A Walk Down Memory Lane (fun post)

[Hound dog]

I've had a crappola few weeks. Nasty weather. Illness. Nicholes illnesses. easy child giving birth. (high point but stressful) Missing classes and getting behind in everything. The lil difficult child inside of me wants to drop all my classes this quarter and say to heck with it! I won't. The grown up part of me that bosses the lil difficult child part of me around won't let me. lol

Sooooooooooooooooooooo

Since I'm putting off my philosophy term paper, I thought a fun post to perk everyone up might be helpful. We had a fun post a longish time back about things we remembered from our childhood.

Let's see.....

I can remember when candy bars were a dime, and penny candy actually cost a penny. And when double bubble sour apple gum was the rage of the Jr High....landed kids in detention on a reg basis. lol

I can remember in grade school when jump rope and hopscotch and kick ball were all the playground equipment required to have fun. Because if you didn't do those things you usually played tag or Mother May I or London Bridges.

How about when the girls would all lock arms with girls, boys with the boys and march around the playground chanting, " We hate ____" (insert appropriate sex) --- I dunno, was this just my grade school??

I remember running home from school to watch the "Dialing for Dollars" afternoon movie because The Flintstones came on when it was over. lol

I remember pogo sticks. I tried it once, nearly broke my neck. lol

I had a Mr Potato Head that required the use of a real potato....and his parts had metal spines on the ends. Somehow I never got hurt playing with it.

Spirograph!! OMG that was fun!!! Until we got in trouble for using up all the notebooks left lying around. lol

My Aunt Janet got my cousins Shrinky Dinks I think they were called?? You'd make these little rubber insects and such in the oven. They thought it was great.........PHEW!! The smell kept me wretching in the bathroom.

I remember saving popcicle sticks to build things. I remember being amazed when I saw them sold in large bags in the craft dept as an adult. lol

I remember rolling down hills in those huge metal drum type trash cans at the park. Tons of fun, more so because we weren't allowed.

Ok. Yeah. With some of this stuff I'm starting to feel a bit "old". lol There is probably lots more........but my brain is beginning to shut down.

So? What's yours?

 

[Marcie Mac]

This is kinda gross, but I remember we all used to catch lighting bugs in the yard, detatch the little light part and put them on our fingertips and wave our hands around (hey it was dark and you couldn't really tell it was a bug LOL)

Our skates were metal and we had to use a key to tighten them to put them on our feet. Our favorite thing was to skate in the road, some of which was still brick. The only problem after skating for a few hours, your feet got numb and I cannot tell you how many times I fell and skid on my face cause I couldn't feel my feet. Not good when you are a klutz to begin with.

The shoe store had this contraption where if you put in your foot, and turned it on, you could see your bones in your feet. No one knew the dangers of Xrays back then. Maybe that is why I am so weird

Every Easter we used to buy chicks and ducklings that were dyed at Woolworth's for a quarter. They were kept on top of the counter and had heat lamps. I can still recall the smell of baby "peeps" which is what we called them.

I remember sitting in front of a black and white TV watching Lassie, and Miss Janie (and was always so disappointed she never called my name while looking thru a hand mirror without the mirror saying I see Susie, I see Mark...I refused to watch Howdy Doodie cause clowns freaked me out - of course it was my brothers favorite show and I would run screaming from the room the minute he turned it on.

I also remember going to the movies for a quarter. My mother would tell me never ever to take off my coat, as there were people who were known to inject kids with a needle and take them if they didn't have their coat on(hmmm, maybe it wasn't the foot machine after all that make me weird)

And I remember my introduction into womanhood - my mother handed me this elastic contraption with something that resembled a small pillow and told me it was almost time for me to start bleeding and I was to use that...and left. It was probably my first memory of an anxiety attack as she didn't mention WHERE this bleeding was supposed to be comming from. It had bothered me for a long time and didn't want to ask her about it but kept an eye out looking to see if anyone wore one of these on their head as it never occurred to me it may be used somewhere else.

