Adventures of a 70’s Kid in an Army And Navy Store

Metallicman ^ | 25DEC18 | Editorial staff

[vannrox]

When I was a youth, in the 1960’s and 1970’s, one of the biggest treats that my father would give us would be a trip to one of the nearby “Army and Navy” stores.

We would hop in the car, and then ride for a spell (depending on the direction) from a half an hour to an hour and a half drive. We would stop along the way to get a soft-serve cone at Dairy Queen, and then spend an hour or so in the store.

They all looked pretty much the same no matter where you went. The nearest ones to us, at that time, were in other towns. We would actually have to cross the country line to get to them. At that time, I frequented a store in Butler, Pa., and another one further up North in Erie, Pa.

I guess that they are a fading American cultural fixture today. They can still be found. However, they are mere shadows of what they used to be. Today, surplus stores can be found in strip malls in the rough part of town or as stand-alone warehouse-style buildings. In the later case, they might be a metal pole building with a huge “Army and Navy” sign in huge letters (often black on yellow) with corrugated metal roofing and very few windows.



For a boy growing up, the world of the Army and Navy store was the first stop and a doorway to adventure. When we entered the building we encountered the world that we dreamed about. here were places with maps, treasures and tools. We loved going through the boxes and

[wardaddy]

Nashville still has Friedman’s Army Navy but they lost gun sales due I think to some stupid violation and are in a lawsuit with BATFAG

They are a nice old Nashville Jewish family that go way back to the Occupation

[saminfl]

This thread made me think of the Patrick F. McManus stories about kids and the Army-Navy surplus store.

[TXnMA]

Several "surplus" things I wish I'd loaded up on in the 50s:

• Bayonets -- (I have a pretty good collection -- but there were others I couldn't afford as a kid...)

• Bayonet blades -- $.25 or 5/$1.00 --- Good steel for knife blades / great throwing knives...

• Ka-Bars and Fairbairns -- Pricey for a kid, then; relatively priceless, now...

• Lifeboat Survival Ration Cannisters -- Canned "Fruit Pemmican", Horlick's Malted Milk Tablets, huge, vitamin-enriched chocolate bars, and hard, imperishable, slightly sweet "wafers" (bread/crackers) -- (Beat the heck out of Trail Mix when wandering the boonies...)

• Shelter halves and pole sets -- Still enjoy setting one up as a lean-to, with a fire out front...

• "Bags" -- all kinds -- The kids call my "archaeology go-bag" with all my essential hand tools, etc., my "War Bag". It's actually a WWI (ONE) gas mask bag -- and the fabric is finally (after a century) beginning to fail...

• Ponchos -- especially the camo ones...

• ETC., Etc, etc... -- ad infinitum...

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nowadays, my favorite "modern war surplus finds" are:

1. "Woobies" -- (Lightweight, camo "Poncho Liners"") -- Warm when cold, cool when hot, & cram into nearly zero volume. (I have one across my lap, right now!) The kids call mine my "Linus Blanket" (Ask any modern GI what "the best piece of US gear ever issued" is...)

2. Nomex USAF "Sage Green" Pilot's gloves ~a buck each -- Great driving/work gloves. It's hard to have too many pairs...

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for posting this. Nostalgia Time!! '-)

TXnMA
 

[dennisw]

Used to love those places. There was a legendary one in Savannah Georgia and run by a Jewish guy who of course was a character! Doubt its there anymore. With the bases in Georgia and the South there was lots of surplus to bid on, buy and sell.

[TXnMA]

How long did it take for your shoulder to recover? '-)

(I have a "sporterized" SMLE that's the hardest-kicking weapon I own...)

TXnMA
 

[simpson96]

bookmark

[centurion316]

Ka-Bars and Fairbairns -- Pricey for a kid, then; relatively priceless, now...

I managed to get both in the early 60's. The Fairbairn was real, but I'm pretty sure that the scabbard was a knock off. My brother made off with that one. The Kabar accompanied me to Vietnam and for years thereafter on my LBE. The most useful tool I ever carried.

[PapaBear3625]

Then they started loading and banding up pallets hiding 3/4 of garbage under a 1/4 usable that had to go right in the trash after cutting the bands. They ruined it for most of us by doing this, very few pallets were worth what the bidding was getting up to anymore.

Sounds like a scam by the auctioneers: put out a bunch of garbage pallets first, then put out good pallets which only their buddies know are good.

[Openurmind]

Could have been in a few cases, but it was becoming an overall trend over time. I kept at it for awhile and it just got worse and worse. It was no longer usable “surplus”, it was truly unusable “garbage” that should have been disposed of in the landfill. And you can’t really look at it properly, they have it all banded up on a pallet tight in boxes.

For example my last purchase doing this I bought a pallet of what were claimed to be “new hydraulic valves in the boxes”. And a pallet of “new hydraulic lines in the boxes”. When I got home and popped the bands there was a layer of new ones on top as representative but all the others under these were new boxes with the “old part” they replaced in them instead of the new valve. Same with the pallet of lines.

This was the last straw, I realized they were purposely lying about what was actually on the pallets and using the auctions to dispose of their garbage. And there is not a thing you can do about it. Now if they had described the condition as “New AND used” valves and lines it would have been on me, but it was becoming a trend to mislabel and misrepresent what was supposed to be in the lots like this so I was done.

[Bull Snipe]

We lived about half way between Yacolt and Chelatchie Prairie. We moved their from North Bend, WA. in 1959. Dad was a timber faller for International Paper at plywood mill at Chelatchie Prairie. I left the area in 65, when I went into the Navy. Never went back, other than short visits.

[Hot Tabasco]

Ark Surplus?

Yep, on Gratiot north of Metro Parkway........

[cyclotic]

I remember talking Mt Clemens with you once.

Lived there 20’years. Maryland now but we’ll be there this weekend.

[deport]

hiking/camping trips that the Scouts actually did for real back on those days.

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Jamborees were also fun......