Take a walk down memory lane with us

Herbie...I'm sending you a latin "te deum"......I still go once a month to the latin mass...I love it. (Remember pagan babies???)

Did any of you ladies have a Patty Play Pal doll??? My sisters had one...if was the size of a real child....They left "her" behind my grandmothers car once, and she drove over it and thought she had hit a real kid !!!! She turned totally white !!! (I hated that stupid doll!!!)

Remember when your school books had more value than your LIFE did??? LOL
You were to insure their safety at the risk to life and limb...and then some !!!

Colored Pyrex Mixing bowls....they stacked inside one another...I still have my folks' set...except the blue one.....that one is impossible to find anymore....

I have my grandmother's old mixing bowl she made bread in and the old pickle crocks too. I use them all the time but I don't make pickles

The pickle crocks are great for holding gardening things...
My mom and grandmother made lye soap, probably during the war....I wasn't allowed to touch it, but they used it for laundry, I think. I always wanted to carve it into shapes, it was so smooth and creamy looking.
Jude, I doubt you could ever look like a pear......

you haven't seen me standing Sharon.

My crocks are next to the stove, I keep cooking utensils in them, handy and I like to see them all the time. comforting things all around me in my house.

One crock for kitchen utensils, one for garden stuff....
whatever works. My kitchen one is smaller that the garden one...wonder why that is, fewer pickles?

sweet vs dill. gerkins are smaller

Not being a pickle maker, I didn't know. Thank you.

YVW

where did everyone go?
ok, peonies in my grandmother's garden. those were the biggest and best ever. she grew my favorite color, pale pink.

Peonies were great, my great grandmother, (the one with the outhouse) had a beautiful old rambling rose, pale pink, and it smelled so good. Lots of mint, spearmint, peppermint, asparagas fern, and a really pretty varicolored grass that I cannot find anywhere anymore. Bee balm grew wild, the bright red kind.....and the old orange daylilies were everywhere. And azalea was orange, it grew wild in the mountains. Also mountain laurel was more in abundance than dogwoods.

ok, who remembers the price of things when they were young(er)

gasoline
bread
cigarettes
sugar
ground meat
whatever comes to mind

I remember cigarettes at 25cents a pack,then the hike to 35 and the threat of 50cents! said I would never pay that much, well words and deeds are not always alike.

I don't remember cigarettes being sold singly but heard of it, 2 for 10cents or something like that.

And now cigarettes are more that $30 a carton.
Can't remember gas, but do remember that 50 cents lasted many miles and all weekend.
My first Mustang was about $4,000...
My new Altima was about $30,000 more than that.
My first house in 64 was 12,500....had 3 bedrooms, one and a half baths, full basement...about 1800 sq ft....
Funny that I don't remember the cost of a loaf of bread....
but a soft drink was 5 cents.

there is still one church in my area that does one latin mass. will have to check it out.

the lowest i remember gasoline being was 18 cents a gallon
yankee doodles were a nickel
my wifes wants to remind us that when she was a beautician the average tip was 15 to 25 cents.

remember using roller skates on the streets of new york. it had a key you could turn to make them larger or smaller.

When I was a little kid in So. California, our skates had keys. When we were skating down the sidewalk (remember sidewalks?) we had the key around our neck on a string so that it wouldn't get lost. The skates fit over our shoes with clamps at the toes. You could tighten that bolt and the one that made the skate longer or shorter.

Bread when I was very young in Colorado was five cents. My grandmother used to give me a nickel and send me across the street to the bakery. The loaves seemed huge. I got to watch the man slice it in his machine, not done until you bought the bread.

I remember a gas war when the price went down to $.13/gallon.

I didn't buy a house for a long time after I grew up, but I remember my parents paying $66/mo house payment for a 3-bedroom, 1-bath, w/garage and a corner lot. I still have that deed. I'll have to look it up and see what their total price was.

My grandmother grew purple petunias in her porch flower boxes. I still love those and put some in every year. She also grew Martha Washington geraniums along the side of the house. I've tried and tried and can't find ones like what she grew.

My mother had a small mint plant in one of my dad's beds and he hated it. He'd pull it out and throw it in the trash. My mother would go get it and hide a spring in a new place and it would grow fine until he got sick of it again. Now I understand both points of view.

One of my prized possessions is a HUGE pickle crock that belonged to my grandmother. She really made pickles in it, but the lid is missing. It would be worth a fortune if it had the lid. Anyway.....I have used it for everything from making it the base of a coffee table to putting a ficus tree in it. Love the thing. It weighs a ton. It's been all over the US with me since she died in the 60s, including Hawaii.

I remember lye soap, but I don't know if my mother and grandmother made it or not. Pretty scary stuff from what I was told.

