on this photo is superb. Beautiful picture!

My grandmother had some plates with the same scene, but they were green, not blue, and I don't think they were Currier and Ives. The plates were precious in our family. She only had 2 dinner size plates and you were the lucky one if you got to eat off one of the plates with the scene. After she passed, the plates were given to the two grandsons in the family. I have such great memories of those plates. In fact, when this page was first published, I sent a link to my sister with the subject "Look at the plate!"

This kid is enjoying a bunch of sugar, salt, and God knows how much trans fat. He looks healthy enough to me. So, before the finger-wagging food police start, remember we've also seen Mom stringing plenty of fresh green beans or shelling peas. Nobody in this family is obese, and Vivian looks pretty clean, crisp, and trim for a woman who has borne and is raising 12 children. They must have found the right nutritional balance somehow or other.

In my teenaged years I drank RC exclusively. Our RC bottler offered the prizes under the cork of the cap, up to $10. I won a lot of 10 cent prizes, which back in the early to mid sixties would buy you an RC (plus deposit). This bottle dates to the early seventies. The RC diamond logo was used from around 1958 through the sixties.

Back in the 50's and 60's RC was behind only Coke, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper in sales. However, in many parts of the country they were the number one soda to pour your package of peanuts in.

Joe Manning again. Kentucky birth records show that the little boy is Terry Allen Cornett, born June 18, 1968.

I have that plate. Here it is:

http://www.hearthworks.net/blue_farm/index.html

The Currier and Ives china pattern was everywhere in the early/mid 1960s. The color and border design were inspired by traditional "Blue Willow" patterns; the scenes are simplified versions of famous Currier and Ives engravings. The china was given away/sold at major U.S. grocery chains. I believe it was manufactured in Japan. One received a free piece for spending so much money on groceries and could then purchase additional pieces quite cheaply. While it's far from fine china, many people prized it. In my family, it was used for Sunday dinner and holidays -- not for daily use -- so I suppose we might have been even more frugal than the Cornetts.

I remember in the era that RC had a surpise under the cap od some bottles. Somewhere around 1965-66 I won five bucks! Given that you could buy both an RC and Twinkies for 25 cents, five bucks was a huge deal.

When our family drove down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to visit our
great aunt Lottie, one of our pleasures there as kids was walking down to
the little country store for a big RC Cola. I believe they were a nickel.
We never saw the like in N.Y. Exotic!

Yes, the summertime lunch of champions!

Kate-Good call on the plate.

Jenny-Loved the dogsitting story on your website!

I remember RC cola well. It was cheaper than Coca-Cola, so that's what Mom usually bought, when she bought soda at all. Most of the time we got Kool-Aid.

It looks like he's eating a hot dog in a bun, rather than a hamburger.

Burger, chips and a bottle of RC cola... the best meals of my youth!

It reminds me in 1990 when as I rookie firefighter I fought a big one in a plant where those bottles were made and I was allowed to keep a bottle as a souvenir. 18 years after this photo was taken, the bottle I picked up had not changed.

I don't understand why the males in the Cornett family don't wear shirts. Not a judgment, just an observation. But I LOVE the photos - very real and down to earth! I feel the Cornett family was "salt of the earth". Thanks again, Shorpy!

That's the best dessert with an RC Cola. Love the plate! And the kid is absolutely adorable. Little towhead, God love him.

And where is the Moon Pie?

Also I pick #1.

I remember seeing RC Cola available quite a bit when I lived in Kentucky from 1993-2001. Even better was a regional cola called Ale-8-One made in Winchester, KY. It tasted something like ginger ale.

I'm struck by seeing the Currier & Ives plate in use. I'm slowly assembling a 12-place setting, piece by piece. Whenever I find them in an antique shop (they're quite common here in MO) I wonder about the items' history; their backstory. My grandma got me started on the collection; she got several bits and pieces back when they first came out. I love using the same plates that my grandpa (who I never got to meet), mom, aunt and uncle all used.

Corny? Yes. Sorry.

I don't know about today, but RC Cola owned a lot of the market in Kentucky in the '70s.

#3. Someone I've never met and know nothing about, not that that will keep me from passing judgment on his intelligence, character, and future prospects.

Back before Big Gulps, way back in 1972, sodas were bought in returnable bottles. The 7-Eleven stores in the DC area had coolers out front, on the sidewalk, with Pepsi, Coke and RC. Since the RC was 16 ounces and the others were 12, over half of the cooler was RC. A big big seller in '72.

#1.

To save time and effort, potential commenters may simply respond by number:

1. Adorable scene of cute kid attempting to wolf down a burger in one bite
2. Early days of a future axe-murderer