Marcie

 

[Sheila]

It had bothered me for a long time and didn't want to ask her about it but kept an eye out looking to see if anyone wore one of these on their head as it never occurred to me it may be used somewhere else.

roflolpmp

Girdles with-nylon hose, then the garter belts with-nylons that could be seen when you sat down in a mini-skirt. (I'll never forget Mr. Clark, our next door neighbor. He taught high-school. I overheard him talking with-his wife and my mom about the disgrace -- he said he had to move his desk to the back of the class so he could keep his mind on instruction. And yes, apparently, most of the parents "back in the day" didn't do too good a job raising their kids either. lol)

My daddy still calls all guys with long hair "hippies." lol Long hair for my dad was anything over the ears. No, I was not allowed to date "hippies." lol

Mom and Dad loved the "gas wars." Gas would drop from $0.20/gallon down to $0.15 per gallon.

Elvis was a bad influence on us, and it was preached that we shouldn't listen to his music. (Of course, we did every chance we got. Somethings just never change I guess.)

One coke a week was a real treat. I better clarify terminology -- that's coca-cola.

Cars with-no air-conditioning -- even in the heat and humidity in our area.

Shoot -- houses with-no air-conditioning. Attic fans were "the thing." Absolutely didn't think one thing about it.

Every house on our block had kids and stay-at-home moms.

T.V. was black and white only; with no remote control; one or two channels only.

No microwaves or dishwashers.

No dryers. (I hated hanging out clothes, and I hated bringing them in. Yes, I pouted about having to fold and put them up also.) Those that had to be iron were put into hot starch, squeezed out, and frozen in the freezer first. They sure did iron up pretty....

We played hop-scotch on the driveway and I tore up more than one pair of shoes with-the skates MM described. We climbed trees and fences and played in the sprinkler while the lawn was being watered. I rode my bicycle in the street without a care -- so did the other kids. (Took care of it too because I knew it'd be the only one I ever got.)

Boy, it was a big deal when I could finally ride it around the block! And walk to the store.

Played in the front yard somewhere on the block. Moms never worried -- the kids were around somewhere. In our neighborhood, they all parented pretty much the same way back then.

There wasn't much really that parents had to ground kids from -- we just got spankings. But Mom had her own special brand of grounding after I started dating. "You will not go out this weekend unless you're ironing is done." ACK! And she meant it better be done by Thursday night. I hated ironing, too. And everything had to be ironed -- all clothing was 100% cotton except nylons until polyester came out.

Re: ironing. I still have a scar on my leg from ironing. We had a tall kitchen utility chair. I raised the ironing board as high as it would go and pulled the chair up and sat in it. I proped my left leg over the narrow end of the board. I was waiting for Mother to say, "Sheila, get your leg down" because I knew that was "poor posture" and Mother would just have to say something about it. I leaned back and was fast and sloppily ironing something -- Mother never said a word.

I rammed that dang iron right into the inside of my left leg at the knee. OUCH! OUCH! and OUCH! No, I didn't just barely touch it, I nearly buried it into my leg. Right nice-bell shaped burn instantly appeared. All Mother said was something like, "I thought you had better sense." She had no mercy. (Somehow she knew there was a little passive-aggressive behavior going on there. lol) I believe she did direct me to the butter (which was the way it was done then).

Natural consequences of that nature worked with-me.

We finally got window air-conditioning for the house when I was about 10. I was about 14 when we got a car with air-conditioning. Life was good.

Boy, have I dated myself.

 

[compassion]

Colorforms

Wax lipstick candy.

Lipstick candy

Edible necklaces

Lincoln Logs

Tinkertoys

Pogo sticks

Monopoly board gmes for hours and hours

Color TV a huge novelty

Hulu hoops

Compassion

 

[Abbey]

OMG. Don't take me down this road.

That menstraul pad thingy was the worse. It was like wearing a diaper. (Sorry, guys...too much information)

I thought I was the only one who rolled down a hill in a trash can.

The weekly bath. Me, being the youngest got the luke warm nasty water from 5 people.

Legos were huge for me. I still have a huge bucket of them.

The dictionary game was big. We didn't have a whole lot to do on the farm. But, in the end my vocabulary is huge.

We didn't have a TV until I was 13 and it was dad's TV. We were not allowed to use it.

