Check out this 3' ruler from the DeSoto-Plymouth era

[Dosmo]

My uncle gifted this to me yesterday - I think it is so cool.

[DFeeney]

Isn't it interesting the "Real Treasure's" of life.

[West Peterson]

A LOT of those had several holes drilled into them. The mechanics used them to keep valves in order as they removed them from an engine.

[vintage1]

That is great.  I remember when I was a kid we had several “yard sticks” around in the house and the garage that had advertising from all different kinds of companies.

Nice looking model car display.

 

[TAKerry]

I was curious about the OP's age. Im 60 and like Vintage1 we had the yard sticks as well. They were kept in the hall closet. Many a Saturday night when my parents were out to dinner they became swords. Lots of businesses gave them away with their advertising. I saw a box full at HD not too long ago and almost bought one for nostalgia.

[rocketraider]

The local Chevrolet and Ford dealers gave away tons of these things. A good friend and his two brothers are hardcore muscle era Chevrolet guys and I gave them the ones my dad had accumulated thru the years.

 

I believe the yardsticks were supplied by Chevrolet's ad agency.

[Frank DuVal]

Yardstick, not 3 foot ruler. 😁

 

They  can have some really cool advertising from years ago. Yours is GREAT!

[Dosmo]

12 hours ago, TAKerry said:

I was curious about the OP's age. Im 60 and like Vintage1 we had the yard sticks as well. They were kept in the hall closet. Many a Saturday night when my parents were out to dinner they became swords. Lots of businesses gave them away with their advertising. I saw a box full at HD not too long ago and almost bought one for nostalgia.

Borned in '53 - the unk who gifted the YARDSTICK (ha ha) to me is from year 1935.  He is a trader, so that is how he came to have it.

Edited June 17, 2023 by Dosmo (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

My brother was born in 53 and Pop in 35. Only reason I questioned is that the title said 3' ruler. I have always known them to be yardsticks.

[rocketraider]

I see the OP's stick is one of the hefty square ones. Those can get a kid's attention real quick!😬 Most of what we had were the flat type, about 1/8" thick. They still hurt, but not like the square ones.

 

Good thing I appreciated stuff like that even as a kid. Otherwise I'd have probably turned them all into kindling.

 

I did not, however, appreciate the snowball bush in the back yard and especially not its keen flexible branches aka switches.😠 

 

I was quite happy when it started dying. Aged 14 I hooked the Farmall Super A to it and uprooted it, then dragged it off while Mama was hollering "it's not dead yet! It's pretty! Please don't pull it up!"

 

She had no idea how long I'd waited for that thing to die. Pretty to her, nemesis to me! 

[Jim Bollman]

I now know I have a 4' ruler, I kept trying to call it a 4' yardstick and I knew that was wrong.  🙂

 

No car advertising just a furniture store.