I remember how proud I was the first time a teacher trusted me to take a school book home for a day. Otherwise they lived in your desk and you had better not write anything in them except your name on the tag in the front cover.

When we had the measles we had to stay in a darkened room so that "we wouldn't go blind". Don't know what that was all about. All I remember about the mumps is how much it hurt. I had whooping cough according to my baby book.

We got cod liver oil for EVERYthing we complained about--headache, upset stomach. And Lord help you if you were constipated!!

My parents had milk delivery for a really long time. If you wanted anything other than your regular milk order, you left a note with your clean empty bottles in their wire rack. The milkman went back to his truck for orange juice, butter, and maybe eggs. And the milk had all that beautiful cream on the top of each bottle that you skimmed off with a siphon setup into a separate bottle.

Some people had ice delivery, but we always had a regular refrigerator, very small compared to the ones today. Nobody had a separate freezer. You didn't need one because you could walk down the block and buy it fresh from the butcher, who always lifted up the meat and showed you both sides and then wrapped it up in paper and tied it with string.

This message was edited Jan 7, 2007 11:32 AM

Gidget movies: Troy Donahue

Great memories 1gardengram! Those were the days, my friend...

Ahhh yes, Troy Donahue...what did I hear about him...tch, such a waste. ;-)

Don Ü

I had completely forgotten about the roller skates that hooked onto your shoes!!! As I recall, the wheels were metal and would develop flat spots !!!! We would get one kid to ride his bike and we'd tie a long rope to it and everyone would be on his skates holding on to the rope as it went down the street. God help you if you were at the end of the rope when you came to a curve in the street !!!! (That was usually me...)

Kids today miss out on so much...they have to have some OBJECT telling them how to play...we used our imaginations, and made do with what was available and had a blast. We knew we weren't going to get money to buy our entertainment...we had to create our own...and we did !!!

Hi, everyone, hope nobody minds if I chime in, while taking lunch a little early. I remember almost everything mentioned on this thread! We were at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne Vermont, back in 2001, and they had a very special exhibit called "The 50's House". It was a look at what life was like in Vermont in the 1950's. We walked in, and it looked like home, especially when I looked down the basement steps, and there was a Maytag wringer washer. ("So what's historic about this?" DH has a picture of me standing at the kitchen sink, and he says it looks like I'm right at home.).

I loved "Satin Doll" (and just about everything else) by Duke Ellington. In the 50's, "Susie Darlin'" by Robin Luke was my favorite song, until I heard "Since I Don't Have You" (and just about everything else) by Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners. Since they were a Pittsburgh group, they were very popular in our town.

Frank, I don't remember the headache remedy, but I do remember those wonderful Italian Christmases - and thanks for putting me on to this thread.

Anybody remember "Captain Video"? How about "Winky Dink", the little cartoon star (literally, a star). You had a magnetic plastic shield that you put over the TV,and you'd draw things on it, like a ladder for Winky Dink to climb up and away from the bad guys. Hey, if ya'll are going to put together a book of this thread, I'd love a copy.

How about "Broken Arrow" with Michael Ansara, and "Maverick", "Sugarfoot", "Have Gun, Will Travel", "The Rifleman", and all those other westerns at about that the same time, "Ed Sullivan", "The Honeymooners". I loved Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. I also LOVED Senor Wences (S'alright?). One of my favorite shows was "The Silent Service"? Its theme song was "Eternal Father Strong to Save" (also known as the Navy Hymn). I found out recently that the idea for the show came from a retired admiral, and all the episodes were based on fact.

Anybody remember the name of the Indian Chief on Howdy Doody?

Does anyone else remember "Super Circus" with Mary Hartline? We ALL wanted to be Mary Hartline (at least I did until I decided that I'd rather be Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn). I was so disappointed when I found out that Grace Kelly had worn white to Princess Elizabeth's wedding. Remember when people actually worried about things like that? It just was not done - nor did one wear black to a wedding! Hats, gloves and high heels....

Well, back to work, this was like a little vacation. I'll keep checking in on this thread, it's a delight! In the words of Arthur Godfrey, "Thanks for the memories!"

Bonnie

This is the most wonderful thread and it's given me a whole new perspective on things of lasting value.

I too had roller skates with a key and wore the key on a string around my neck. I just loved those skates, and they didn't change for years. Everybody had the same type skates, the same key, the same grubby string. We competed to see who could skate the fastest, not who had the latest model skates. I loved my paper dolls too, and spent hours carefully cutting around those tiny tabs that held the clothes on the dolls.

I also had an empty thread spool with little nails that my father hammered into the top. You got yarn and a crochet hook from your Mom, and patiently wove the yarn around the nails until a braided string appeared from the bottom. We never figured out what to do with that braided string, but it was fun to see who could make the longest one before we got bored with it.

