Sunday, July 5, 2009

Free things!

Becky DeShong



Becky DeShong was a classmate of mine in elementary school. Her dad was a big shot with the Chevrolet place in Paris back in the late thirties. I don't remember or I may have not ever known for sure just what his connection with the Chevrolet Company was. I want to think maybe he was the owner of the business, or at least the top man in it.



Whatever, I know that they were well off people who may have not been rich but they did have money. As I look back on the whole thing I think I know why they were well off!



I went to her house once after school and she showed me her collection of her hobby things. She combed magazines for the little ads that offered free samples of everything from lotion to soap to many other things. She would send for anything that was free. Then the postage cost was little to nothing and most of the samples were sent free so all it cost you was the stamp to mail your envelope or even post cards sometimes.


She had tons of bottles of lotion, creams, soap bars and I can't even remember all of the things she had--all obtained free except for the one, two, or three cent stamp used to mail the coupon in.



I am sure her dad didn't send for free samples but he did probably instill in her the idea of getting what you could for free! So I think that is how they became well off.



I tried my hand at doing the same thing but I soon tired of it--which is why I am not now well off!



I seldom see things offered for free now in magazines. And if I do they require extra postage to get them. So by the time you pay 42 cents for a stamp to mail it and include the extra postage they charge you aren't getting anything free!



Oh how I wish the olden times were back, when you could get good deals on a lot of things. There just aren't many good deals going on anywhere in this day and time. I wonder if Becky DeShong is still living? And if she gets any good deals now.

2 Comments:

At July 5, 2009 at 4:34 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I did a little research for you. Becky DeShong, as of 2006, was still living in Dallas. She was married to Morelle "Moe" Ratcliffe, Jr. for 54 years until his death from leukemia in 2005. He had an advertising agency begun by his father. I had a little trouble finding her -- her name is actually Beverly, but she goes by Becky.

 
At July 5, 2009 at 4:44 PM , Anonymous kyra lafain said...

Thanks for the research. I did know that Becky was her nickname but I was not sure if her name was actually Beverly or Rebecca. We always called her Becky.

 

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