Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[Greywoulf]

Back in the early 80s, I was working on a construction site, that was in a renovated building. The building was originally, a parking garage. The cars were lifted to the upper floors, on a large elevator. The elevator was still functioning and was used as a freight elevator. The controls looked very similar to these, just not as fancy. It was quite a trick to get the elevator stopped even with the floor. Most of the time after moving a foot each way, we would call it “close enough” and unload our materials.

Well, if you didn't learn the trick of stopping dead even with the floors while operating a passenger elevator in a business building or a big department store you wouldn't keep your job very long! I'm pretty sure that was a bare minimum required skill~!!
Freight elevators were of course something else, and when I rode one in the bank where I worked the operator was always friendly and joking but also not as fine-tuned, and a little friendly rough talk and cursing was not considered unacceptable. But folks still had to wheel things on and off' em, and mismatching levels too often would get the attention of management fairly quickly!

 

[Deleted member 268085]

I recall a couple of stores that had fancy elevators with a lot of brass. There were women in uniforms that operated the elevators. There was an up down leaver; the brass accordion door (collapsible gate) and the main door was manually opened. The operators would call out what was on each floor. They also had to know where everything was in the the store. They were customer ambassadors. Shopping was an event.

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School for training girls-elevator department store Marshall Fields. Chicago, 1947 — Steemit

In the 1950’S ladies dressed up to go shopping downtown.

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You could buy a Rosemary Clooney record.
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A visit to the restaurant was part of shopping at Woolworths.
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I've been on those exact escalators in the Fields store on State St. in Chicago. What a shame when it became a Macy's. Lunch in the Walnut Room was mandatory!

 

[beans-on-toast]

I saw this poster and it reminded me, in the 1950’s kids were forced to practice social distancing at dances and sock-hops.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I saw this poster and it reminded me, in the 1950’s kids were forced to practice social distancing at dances and sock-hops.

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We were supposed to line up alphabetically by height

 

[SoulReflection]

So, talking about elevators, go back to the '60's. Let's see how parking attendants retrieved you car from old parking structures, like I experienced in Vancouver, B.C. at Pashos Garage.

This was what was used back then, without the safety cords. Imagine what would happen if you didn't time the mount/dismount properly...!

 

[GwenOnBass]

So, talking about elevators, go back to the '60's. Let's see how parking attendants retrieved you car from old parking structures, like I experienced in Vancouver, B.C. at Pashos Garage.

This was what was used back then, without the safety cords. Imagine what would happen if you didn't time the mount/dismount properly...!

Selling these to adults looks like a variation on selling Jarts to kids.

 

[12BitSlab]

So, talking about elevators, go back to the '60's. Let's see how parking attendants retrieved you car from old parking structures, like I experienced in Vancouver, B.C. at Pashos Garage.

This was what was used back then, without the safety cords. Imagine what would happen if you didn't time the mount/dismount properly...!

That kind of lift didn’t work out so well for the Germans in the movie “The Guns of Navarone”.

BTW, great movie if you haven’t seen it.


(edited for typos)

 

[Al Kraft]

Why I will never ride in a helicopter again unless it's a medical emergency. I've flown in a Bell 47 a couple of times. Yeah, it's cool but I kept looking up at the rotor shaft and that's all that's holding it up.

It is an interesting concept where the wings fly even with the fuselage remining stationary. While an autorotation landing does require a fair amount of clear space to set down, it could be argued that a fixed wing aircraft needs a heck of a lot of room to land assuming its able to glide after whatever the event was that ended powered flight.

 

[gtmalone]

Corollary:

There are 10 kinds of people - those who understand binary and those who don’t.

The last four digits of my work number were off on off on.

 

[Charlie Tango]

So, talking about elevators, go back to the '60's. Let's see how parking attendants retrieved you car from old parking structures, like I experienced in Vancouver, B.C. at Pashos Garage.

This was what was used back then, without the safety cords. Imagine what would happen if you didn't time the mount/dismount properly...!

That sort of thing was in common use in parking garages in D.C., like for forever.

 

[SoulReflection]

That sort of thing was in common use in parking garages in D.C., like for forever.

