Did you have a lunch box you brought to school as a kid? I did for kindergarten through second grade and I was curious if could find them on eBay and sure enough all three were there and going for a decent price.

Lunch boxes when I was a kid were made by Thermos and were all metal. They got dinged, scratched, dropped, and kicked throughout their entire year of use. They had a theme, be it a TV show, movie, or cartoon character and had art on both faces and on all sides. You better make sure you got a new lunchbox each year, because starting a new grade with last grade's lunchbox was just not cool.

Here are the lunchboxes I had as a kid, and just seeing them again brings back so many memories.

 

Kindergarten 1976
Teacher: Mrs. Cyr
School: Mildred M. Fox, South Paris
For Sale on eBay for $116.10 Buy It Now

sodiumpen via eBay
sodiumpen via eBay
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sodiumpen via eBay
sodiumpen via eBay
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My very first lunchbox. Somewhere I have a picture of me on my first day of school standing in front of our garage wearing my brown leather jacket, corduroy pants and brown shoes, clutching my Scooby Doo lunchbox in my left hand while squinting because the morning sun was right in my eyes. I was happy to go to school, but not happy to have my picture taken. That hasn't changed 40 years later.

 

First Grade 1977
Teacher: Miss Phillips
School: Mildred M. Fox, South Paris
For Sale on eBay for $30 starting bid

daryl7501 via eBay
daryl7501 via eBay
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daryl7501 via eBay
daryl7501 via eBay
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This lunchbox actually got me into reading Peanuts books, my first being Speak Softly and Carry a Beagle which is also available on eBay. This lunch box was typically filled with Kraft Cheese n Crackers with the little red plastic stick used to spread the cheese on your crackers, which I never did. It was just more fun dip it in the cheese and eat it right off the stick instead.

 

Second Grade 1978
Teacher: Mrs. Ramsey
School: Mildred M. Fox, South Paris
For Sale on eBay for $79.95 Buy It Now

super_fuely via eBay
super_fuely via eBay
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super_fuely via eBay
super_fuely via eBay
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By the beginning of the school year in 1978, I had a ridiculous amount of Star Wars toys. An X-Wing fighter, Tie Fighter, Death Star playset, Landspeeder and three dozen action figures. So to start second grade I had to have a Star Wars lunchbox. So did four other kids in my class. The exact same lunchbox. I found that out the hard way when I opened up my lunchbox and found a peanut butter and Fluff sandwich instead of peanut butter and jelly.

By third grade I was eating hot lunch delivered in a giant crate in a styrofoam container shipped over from the high school. I was too old for a lunchbox now, but I did miss those crackers and cheese.

What did you have for a lunchbox in school? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook.

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