These are the World Famous Steak Knives from 1970, only at your Shell Dealer, of course.
When I was growing up in the late 60's, my father had acquired two of these treasures from the Shell station at Golf Links Road and 98th Ave (Right by the MacArthur Freeway entrance). These were the only steak knives we had until at least 1976.
One dinner in London, around winter of 1997, we were enjoying a steak onboard "Mad River" which was sailed by our friends Dick and Pat, and they pulled out two identical knives from their utensil locker.
"I bet I know exactly where you got these knives..."
Dick says, "I bet you can't".
"Shell station, 1969".
"How do you know that?"
"We had some, too. They're awesome knives!"
I was telling that story a week or two, ago, and I decided to look online to see if they were still out there. I got two sets off of ebay, all in original, unused condition with boxes and sleeves. For less than 20 bucks.
Twelve of these classic knives which will replace our old Ginsu's (Don't get me started on those little darlin's!).
Got's to love ol' Ebay! Bringing those memories to light, 24/7.
Go ahead; tell me your stories about how you used those same knives back in the day.
5 comments:
I liked the little plastic tiger paws you could get at Esso (Later Exxon) stations, you could hang them from your rear-view mirror, or from your bicycle handlebars. Another old favorite from those days are the heavy glass Nescafe coffee cups, the ones with the world map etched on them. Those are on eBay, also.
I didn't think there was anyone left alive who remembered the days when Service Stations were about "service" and they gave away green stamps, glasses, steak knives and all sorts of cool little things. Today a non-English speaking person huddles inside an adjacent convenience food store behind three inches of bullet proof glass while you pump the gas yourself.
Hey Bob and LL; Thanks for coming by!
Those heavy Nescafe cups, what a memory! My dad would never get any of those, but I liked the Enco orange lollipops.
Yeah, El Hadj hiding behind bullet proof glass, that's the sight we see at gas stations. At least most of them try to be friendly.
re: steak knives. My Ol' Man used to say if it was too tough to cut with anything more than a table knife it wasn't worth eating. I agree.
My favorite gas station give-away were those lil orange "76" balls EVERYONE had on their car antennae back in the '60s. In SoCal, anyhoo.
Service stations. "Dollar gas, check the tires, wipe the windshield." (Thank ya, Gregg Allman)
Buck be sayin, "My Ol' Man used to say if it was too tough to cut with anything more than a table knife it wasn't worth eating. I agree."
Until 1979, I thought all steak was Chuck. Then came Black Angus Restaurants.
I liked those 76 balls, we never had one.
My first real job was at the corner of Redwood Road and "A" street in Castro Valley, it was a Chevron. We had to run full sprint to a car pulling in for service and ask if they wanted a fill-up while we cleaned the rear view. Then while pumping we checked oil and cleaned front and back windshields and emptied ashtrays. Larry Marshall Chevron, Castro Valley. He ran the place like a drill instructor.
In 1978.
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