Abbey

 

[susiestar]

Things that were Mom's, or Dad's, and we were NOT allowed to use them. and our parents didn't feel guilty, or like there was anything "wrong" with drinking a coke in front of us when we were not allowed to have them.

skateboarding down the middle of the street. We lived on a cul de sac and the end was at the top of a gentle hill. We would go up and ride down, usually sitting or laying down. I once ended up under a pickup truck because I was very small. Of course we didn't use a headboard.

Pickup trucks were a novelty.

That certainty that Mom and Dad could take care of EVERYTHING.

My mom putting the first air conditioner in the window in my brother's room so it would cool the upstairs where our bedrooms were. She wanted us to be able to go away and leave her alone! But we would have picnics up there for dinner when it was really hot.

Walking to the store and getting a 6pack of beer for my dad once in a while. And walking to the store with a note from my friend's dad (or my babysitter pretending to be my friend's dad) to buy cigarettes fromt he vending machine.

When they started having "smoke free" tables in restaurants - boy what an uproar!

being expected to amuse ourselves for HOURS at a time with-o video games, tv or computers!

learning to embroider because my gma felt all well educated girls could.

Walking up and down stairs with a book on my head (a HEAVY one!) to work on my posture - my best friend's gma felt we needed that. And AMAZING my parents when I could actually DO it!

Growing an entire bed of pretty, shiny green plants I found in the woods and moved to my mom's flower bed. She could NOT figure out how she kept getting poison ivy in her flower bed! At that time I did not react to it.

Being told to go outside and play and not be home until dinner - they would call.

Being called not with a cell phone, but by a parent sticking a head outside and yelling your name.

Being the remote control. When Dad was relaxing on a weekend, if he wanted the channel changed he just told one of us to go do it. And we did, no arguments.

 

[Kjs]

I feel old.

Catholic school.
black and white TV most of my life. I remember when my dad bought the first color console TV.
No remotes.
I remember specific remarks my dad made such as:
If I can't get up to turn the channel I shouldn't be watching TV. No cable. 3 channels. Cartoons ONLY on Saturday mornings after chores.
Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson, Mannix and omg...Lawrence Welk - yuk!

After school it was The Partridge family, Brady bunch and Giligan's Island.

I remember my dad saying the day it cost him $20 to fill up the car is the day he stops driving.

When school got out we moved to our cottage on the beach/water for the summer. I hated leaving my friends. Had all new friends there though. Everyone did the same. We had motorcycles and boats, water skiing.

On Fridays we HAD to eat this nasty canned salmon patties.

I did homework because I would of NEVER thought of NOT doing it. Fear of what my dad might do. Behaved in school - fear the nuns would smack you.
If you misbehaved at a friends house you got in trouble from their parent, then had to go face your OWN parents.
Never back talked, fear of the Ivory Soap.
Lied - got the belt.
Didn't have my own car and was LUCKY if I was able to borrow my parents. Maybe a few times a year.
My siblings are older and out of the house when I was 2 - 3 years old. Married by the time I was 8. Had one brother 1 year older and we just didn't get along.

I was the tallest in my school. Made fun of. My mom made my clothes.
My mom was in menopause before I even got the age. Never had a talk, and there were no supplies in the house!

Garage door was heavy wood, no remote and cars were kept in the garage. Toys were not. Heck we didn't HAVE toys. My mom baked bread, desserts, applesauce. Canned tomatoes and made jelly / jam.
We were given $1 and told to walk to Mcdonalds when my parents went out to eat. We never went out to eat with them. And that was a rare treat. (to go to McDonalds)
Didn't even ask for a ride. The answer would be no. We walked.
Didn't go to the doctor unless we were very ill.
People smoked in the doctor offices and the supermarkets.

geeze, now that I am remembering I feel even MORE old.

 

[klmno]

The pediatrician made house calls.

Being excited when I got change back after buying candy because many times, those pennies were wheat pennies.

Dialing 5 digits to make a phone call.

When we finally got a color tv and could move the b/w one my mom inherited out of the living room- the viet nam war was on most the time. Peyton PLace was on sometimes.

Life magazines lieing around with stories about JFK and family, LBJ, and segregation.

Being bummed out when the needle on my new record player got messed up.

My mom screened which Beatle songs I could listen to.

