I Remember When..........

[Must-Stash]

Every generation does it. We tell our children, our grandchildren and sometimes, anyone who will listen. I'll start down memory lane. Please join in and share yours.

I remember when:

Television was a round picture tube inside a large wooden cabinet. It had few shows, few channels and was mostly in black and white. It went off the air at midnight to a waving flag and the tune of the national anthem.

There were not enough private phone lines. Some areas had to share a "party" line.

We all stood with our right hands over our hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance before class.

45, 16 and 33-1/3 RPM records were played.

Skating rinks played only organ music.

All stores were closed on Sunday.

Gas was 29 cents a gallon at full service (pumped your gas, checked your oil and cleaned your windshield) stations that gave you a free steak knife or drinking glass with fill up.

Full size candy bars cost a nickel.

Drive-In theaters.

Only virgins were supposed to wear a white wedding gown.

Giving birth in a hospital meant a five day stay.

[Momto2Boyz]

My son as looking at a coloring book at the dentist a few weeks ago, and said "mom, what's this?" I burst out into histerical laughter!

It was a phone with a cord! He is 7, and had never seen an old home phone with the spiral cord on it. Man, did that make me feel old!

[rainbowgc]

I wore mini skirts, bell bottoms and hiphuggers the first time around LOL

[Sassyclass]

I remember when I looked forward to the next visit to our little country store so I could get more cut out paper dolls.
We could play outside until the cows came home.
Halloween meant trick-or-treating at night, not at 5pm
We rode our bikes without helmets, elbow pads, knee pads and when we fell and skinned our bodies we brushed ourselves off, got back on the bike and OMG we survived~~
If we happened to damage someone else's property we expected to pay for it usually by working it off for them, our parents didn't worry about a law suit.
If any adult told us to behave when we weren't, we listened and obeyed. There was no such thing as flipping them the bird, or sassing them. You said yes ma'am or yes sir and apologized.
We had 2 tv channels and they were in black/white.
Our parents disciplined us without fear of the government sticking their nose in where it didn't belong.

Cat

[Debbie-cat]

I remember

- the old black dial phones.
- you didn't have to lock your doors at night
- weed meant the nasty things growing in your garden that you didn't want
- pot meant something you put flowers in
- crack meant a something you found on a cup or glass
- kids ran around playing hide and seek
- people didn't sue each other for anything (like - looking at someone the wrong way)
- parents didn't have to worry about drive-by shootings
- black and white t.v.'s
- when Christmas was about baby Jesus and not all the presents
- my Grandma was alive

[savvy_sniper]

I remember not only black dial telephones (they were heavy), BUT we had a party line! The phone had different rings for each party.

Mary

[QM]

I remember not only black dial telephones (they were heavy), BUT we had a party line! The phone had different rings for each party.

Mary

Ummmm...I think after our post we should state our age. Approximately what year did they change the "party line thing"? (I really want to know!)

[savvy_sniper]

I am turning 54 this month. I remember we lived in my grandmother's house until 1962. So it was before 1962! I think a lot depends on where you lived (big city, small city, rural, etc.) This was in Houston Texas and near downtown.

I also remember there were two LETTERs in front of 5 numbers for telephone numbers. Example: HU6-9480. My mom's work phone number was CA8-9501. There were different letter codes for different parts of town. That later became 946-9480. And now we have three area codes and you MUST use them. So that is a total of 10 numbers.

Mary

[QM]

I remember...
- when all my grandparents and my two great-grandma's were alive and healthy.
- the smell of all my grandparents' houses. I don't often, but whenever I smell those smells it brings back a flood of memories.
- when I turned three.
- getting our first TV at the age of 5. (I'm now 30 years old!)
- reading books on the woodpile at the side of our house.
- climbing trees.
- making birds nests and hoping real birds would live in them.
- going to Florida every year from the age 9 to 17. My grandparents bought a condo in Florida.
- hanging Christmas ornaments on palm trees while we had Christmas in Florida and thought the tree looked crazy!
- reading Mandie books on the floor in the sunlight of the dining room. (I'd get so excited when a new one was written.)
- letting my mom know every time to Dickee Dee Ice Cream truck drove down the street playing its music.
- having a babysitter that gave us Shreddies with cheese whiz on top for a bed time snack.
- watching my mom bake.
- realizing that I'm a sinner and need a Saviour and finding Christ.
- collecting pop bottles and getting permission to take them to the store for candy.
- watching and looking forward to every Guns of Paradise, Road to Avonlea and Dr. Quinn show.
- bringing my dad a bowl of clementines while he was sitting and watching hockey and we'd share it together.
- living in my parents home and telling them I never wanted to grow up but to live with them forever.
- marrying the man of my dreams.
- my miscarriage and losing the dreams of my unborn baby.
- labour two times!...Who can forget it?
- holding my babies in my arms and breastfeeding for the first time. (I miss the breastfeeding years. I bf for a total of three years!)

