Newsletter for Wednesday, February 12, 2025

MY FATHER’S LUNCHBOX

You usually always see a lunchbox at a yard sale or an auction...and you always hear a comment from someone saying “that reminds me of my father’s lunchbox” which is the inspiration for this newsletter. Many people remember their dads carrying their lunchboxes to work with some good eats to carry them through the day. Some included a note from the wife or kids. Some included a beer for the ride home on the bus or train. They’re referring to the typical Stanley lunchbox with the thermos. Back in the day, almost everyone carried one. We, as kids, had them and today they are still popular. They’re different now but still serving a purpose. In the 60’s and 70’s there were some cool ones for kids…we had Barbie, of course, The Beatles, if you like the country there was one that looked like a barn, Fonzi, Bonanza, Flipper and all the sitcoms from those fun years! It was always great to open it up and see what you were having for lunch! First, the sandwich, maybe some chips ... or celery sticks and carrots, a fruit and maybe a sweet for dessert...and a napkin. The thermos held soup, hot cocoa or something else to drink. The good life!

I attended a private school for a few short (thankfully) years that took the whole "silence is golden" thing very seriously. At lunch we were to take our lunchboxes to the lunchroom and keep our "noses" in them. We weren't allowed to talk during lunch and monitors were everywhere, just waiting to pounce on anyone who dared to make a peep. One day my friend started whispering to me and I whispered back. Bad move! I got caught and sent to a special room for lunchtime “delinquents”! And to make matters worse, I had to take a note home to my parents that basically said, "Linda is a motor mouth." But the weird part was, the room I got sent to was actually a place where everyone could talk all they wanted. It was like the school was trying to drive us all crazy.

I'd drool over other kids' bologna on Wonder Bread or peanut butter and Fluff on Wonder Bread. My Swiss background meant I was stuck with no Wonder Bread and no Fluff. I would've given up my right arm for a slice of that soft, fluffy bread. But, here's the thing - my mom's Swiss lunches were actually pretty cool. I mean, Swiss/German cold cuts on a crusty baguette, German potato salad, a plum, and a piece of Swiss chocolate? Yes, please! But, I was too busy trying to fit in to appreciate it. So, if asked what I was having for lunch, I'd lie and say I had bologna. When my friends asked me about my potato salad, I'd tell them the truth..it was German Potato Salad figuring everyone knew what that was. Hard as it is to believe, they would ask me what was in it. Well, ask a stupid question...I said 'Germans.' End of discussion. (You learn to survive!)

Here are some fun facts about lunchboxes:

Was this really the first lunchbox?

"It's likely that some clumsy European hiker lost their lunch 2,000 to 4,000 years ago in the Swiss Alps. A tiny, wooden, circular food container was discovered in 2012 at a summit in Switzerland's western Bernese Alps, which is over 8,000 feet high. When it was found, the box wasn't that exciting, but further testing revealed it held big secrets about early farming. Wheat was first domesticated 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, allowing humans to switch from hunting and gathering to farming. The box was found at the Schnidejoch pass, which connects Switzerland and Italy, and researchers hope it will help explain how farming spread throughout Eurasia.

A small, lightweight container made from Swiss pine was found, and researchers think it was used for travel, hiking back and forth across the Alps' passes. Bronze Age Europe was a hot mess of mass migration. A 2015 study published in the journal Nature analyzed DNA from this period and found that people from modern-day Russia and Ukraine probably migrated west into Europe. The study's authors suggested that earlier settlements found at the end of the Schnidejoch pass indicate the region was home to settlements and small-scale trade too.

One of the study's authors, Francesco Carrer, said in a press release that the artifact's use is basically like us packing snacks for a road trip, saying, "This evidence sheds new light on life in prehistoric alpine communities, and on their relationship with the extreme high altitudes. People traveling across the alpine passes were carrying food for their journey, just like current hikers do” and what better container to carry it in? The Lunchbox!"

Who was the first lunch box character? Mickey Mouse

The rise of the big two lunchbox companies, Aladdin and Thermos L.L.C…the first licensed lunchbox character was Mickey Mouse in 1935 but that it wasn't until the 1950 launch of the first licensed TV character, Hopalong Cassidy, that the lunchbox phenomenon took off?

What lunch box is worth the most?

Perhaps the most coveted lunch container, produced by Universal, SCHOOL BUS

And most valuable goes to….

The Man of Steel …Bellomo ranks the box -which shows Superman battling robots and rescuing a damsel in distress-as the most valuable lunch box of all time, with a mint-condition specimen fetching as much as $13,000.

What was the last metal lunch box made?

The lunch box depicts Sylvester

Stallone as Rambo on front and rear, and has camouflage print on sides.

This Rambo lunch box has the distinction of being the last metal lunch box produced before safety …economic concerns caused manufacturers to switch to plastic alternatives.

Lunchbox Trivia:

What is another word for lunchbox?

Sandwich spreads from the lunchbox days:

• Deviled ham combined with minced onion and topped with Swiss cheese.
• Chive cream cheese, chopped dried beef, light cream, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
• Combine cottage cheese, blue cheese, crumbled crisp bacon, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
• Combine peanut butter and honey, and spread on buttered white or whole-wheat bread.
• Liverwurst, chopped stuffed olives, and mayo or salad dressing.
• Ground bologna with ground sweet pickle, prepared mustard, and mayo.
• Baked beans, chili sauce, thinly sliced onion or pickle.
• Chopped hard-cooked eggs, cucumber, pepper, salt, and mayo.
• Combine 2 parts each of chopped cooked chicken and broken walnuts with 1 part drained crushed pineapple. Add mayo or salad dressing.
• Equal parts flaked tuna and finely cut celery, moistened with mayo or salad dressing.

All these memories! What was in your lunchbox? Don't miss our next auction, February 9, 2025...we've got some seriously cool lunchboxes on the auction block, just in case you're looking for a trip down memory lane!

~Linda