If you were in Industry— population 515—in the summer of 1976, you could get your car cleaned at B&B Car Wash, pick up a prescription at Vail’s Drugs and groceries at Red Fox Foods, stop for dinner at Bud & Marge’s Tavern & Restaurant, and maybe even hit Bonnie & Clyde’s Restaurant, Bar and Dancing before turning in for the night. None of those businesses are there today, but they all were revived last Saturday at Industry’s Pinhook Days when a 1976 time capsule was opened.
James Trotter unveiled the time capsule’s contents in front of a crowd at the park pavilion. He oversaw the 1976 Pinhook Days, which also served as the town’s celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. Trotter told the audience that Pinhook Days that year involved closing down the highway through Industry so that the event could be held on Main Street. Any drivers wanting to pass through Industry had to detour around town.
The first item Trotter pulled out of the time capsule’s envelope was a business- card piece of paper: a 1976 shaving permit.
“I’d forgotten about it, but I do remember now,” Trotter said. “All of us guys had a beard. And if you didn’t have a beard, you had to buy a one-dollar shaving permit.”
The 1976 Pinhook Days included a beard-judging contest. Industry, like other towns in America that year, encouraged men to grow beards to mimic the style of early settlers. It was seen as a playful and patriotic fundraiser.