Yeah, until Workmen's Comp and others found them to be "unacceptable"! You would never find me riding one of those...

 

[Greywoulf]

Yeah, until Workmen's Comp and others found them to be "unacceptable"! You would never find me riding one of those...

Usta hop off and on the outside rear of moving street trollies as a crazy kid. Plenty of hand holds and foot ledges, true, but if you fell off then the cars behind the trolly might eat you... A new conductor would often stop his trolly and come around back to chase you; one who'd been around for a while usually ignored kids hitching on as in the rougher neighborhoods it was quite common.
I loved growing up in NYC in the 40's and 50's. I had the whole city as my playground and could go anywhere freely by sneaking thru the back exit doors of trollies and busses and zipping under subway turnstiles. It wasn't considered the major crime back then as it seems to be today!
Greywoulf

 

[beans-on-toast]

Yeah, until Workmen's Comp and others found them to be "unacceptable"! You would never find me riding one of those...

I saw a mini garbage truck today. Most regular trucks have automation to lift the bins and empty them into the truck. This one was lower with no place for anyone to ride on the back of the truck. Being lower, the workers don’t have to lift the bins, they simply tip them into the dumpster. A lot less work, very little lifting. Next year they’ll probably buy new trucks with whatever the latest features will be.

 

[Charlie Tango]

Yeah, until Workmen's Comp and others found them to be "unacceptable"! You would never find me riding one of those...

Eh. I drove and rode and flew in various conveyances in the Army. With the exception of my MP patrol car, those manlift things look safer than any of them (Army jeeps (Truck, Utility, 1/4-ton, 4x4, M151A1), are just wicked fun, though they would roll over if you looked at them crooked), and way safer than the average carnival ride. Sitting unrestrained in the door of a Huey can be fairly interesting at times.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Usta hop off and on the outside rear of moving street trollies as a crazy kid. Plenty of hand holds and foot ledges, true, but if you fell off then the cars behind the trolly might eat you... A new conductor would often stop his trolly and come around back to chase you; one who'd been around for a while usually ignored kids hitching on as in the rougher neighborhoods it was quite common.
I loved growing up in NYC in the 40's and 50's. I had the whole city as my playground and could go anywhere freely by sneaking thru the back exit doors of trollies and busses and zipping under subway turnstiles. It wasn't considered the major crime back then as it seems to be today!
Greywoulf

There was a time when artists and musicians could rent space in huge old building for next to nothing per month, under $100. The big freight elevators were so cool. I always marvel at the old architecture and wondered what industries were there. One building was a chocolate bar factory for 125 years. Many of those old buildings have been converted to expensive condos.

 

[spiritbass]

There was a time when artist and musicians could rent space in huge old building for next to nothing per month. The big freight elevators were so cool. I always marvel at the old architecture and wondered what industries were there. One building was a chocolate bar factory for 125 years. Many of those old buildings have been converted to expensive condos.

Spoken like a true old fart. I'm also a fan of older architecture.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Define yourself by looking at the R&B, not the pop chart.

I think this is the one that you want. Some good songs that year.

List of Hot R&B Singles number ones of 1963 - Wikipedia

"Heat Wave".

Selling these to adults looks like a variation on selling Jarts to kids.

We had Jarts back in the century and a half.

I'm also a fan of older architecture.

Ditto.

 

[SoulReflection]

I saw a mini garbage truck today. Most regular trucks have automation to lift the bins and empty them into the truck. This one was lower with no place for anyone to ride on the back of the truck. Being lower, the workers don’t have to lift the bins, they simply tip them into the dumpster. A lot less work, very little lifting. Next year they’ll probably buy new trucks with whatever the latest features will be.

One of my uncles was a "sanitary engineer" and proud of it. He has a bench named after him in Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C. He also made the best root beer in his basement.

 

[SoulReflection]

"Heat Wave".

That was a sign of things to come here in California...

 

[Charlie Tango]

One of my uncles was a "sanitary engineer" and proud of it. He has a bench named after him in Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C. He also made the best root beer in his basement.

I had no idea people made soda pop at home. Homemade root beer sounds very cool.