Those Little Boxes

It was Pete Seeger who popularized the Malvina Reynolds song and political satire about the development of suburbia and the conformist middle class attitudes that swept America by storm in the late 1950's. It is not too hard not to argue that this mentality still exists, as I rebelled from it all by dumping my Rolex into the jewelry box in lieu of a military pilot's watch quite a while back and replaced various Coach trappings for something a bit less Keep-Up-With-the-Jones shall we say.

It is Carhartt country Polo for me-far more robust and built to last, and that Timbuk2 nylon wallet is certainly the one to take me the distance. Haan loafers are relegated to the pile too, but I am still hoping that Sharon Ann will let me cut back the heels of my 1976 Tony Llama cowboy boots to something I can walk in. Wing tips are still good for those dress-up occasions I am told.

Back to Malvina's song. It refers to "little boxes made of Ticky-Tacky" which literally cover the hillsides around Daly City California, which are "all just the same" and made of shoddy materials called "ticky-tacky." Our site founder Ray was quick to attach this moniker to those styrene hinged boxes that were almost universally used for just about anything in the 1960's, and as boys we coveted them for our slot cars and various repair parts to keep them on the road. For me, they add a touch of realism to my enjoyment of our hobby, as I strive to do things as I would have done as a boy, and I like it that way just fine. T-Jets are akin to Carhartts I suppose and certainly as bombproof. My father did not smoke cigars, but to acquire a cigar box for my twin Tim and I was just about as fine a snag as when we convinced our parents to purchase our first tan Aurora plastic Pit Kits to hold all of our slot cars. Certainly not as versatile, and by today's standard look pretty goofy if I must say so myself. Sort of like walking onto a construction site with a Scooby-Doo plastic lunch box without any of the physical consequences that would occur now because as boys we saw it as being rather well equipped and into the pursuit of taking our slot cars more seriously.  Inside the Pit Kit was a row of partitioned sections which held eight Thunderjets, and behind this row were two covered internal compartments for to holding loose spares and outfitted with a stob for tires. These were often cut off so a full bottle of Red Racing Oil inside so it would not take up space within the remaining two larger areas behind the front row, which of course held more slot cars for the well-heeled racer.

Of course cigar boxes were a bit more useful in holding everything from frogs to slot car bits, but also useful in a boy's world were those small rectangular styrene hinged lid presentation boxes and plastic medicine vials. Again useful for small spares such as armature brushes and pick-up shoes and springs. Most importantly they could easily fit into the rear Pit Kit compartments or stand alone should the space be more wisely dedicated for slot car real estate. Still, a good cigar box could hold it all without difficulties, and was especially more useful if the space conscious little dabber of your saved the clam shells that the cars originally came in which were useful containers in and of themselves.

Of course the bigger scales required a bit more in terms of carrying capacity, and Auto World sold both wooden Hoffman tackle boxes pre-built or in kit form discovered by the racers on the West Coast where Hoffman was located. These were often decorated with all manner of decals, and were a source of pride for their owners and seen as a status symbol by the competition. Oscar Kovoleski also sold the smaller Metalastics wooden Pit Box, and these were perhaps more popular in the mid-Atlantic states near where they were manufactured in New Jersey.

Still, a good cigar box is the King of Containers. Too bad they are almost gone now, as they represent a bit of Americana that played a large role in our culture of slot cars. I sure hope I can find mine-maybe I'll be lucky enough to find some parts I need. God Bless! Tony mgbbrown