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Page 2 ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION FEBRUARY 19, 2020 The PSAI Celebrates National Retro Day …continued from page 1 1956 Gas was 22 cents a gallon in 1956, and the average annual wage was $4,450. Other memories of the year: • Elvis Presley had his first hit with the song"Heartbreak Hotel." • American movie star Grace Kelly married Prince Ranier of Monaco. • The US Federal Aid Highway Act paved the way for 41,000 miles of interstate highway over 20 years. • IBM invented the first computer hard drive. 1956 was also the year that Andy Gump began his portable sanitation business in southern California. According to his granddaughter, Nancy Gump, "Andy Gump literally built his first five units out of plywood in his garage. There were no mass produced units available." The job of painting the units fell to Andy's young son, Barry. One early challenge was moving the units without trailers. Constructed with metal corners, the units were extremely heavy to lift into a truck bed. Andy eventually bought a trailer with a ramp, so that problem was solved. When thinking about all the changes that have happened since her grandfather started, Nancy pointed to how the general public has come to accept portable restrooms. In 1984, Andy Gump was the first portable restroom company to provide units to the Olympics—the summer Olympics in Los Angeles. "Barry Gump also designed a homemade sink" that the Olympic Committee accepted. "His company then had to make 150 more!" Technological advances, Nancy observed, have really opened the industry to more companies. From just a couple—Olympia and Ameri-Can—restroom trailers back then to more than 17 manufacturers now. 1957 The annual household income rose to $4,550 in 1957 and a gallon of gas was 24 cents. Also of note: • Wham-O created the first frisbee, and American Bandstand debuted. • John Glenn, future astronaut, set the transcontinental speed record. • Radar devices were first used to enforce speed limits. • Russia launched two satellites, and the House Un-American Activities Committee convicted writers and playwrights for alleged un-American activities as well as Communist Party membership. Rent-A-John, an Ohio company started by Bill Reynolds, Sr., got its start in 1957. Bill Reynolds, Jr. recalls that his father always talked about the challenges of borrowing money from the bank in the early days. Continued on page 8 An early version of Rent-A-John Barry and Andy Gump