Oh, yeah- misbehavior at school meant the teacher would tell my grandmother when she saw her at church on Sunday- I would have preferred a paddling.

My teacher told me a broken arm was no excuse for not having my homework done- I still had another hand, after all.

The smallpox vaccine and trying to protect it with that plastic cup that was taped to my arm.

The smell of old spice on my Daddy when he got ready for work every morning.

 

[Kjs]

I forgot about the record player. We didn't have one though. Friends did.
And don't forget about PONG. Only ONE person I knew had PONG, and they were "rich" to own such a cool video game.

 

[janebrain]

Hey Marcie,
the Romper Room ladie (was she really Miss Janie?) never "saw" me either and I was so disappointed!

I had about the same knowledge of the pads as you--I saw my mom's boxes of "napkins" and wondered why we never used them at the dining room table.

I loved those candy lipsticks and the candy cigarettes--I've had them as a grown up but they don't taste the same.

Did anyone watch that show with Paul Revere and the Raiders after school? I can't think of the name right now but I just loved it!

Jane

 

[Hound dog]

OMG I remember soooooo many of these!!!

We had black and white tv until I was in Jr High. Then Mom not only got a color set...she got cable. I became a tv addict. lol

Mom's boyfriend (and eventually 3rd husband) had pong. I didn't see what all the fuss was about. lol

But watched Carol Brunett, Sonny and Cher, Donny and Marie, Partrridge Family, Brady Bunch, Lucy, Mannix.......

Romper Room? LOVED that show in preschool. OH don't forget Captain Kangaroo. I was furious when Romper Room was replaced by some stupid show called Sesame Street. lol But I do remember watching it from time to time when I was bored.

I remember my gramma complaining about Hippies. The only problem she had with them is that if made it hard to tell guys and gals apart. lol OH, and they needed to get a job.

And I thought my Mom was being selfish because she bought RC Cola and we weren't allowed any. Guess mine wasn't the only one. lol

I remember playing outside from sun up until long after dark in the summers. Didn't matter how hot it was.

Mom was all about natural conscequences. And they worked well on even the difficult children to a point. At least until puberty.

Taking care of the few toys you had because they'd never be replaced and you had so very few to begin with.

Gramma giving me a dollar and letting me spend forever in Woolworth's or Kresgies (sp) toy dept determined to find the best toy on eath that only cost a dollar. (Grandma's method of teaching Math was awesome lol)

 

[Abbey]

PONG!! I thought I was king of the block as I had that. I must have been 18 at the time. I don't know how that slid by mom and dad. That TV was an icon.

You guys are making me weepy.

The other thing that I remember was riding my bike a good 3 miles to this little store that sold sunflower seed bags for a knickel. I'd do that in the dead of winter every day. I think I survived on those things. I never got money from my parents, but instead did odd jobs around the area. I don't know if I ever had $5 on me, but a dollar or two would go a LONG way. I remember one very cold day riding in on my bike and getting the knickel pack. The old guy who was always there said this one was on the house. I held out my knickel, but he refused to take it. Just come back tomorrow. I always did.

My, how times have changed.

Abbey

 

[bran155]

Really fun post!!!

What's that show when the woman looked through the mirror and said "I see Mary and John and Lisa, I see Jennifer and Susan and Tom" Was it Romper Room or The Magic Garden?? Anyway I used to sit there every time it was on and wait and wait and wait for them to say my name. Never happened though. I was devastated and so mad at my mother for naming me SHAWNA!!!

Remember the Chuckle patch?

I used to love the show "Get Smart", I always wanted a shoe phone!!!

Daisy, I loved the Spirograph!!! In fact I just bought my son one and I use ti!! I have to say thought they don't make things as good as they used to. The quality of the toys back then beat the quality today, by a mile!!!!

I still to this day love "The Brady Bunch"!!! My favorite show of all time. I still watch it on TVLand sometimes or is Nic at Night?? I don't know, but it airs here at around 4 am. I catch it sometimes. Ironic though, they were the PERFECT family. Then the son dated the mom, Marcia did coke and the dad died of AIDS!!! Go figure!!!

