Now that's a real life Charles Atlas!

I just looked around this site, first I saw my mother (Baby Shower 1960). My kids laughed and said look at the rest, Dad! I am the kid with the yellow hose, cowboy tricycle etc., and this is my dad. Ladies, you are right! He was, and still is, a "super hunk" -- 72 now, and I am 49.

Great job son,

Love Dad

Oh why do we have to get old.

I love this picture, I was admiring all of the details and your grandfather was quite a handsome man. I was never fortunate to have met either of my grandfathers, so I am quite jealous. It also takes me back to my childhood.

My parents also had this same combination of cars, a '61 Rambler and a 1960 Volvo P544. I think the Volvo cost about $1800.

I love Shorpy. Work today was very slow so, um, I sorta spent the last half-hour Shorpy-ing. The older, b&w photos are intriguing but it's these color images from the 1960s that have really caught my imagination today. Color just sorta has a "you are there" effect!

So, anyway, thank you Tony and TTerence for sharing these! And, I know you think this is weird Tony, but I have to agree that Grandpa was/is mighty fiiiiiine!

If the toddler is your father in 1963 he married VERY young to have you! And you are very young.

[His dad could have been around 40 when he got married. If you click on Tony's profile you'll see that he is 18. - Dave]

I had a P544 bought new in 1964 with the only options available, a $5 side mirror and a $35 AM radio, $2,050 complete.

A VW at the time sold for around $1,295.

Had to crack open a window to close a door, airtight.

The 122 was nice as well, but the P444-544 was a true classic.

Gregg Easterbrook wrote a book, "The Progress Paradox," discussing how people in the U.S. and Europe today are living better than their parents ever did, yet aren't any more happier. Just because we have more things like cell phones, TV's and cars, doesn't make life truly any better. OTOH, if you asked the people of the period in this picture if they thought this was the Apex of American Civilization, you may get a surprising answer. They may have thought life was so much better back in the Twenties or something, where they didn't have to worry about Communist missiles, civil unrest, or atomic radiation causing giant ants to run amok.

And yes, Grandpa is mighty fine. Mighty fine. Is he still alive? Is he aware of how much drool he's engendered?

I wanted to make one more comment. Someone mentioned above that this reminded them of the "apex of American society". Interesting in that if you look at how most Americans lives back in the 50's and 60's, the typical family had a house that was around 700 square feet, a single car, and a single TV set. My mother along with most everyone else in my family grew up in small houses like those shown in the picture. They also shared rooms with their siblings.

Look around today and the typical family home is over 3,000 square feet, there are at least 3 cars in every driveway, at least 2-3 TV sets ( flatscreens) at least 2 computers, a cell phone for every family member, an abundance of shoes and clothing which are bought as cheap disposable items at big box stores, and other endless forms of entertainment. Yet when people speak of "the good times", somehow we always come back to this single era. I think that says an awful lot about the lack of appreciation people these days have for what they've got. My grandparents went through the depression and WW2. 15 years of pain and suffering. You had better believe they appreciated everything they had after it was all over. Even today with the worst recession in decades, I doubt most Americans come close to that level of appreciation.

I love how the baby looks so ...tidy. His hair was parted and combed over, just to go outside with Daddy and wash the car. For a candid snap, this is remarkably poised.

I LOVE this picture. it really put a smile on my face for so many reasons.

I sure am glad it was a hot day!

But I think a dreamy sigh will suffice.

Love the sandals on the toddler! Those were the days when sensible people designed sensible summer footwear for children--not the slide-ons you see today.

Great photo. I probably know your dad (and granddad) as I was here in Pago during the great purse-seiner days of the late 1980s and through the 90s.

There are about 23 boats operating here now. Some New Zealand. With Samoa Packing closing down that number may diminish.

From Pago Pago,
John Wasko

I bet the son and the grandson became great hunks too !!

Note the window A/C next door. These "breeder boxes" were built hurriedly (but solidly) throughout SoCal by the hundreds of thousands in the years following WW2.

Built-in A/C was a practically unheard of option in these houses, but by 1963, even my grandparents had it (courtesy of Sears). My gramp got spiffy and cut a hole in the wall for their unit.

Seeing the yellow water hose reminded me of how my father and uncle, back in the 50s and 60s, would never buy common "garden hose" (like we still have) because it wore out much too quickly. One kink and it's dead.

Rather, they would buy low pressure air hose, like the kind used in gas stations. Ten minutes with a hammer and you had a sturdy hose, typically yellow or a dull red, which was probably 25 percent more expensive but would last for years. I still have one I made back in the 70s and use often.

Chain link fences that is... Notice the top of the fence. Those barbs opened up the wrist of my friend when we were kids back in Newark NJ in about 1960. There were hedges behind the fence and he reached over while passing by on his bike to pull off a leaf. Zzzziiippp. Several hours and a spools worth of sutures and he was okay. Thankfully, fence tops are folded over now.

The cougars do get restless around twilight -- if you don't turn your back on them you'll be fine. My favorite thing here is the bright yellow hose on the green lawn. Something tres Sixties there. You have a good eye for interesting pictures.

It's odd to read all these lustful comments about my grandpa, but hey, whatever floats your boat!

My grandpa was (and still is) a chief engineer on tuna boats.

My father also became a chief engineer on American tuna boats, first starting in San Diego and then moving to American Samoa. Now he works in the ports and gives his wealth of knowledge about engines to other engineers.

To put it bluntly, he's the guy who makes sure boat engines run well enough so you can have a tuna sandwich.

Grandpa can hang his hat at MY house ANY time!

An order of beefcake, circa 1963!

The absolute apex of American civilization captured in this photo. That's it folks. It'll never happen again.

I had just gotten my driver's license in 1963 and I remember cleaning whitewalls with a Brillo pad, just like Grampa is doing.

Reminds me of Don Draper. Yum!!

Grandpa looks mighty fine!

Wow, a Rambler Classic, *and* a Volvo (looks like a 544) in the same driveway. And your dad is about my age (49). Great picture. Thanks for sharing this one, Tony. When I was a kid, my parents owned a Rambler, and my dad was always fascinated with Volvos, mainly the 122.

The Rambler, the Volvo, Junior's sandals -- this could be cover art for the Summer 1963 issue of Progressive Left Coast Family. What did your dad end up doing as a grownup? What was Granddad's line of work? A great photo, very evocative.

The Volvo, I mean.

Hey, Grandpa was good lookin'!

Simply cannot ignore this perfect-looking gent. This appreciative female thanks you for remembering that ladies enjoy a gorgeous view, too.