General Pop Culture

1. Herself the Elf Herself the Elf and her friends were characters created by American Greetings. Yes, this is the same company that brought us Strawberry Shortcake, the Care Bears, Madballs, and My Pet Monster.

When Toys ‘R’ Us Came To Spartanburg, SC for Christmas 1985

If you were a kid in 1985 and lived near Spartanburg, SC, the excitement of the holiday season had to be intense! While flipping through Google’s Newspaper Archive recently, I happened to notice that “The

Favorite Stocking Stuffers: Bonne Bell Lipsmackers

The first thing my brother and I did every year when we got up on Christmas morning was head right for our stockings. The rule was that we could play with (or eat) anything we

Retro Commercials: Polaroid Instant Camera for Christmas

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials

Video Rental Store History Through Early 1980s Newspapers

Season 2 of the Rental Return podcast recently launched with a Preview Episode hosted by Adam, Chad, and myself. In case you haven’t listened, Rental Return’s tagline is “Tales From the Video Store” which alludes

Dancing at the End of Summer Sock Hop

One of my favorite youth group events at our church was the annual family sock hop. The sock hop was in our recreational building, which we affectionately referred to as “The Tin Tent”. It had

Toys R’ Us Retail Stores Coming To Macy’s

Walter King

Toys R’ Us is attempting another comeback as a brick-and-mortar retailer by partnering with Macy’s. According to a recent tweet from their official account, the toy store which went bankrupt in 2017 will now emerge

How Chris O’Donnell Stole My Heart (and My Wallet) in 1995

Jen

In the Spring of 1995, a few important things happened. Michael Jordan came out of basketball retirement and rejoined the Chicago Bulls. The longest sausage ever made (over 28 miles) was created in Ontario, Canada!

Celebrity Endorsement Ads in 1980s Newspapers

Extra! Extra! Here’s another dive into the newspaper rabbit hole I’ve been digging as of late! So far, I’ve put together pictorials of newspaper ads for Hills Department Store and random Video Rental Stores. In

Retro Commercials: The Crest Team vs. the Cavity Creeps

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials

White Water Atlanta Memories

White Water is a seventy-acre amusement park in Marietta, Georgia. It opened in May of 1984 as White Water Atlanta and was owned by a company. In 1999, it was brought into the Six Flags

Video Rental Store Ads from 1980s Newspapers

Extra! Extra! I’m still digging through old newspapers! Recently, I pulled several newspaper ads for Hills Department Store and now I’m ready share more ads from a different type of store. Video rental stores have

Advice to the Young: Wear Sunscreen and Other Life Lessons

With this being graduation time, I am reminded of a couple scenes from my beloved ’80s movies. First we have Rodney Dangerfield as “Thornton Melon” in 1986’s Back to School delivering something on the humorous

Memories of Town Center Mall

Town Center Mall in Cobb County, GA faces foreclosure amid a 35-year history. While the future is cloudy, the mall remains open with anchor stores Macy’s, Belk, and JC Penney. This has been the home

Hills Department Store Newspaper Ads 1983-84

Do you remember when newspapers were the source for news back in the day? Yes, you could catch the national nightly news on your television set but if your family had a subscription to a

Retro Commercials: FedEx With Fast-Talking John Moschitta Jr.