 

[Marcie Mac]

omg Sheila, I had totally forgotten about girdles. I remember staying at my grandmothers and every morning she would put on a nipple pink color camisol (the kind not even close to anything girley, then put on a corset - had to help her lace that up, same color, then he put on these hugh pair of bloomer type underpants (same color) - then a housecoat, then the apron. This ensamble was then completed with nylons rolled like donuts around her ankles, and the rosary beads were put in her pocket.

It was Saddle Shoes or Penny loafers, and you had one pair of shiney Mary Janes for Church, a lace head scarf and a pair of white gloves. I hated wearing garterbelts and nylons when I was younger - never could get my stocking straight and had to constantly re-adjust them so they wern't sagging somewhere. I remember thinking I had died and gone to heaven when Panty Hose were invented.

Garbage men came into the yard with a HUGH square of burlap, and dumped your can on them, tied up the four ends and hauled that back to the truck. And I never saw a white garbage man till I moved to Ca in the 60's.

A few times a week the hucksters came and parked on the street, and everyone would come out to buy fresh veggies and fruit. Never ate boxed pasta till I was in my teens. My grandmother would roll out dough on the table using a hugh round post, put that thru the pasta machine. It then went into a pizza box and in the freezer (one just for this frozen pasta.

I still remember Stan, who was the ultimate in Hucksters, who sold tablecloths and doilies and knicknacks. Believe it or not, I still have some tablecloths from Stans truck that my grandmother bought and never used - still have the tags on them.

We used to freeze our clothes as well Sheila and then Iron them. They were all washed in Felz Napta soap LOL

Marcie

 

[muttmeister]

I remember bringing my sled to school when it snowed and we'd all sled down the hill into the street. I'm sure that wouldn't be allowed now.
I was in second grade before we got TV. I remember Howdy Doody, Pinky Lee, Dragnet, Highway Patrol, I Love Lucy, December Bride and Perry Como. Later came Cheyenne and Sugarfoot.
My favorite toy was a cap gun and I had a horse made from an old broomstick; my did drilled a hole through to tie on a string for the reins.
I remember seeing President Eisenhower come on TV and everybody would gather around to see what the crisis was.
For the Fourth of July we had sparklers and black snakes and these neat things you threw against the sidewall to get them to explode. It's a wonder we didn't blow our toes off.
I remember getting out of school for a day to watch the inauguration of President Kennedy. And school being canceled when I was in high school after he was assasinated.
I remember going to the dime store and they had a big counter with glass partitions and you could buy however many ounces you wanted of different kinds of candy (I always liked the peanut clusters). And the colored sugar water in the wax bottles that you chewed afterwards.
I also remember, when I was in grade school, that they loaded us all up and took us to another school so we could all be given a polio immunization. I mentioned that to my (young) manicurist the other day and she said, "What's polio?" Thank God some things have changed.
And I remember Dick and Jane and Sally and Spot and Puff from my first reading books.
Yup, I'm pretty old!

 

[Hound dog]

And I remember Dick and Jane and Sally and Spot and Puff from my first reading books.

OMG I loved those books. *sniff* *sniff* That is, once I finally got the hang of the fact that all those letters really did spell words. lol I loved them so much, easy child bought the reprints for me for xmas one year. I have them safely tucked away on my bookshelf.

I remember gurdles. lol Mom wore one all the time.

I remember my first bra. I was in 5th grade. It was all cotton, and I swear that fabric did not move. It was a style that would've made Madonna proud!!! I looked like someone had pasted 2 ice cream cones under my shirt. I loathed those things. And I still believe that is what started my hatred for bras. Even now the min I walk thru the door the darn thing is gone. lol

 

[DDD]

The Catholic Church played a big role in my family too. Every Sunday we went to mass, every Saturday we went to confession, every Friday we did not eat meat. Since we had to go to confession weekly we were reminded often that " God knows all and sees all" which sometimes meant that we hesitated to take baths in our birthday suits. LOL

Roller skating with the key swinging from a twine necklace.
Riding bikes so far away from the house that nobody could see you.
Playing paper dolls in the living room where my big sister claimed the best "houses" under the biggest chairs.
Playing Parchesi and checkers and chinese checkers.
Reading Nancy Drew Mysteries.
Playing cards with siblings, parents, friends.
Listening to others play the piano, guitar, banjo, sax etc. and dreading "my turn".
Singing oldie goldies (and I do mean oldie, goldies of the 20's,30's,40's) with the whole family. Singing silly songs with friends.