I look forward to...
- giving my daughters as many wonderful memories as I have.

[Laurie in Bradenton]

I remember when the t.v came on at 5am with the farm report and Erine Lee singing country music. Had 3 channels, was black and white and only mom or dad were allowed to turn it on. Usually at 6 pm for the evening news with Walter Conkite.
I remember the radio in grandmas kitchen white with only am stations.
Collecting pop bottles for a penny refund. With 25 you could get a full bottle of coke.
Rubber bathing caps at the beach.
New school clothes meant a trip to the fabric store and sleeves that were long enought.
Green stamps from the grocery store and gas station.
New shoes, hat and white gloves for Easter Sunday church.
Jump rope and jack tournaments
Standing when the flag came down the street infront of the parade.
Walking or riding my bike all over town. And mom didn't worry.
Mom stayed home and Dad worked and we had enought.
Dinners at the dining table every night.

LAurie in Bradenton

[G'MaDebbie]

I remember not only black dial telephones (they were heavy), BUT we had a party line! The phone had different rings for each party.

Mary

I remember this as well, but what I do remember most is picking up the phone and listening in on the other person's conversation! I was such a naughty child! lol

[QM]

...what I do remember most is picking up the phone and listening in on the other person's conversation! I was such a naughty child! lol

What child wouldn't want to?...especially if it's juicy gossip!

[Labontet]

I remember when the t.v came on at 5am with the farm report and Erine Lee singing country music.
LAurie in Bradenton

Oh I remember Ernie Lee from Tampa, Fla. also, along with Captain Salty Sol who gave the fishing report.

I watched the Cisco Kid, Roy and Dale, the original Mickey Mouse Club and Captain Kangaroo with Bunny Rabbit, Mr Moose and Mr. Green Jeans.

We also had the old black dial phones, and yes they were heavy.

I would collect all of the glass coke bottles I could find, for that was the only way I could support my candy habit.


What ever happened to those wonderful times?

[frugalwarrior]

I remember when:
- Wear glasses was not a fashion statement but youwere called "four eyes" if you did

-The ice cream mans music could send kids into fits. "Hurry,Hurry, he's coming, can I have my allowance early. I'll pay you back,pleeeease.
Jumping on your bike and chasing him w/ ton of other kids.

-I remember playing w/ packs of kids after school and on summer vacation.

-I remember when no one bought pop for the house but we drank gallons of kool-aid everyday

-I remember when someone "swearing" (booger face,Damn,Hell) brought a round of oooh I,m gonna tell and no one said the Fword ever in public.
-I remember get penny candy w/ our allowances and that candy bars had just gone up to a quarter. I said no one would ever pay that.

-I remember riding our bikes everywhere and being gone all day w/o checking in.

-I remember walking around campgrounds w/ my beagle and meeting tons of kids.

-I remember town club pop stores having tons of flavors but you only went for parties to buy it. (graduation)

-I remember going to Thom Mcann stores to get shiny black leather patent shoes for Easter church.

-I remember shopping at Sears for my brownie uniform and being shocked when my dad asked if I also wanted the beanie

-I remember getting 3/10.00 dresses,1 new pair of shoes and a pair of tennis shoes to start school. Ladies wore dresses and shorts were allowed under dresses for recess only (public school people)

-I remember placing my hands in my lap waiting patiently for 1 cupcake and a dixie cup full of "punch". Someone was picked to pass these out. This was special and enviable. This was defined as a holiday party. We might get an xtra few minutes of recess too.

-I remember frozen milk. If the janitor left it outside you had to shake,shake it. If it was too frozen you shook it. Milk was 2 cents. Later we got choc. voted in on Fri. only but it was 5cents. The government sponsered milk back then.

-Hot lunch was .35 up from .25 and it was too expensive to get everyday. Only lazy moms did not make lunch for their kids. It was a once a week treat but kids often used their .50 a week allowance to buy it.

