curtoid
02-10-2004, 06:49 PM
In the late 70s, beer can collecting became the big thing in my neighborhood between me and all of my friends. We got most of them from two flea markets out along Route One near Mt. Vernon that our folks would take us to (one is still open), usually from the same two or three dealers
Often our parents would help us out (why this was all right for parents to encourage 12 and 13 year olds to collect beer cans, I'm not quite sure, but it was the late 70s).
My friend Scott's family never quite understood it, and one day presented him with a bag filled with about fifty empty beer cans, all from the same, domestic brant of beer - it was kind of typical with Scott and his family.
My dad, being the professional alcoholic and all around downtown dude, was the man, and helped create a collection that put all of the other kid's collections to shame - all thanks to a little downtown DC institution called Brickskeller (http://www.thebrickskeller.com/), which officially has THE WORLD'S LARGEST BEER LIST!
I had some great beer cans too, but my favorites were the Old Frothingslosh (sp?), whose model on the can was a big fat woman in a bathing suit, the "Penny" cans, which featured a really sexed up kitten all ready to enjoy her day with you ("Penny in the Morning," "Penny in the Afternoon," "Penny in the Evening"...you get the idea), and Budweiser Malt Liquor, which came in a really cool black can.
I had old ones, cone tops, foreign cans, and novelty cans, like "MASH Beer," the Pittsburgh Pirates & Steelers cans, "J.R." beer during the height of Dallas (a complete six pack) and (of course) my absolute fave - "Billy Beer," put out by President Jimmy Carter's beer drinking bubba of a brother, Billy.
http://www.the-forum.com/advert/images/billy.jpg
I still have many of these, and some I would love to unload, but I doubt I can sell full beer on e-Bay, and besides, the novelty cans are actually worthless - I read recently that during the 2 or 3 years they produced Billy Beer, they produced over 1 Billion cans!
Anyway, I thought about this, because of a story in this weekend's Washington Post (I would link to it, but the Post just began a horrible, horrible, horrible registration policy that disgusts me for their online edition) about a big beer can show coming to the DC area ("Second Biggest in the Country"), and I thought about going.
I eventually gave up beer cans for comic books. My parents kept most of my collection up on their wall in the wood paneled Alexandria basement, as a time warp to the 1970s, until they moved 2 years ago. Like I said, many of them remain with me today.
Time to go nail another thesis to the WJFK door...
curtoid
http://img21.photobucket.com/albums/v64/curtoid/11.jpg
"Wonderboy. Is it KOP or K-O-P?" - Ron Bennington
This message was edited by curtoid on 2-10-04 @ 10:57 PM
Often our parents would help us out (why this was all right for parents to encourage 12 and 13 year olds to collect beer cans, I'm not quite sure, but it was the late 70s).
My friend Scott's family never quite understood it, and one day presented him with a bag filled with about fifty empty beer cans, all from the same, domestic brant of beer - it was kind of typical with Scott and his family.
My dad, being the professional alcoholic and all around downtown dude, was the man, and helped create a collection that put all of the other kid's collections to shame - all thanks to a little downtown DC institution called Brickskeller (http://www.thebrickskeller.com/), which officially has THE WORLD'S LARGEST BEER LIST!
I had some great beer cans too, but my favorites were the Old Frothingslosh (sp?), whose model on the can was a big fat woman in a bathing suit, the "Penny" cans, which featured a really sexed up kitten all ready to enjoy her day with you ("Penny in the Morning," "Penny in the Afternoon," "Penny in the Evening"...you get the idea), and Budweiser Malt Liquor, which came in a really cool black can.
I had old ones, cone tops, foreign cans, and novelty cans, like "MASH Beer," the Pittsburgh Pirates & Steelers cans, "J.R." beer during the height of Dallas (a complete six pack) and (of course) my absolute fave - "Billy Beer," put out by President Jimmy Carter's beer drinking bubba of a brother, Billy.
http://www.the-forum.com/advert/images/billy.jpg
I still have many of these, and some I would love to unload, but I doubt I can sell full beer on e-Bay, and besides, the novelty cans are actually worthless - I read recently that during the 2 or 3 years they produced Billy Beer, they produced over 1 Billion cans!
Anyway, I thought about this, because of a story in this weekend's Washington Post (I would link to it, but the Post just began a horrible, horrible, horrible registration policy that disgusts me for their online edition) about a big beer can show coming to the DC area ("Second Biggest in the Country"), and I thought about going.
I eventually gave up beer cans for comic books. My parents kept most of my collection up on their wall in the wood paneled Alexandria basement, as a time warp to the 1970s, until they moved 2 years ago. Like I said, many of them remain with me today.
Time to go nail another thesis to the WJFK door...
curtoid
http://img21.photobucket.com/albums/v64/curtoid/11.jpg
"Wonderboy. Is it KOP or K-O-P?" - Ron Bennington
This message was edited by curtoid on 2-10-04 @ 10:57 PM