEDlraork%25252BGVpOZJJFdtIFmTnDC7UCpFP2E69q7yDRkCBMpHAWHs%25252F32bJnpsae4oUfvCeeTTMMYRHTT8g%25252FZTV6W6afE%25252FPUcC2Ni3zi7KiWW3H2NPZ%25252BDv6sWBoSKX597tdvUKZVKhWGNIhQusM0qvUhF%25252B4s1%25252FAJlR9LunICHYv1z9gExUDYTToNc%25252Fn1MAsSoW%25252BM0MI64ZQqg2o%25252Bts7ZcsGrbJDQ1RVf2Mu4dDM4JlNRxc0CWsmAbOv%25252BPebWshzUGn0%25252BFA4Pf1Z3PC%25252FkhYDMr%25252Bn1%25252B6mcAhUPKQLKUyKeB%25252BS84s0%25252FpqlZp2hdpagwVbuLWr0bOa6bnh7kCcdzmKqdc09pGakhCQ0VVBLZLL24QgBad7qjRL2RfEccyEu4zHOmZFOld86zN1PPktivpo%257Campid%253APL_CLK%257Cclp%253A2332490%26itmmeta%3D01K3V12FX6TZRBJPRG331A19G8&iid=2545f7ad-0b23-4c18-a30e-48a9f01c09e5&iim=NMTg0LjI&iia=SIEwNS45xj&iiz=dzPOS4xMDA*chi)** > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F196734326031%3F_trkparms%3Damclksrc%253DITM%2526aid%253D1110018%2526algo%253DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%2526ao%253D1%2526asc%253D264183%2526meid%253D9ae49259ea964740a141105abc3e371c%2526pid%253D101196%2526rk%253D2%2526rkt%253D12%2526sd%253D156029671394%2526itm%253D196734326031%2526pmt%253D1%2526noa%253D0%2526pg%253D2332490%2526algv%253DCompVIDesktopATF2V6ReplaceKnnV4WithVectorDbNsOptHotPlRecall%26_trksid%3Dp2332490.c101196.m2219%26itmprp%3Dcksum%253A1967343260319ae49259ea964740a141105abc3e371c%257Cenc%253AAQAKAAABILgtLPsIDyOlK9%25252Be8kjAsUURj4VBY1igy96vvNET9itpl3hF609JhQhCcnA33oSuVDFkWgW3PitgfhoQVULyYOWnZ%25252F61ObF1AxCbljciybEHWrZ5hF1WDvp%25252FB%25252BSJPnU7RUJqgLbpFtK7GLvvlAdQXW4NWrXFPpDv1iLsQJkTF5lWkc%25252F%25252BRpeBOL9JsVkkqjPooxnxL5MHP1fKO9cUbvL1eJ3o9fUi1u%25252BFZuwUtJ8DTxhuRCiOgFmXe9YNWydo9Bqewhgge1H%25252B9fFRYXIFwQDJ24O8zAmKZ%25252FVSDGurejfOcf4faalQK1K39DFlyT%25252BUNjL1YXHhkTlEDH4%25252B%25252BF20eN0zB6teMlGwfLtFsJb2jgmQBz%25252FblIfNvc8bvnkE1%25252BOxz%25252B1VgA%25253D%25253D%257Campid%253APL_CLK%257Cclp%253A2332490%26itmmeta%3D01K3V12FXB32FHTW563960D0W7&iid=c51edaa7-37a8-465d-9ab2-0b7c286dd1a0&iim=CMTg0Ljs&iia=auEwNS45XB&iiz=KroOS4xMDA*WmM)** Or that you could fold into a trailer > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F306295014793%3F_trkparms%3Damclksrc%253DITM%2526aid%253D1110018%2526algo%253DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%2526ao%253D1%2526asc%253D264183%2526meid%253D9ae49259ea964740a141105abc3e371c%2526pid%253D101196%2526rk%253D1%2526rkt%253D12%2526sd%253D156029671394%2526itm%253D306295014793%2526pmt%253D1%2526noa%253D0%2526pg%253D2332490%2526algv%253DCompVIDesktopATF2V6ReplaceKnnV4WithVectorDbNsOptHotPlRecall%26_trksid%3Dp2332490.c101196.m2219%26itmprp%3Dcksum%253A3062950147939ae49259ea964740a141105abc3e371c%257Cenc%253AAQAKAAABILgtLPsIDyOlK9%25252Be8kjAsUURj4VBY1igy96vvNET9itpl3hF609JhQhCcnA33oSuVDFkWgW3PitgfhoQVULyYOVgDcOBOtvc4a0c3gYcIobm89BboSr%25252FJk3H20JQ7z57ZjbXgeQrcRYdXoGh%25252FrYqq3HTw9IM0xZzUWHApdIJr3HDMELbrIvrBFQV%25252FvmBKCJ17xTiV5DIgrvLnJc7jh%25252BZXaJDWeDzM9OiJumcvfbD7xvNh9Ro9bxpWcRK%25252BlxtmjayZdjKxbRTedIpB5uQeeA12dqJAbP%25252BTCUNhQBI5n0Qqa2v5GL%25252B9kH6eE9RMxK%25252FMo4P4%25252Bn%25252B5kWZ2KDVxsFdLY7RCj81cPyaPPnszLMhN1Sx0vYSd2uUbUKnLEkRgZq35ojsYw%25253D%25253D%257Campid%253APL_CLK%257Cclp%253A2332490%26itmmeta%3D01K3V12FX8PWMRRMB05SDAXZF9&iid=90ddfdac-88c2-4ced-9f9b-a9c10c7a8981&iim=KMTg0Ljc&iia=nkEwNS45aT&iiz=ZlgOS4xMDA*iIw)** ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/33 "2025-08-29T13:51:20Z")
