CSX BREAKROOM

Step back in time with a old school lunchbox

Back in elementary school, you were either a brown bagger or you had a cool and now potentially collectible lunchbox. It was considered a symbol of social status to have a cool one to fit in with the in-crowd.

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Original Peanuts Lunchbox

At an early age, I had the chance to choose my own cool-kid lunchbox so I went with a safe choice: the Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang lunchbox. It came with a glass thermos that would hold chocolate milk or even soup. However, they tended to not last long, as the glass inside always found a way to end up breaking. Nothing is worse to a third-grader, or their parents than tomato soup with shards of glass!

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Original Batman & Robin Lunchbox

 

Next up was an Evel Knievel lunchbox. This choice set me apart in the fourth grade as being “cool”. My fame was short-lived, however, as it was considered so cool that it ended up being stolen. My favorite lunchbox was the Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Machine one. There has been a market for original lunchboxes for some time and still is with many old-school lunchboxes being collectable. Some of them can even pull in the big bucks!

Wee Pals Kid Power

Wee Pals Kid Power lunchbox from the 70s

Melodies and Memories in Eastpoint, Michigan, actually has the largest collection of lunchboxes I have ever seen… some of the lunchbox designs include The Beatles, The Six Million Dollar Man, Holly Hobbie, Star Wars, Speed Buggy, and PLENTY more. Check your attic or garage, as you could be sitting on some decent dough!

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Owner Dan Z from Melodies & Memories with a Beatles Lunchbox

Melodies & Memories lunchbox

Just Some of Dan Z Collection of Lunchboxes

Owner Dan Z from Melodies & Memories was featured on the Food Network as having among one of the largest collections of vintage lunchboxes in the United States at over 2,000 in his personal collection. One of the Superman lunchboxes within his collection is valued at close to $20,000 dollars!

Like most things from your childhood, those lunchboxes carry a whole lot of sentimental value. There are all different types of collectors of lunchboxes. Metal, plastic, vintage, new lunchboxes, and more. However, if you enjoy the hobby of collecting them it can sure bring back some core memories!

My Top 6 All Time Saturday Morning Cartoons Classics

Saturday morning memories always started with an extra large bowl of Super Sugar Crisp, turning the TV on Saturday morning by 7 a.m. The only problem was there were only three channels CBS, NBC, and ABC fighting over my viewing pleasure. I had to make some pretty tough choices over the years. CBS, NBC, and ABC. I have narrowed it down to My Top 6 All Time Saturday Morning Cartoons Classics.

Remember when there were no restrictions on what when into a Saturday morning cartoon? Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner had an Acme dynamite blast or a fall off a cliff once every few minutes and didn’t make us want to jump off a cliff. The roof was a different story. All the guns and violence cartoons had and we all had a pretty good childhood. In today’s environment, kids are pretty much wrapped in bubble tape before they venture out.

Some of the cartoons like Cartoon Network still have a good assortment of shows. Adult Swim features animation for most adults that don’t want to grow up and some funny shows include, Rick and Morty, Metalocalypse, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I am still stuck in the past with what I enjoyed from the late 60s and early 70s cartoons.

Ladies and gentlemen, turn back the time clock when cartoons still had all the violence, explosions, and even some adult humor that was snuck into the writing that went right over our heads. I present to you, My Top 6 All Time Saturday Morning Cartoons Classics

 

  • #1 The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour

    #1 The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour. Always a top favorite of mine and the man of a 1,000 voices Mel Blanc who amazingly did ALL the cartoon voices of the show. It had everything  Bugs, Daffy, The Road Runner, Tasmanian Devil, Sylvester & Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn and so many more.

     

  • #2 The Pink Panther

     

    #2 The Pink Panther. The first thing is the theme song by Henry Mancini. I love this cartoon so much that I collected almost everything with the Pink Panther. Except for Owen Corning Fiberglass Insulation. Still, the stories were funny, and you still catch me Scooby-Dooing, going back and watching the show anytime it pops up on cable.

  • #3 Scooby-Doo Where Are You

    #3 Scooby-Doo Where Are You. Velma, Fred,  Daphne, hippie Shaggy, a talking Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, and their green van, the Mystery Machine, Always were driving somewhere but on the way would always find a Mystery to solve. Scooby Shaggy is always hungry and always finds Scooby Snacks. But Scooby and Shaggy ate dog biscuits together sometimes? Ruh-roh! The show was great till they added Scrappy Doo. Too cheesy after Scrappy was added to the mix. He was the Oliver to the Brady Bunch.

  • #4 Hong Kong Phooey

     

    #4 Hong Kong Phooey. Working at a police station as a “mild-mannered” janitor turns out to be the Hero of the story as the #1 Super Guy Hong Kong Phooey! It took me years to figure out the voice of Hong Kong as the famous actor Scatman Crothers known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and The Man. Even the theme song was later covered by the band Sublime.

  • #5 The Ant and the Aardvark

    #5 The Ant and the Aardvark. Another favorite was an extra during the Pink Panther program. The cartoon is all about a blue Aardvark that sounded like Jackie Mason attempting to catch and eat a red ant named Charlie whose voice sounded like Dean Martin’s. When the Aardvark would try to eat the Ant it sounded like a loud vacuum cleaner sound.

    I was a cartoon junkie for a while then I later got into sports like hockey, baseball, and bowling which took me away from my Saturday fix of good cartoons. Nowadays, I love Rick & Morty & Aqua Teen Hunger Force. When in doubt, remember the classics.

  • #6 Josie and the Pussycats 

    #6 Josie and the Pussycats ,  The all-girl rock band seem to have a knack for crossing paths with power-mad lunatics and assorted other crazies along their concert route in this cartoon spinoff of characters who first appeared in the Archie Comics comic-book series. In fact, radio broadcaster Casey Kasem did the voice work of the character Alexander Cabot III on the show.  

 

Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for over 29 years with 26 at WRIF and 3 years as a morning show host at Z-Rock. When he’s not out on the streets, you can find him in his game room, where he collects jukeboxes and classic pinball machines. Screamin also devotes time doing local charities with his, "Screamin Angels"; and for 15 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. “CHIT” is his local cover band for 10 years all over the Motor City in local bars and has graced the main stage at local festivals like Arts, Beats & Eats warming up for national acts like Cheap Trick, Guess Who & even Salt & Peppa. Screamin’ is the lead singer and also plays cowbell & lead triangle