Sundays of the past: People went to church Sat or Sunday! No hockey was played in Canada! No baseball games at night on Sunday! NFL on Sunday before 1PM

PinOakEO Loc: NA

People went to church Sat or Sunday!
No hockey was played in Canada!
No baseball games at night on Sunday!
NFL on Sunday before 1PM - no night games!
No NCAA sports on Sunday!
NBA on eve of Sundays!
Rotation of 4 drug stores - 3 closed!
3 attendants would service your car: 1 opened the hood - 1 did the gas - 1 did your windshield or checked your tires!
Most stores did not open until 11AM or 12PM!

JTIWTTO!

Keldon Loc: Yukon, B.C.

In Oshawa, Ontario, home of General Motors Canada, there were no gas stations open on Sunday's. The only stores open were corner grocery and drug stores.

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

They had "Blue Laws" in NJ for a time. You could buy food but not clothing as one example. As corporate greed and the states insatiable need for more revenue grew, it was abandoned.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

sirlensalot wrote:

They had "Blue Laws" in NJ for a time. You could buy food but not clothing as one example. As corporate greed and the states insatiable need for more revenue grew, it was abandoned.

I was in college in Texas in the late 60s, and under the blue laws, stores could be open on Sundays, but there were certain things they could sell and others they couldn't. I particularly remember being in a large drug store which had a record section, but record albums were one of the things they couldn't sell on Sunday.

starting anew

I can remember going into a drug store (or 5 & dime) and seeing white sheets spread out over the merchandise, covering those items we were not allowed to purchase on Sunday. And Pennsylvania, to this day, still has its antiquated state controlled liquor stores manned by surly state employees who can't be fired. It's a real pleasure buying a bottle of wine from them.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

PinOakEO wrote:

People went to church Sat or Sunday!
No hockey was played in Canada!
No baseball games at night on Sunday!
NFL on Sunday before 1PM - no night games!
No NCAA sports on Sunday!
NBA on eve of Sundays!
Rotation of 4 drug stores - 3 closed!
3 attendants would service your car: 1 opened the hood - 1 did the gas - 1 did your windshield or checked your tires!
Most stores did not open until 11AM or 12PM!

JTIWTTO!

Mine were sleeping off the hangover! Bars were open 24 hours on Sundays too!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

sirlensalot wrote:

They had "Blue Laws" in NJ for a time. You could buy food but not clothing as one example. As corporate greed and the states insatiable need for more revenue grew, it was abandoned.

I remember being on vacation there as a kid - Asbury Park - and Sunday was definitely different. Everything was closed.

When there was discussion about opening up stores on Sunday, there was lots of objection on religious grounds. The "agreement" was that no one would actually be assigned to work on Sunday. It would be voluntary. Sure, that worked.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

And in a lot of states, no alcohol could be purchased before 12:00, if at all.

FrankR Loc: NYC

I don't know if it's still the case, but within the past five years, there were (are?) dry communities in CT and you couldn't buy beer in a supermarket after eight or nine at night.

pdsdville Loc: Midlothian, Tx

We had the blue laws in Texas for many years. You could only buy necessities on Sunday and limited store openings. Odd thing, two items you could not buy that I thought were necessities were diapers and an alarm clock. One store Clark's in Ft. Worth got around the law by signing their store over to another party on Saturday night that only opened on Sunday, and then back on Sunday night. That way the store was actually open 7 days a week.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I grew up there, Jerry. In Asbury Park, on Cookman Ave & Main St. (shopping district), stores were closed on Sunday but were open on the boardwalk. All liquor stores were closed on Sunday. In Ocean Grove, town next door where all land was owned by the church and leased for 99 years, strict blue laws and driving cars was prohibited from 12:00 AM Sunday - through 12:00 AM Monday. Locked chains guarded the entrances to the town. Billy Graham spoke in the 12,000 seat auditorium every summer.

jerryc41 wrote:

I remember being on vacation there as a kid - Asbury Park - and Sunday was definitely different. Everything was closed.

When there was discussion about opening up stores on Sunday, there was lots of objection on religious grounds. The "agreement" was that no one would actually be assigned to work on Sunday. It would be voluntary. Sure, that worked.

Dannj

sirlensalot wrote:

They had "Blue Laws" in NJ for a time. You could buy food but not clothing as one example. As corporate greed and the states insatiable need for more revenue grew, it was abandoned.

Blue Laws still exist in Bergen County, NJ. They may not be as restrictive as they once were but all of the Malls are closed. I think many, if not most, residents are ok with it.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Many years ago it was said that bars in Chicago has to close for at least one hour each day. Many in the factory parts of town chose 1 hour before the end of the graveyard shift - to sweep out the cigar and cigarette butts and rinse the spittoons.

Popeye Loc: LifIno

Connecticut in the 1950's most stores were closed (larger ones). The small corner stores were open but weren't allowed to sell alcohol. If you wanted to drink you had to go to the local tavern.

Quinn 4

Blue Laws, glad their are gone.