Tag: #70s

The Orange Crock-Pot

The Orange Crock-Pot

‘Fess up. Who owns, or owned, one of these beauties from the ‘70s? Long before there were Slow Cookers or Instant Pots, there were Crock-Pots. Ours is from 1974 and still chugging along. Seriously, 1974 and it still works. What else do you have that old, and still working? And, you have to love the color…

Cathy’s Crockpot from 1974 – Still Chugging Along…

It’s the 50th anniversary of the invention of the Crock-Pot. Appliance maker Rival unveiled it in 1971 at the National Housewares Show in Chicago. Ads and commercials represented the Crock-Pot as a wonderful, time-saving device, assuring women (yes, this was the ‘70s – almost all cooking related ads focused on women) it would simplify their lives. Hell, baseball player Joe Garagiola even became a pitchman for the Crock-Pot, hawking it as “the perfect gift”. And of course, the Crock-Pot would do all of this great work in those fabulous ‘70 colors.

A Couple of Vintage Crock Pot Ads From the 70s

That color – I’m not sure if it’s called burnt orange, red orange, or just mutant orange. It’s a color you can’t forget. Quite frankly, it and the colors “Autumn Gold” and “Avocado” represent the ‘70s as much as disco, polyester and bell bottoms. If you see anything in one of those colors, you pretty much know what decade it came from.

Burnt Orange, Harvest Gold, and Avocado Green – the Holy Trinity of 70s Colors

Cathy bought this particular Crock-Pot at the age of 18 in the summer of 1974. It was just prior to moving to Washington DC and a job with the FBI. Over the past 47 years, our Crock-Pot has made countless chilis, soups, stews, roasts, and other dishes. We have cooked with it in Germany, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio and Virginia. It crossed the Atlantic four times. How many things do you have that have been with you your whole marriage? This pot, along with our love, is one of the few things that has survived those 43 years. It’s pretty much indestructible and part of the fabric of our lives.

Having retired, I do much of the cooking around the house these days and often braise, roast or slow cook in the oven itself. Still, there are some recipes that just call out for the Crock-Pot. I think the simplicity of the device helps – you fill it with the food you are cooking; pick one of the two heat choices, low or high; and walk away for 6, 8, or 10 hours. What’s not to like, other than perhaps the color?

Summer is ending, autumn is arriving, and winter will soon be here. This ol’ Crock-Pot will again earn it’s keep, providing us with comfort food this autumn and winter. Sure, it has a couple of chips around the rim, but the heater still works fine and the lid sits securely on top. It does it’s job. In fact, it does it’s job much better than any number of devices from this century. It just keeps ticking along and will probably be with us for another decade or two. Now that I think about it, we should list it in our Trust for one of our nieces or nephews… 😉

Cathy and Elvis

Cathy and Elvis

Forty-four years ago in 1977, my wife, Cathy, was living in DC. On May 22d, Elvis played the Cap Center. Cath checked off a bucket list item and was one of the fans there for the sellout concert. Three months later, on August 16th, Elvis would die at Graceland.

Cath is a lifelong Elvis fan. She has had 45s, LPs, Cassette tapes, CDs and now digital versions of his music. As a child, she remembers her parents taking her to the drive-in theatre to see some of his movies.

When the opportunity presented itself to see him in concert in ‘77, the idea became a “must do” for her. This was Elvis! The Elvis! Not an impersonator, not a tribute band, but the man himself. The guy who sold over 500 million records, and performed in 33 movies. Sure, he was a bit older, but the man was a living icon.

I have to admit, it took me many years to gain an appreciation for Elvis equal to what Cathy already had in 1977. If my memory is correct, I gave her grief about going to the concert. First, that she was going to see Elvis, and second, she was going to see “Fat Elvis” (my words). It wasn’t one of my finer moments. I also feel a bit foolish, looking in retrospect, at the missed opportunity to see him. Having said that, I recently learned I wasn’t really invited to the concert. Since I wasn’t a true believer, and something of a skeptic, in Cathy’s eyes, I wasn’t worthy of going to the performance with her.

Cath was able to buy tickets and she and her friend Ann made it to the concert. It was at the Cap Center, then in Largo Maryland. It was only the third time he’d played in DC (previously, in ‘56 and ‘74). There were over 20,000 fans were in attendance. The sitting capacity at the arena was 19,035, so it was a sell-out with standing room only. He played for about an hour, and his fans, including Cathy, loved it.

Although her recollections of the concert are now a bit fuzzy, a few things still stand out. Their tickets were OK – not nosebleed seats, but also not on the floor. She thought his voice was great. While she maintains that she and her friend Ann weren’t screaming, she definitely recalls that many were. The women in the pit in front of the stage were particularly loud. Periodically, Elvis would take off a scarf he was wearing, wipe his brow and neck with it, and hand it to an adoring fan (Cath admits to being a bit grossed out by that part). She remembers him playing Hound Dog, but none of the other songs from the set list.

Her best memory of the concert? Elvis’s smile. She loved the crooked, lopsided way he grinned. It felt like “it was directed just at her”. Combined with his eyes, it was just too much.

A Bootleg CD of the Concert. The Set List Included Some of his Classics, as Well as a Few Alternate Choices

While many of the reviews for the shows on his final concert tour were less than charitable, the reviews of that night in Largo were reasonable. From Cath’s perspective, it really didn’t matter what the reviews said, it was the best concert she had ever attended.

It was the raw sexuality and novelty of his moves that captured the women’s, and Cathy’s, devotion. While other performers of the day were biting the heads off chickens to make their names and gather fans, Elvis devout fans were already legion. His performance might have been flawed according to the critics, but Cathy says it was vintage.

One reviewer, in closing, said this about his performance – “The pace of Presley’s performance was an indicator that he will be around for some time to come. He takes care of himself, and he’s at the age where he must think of these things. He’s growing old gracefully with all of his old friends across the country, including Prince George County last night.”

His last concert was one month later in Indianapolis on June 26th. Two months later, on August 16th, he died of heart failure at Graceland. He was 42 years old.

The King of Rock and Roll has now been gone for more years than he was alive. I believe it’s probably a fair guess there are more Elvis impersonators than tribute bands for all other bands and singers combined. Friends of ours, Howard and Laurie, were married in Las Vegas and had an Elvis Impersonator at their reception and it was perfect. My sister Roberta and her husband Jack had a Korean Elvis appear at a party at their farm a few years ago and the crowd went crazy. We all have either seen an Elvis impersonator, or know someone who has. In 1977, Cathy saw the King himself. Older, but the King nonetheless.

The King is gone… Long live the King.

Addendum:

• I’ve tried to think of other artists who have the iconic status of Elvis, but I believe it’s a pretty short list. The Beatles? Sure. Sinatra? Probably. Louis Armstrong? Maybe. Anyone else? There are lots of good singers and bands out there, but no one else pops to mind that crossed generations, cultures and time the way Elvis did, and continues to do so.

• You can find different memorabilia of the Largo concert online, to include music CDs, ticket stubs, and a couple of videos. I’ve attached a link to one of the videos here. I’ve scanned the video looking for Cath’s young face, but haven’t found it. You can see it at: https://youtu.be/xaiBeMIWV9M