Skip to main content

A Scent of Nostalgia

In this episode, A Scent of Nostalgia: Old Spice . . . 

Empty!

Here’s an odd question: Is there a particular scent that instantly transports you back to childhood? For me, it's the unmistakable aroma of Old Spice Aftershave. It was my dad's go-to, or perhaps the only affordable option at Kroger when Mom did the grocery shopping.

This got me thinking; I wonder when Dad started using Old Spice?

I distinctly recall the opaque white glass bottle from the 1960s on his shaving shelf. The front featured a sailing ship illustration; the "Old Spice" branding was in red script below it. The bottle's tapered shape narrowed toward the top, culminating in a small aperture secured with a gray stopper.

Did you know that Old Spice has a fascinating history? It all started in 1937 when the Shulton Company, founded by William Lightfoot Schultz, introduced a unique fragrance. Interestingly, this original product was meant for women! Inspired by his mother's delightful potpourri, Schultz named it 'Early American Old Spice.' His vision was to capture the charming essence of colonial times, and he beautifully showcased this theme with packaging featuring colonial sailing ships, creating a lasting identity for the brand.

Building on the initial success of its women's fragrance, the Shulton Company proudly introduced Old Spice for Men in Est. 1938. (This is still printed on all bottles.) This line featured shaving soap and aftershave lotion infused with that classic, distinctive scent many cherish today. It wasn't long before men's products outshone women's range in popularity, establishing Old Spice as a beloved name among men's grooming brands.

The iconic Old Spice scent, a blend of citrus, flowers, and vanillin, established itself as a beloved favorite in men's grooming, first in America and then worldwide.

In 1990, the consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) welcomed Old Spice into its family, ushering in an exciting new chapter filled with growth and innovation.

I still keep a bottle of Old Spice (the same bottle design, but now plastic) for myself. It’s more than just aftershave; it reminds me of simpler times. This familiar scent evokes comforting memories of a smooth-shaven face and a childhood hug from Dad. I don’t remember my father ever having facial hair. In his later years, he used an electric razor.

However, when I reached for my aftershave this morning, it was empty!

So, I wrote to Santa for a bottle in my stocking this Christmas. Ok, I’ll come clean; I ordered one from Amazon.

I’m curious: have you ever smelled something that instantly transported you back to your childhood?

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Chasing the Magic

In this episode, Chasing the Magic: How the Summer of ’98 Inspired the 'Ball Boys' . . .  Do you remember that feeling? The late-summer air was thick with humidity, radios crackling on porches, the smell of fresh-cut grass and barbecue smoke in the backyard. Every evening carried a new kind of suspense—the country holding its collective breath after every pitch. “Did he hit one today?” became more than a question; it sparked a nationwide conversation.   For me, and millions of others, the summer of 1998 wasn’t just another baseball season. It was theater, a movement, a time when the game recaptured something sacred. As sportswriter Mike Lupica said so perfectly,   “No matter how old you are or how much you’ve seen, sports is still about memory and imagination. Never more than during the summer of ’98, when baseball made everyone feel like a kid again, when it felt important again.”    Just four years earlier, the 1994 players’ strike had left the sport bruised...

Beyond Facts

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

Retirement Talk

In this episode, Patrick & Huck: Retirement Talk . . .   We all get caught daydreaming sometimes, don’t we? Just like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn might’ve done, lazyin’ by the river with a fishing pole in hand and the BIG wide world spinn’ in their heads. This morning, with coffee steaming and plans bubbling, I found myself driftin’ into a chat with none other than my imaginary friend–Huck Finn himself. Patrick: “Mornin’, Huck. Say, I’m mighty curious what you’d make of this retirement business.” Huck: “Well now, sit tight, ‘cause I’ve been thinkin’ on that too. Only thirty-one days 'til you're sixty-nine — whew! You're talkin’ ‘bout quittin’, hangin’ up your spurs, Givin’ the workin’ life its final good slurs. Ain’t got no debts, no mortgage, no fuss, Just clean livin’ and freedom waitin’ on the bus. Most folks’d throw hats in the air, cheerin’ loud and proud, But you? You’re starin’ out yonder, lost in some cloud. You're dreamin’ of cyclin' and books and guitar...

The Sights of Summer

In this episode, The Sights of Summer: Chasing Miles & Unexpected Smiles . . . For Lori and me, the perfect summer morning isn't something you find marked on a calendar; it's a feeling . It's the refreshing crispness of the air on our faces, the gentle warmth of the sun on our skin, and the exciting anticipation of discovering new miles and uncovering the hidden "sights of summer" along our journey. A glorious California day returns with our weekly ride. We begin with a warm-up cruise around our neighborhood under a wide, cloudless, azure sky. With a smile, I’m thinking, " You know it’s going to be a great ride when even furry co-pilots are excited!"  We chuckled as a neighbor drove past, two white, fluffy dogs with their tongues flapping in the breeze and ears flopping wildly out the truck window. Pure canine bliss—an ideal sign for a fun day on two wheels. “Did you see those pups? They looked like they were smiling.” Traffic was blissfully light, ...