[Johnson] The Waseca Herald

[Robert Nickels]

Remember how as kids we had as much or more fun playing with the box 
than with the new toy?

I've had this Johnson tube socket box for ages, it contains one 122-237 
socket, a 7-pin job that holds the 4D32.  Not something one needs every 
day, but nice to have in the junkbox just in case.

But today I found something else in the box - - a wadded up piece of 
yellowed newspaper that was used for packing material.  It's about 1/4 
of a sheet of The Waseca Herald classifieds and is an interesting little 
time capsule.  No date is printed on this scrap, but it was from a time 
when you could buy a dress for $8.00 at Doris',  fresh pike or pickerel 
for dinner, peat moss for the garden, or a new Bendix automatic washer 
for "only" $219.50 from Hackett's Home Equipment (you had a telephone, 
you could call them at "Phone 30" - note they didn't say "dial").  You 
could get your skates sharpened,  your sewing machine re-conditioned, or 
your baby shoes bronzed by local merchants.    There's even a snippet of 
the "social column", describing those who had a birthday shower, 
traveled out of town, or "entertained callers".

I'd guess this socket was packaged up in the late 40s or early 50s, an 
early enough time in EFJ history that a few copies of the local paper 
probably provided enough material to cushion the day's shipments.  A 
snapshot of a bygone age, for sure.

73, Bob W9RAN