The price of gasoline at the pump was rising in the 1970s. This was no longer the good all days of the early 1950s, when you could get 5 gallons of gasoline for a dollar. The price began to rise in 1973, so that by 1980 the average price for a gallon of gas at the pump was now a $1.25, instead of $.20 a gallon, or five gallons for a dollar like in the 1950s. People thought in the 1950s that $.30 a gallon was expensive. Thus, the price of gas at the pump had gone up over 500% in less than twenty years. On top of that, there was the problem if the gas station had enough gas. People sat in their cars like they were at a tollway stop or entering an event parking lot. Sometimes, the signs at the gas stations would say, “No gas today,” which was really annoying. Thus, people would top off their gas tank anytime they saw what was considered a cheap price, something closer to a $1.00 a gallon. Most American cars were called gas guzzlers, since they could only get about 15 miles per gallon, and some less than that. I was lucky with my Nissan that I got over 20 MPG. People were surprised to hear that a barrel of crude oil hit the astronomic price of $35.00 a barrel. A barrel of oil contains 42 gallons, so that the margin of profit for gas at the pump was not that much. Margaret used to stay in lines trying to get gas for her car. I usually hunted around to get a good price. I got to write off quite a bit of those gas prices. What do you think about gas prices at the pump?
My sign selling experience
Well, how did my selling experience go? You guessed it, okay, but not great. Gulf signs are still doing business the way that they were doing it over 40 years ago. Sales people were individual contractors, not employees of the company. You got paid immediately after each sale, because the down payment was your commission. It was a 20% check as a down payment made out to you. Our sales leader insisted that we have the down payment check made out to us, the individual salesperson. However, if the person insisted on making it out to Gulf, he had a Gulf account to deposit it and he would give us the money. There were no taxes or social security taken out. That was up to us. I was a little leery, but I liked the idea of being an individual contractor rather than an employee. How did the selling work? There were about five of us. We would all drive to a town. Each of us would take a block with a number of stores. We had our Gulf booklets showing the signs. To be honest, there were a lot of Gulf signs everywhere we went. There was a larger one that sold for $1,000.00 and a smaller one that sold for about $700.00. Thus, our commission was $200.00 for the big ones and $140.00 for the smaller ones. If you sold one every day or two, you would be in good shape. The smaller sign was oblong and the bigger sign was a larger square. I decided to emphasize selling the smaller one. I actually sold a couple of them. Gulf did not install the signs. The explanation was that it was simple and anyone could install it. We designed the sign to the customer’s satisfaction, ordered it, and it came directly to the business owner. We had signed contracts, so everything was good with an 800 number to call, if they had any questions. I know that we want to Hammond for a couple of days. Then we went to the northside of Chicago for a couple of days. We would meet for breakfast, and this guy always paid for breakfast. He really liked Denny’s. Lunch was on our own. If we sold anything, we would let him know the next day. After a couple of weeks, he suggested we take a road trip to Memphis, Tennessee. I was excited because I had driven on the Dan Ryan and the sign always said I 57 Memphis. Now I would get to know how far away Memphis really was. We had to pay our own expenses, but they could be used as tax deductions. I could see the point, since I was an individual contractor. This was the turning point. I did not sell anything in Memphis. All I had were business expenses without any income. This would make my Income Tax easy. That is when I decided that on the road sign selling was not for me. Cross something else off the list! I would have to try something else. I guess that I lasted a month or two. It was time to move on. Have you ever been an on the road salesperson?
Gulf Development Sign Company
When I went on the Internet to find out something about this sign company, the only thing that I first found was that a lot of people collect old Gulf Oil signs. However, I did find Gulf Development Sign Company that has been selling signs for sixty years. Their website says that they have been “Selling Business Stories With World-Class Signage Since 1959. Gulf Development was started 60 years ago with the mission to help businesses get closer to their customers with best-in-class signage. From humble beginnings, we started as a brand-new idea in a garage in Southern California, to now more than 50 offices across the United States, we have taken pride in every sign we create in our 80,000-square foot manufacturing facility in Torrance, California. Today, we have created more than 500,000 signs of all shapes and sizes and helped businesses achieve their goals. With Gulf Development, your ideas get the visibility they deserve. Our signage experts bring unmatched experience, unsurpassed craftsmanship, and consistent customer service to help your business stand out at every step. Plus, we are a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) company, working hard to make sure every sign we build is of the highest quality. Thus, whether you are looking for an Outdoor sign, an Electronic Message Center (EMC) sign, or a personalized sign for your business, Gulf Development has you covered. Connect customers with your business with modern, and best-in-class signage.” Even today, they were looking for sales people on their web site, “Advance Your Sales Career with Gulf Development. How would you like to work with a reputable company that continues to grow even after 50+ years in business? A sales career with Gulf Development, an industry leader in sign production, begins with no financial investment on your part. You’ll work independently, with team and company support as needed. Set your own hours and get paid immediately after each sale! Your Career for Life, as a family-oriented and employee-owned company, we care about your success and growth. We don’t want this to be just another job for you. We want this to be a career for life. When you’re selling a high-quality product that holds enormous value potential for each customer, your day-to-day work will be so much more rewarding.” Have you ever heard of Gulf Development Sign Company?
I became an on the road sign salesman in 1980
Thus, I decided that I would try on the road sales, be a real salesman. What would I sell? I looked at the local Matteson-Richton Park Star weekly newspaper. I saw that that there was an opportunity to sell signs. Some guy was looking for salesmen to sell business signs. I called this guy and he said that he would be conducting interviews in the next week at a Holiday Inn in Hammond, Indiana. I realized that Hammond was not that far away, less than 20 miles. I went there and about 10 other people were there. We all had 5-10-minute interviews with this guy, whose name I do not recall. It turned out that he was hiring practically anybody if they were willing to work on a straight commission. I had no problem with that, but some of the others decided not to get involved. When he found out that I had an MBA, he was more excited about me joining him. The company was called Gulf Inc Sign company. Anyway, this guy was going to explain to us how to sell these signs. He was very enthusiastic! He even had a southern drawl. He explained that he had no problem talking to black store owners, since he always started his conversation about being in Jackson, Mississippi. Practically, every black store owner he had ever met had been to Jackson, Mississippi. He wanted us to get all fired up about selling business signs. He had a booklet with all the different kinds of signs and worksheets for possible signs. We did not have to have any artistic ability. We just had to show up at a small business place that did not seem to have a sign. We would then give a presentation on why signs are so important. I realized the importance of signs from my time on the Matteson Zoning Board of Appeals. Many of the new businesses in town always wanted to have signs larger than what Matteson allowed. I could see that these signs would not be a problem. I also decided that I would not sell any signs in Matteson, since that would be a conflict of interest. We would not have any territory, but this guy had the Midwest territory around the Chicago area, which had a lot of small businesses. He had a lot of generic sign models that could be customized by the small business owner and the salesman. I thought that it would be interesting. Have you ever been an on the road salesman?
My unemployment crisis of 1980
1980 was a year of crisis in America, with the rising oil prices and the hostages in Iran that lingered longer that most people had expected. Besides that, it also was a presidential election year. However, for me I had the crisis of not having a job. The old saying is that a recession is when your neighbor loses a job. A depression is when you lose a job. However, I was not fired or let go. In 1979, I quit two jobs, the furniture store manager at Montgomery Ward and the Options Marker Maker at the CBOE. I was not eligible for unemployment, since I had quit, but I realized that I needed to get another job soon. Margaret was still working as a grade school teacher at St. Lawrence O’Toole and Joy was in school there. We had some money in the bank and we had a couple of credit cards. Our mortgage was reasonable, so we were not desperate. However, the lack of a strong steady stream of income would prove to be a problem over the long run. What should I do? I kind of relaxed over the Christmas-New Year holiday. Faced with the new year, I realized that it was time to do something. The question was what? Unlike ten years earlier when I carefully planned out what I wanted to do in 1971, I was more bewildered at my own lack of success as an Options Market Maker. For a while, I thought about staying home, but even then, I had no plan. The question that I faced was what did I really want to do, just like ten years earlier. This time, I had more obligations with a wife and child. Have you ever been unemployed?
TV in 1979
In 1979, a whole bunch of new cable networks appeared as cable began to grow. The most famous were Nickelodeon, ESPN, Star Movie Channel, USA Network, and C-SPAN. President Jimmy Carter addressed the nation in a televised speech talking about the “crisis of confidence in America today” that would go on to be known as his “national malaise” speech. The 1979 Daytona 500 was televised on CBS, the first ever full airing of a 500-mile race on US television. This race brought NASCAR to a wider audience. The Music for the UNICEF Concert “Year of the Child” was televised from New York City on NBC. 43 million viewers watched “Elvis,” an ABC movie starring Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley, the first Elvis biopic film ever made. On CBS, the final episode of “All in the Family” was seen by 40.2 million American viewers. The 1,439th and final CBS episode of “Match Game 79” aired. Friendly Fire, an ABC movie starring Carol Burnett as a mother who wanted to know how her son died in Vietnam, aired. “The Price Is Right,” on CBS, moved to 11:00 A.M. EST, the time slot that it holds to this day. The finale of “Barney Miller” featured the cast stepping out of character to pay tribute to the late Jack Soo. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi made their final appearances on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” as cast members. On the two-hour “Eight Is Enough” season premiere on ABC, both David and Susan Bradford married their respective loves in a double ceremony. Jaws was broadcast on television for the first time on ABC. Pat Summerall called his first NFL telecast with John Madden. There were a lot of new shows, “All Star Secrets,” “Password Plus,” “Delta House,” “PBS Nightly Business Report,” “Hello, Larry.” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “CBS News Sunday Morning,” “Supertrain,” “Angie,” “PBS This Old House,” “Billy,” “Flatbush,” “The Ropers,” “Harris and Company,” “The Bad News Bears,” “The MacKenzies of Paradise Cove,” “Highcliffe Manor,” “Whodunnit?” “Real People,” “Whew!” “Hizzonner,” “Detective School,” “The Facts of Life,” “Hart to Hart,” “240-Robert,” “ESPN Sports Center,” “Out of the Blue,” “Benson,” “Working Stiffs,” “A New Kind of Family,” “The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo.” “The Last Resort,” “Struck by Lightning,” “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” “Casper and the Angels,” “A Man Called Sloane,” “The New Adventures of Flash Gordon,” “The New Shmoo,” “The Super Globetrotters,” “Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo,” “Spider-Woman,” “The Associates,” “California Fever,” “Trapper John, M.D.,” “Big Shamus, Little Shamus,” “Shirley,” “Freedom Road,” “Nightline,” “Young Maverick,” “House Calls,” “Knots Landing,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Backstairs at the White House,” “Murder by Natural Causes,” “Roots: The Next Generations,” “Death Car on the Freeway,” “Salem’s Lot,” “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July,” “The Berenstain Bears’ Christmas Tree,” “The Miracle Worker,” The following shows ended in 1979: “The Eddie Capra Mysteries” (1978-1979); “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries” (1977-1979); “Grandpa Goes to Washington” (1978-1979); “All in the Family” (1971-1979); “Match Game” (1973-1979); “Starsky and Hutch” (1975-1979; “Welcome Back, Kotter” (1975-1979); “Comedy Theatre” (1976-1979); “The Amazing Spider-Man” (1977-1979); “Sword of Justice” (1978-1979); “Good Times” (1974-1979); “Wonder Woman” (1976-1979); and “Godzilla” (1978-1979). What was your favorite TV show in 1979?
Music in 1979
In 1979, classic releases from rock, rap, R&B, disco, and new wave were popular on radios, boomboxes, and on a new device called the Sony Walkman. Disco occupied eight of the top ten spots of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, for two weeks, as it reigned supreme with several number-one hits from The Bee Gees and Donna Summer. The Bee Gees tied Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles with a record six consecutive number-one singles in one calendar year. Donna Summer became the first female artist to have 5 top 10 hits in the same year. Several artists who were not regarded as disco acts, scored major successes by releasing disco-oriented singles or albums, including new wave band Blondie with their first USA number-one single “Heart of Glass.” Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard magazine charts, and stayed there for 4 weeks. “My Sharona” by The Knack hit #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time in over a year that a song hit #1 that was not either a disco song or a ballad, perhaps a potential resurgence of rock. MCA Records purchased ABC Records for a reported $20 million. Bill Haley & His Comets performed “Rock Around the Clock” live for the last time. Milk and Honey won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 for Israel, with the song “Hallelujah.” ABC’s American Bandstand featured the debut of the “Y.M.C.A. dance” using the hand gestures forming the letters YMCA during a broadcast with the Village People. Singer Donny Hathaway died after falling 15 stories from his hotel room in New York City. Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious was found dead from an overdose, a day after being released on bail from Rikers Island prison. Stephen Stills became the first major rock artist to record digitally, while Stevie Wonder used digital audio recording technology in his album Journey through the Secret Life of Plants. B.B. King became the first blues artist to tour the Soviet Union, kicking off a one-month tour there. There was a historic three-day Havana Jam festival at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Cuba. James Brown performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Elton John became the first pop music star to perform in Israel, after reuniting with his lyricist Bernie Taupin. Eric Clapton married Patti Boyd, the ex-wife of Clapton’s friend George Harrison. Three of the four ex-Beatles performed on the same stage, as Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr jammed with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Mick Jagger, and others at a wedding reception for Clapton. Kate Bush became the first artist to use a wireless microphone, enabling her to sing and dance at the same time. Ozzy Osbourne was fired as the lead singer of Black Sabbath. The Who played their first concert following the death of drummer Keith Moon. In Cincinnati, a stampede for seats at Riverfront Coliseum during a Who concert killed 11 fans and injured 26 others. The band members were not informed of the deaths until after the show. Chuck Berry was sentenced to four months in prison for tax evasion by a Los Angeles judge. 250,000 turned out in New York’s Central Park for a free concert by James Taylor in a campaign to restore Sheep Meadow. Bauhaus released “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” considered to be the first Gothic Rock release. Prince’s first hit single “I Wanna Be Your Lover” was released in the USA, reaching number one on the R and B, selling more than one million copies. U2 entered the studio for the first time to record a locally released single. ABBA had a month of dates in North America. Pink Floyd released The Wall, one of rock’s most well-known concept albums and one of the best-selling albums of all time. The eighth annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special had appearances by The Oak Ridge Boys, Village People, Chic, Blondie, and Barry Manilow. What do you remember about music in 1979?
Movies in 1979
The big movie of 1979 was Kramer vs. Kramer with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Street, about a divorcing couple. I saw it and loved it. I did not see some of the other popular movies like The Amityville Horror, Rocky II, Star Trek, and Alien. I saw Apocalypse Now, and 10 that were okay. I preferred the funny Steve Martin in The Jerk. I did not see the James Bond Moonraker, but I think that we all saw The Muppet Movie. I did not see the controversial religious satirical film Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The ecological horror-thriller Prophecy was released, but I did not see it. Other movies that I might have seen were The First Great Train Robbery. I really liked Sally Field in Norma Rae. I saw Hair, a movie adaptation of the play that was okay. I really liked Breaking Away, a bicycle riding movie about the problems with the local kids and the kids going to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. I did not see the football movie, North Dallas Forty. I did like the murder mystery film, the Onion Field, and the courtroom drama, Justice for All, because of Al Pacino. I also saw the Great Santini with Robert Duvall, but I did not like it. I really liked the Rose, with Beth Midler as Janis Joplin. I thought that 1941 was pretty funny. I also thought that Neil Simon’s movie of the play Second Chapter was good. One of the best movies of the year was Peter Sellers in Being There. I saw The Electric Horseman with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, but I was sorry that I did. I think that I saw the quirky movie about three old guys wanting to be burglars, Going in Style, that included George Burns. What movie do you remember from 1979?
Sports in 1979
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII at Miami, 35−31. Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers QB, was the MVP. The Alabama Crimson Tide won 14–7 over the Penn State Nittany Lions to claim the AP Poll national championship. Germany had its first American Football Bundesliga as Frankfurt was the champion. The Seattle Super Sonics, coached by Lenny Wilkens and led by Dennis Johnson, won 4 games to 1 over the Washington Bullets coached by Dick Motta and led by Wes Unseld, for the only NBA finals win for the Seattle Super Sonics. The Australian NBL was founded in 1979. Michigan State University, led by Magic Johnson, defeated the Larry Bird-led Indiana State 75–64 in the NCAA tournament championship game at Salt Lake City. Ray Meyer’s DePaul with Mark Aquirre made it to the final four, but lost to Larry Bird and Indiana St in the semi-finals. Walter O’Malley (1903-1979), who owned the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers died, as well as Yankee catcher Thurman Munson (1947-1979). Willie Mays (1931-2024) received 409 of 432 votes in the election to earn enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 4 games to 3 over the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. The Series MVP was Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell. The Pirates became the only team in sports history to come back from a three-games to one deficit in a championship series twice, having also achieved that comeback in the 1925 World Series. The National Hockey League merged with the World Hockey Association. The 1979 NHL Expansion Draft took place, restocking the franchises from Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, and Winnipeg, which were admitted from the WHA as expansion teams. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers four games to one to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup. The NHL’s leading scorer during the regular season was Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders and the Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL’s Most Valuable Player was also Bryan Trottier. Dale Earnhardt Sr. won his first career NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway, later winning 76 races and seven championships during his career. Rick Mears won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, and car owner Roger Penske for the second time. The golf winners were Fuzzy Zoeller at the Masters, Hale Irwin at the U.S. Open, Seve Ballesteros at the British Open, and David Graham at the PGA. Tom Watson was the tour money winner with $462,636. Nancy Lopez was the LPGA money leader with $197,489. Spectacular Bid won two legs of the triple crown in horse racing. In tennis, Björn Borg won both the French Open and Wimbledon, while Guillermo Vilas won the Australian Open and John McEnroe the US Open. In woman’s tennis, Barbara Jordan won the Australian Open. Chris Evert won the French Open. Martina Navratilova won Wimbledon. However, 16 year old Tracy Austin became the youngest US Open Champion defeating 4-time defending champion Chris Evert 6–4, 6–3 in the final, after defeating 2nd seeded Martina Navratilova in the semifinal. The AP Male Athlete of the Year was Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell, while the AP Female Athlete of the Year was the tennis player Tracy Austin. What do you remember about sports in 1979?
Deaths in 1979
Famous people who died in 1979 included: Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (1887-1979); Nelson Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States (1908-1979); Josef Mengele, German Nazi officer and physician (1911-1979); A. Philip Randolph, African-American civil rights activist (1889-1979); John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (1895-1979); Louis Mountbatten, British Viceroy of India (1900-1979); Jean Monnet, French founding father of the European Union (1888-1979); Father Charles Coughlin, Canadian-born American priest and controversial conservative radio show commentator (1891-1979); Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, TV American Roman Catholic bishop (1895-1979); Mamie Eisenhower, 34th First Lady of the United States (1896-1979); Al Capp, American cartoonist (1909-1979); and Yvonne de Gaulle, wife of President of France Charles de Gaulle (1900-1979). Some of my childhood entertainment heroes all died: Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress and producer (1892-1979); John Wayne, American actor, and film director (1907-1979); Jack Haley, American actor (1897-1979); Arthur Fiedler, American conductor of the Boston Pops (1894-1979); Sally Rand, American dancer (1904-1979); Doris Kenyon, American actress (1897-1979); Michael Wilding, English actor (1912-1979); Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (1909-1979); Dame Gracie Fields, British actress (1898-1979); Merle Oberon, British actress (1911-1979); Zeppo Marx, American actor and comedian (1901-1979); Darryl F. Zanuck, American film producer (1902-1979); Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (1898-1979); Ernest B. Schoedsack, American film producer and director (1893-1979); Joan Blondell, American actress (1906-1979); Lee Bowman, American actor (1914-1979); Richard Rodgers, American composer, the other half of Rodgers and Hammerstein (1902-1979). A few philosophers also died: Herbert Marcuse, a German-American philosopher, sociologist and political theorist (1898-1979); Charles W. Morris, American philosopher (1901-1979); and Sir Herbert Butterfield, English philosopher and historian (1900-1979). Two crimes bosses got shot: Carmine Galante (1910-1979, NY boss of the Bonanno crime family, and Raymond Washington (1953-1979), co-founder of the Crips, a LA notorious gang in the United States. On top of that there were quite a few people from the entertainment field who died: Donny Hathaway, American musician (1945-1979); Ted Cassidy, American actor (1932-1979), Sid Vicious, English musician (1957-1979); Jean Renoir, French film director and actor (1894-1979); William Gargan, American actor (1905-1979); Dolores Costello, American actress (1903-1979); Jean Stafford, American writer (1915-1979); John Carroll, American actor (1906-1979); Milton Ager, American songwriter (1893-1979); Joan Chandler, American actress (1923-1979); Barbara Hutton, American socialite (1912-1979); Jack Mulhall, American actor (1887-1979); Emory Parnell, American actor (1892-1979); Dave Fleischer, American animator (1894-1979); Philippe Cousteau, French diver and cinematographer (1940-1979); Lowell George, American singer, songwriter, (1945-1979); Van McCoy, American musician (1940-1979); Minnie Riperton, American rhythm and blues singer (1947-1979). Stan Kenton, American jazz pianist (1911-1979); Jean Seberg, American actress (1938-1979); Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish guitarist (1953-1979); Roy Harris, American composer (1898-1979); John Stuart, Scottish actor (1898-1979); Judee Sill, American singer and songwriter (1944-1979); and Jon Hall, American actor (1915-1979). Do you know someone who died in 1979?
Gene Finnegan Remembers Living Eighty Wonderful Years 