By the way. The same guy who designed and made the “Simple Simon (with dog) and Pieman” windvanes for Howard Johnsons also made the “Ice Cream Man and Dog” windvane for the Chelmsford Creamery in Chelmsford MA. And it shows > **[Chelmsford Creamery – Home Made Ice Cream](https://chelmsfordcreamery.com/)** Kinda like the way that Bob Montana (of Meredith, NH), who drew the Archie comics and created Forsyth P’ “Jughead” Jones also came up with the joker logo for Funspot in Laconia NH > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F276408864799&iid=ecb24df4-b11a-42fa-b2ae-661d09e904bc&iim=kMTg0Ljp&iia=aKEwNS45fn&iiz=COyOS4xMDA*AiQ)** ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/34 "2025-08-29T14:43:43Z")
Household bar ware in general, pretty much, but in particular what David Sedaris called “an assortment of cartoon napkins illustrating the lighter side of alcoholism.” ([This sort of thing.](https://www.ebay.com/itm/276331254451)) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/35 "2025-08-29T14:54:50Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I think you can still get a mold-a-rama of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile at the Henry Ford Museum. If you follow the link in the OP, you’ll eventually get to a listing of all machine locations. Including that museum; yes, an orange WeinerMobile is on there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/36 "2025-08-29T14:55:03Z")
They weren’t intended as souvenirs, but all those hotels used to have individually-wrapped bars of soap with the hotels name or logo on the wrapping: [https://www.etsy.com/listing/939797439/hotel-motel-advertising-soap-bar](https://www.etsy.com/listing/939797439/hotel-motel-advertising-soap-bar) > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F387407453339&iid=2958e97f-faef-4659-963e-0329624e0c70&iim=cMTg0Ljw&iia=wsEwNS45zq&iiz=gppOS4xMDA*VvU)** > **[Pardon Our Interruption...](https://www.ebay.com/splashui/challenge?ap=1&appName=orch&ru=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F146652787724%3F_trkparms%3Damclksrc%253DITM%2526aid%253D1110006%2526algo%253DHOMESPLICE.SIM%2526ao%253D1%2526asc%253D264183%2526meid%253Ddd61b562f80c4d6088ed7738b6f8d2da%2526pid%253D101224%2526rk%253D1%2526rkt%253D5%2526sd%253D387407453339%2526itm%253D146652787724%2526pmt%253D1%2526noa%253D0%2526pg%253D2332490%2526algv%253DDefaultOrganicWebV9BertRefreshRankerWithCassiniEmbRecall%26_trksid%3Dp2332490.c101224.m-1%26itmprp%3Dcksum%253A146652787724dd61b562f80c4d6088ed7738b6f8d2da%257Cenc%253AAQAKAAABIFpV4T02GSLWmLmcYHS%25252Bawhg9HB3NVAH8KQdy74hckvfm%25252BTv7AoY9bWSvyrWMwnykYfzYbkMtous8borg3MTxgffqBWnbvadi5I55oN2kLcF8xJgC%25252Bo63W3acd2U5NXbRY3rBiG6I67a4JgxcLUHRglUUwg--fJWf0o2TwkDvOuhII0qDt7kdU6Kgz1w3Op%25252FheVezHbeth0fv1rwiJWrAteosgqGLR6WwukAXwIFRQegMpvVJjff57RgcJSz7wHYpHcxJ%25252FqAFzJ5MYZi1IzPQyiE0tSoqsmTuh7DQEMvkWB4iz4cgj7voIQybuNxPV1wHFI%25252B77R3owb7L7qX9U006gyRdeinD5xnlCNU0wpcJHI5MHSM8YOYk1eruK3XmYuiVg%25253D%25253D%257Campid%253APL_CLK%257Cclp%253A2332490%26itmmeta%3D01K3V51W6DK54MR36CQHG2YC8F&iid=4cc98770-afd4-4796-97de-6e59dc54b02b&iim=PMTg0Ljz&iia=hdEwNS45KN&iiz=TaaOS4xMDA*rTa)** [https://www.etsy.com/listing/4327454211/vintage-50s-60s-hotel-motel-souvenir?gpla=1&gao=1&](https://www.etsy.com/listing/4327454211/vintage-50s-60s-hotel-motel-souvenir?gpla=1&gao=1&) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/37 "2025-08-29T14:56:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Howard Johnson’s** restaurants used to be a really common sight. They got the contract for services on a lot of highway and turnpike rest stations, at least in the northeast, so you couldn’t miss the orange roof, teal