As the folks moved from the Haven Moor house to their new G-Suite in Highland, they pared down possessions from the garage and food storage room (as well as the rest of the house). They would still have some storage space and Shane and Alicia's ... and even got some new "roll-ey" shelves. The Westra family had these unique type of shelves in the Hermitage and Haven Moor house ... set up to effectively rotate cans. Put the new cans in one end, take from the other to use up the oldest first. Derek created a new set-up AND made a cute and clever little video ...
You can find more of D&D's home improvement projects on their Functional Decor Instagram!
Below, you can see a glimpse of the Haven Moor set up, taken after it was (mostly) emptied in preparation for the move in 2022. I wish we had some photos of the Hermitage House shelves ... I can picture them in my mind, but can't find a photo. The folks moved from that house November of 1994, and that was before digital photography had taken over ... and I don't know that anyone thought to stop and take pictures of shelves with a film camera.
Derek: Okay, I have a question: We gave the kids a Flintstones vitamin yesterday and I had a repressed childhood memory that I wanted to check with you all (if this is legit or not). Did we have a "vitamin dispenser" in our home (in my memory, it's like a creepy red clown) that dispensed Flintstones vitamins? Or did my psyche invent that?
Mom/Margie: I couldn't remember until you mentioned the clown. That does seem vaguely familiar. I don't know why a little clown would be creepy though, meant to be fun!
Chris: (shared an image)
Derek: Oh my goodness! That's it!
Chris: Yes, pretty creepy. Probably downstairs at Mom's house. Ha ha.
Mom: I recognize it. I don't think we still have it Chris!
Shane: I have fond memories/nightmares of that vitamin clown.
Derek: The 1980s were not kind to the brand image of clowns.
Jen: I remember it. Chris beat me to Google. The little pink fluoride tablets tasted better than the vitamins...
Wendy: I definitely remember the clown dispenser! At one point we had these huge brown vitamins that were so nasty. I used to just pretend to take them and then dispose of them later. Sorry Mom! I did take the fluorides though.
Even though Chris had already found the image, I did my own Google search. I found a couple more pictures, showing the little "lift" that brought the vitamin up within reach, the hat on top. I was hoping for a little history on the piece (as I found about the Kool-Aid Mugs) but all I could find were some used sale listings. So, here's a few facts about Flintstones vitamins ...
Flintstones vitamins hit the scene in 1968. The popular animated TV show "The Flintstones," aired from 1960 to 1966.
The vitamins are shaped like the characters from the animated Flintstones show; Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, Barney, Betty, Bamm-Bamm, Dino, and The Great Gazoo. Betty was not included until 1995. Manufacturers said she looked too similar to Wilma. Plus, her thin waist caused her vitamin to break during production.
The jingle "We are Flintstones kids — 10 million strong and growing!" was composed by Martin O’Donnell, who went on to compose the music for the intensely popular Halo video game series.
Vitamins weren’t the only things that the modern Stone Age family hawked. One of the show’s original sponsors was Winston cigarettes: Fred and Barney were Winston men, all the way. One early cartoon featured Fred and Barney taking a “Winston break,” because “Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should.”
