Retro Day - Special Edition!

National Retro Day is coming up on February 27th, but we celebrated it with our Zoomies a few days early!  Almost everyone was able to be with us today, and they all brought things to share that brought back memories from a time "long" ago!  Since we have sooooo many pictures from today, we decided to do this Special Edition Retro Day blog post!  Click the link below to read more about how Retro Day came to be, and then enjoy our pictures that follow!

National Day Calendar - Retro Day, February 27

For our dance warm up, we went with N'Sync's debut single, "I Want You Back," which was released in Germany in 1996, and made its way to America two years later, in 1998.  The guys in N'Sync were retro in their dress and their dance moves!

It's hard to get clear photos from the tv or computer screen, but we tried, because our Zoomies at home had some cool stuff to share.  Beginning here, top left, we see a picture of Laura and a couple of friends in some very cool shades.  This picture was from 30ish years ago, and that's Laura in the red.  What we learned that is neat, is that the friend on the right is Mandi, who is friends with many of our guys now, as she lives in Williamsburg and is an Arc member!  Laura and Mandi go wayyyy back!

Here is Devin's retro memory, although he may not remember it!  His mom saved the balloon (and a newspaper) from the day he was born way back in the mid-90s!  That's Mickey Mouse on that "It's a Boy" balloon!  Devin also shared a souvenir baseball jersey he treasures, that belonged to a Phillie by the name of Werth!  For those who follow baseball, Werth is a "recent" retro...he retired in 2018!  But to our youngest AoA member Devin, that's retro! 😊

Kate had several photos that reflected fond memories she has of being "young."  She shared one with her grandfather, and a couple more of her younger self at camp.  In this one, she's shown with her great-grandmother.  Pictures of her grandparents, who have passed away, are precious memories and they mean a lot to Kate.

Aww, so this is where you got your beautiful smile, Becky!  This is a picture of our darling volunteer Becky's mom, when she graduated from high school, back in the 1940s!  Becky said it's her very favorite picture.  We can see why. 💛 

We see you Drew!  Like someone said, you haven't changed a bit! And what a cutie-patootie you were back in the day!  Hard to believe you'll be 30 next week!!

 

In this shot, we see Abraham skating (or at least he was skating) when he was quite young!  Looks like he did the splits here!  Doesn't matter to your friends, Abraham...they were all saying, "Aww" when they saw your picture!

 

Next we have Annmarie sharing some wayyy back pictures of herself!  You have also not changed much, Annmarie.  Still sporting that pretty smile! Annmarie and her mom also shared a piece of retro fashion, a denim jacket!  It once belonged to mom, and Annmarie likes to wear it, too!

Our friends at the AFCC also brought retro items.  Alexis went next, and shared a bear from her Beanie Babies collection, a VHS tape (of Barney), and a pair of eyeglasses (on the couch) she wore when she was 4!  That was over 25 years ago!  Alexis is also wearing a tie-dyed shirt, as a throwback to the '60s!

Liz shared a retro pic of her brother from before Liz was born, and also her brother's Barney stuffed toy.  She was also wearing an old t-shirt that belongs to her mom, from the Vienna Inn - 1960.  Next, she shared a picture of her with her beloved grandmother, who is no longer with us.  Liz looks about 7 or 8 in that picture.  Those are sweet memories, Liz.

Kevin shared a Barney toy from his childhood, and then a really retro toy that we think his mom or dad may have played with back in the day.  It's a ball on a string that you flip around, trying to get the ball to go into the hole on the handle piece!  Good try, Kevin, but that is hard to do!  Kevin's retro toy could keep us off of our devices for a while!

When it was Nancy's turn, she showed us old records, which were things we used to play on a turntable thingy so we could listen to music!  Music was not digital back then! Nancy had a 78, and also a couple of 45s of The Beatles!  She also shared the soundtrack album from a movie she liked in the 80s called "Urban Cowboy."  All of that is definitely retro, Nancy!

Aww, it's Patrick and Woody!  We all know how much Pat loves Woody, and yes, Woody is retro because the 90s were a long time ago to our guys!  Woody is both retro and timeless, and Patrick will always have a friend in him!

Sam has a lot of retro toys, too!  Here, he's showing Dick Tracy and the "bad guys" action figures that he played with as a child.  (Wasn't Dick Tracy already retro when Sam was a child?!)  Sam also brought retro versions of Fred and Barney, Bert and Ernie, and...wait for it...Gumby and Pokey!  Plus, we saw some cute pics of young Sam.  Cool stuff!

Lilly got in on the retro action by showing us games from long ago, Candyland and Twister.  Then, she used her smartphone to pull up a digital picture...it must be a picture of a picture?!  It's her grandmother from a while back, and she's wearing a fedora!  Now that's some retro fashion!

Nan brought several pictures of young Alexis and young Lisa, plus this picture of herself and her sister, when they were about 2 and 4 years old.  It's a black and white photo, which makes it retro, without a doubt!  But we must say, Nan, you haven't changed a bit! 💙

Carol loves retro things...she calls them "antiques," and she brought several to show us, including metal cookie cutters she used with her grandmother and this baseball glove that belonged to her grandfather, both items over 100 years old!

Something of Carol's that is more "recently" retro, is a flip phone!  Most of our guys won't remember them, as they all have smartphones now.  But we hear that flip phones may be making a comeback??  Retro things have a way of doing that!

Thank you, EVERYONE, for participating in Retro Day!  What a lot of fun we had seeing your photos and artifacts from long ago.  Memories are priceless! 

Remember, on Retro Day, we should take time to "remember the good ole days" and spend less time being distracted by all of our modern conveniences and devices!  It's a day to really talk to one another, face to face, and reminisce!  We had to do it today on Zoom...but the actual Retro Day is Saturday, so you've still got time!

Peace,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang