Showing posts with label Stanley Home Products. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stanley Home Products. Show all posts

Monday, March 17, 2008

Down memory lane

When I was a child in the late 1940's and early '50's, my mom was forever going to Stanley parties. Do any of you other "older folks" remember them?

Our house was a commercial for Stanley products. Mother must have used everything they ever made.

If someone gave a Stanley party and some of the attendees "booked" a party at the time, the party-giver got credits toward a gift. Some of them were pretty nice things, too.

Each party started with the dealer showing pictures of the barn where the company was born, and giving a brief history of Stanley Home Products.

Games were played; the winner won a nice little prize, and everybody else was allowed to choose a consolation prize, something like a simple sponge.

Stanley pencils with no erasers were passed out for some of the games.

Stanley made one product I remember well, sort of a lotion that you rubbed on knees or elbows or necks and rubbed it in until dirt started rolling off. Sometimes the Stanley lady made a game of this, and gave a prize to the person who rolled off the most dirt. Pretty nasty, huh?

I was never left with a babysitter in my life; where Mama went, I went. I loved going to those Stanley parties because I was allowed to play the games and choose consolation prizes just like the grownups. And of course, the hostess always served food, usually cake or cookies.

Far back in my memory I remember going to one Stanley party with Mother wearing a hoop skirt: the hem of my dress had some sort of wire (?) that made my dress stand out. Trouble is, when I sat down, my dress went UP! Very strange, and I don't think I ever wore the thing anywhere else. It must have been a style at the time, but it didn't work out for me.


I still buy a couple of Stanley items from Ebay stores. I received these pot-scrubbers in the mail today, and that's what sent me down memory lane.

Anyone else remember Stanley?

P.S. I see by my Sitemeter than one of my neighbors with DSL has spent over two hours on this site today, total. Wow! You must be catching up. Welcome, neighbor. I see you!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

... and speaking of mundane

I've bought more mops in the past year than anybody ought to have to buy in a lifetime. I've tried every variety Walmart carries. The best of them lasted a couple of months; the least of them, one week. When the last one gave out, I decided to tough it out and get on my hands and knees, doing it the old-fashioned way. I have bad knees, but I toughed it out. I'm so tired of spending money on useless mops!

Anyone who has arthritis will tell you there are bad days and worse days for pain. Today was one of the "worse days", and by the time I got the floor halfway mopped, I was almost in tears.
That's when I remembered my mom's old fondness for Stanley Home Products. All of my growing-up years, she used nothing but the Amazo Mop. I recall the demonstrations at Stanley parties, and the warning, "do not use them to mop up urine". Well, Sadie, Cliff and I are house-broke, so that shouldn't be a problem. I went to the Stanley Home Products website and there it was, in all its glory: The Amazo II mop! I think it used to be blue, but otherwise, it looks the same. Then I went to an Ebay store and made a bid there that saved me about $3. Hey, a buck is a buck, as my ex-daughter-in-law used to say. I hope it arrives within a week. Before I need to mop again.