-I remember agonizing over which scholastic books to buy from the flyer. Mom would scrape a dollar out of the grocery money. The rest came from my birthday money and allowance. Paperback kids books were .45-1.00.

-There were clearly defined roles and rules and consistancy. Manners were hugely important. My father came home everyday at 5:00 sharp from work. My mom had dinner on the table at 5:30. Kids were expected to be home to eat at that time. If you weren't you missed dinner. You went to your room to wait for others to eat if you were late. When you ate you cleaned your plate. If you took it,you ate it No one threw out food.

you went to church every Sunday.
Sunday we often went to my grandmothers for Sunday dinner. My grandmother was the head of the family. My father the head of ours.

-Years later I remember being shocked to find out my mother never knew how much my father made. She said she didn't need to know. She said the bills were always paid. She got grocery money and a small allowance. She never worked after they were married.

-My mother never learned to drive and we only had one car. My father had a series of volkswagon beetles w/ 5 on the tree.

-Drivers Ed. was free thru school and it was about 8 weeks long. I had a boyfriend who went with me for my driving test because my father wouldn't let me use our only car and I couldn't drive stick anyway. Ours was one of the first classes not to learn stick because automatic transmissions were becoming a more common feature.(yes,it was a paid for option then).

Tv was 4 channels.(vhf). Uhf had 3 fuzzy channels. Black and white. I tv. We got color when my dad won a tv from work. My favorite show as a child was Romper Room. And I did want to be "A good Little Do-Bee very badly. I dreamed of having my name announced on the show.

When the "Bozo the Clown" show hit Chicago every Detroit kid dreamed of being on the show and winning a years worth of town club pop. Hostess cakes were offered too. This was huuuge. Those kids were cool.

We listened to Baseball on transister radio on Saturdays. Every kid knew most if not all the Tiger players. You were a Dork if you didn't.

Liar,Liar pants on fire, I know you are but what am I, I'm rubber your glue whatever ever you say bounces off me and sticks to you, smarty pants, and she stuck up were important lingo. Mind your own Beeswax and Busybody were "name calling" and that was bad.

Jump rope, hopscotch, leap frog and jacks were recess play. Several kinds of tag like freeze tag, cigarette tag, and fruit tag were played. Mother may I, and Red Rover were played. I-pods were about 40 years in the future.

We made popsicles in plastic cups w/ metal spoons out of koolaid in our chest freezer. The 70's energy crisis hadn't happened yet. No one recycled in a bin. We drove our cars w/exhaust emmisions. Hippies were unpatriotic and dirty. War protests had started and everyone had a political opinons.

Criminals were robbers. You had to be insane to kill someone. We were innocent to any "other kinds of crime".

My mother bought .25 womens Day and Family Circle magazines scrimped out of the grocery money. No one could look at them before her. She didn't want sticky fingerprints on her magazine. Every nice afternoon she sat in our backyard w/ ice tea with lemon. i would subathe on summer vacation. No one worried about cancer (or cholesterol or second hand smoke).

My mother hung clothes on the lines (3) that were at least 15 ft. long. We had a wood pole to hold up the middle so the clothes wouldn't hit the ground. I remember dashing out to get the clothes when a sudden rainshower would hit. We had a white laudry cart with squeaky wheels and the line was at least 30 ft. from the house. The clothes pins were made of wood and would swell if left out as they got older. My mother didn't like two of the same colors hung together. Towels and jeans had there own section too.

When ever my dad and mom were angry with each other my dad would go out and dig the garden and my would do the dishes. The hotter the water, the madder she was.

Carrying metal lunch boxes to school. Then I got a vinyl barbie pail. PLastic was "new".

Running barefoot everywhere. Putting my sandals on the handle bars of my bike w/ playing cards in the spokes. Using white sandstone for chalk and trying to make boyscout fires w/ bits of flint.

When glass bottles became "recyclable" and my father sending me out to make some real money collecting them. We searched fields and woods for weeks. They were not marked at that time. Mich. had .10 recycle instead of .05 or nothing so people were collecting huge amounts to bring here.

We grew up w/o any expectations of getting things so anything we got was exciting.
Wow, I didn't realize I went on this long.

[Debbie-cat]

Ummmm...I think after our post we should state our age. Approximately what year did they change the "party line thing"? (I really want to know!)

My Auntie is still on a party line!