Vintage Gym Basket: Mid-Century Rusty Wire Artifact Shabby Chippy Decor
Mid-Century Vintage Gym Basket: Shabby Chippy Decor Wire Basket Storage or Display, Man Cave, Rec Room. You have to be a certain age to remember the purpose of these kinds of baskets. This was back in the day when everybody in grade school through high school had to dress down for PE at least three days a week and then take a shower afterwards. And while all that was going on your clothes were stashed in a basket like this, unlocked, on a shelf in the dressing room. The fly in the ointment with this plan was that for the rest of the week your dirty stinky smelly crappy gym clothes were stored in the same wire baskets and the whole place started to reek after a while because, even though everyone was supposed to take their gym clothes home on Friday and wash them, many of us reprobates never did that (some even for the whole school year)! So, by osmosis your school clothes ended up smelling like Teen Spirit, ie, grungy old jockstraps and bras.... Not a good scene. Well, this is a great specimen from that era and it has held up well. If you look closely you can see that it used to be painted green and there are some remnants of that remaining but for the most part it's basically a rusty basket. Miraculously, the metal ID tag as survived: You are looking at locker number 70! And it's yours with the stroke of a key at checkout. 18" long, 10" wide, and 7.5" deep.
GYM BASKET
THE 50'S WEREN'T SO BAD?
Well, looking back the 50's were good time in many ways. People will always say: "life was simpler back then." I recently moved Portland Pandemonium (and myself) away from the big city of Portland to the small town about 35 miles out into the country. The difference is stunning; life is so otherwise here that it may as well be a million miles away, or indeed, back in the 50's. I say this because even though the 1950's are long gone I've been having plenty of deja vu moments in my day-to-day life here that echo what it was like growing up back then: Kids riding bikes around together and playing in the street, dogs tagging along on their own, the Dairy Queen parking lot full of families with tailgates down, lemonade stands, and one of the last drive theaters still standing and still vibrantly alive.
There is just one high school, just one main drag, and no Wal*Mart, Home Depot, Costco, or other big boxes. The local college is a 130 year old Quaker institution. You know half the people in the grocery line and there is always a chat. Small community celebrations are expressed with rodeos, parades, fairs, tastings, festivals, concerts, and dances. Roadside farm stands abound, tasting rooms are everywhere, and perhaps most telling, there are ten times as many churches than all the pot shops, taverns, and Starbucks combined. It's quiet, peaceful, safe, and mellow and I often have palpable moments that feel like I'm living in the best of the 50's.... I can sense it in my bones, the surroundings, atmosphere, ambience, and even in the vibes, man!
Of course, as a Boomer, I have a special place in my heart for things from that sweet spot that existed from the 1940's through the 1960's, and I always love finding those special things that touch me deep in my mid-century brain. The difference is that now I am not collecting those things for myself, but picking them up just for you! We always have plenty of odd-ball & quirky stuff from those particular days gone by. So, if you love that kind of stuff, you might want to drop into my 50's Weren't So Bad shop and have a look around: https://www.ebay.com/str/portlandpandemonium/1950s-Werent-So-Bad/_i.html?store_cat=38704220017
We Will Scratch Your Vintage Itch
