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Lunch
Box Ride Report by David and Zachary Iwatsuki
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While there were some morning clouds, this was a beautiful day for a
ride.Zack and I rolled out to Newton City Hall where we met up with 4
other BFOP riders. We headed west along Commonwealth Ave, following the
same route as
the Father's Day ride described earlier. This time, however, we
continued on beyond Regis College, crossing Rte 20, turning left at the
Weston Town Green, and then turning right on Concord Rd for the long
uphill to the Campion Center (a Jesuit Residence and Renewal Center).
Concord Rd jogs right after the Center, and then becomes Tower Rd, which
took us to Lincoln Center. A right on Trapelo had another uphill to Rte
128 in Waltham, and we then turned left onto Smith/Spring St, which
eventually merged with Marrett Rd in Lexington, where the Museum is
located. There we met Rebecca who had driven up from home, and also ran
into two other BFOP riders that had biked to the Museum from Stoneham,
so we were able to
include more people in the group picture.
We spent an hour eating lunch and touring the exhibit (most of the
riders are of the generation that had metal lunch boxes, and several
spotted ones they had owned). I've included a description and photos
from the exhibit at the end of this report.
Afterwards we exited back out onto Marrett Rd and opted to trim some
miles off by not taking the bike path back to
Arlington/Cambridge/Newton. Instead we followed Rte 225 to Winter St to
Trapelo Rd in Belmont. Turning near Belmont Wheelworks, we eventually
got to Rte 20 where we voted on taking a detour to Moody St in Waltham
for ice cream at Lizzy's. We then followed Moody St to High to Crafts to
Walnut, arriving back at Newton City Hall for a total of 32 miles
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©
Copyright 2000-2004 - National Heritage Museum
"Lunch Box Memories," is a Smithsonian traveling exhibition at the
National Heritage Museum, and recalls the times and places, the heroes
and heroines, the fads and fantasies of America's youth through a rare
collection of 75
metal lunch boxes. The exhibition is on view at the Museum from March 6
through July 18, 2004. The National Heritage Museum is an American
history museum founded and supported by 32° Scottish Rite Freemasons in
the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America, and
is open 7 days a week, with free admission.
http://www.monh.org/ .
"Lunch Box Memories" features illustrated metal lunch boxes dating from
the early 1900s to one of the last boxes, manufactured in 1984. Lunch
boxes originated in America around the turn of the 20th century, as the
first factory workers of the American Industrial Revolution often toted
lunches to work in empty biscuit containers or tobacco cans.
Occasionally, children in rural areas would use them in the same way for
their long journeys to school.
With the arrival of the 1950s, the status of the metal lunch box rose to
that of a necessary accessory for a contented childhood. The popularity
of these illustrated lunch boxes can be attributed to the post-World War
II baby boom and the importance of suburban life. It became an everyday
tradition for mothers to carefully pack their children's lunches.
Children anticipated lunchtime and the excitement of opening their metal
box to discover if mom had included some cookies or a special note.
Between the 1950s and 1960s, more than 120 million metal lunch boxes
were sold in America.
The arrival of plastic materials marked the demise of these fanciful
lunch boxes. Two-piece plastic boxes were more quickly and cheaply made
than metal boxes. Plastic could be seen as more sanitary than painted
metal. Above all, plastic was the next new thing. The character Rambo,
one of the last designs to grace the outside of a metal lunch box, is
included in the exhibition. Also included in the show is a Beatles lunch
box, which was the first to feature pop music performers. Annie Oakley
was the first television-based lunch box designed especially for girls.
Images of Hopalong Cassidy, Miss
America, Roy Rogers Chow Wagon, and Star Wars are just some of the
others on view.
"Lunch Box Memories" celebrates the metal lunch box's long journey
through American history, serving as both a symbol of pop culture and
self-expression. Tapping into the vivid memories and childhood
connections that lie inside these metal lunch boxes, the exhibition
reminds visitors of yesteryear, while helping to preserve the future of
these rare, classic lunch boxes.
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