The joy of hanging out at the drug store counter pigging out.
The joy of hanging out at the record store listening to the newest 45's in the private listening booths.
The joy of hanging out at the drive-in when we could drive. That was the center of our world. Our parents would call and ask the Owner "is DDD down there?" When he said I was my parents would say "please tell her to head home now."

I was blessed to live at the end of the "semi-formal" and "formal" dance era. Somehow I didn't ever expect that would end. We had such awesome dresses, jewelry, high heels and bands. OMG the guys looked so handsome and behaved like Cary Grant. The 50's were wonderful.

By the 60's we had keg parties, the Hully Gully, the Mashed Potatoes, and Rock and Roll was in full swing. I wouldn't trade those days either.Then, lol, came marriage and the children. Sesame Street, Lite Brites,hula hoops....and lots of music and cards! Some things stayed the same. Mainly ?? the aromas of good things cooking, friends always welcome and the cavaet..."God knows all and sees all." DDD

 

['Chelle]

I was just wondering the other day, as my kids were bored with "nothing to do", how we always amused ourselves without the benefit of TV and video games, and very few toys. We only had 2 channels on a b/w TV. And on those channels watched Don Messer's Jubilee and The Tommy Hunter Show, because that's what my parents watched. (for all you U.S. members http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Messer's_Jubilee and http://www.tommyhunter.com ) And watching Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker on Saturday mornings.

In summer, we left the house at 9 am and came home at about 9 pm when the street lights came on, stopping at home for meals only. And mom not worried about where we were in between. Spent the day playing Hide & Seek, skipping, ball games, swinging in the park, tag, inventing games of our own. There was always some other kid on the street to play with, they were outside the same, and we all knew all the kids within a 3 or 4 block radius.

Going to the Saturday matinee double feature movies, LOL like Godzilla vs Mothra. Leaving the house with 50 cents and for that money - taking the bus there & home, paying to get in, and getting popcorn, candy and a drink. Plus the theater would have a draw at intermission and give out cool toys. But I never won, darn.

When the Partridge Family came on I was in LOVE with David Cassidy. I had to go to a friend's house to watch it because my dad wouldn't allow us to watch it. Because they had long hair, drove that weird bus, and played "rock music" they were "hippies" and we couldn't watch it. LMAO, yep, the Partidge Family might corrupt our minds. Now, I think he just didn't like the show and that was his excuse for telling us no. That was ok though, my friend had color TV LONG before we did.

July 1st, dad would give us each a small bag of firecrackers and we'd run around the neighborhood setting them off. All the families in our neighborhood did this. LOL yep, luckily no one ever injured themselves. I'd probably be arrested for child endangerment if I gave easy child some of those little firecrackers and matches and said go to it.

Baking bread and canning fruit and veggies with mom. Happened all the time. I miss that now, though I hated doing it as a kid.

OMG Marcie , the elastic and pad contraption. I think I'd totally put that out of my mind, or tried to. I think that's a primary reason why I've hated my period ever since first getting it.

And walking to the store with a nickel and getting a whole bag of candy. The kind of candy that now costs a nickel each.

Good times.

 

[1905]

Does anyone remember H. R. Puffinstuff? Sigmund the Sea Monster? a cereal called Quisp? Mr. Greenjeans? or Captain Naoh and his magical ark?-Alyssa

 

[Hound dog]

I had a crush on Mr. Greenjeans. (I was a weird kid ok, lol, besides, I was like 4)

Quisp cereal was one of my favs!!!!! And guess what?? You can buy it at Dollar General stores!! I had to stop buying it, my kids were eating it like mad...and it's actually one that tastes the same.

I remember H. R. Puffinstuff. I wasn't very fond of it. I liked traditional cartoons. lol

What about Jaws?? I remember friends not being allowed to go see it because it was too gory and scary. My mother forced us to go, I was maybe 8 or 9. My popcorn wound up on the guy in front of us. Mom thought it would keep us from swimming in the ocean. She's right. It did. lol