Maybe it was different when we only had three channels to watch, and that’s why TV ads used to be better. Or maybe people who make things are just cheaper and lazier than they used to be.

But one thing’s for sure: commercials used to be great.

When my parents got our first color television in 1968, it opened up a whole new world for my sister and me. The RCA console TV weighed as much as a Buick and sat in ...

Folks raised in the South learned early that life didn’t hand you much. But if you were observant and hard working it could give you everything you need. Most of us needed the same things, but it was each group’s secret ingredients that made them special for their branch of the family tree.

Land, water, and people around you held knowledge. You just needed to listen, learn, and apply.

A cousin might show you where to find crawdads. Your dad explained how ...

Lee Iacocca gave us two American classics: the Ford Mustang and the Chrysler minivan. The first was intended to compete with the Chevy Corvair Monza. The latter was designed to take the place of vans and station wagons that were becoming less practical for many families.

Most people today probably could not identify a Corvair Monza if they were riding in it. The last one rolled off the assembly line in 1969 and it quickly faded into automotive history.

Full size vans ...

From the 1940s through the 1970s, Southern grandmothers always had candy dishes on the living room coffee table.

The tradition dates back to the late 1800s, when Emily Post etiquette books dictated that you kept some sweets in the parlor for when company came. Simple sugar cubes or bonbons were the norm then. A hostess was expected to have something small and pleasant to offer visitors, and candy was inexpensive enough that almost any household could manage it.

Then, the candy wasn’t ...