trim, and that peak triangle with the simple-simon-and-dog-and-pieman sculpture on the top I never experienced the full Howard Johnson experience. I’ve eaten there several times and probably slept there several times but not at the same locations. For some reason it was the closest chain hotel to where I used to live, so relatives would stay there occasionally. The location was on a _US Highway_ rather than an Interstate, so my theory is that the location preceded the arrival of the Interstate to the city, and then managed to stay in business for a few more decades. Oddly enough their being in a relatively built up location probably helped their restaurant business because like you say they were a step up from McD. So the locals like myself ate there occasionally. There were always a few people in it, unlike upscale department store restaurants, but not as many as sports bars had. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/38 "2025-08-29T14:58:35Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I never experienced the full Howard Johnson experience. Likewise. One of the last remaining locations was close to work and I’d often stop in there for breakfast on my way to our building. Never stayed in one, AFAICR. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/39 "2025-08-29T15:00:00Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Oddly enough their being in a relatively built up location probably helped their restaurant business because like you say they were a step up from McD. So the locals like myself ate there occasionally. There were always a few people in it, unlike upscale department store restaurants, but not as many as sports bars had. There used to be a Howard Johnson’s in Medford, Massachusetts at the intersection of routes 28 and 16 that was open 24 hours. I took visiting scientists there sometimes if we got out late at night, because you could always get something to eat there. And they had all 28 ice cream flavors. It’s gone now, bulldozed for a CVS. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550/40 "2025-08-29T15:02:17Z")
As I said, Pennants are something that’s virtually disappeared. I don’t know why they were ever a thing in the first place. The only place they showed up was tacked tl a kid’s bedroom wall > **[Vintage Riverside Park Felt Pennant | 1960s Amusement Park Souvenir](https://www.eagleseyefinds.com/products/vintage-riverside-park-felt-pennant-1960s-amusement-park-souvenir?srsltid=AfmBOopukubP9DBpIb-Z-6ooREa6Wmv9I2i3KcZKFC1_rxlU4Fvw23lY)** > > This vintage Riverside Park felt pennant is a classic souvenir from Agawam, Massachusetts. The bold red background features white lettering and a roller coaster graphic, celebrating the history of this well-loved amusement park. Originally opening as... > **[Souvenir Pennant from the Gettysburg Wax Museum, 1960s](https://www.yankeerebelantiques.com/souvenir-pennant-from-the-gettysburg-wax-museum-1960s/)** > > Original Civil War and 19th Century Artifacts Here’s a history of pennants: > **[History of felt pennants](https://pennantfever.weebly.com/blog/a-brief-history-on-pennants)** > > Historical overview of felt pennants, Chicago Pennant Co., Collegiate Mfg. Co., Collegiate of Ames, Reproduction Co., Advertising Flag Co., WGN Flag Co., Keezer Mfg. Co., ASCO, Inc., Wabash Pennant Co., W.C. Kern Co., Langrock Bros., Trench Mfg. Co.,... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/souvenirs-of-yesteryear-1950s-1960s/1022550.md?page=3)