Today, all pre-teen kids in my neighborhood have picture cell phones with Internet connection, IPods, their own computers, shoes with pop down wheels built into the soles, and computer games that cost hundreds of dollars. How do families afford this stuff? How do kids learn if they are busy texting their friends on their cell phones in class? Geez, I got into big trouble in 3rd grade by sneaking a comic book into class.

Times in the "old days" were harder in many ways, but how lucky we are to have such fun memories to share.

Good to have you with us, Bonnie. I am thinking about the Howdy Doody Indian chief....it will pop up in my mind sometime today.
And Arthur Godfrey was a nice memory, too.....what about Liberace?

Since we are going to do a booklet, it might help Diane and me if we have a sort of age timeline, and maybe we could compile it in a chronological order. We tend to jump around a lot as we remember and our thoughts trigger other thoughts, etc. What do you think about starting with the very earliest memories and moving forward? To do that we would have to have your age, I guess....and maybe anything else you want to contribute.

So I will start, I was born in November 42.

And welcome to you, too, June
What about you?

This message was edited Dec 8, 2006 11:20 AM

We did not have electricity at our house in northern Minnesota. Had a Maytag washer that used a long handle to turn the dasher back and forth - lots of work for my parents - next year, dad bought another that had a B&S gas motor. Lift up a pedal and step on it hard to start - just like a kick-start motorcycle. Both had hand operated wringers.

Remember the clothes freezing on the line, but were they ever soft when they thawed.

I was born in June of 47. I got in on a lot of the earlier stuff, though, because my teenage cousin lived with us while he finished high school - he graduated in 1955. Also, we couldn't afford a car with a radio, so my parents used to sing while we were driving. I still remember the words to "Now is the Hour", and countless others from the war and pre-war years. My dad sounded just like Nelson Eddy.

Bonnie

Howdy Doody characters:
Chief Thunderthud......Kowabonga
and Phineas T. Bluster, the town mayor or something official
AND...Flub a Dub, the weird little animal thing
and have we mentioned the Peanut Gallery?

Thanks, Bonnie....that's 2 from the 40's......

This message was edited Dec 8, 2006 11:37 AM

This message was edited Jan 7, 2007 11:32 AM

This message was edited Dec 10, 2006 12:20 PM

November, 1940 here.

Who had the box that talked sitting on a table top, and the man would get tired of the advice and say, "Close the Box." and the lid would close? The Hand?

Buster Brown and his dog, Tige....
I remember the Hand, will have to think about that one.
Outta here for a while, think of good things while I am gone.
sharon

The Hand reminded me of the scary stories... The Hook, and ...I'm on the first step, I'm on the second step...

This message was edited Jan 7, 2007 11:33 AM

I was born on the first day of summer in 1949. Wow, that seems like a long time ago!

Hey Jude,
When you get back, what do you think of starting a new thread: Memories Part 2?
I am really outta here for a few hours, don't go anywhere without me.

Boy how I miss my old radio programs especially on a Saturday morning. They had all the childrens programs on then and I would lie on the kitchen floor listening to The Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Let's Pretend and others. At night we had many stories on the radio. Superman, Green Hornet, The Shadow etc. Wish we had them on again but todays generation won't sit to listen. I was born in 1937 and except for WW II, they were beautiful times and the music so relaxing....

ME? I was born March, 1937--a real "Young" Oldie!


June,
Funny--How everything old is new again.......

I c/p the below from your thread:
**************************************************************************************************************************
I also had an empty thread spool with little nails that my father hammered into the top. You got yarn and a crochet hook from your Mom, and patiently wove the yarn around the nails until a braided string appeared from the bottom. We never figured out what to do with that braided string, but it was fun to see who could make the longest one before we got bored with it.
************************************************************************************************************************

Have you seen the "NEW" Circular knitting hoops in a Craft Store? That is exactly what you do with the yarn to create these stretchy, tube-type scarves that are now all the rage.

Darius,

Wasn't the box and the hand part of the "Adams Family" show??????? Do you know that their first 22 shows are now out on DVD? I bought one for my daughter for Christmas. That show was a HOOT!!!!

Gita

Ahhh, Gita, I think you are right about The Hand being in the Addams Family. It was Gomez that The Hand talked to.

October 1931 here. I've lived thru everything mentioned here and thru our kids and grandkids. Some of it is more memorable than other parts. Some seems to be regional. We have a long summer and outdoor season so most of my time was spent outside. Roller skating, playing jacks, hopscotch (never could figure out why our parents got so upset about the hopscotch drawn on the sidewalk w/chalk), softball, dodgeball, football, basketball, hide & seek, climbing trees, shooting at turtles in the bayou w/22s, riding the neighbor's horse, riding our bikes, sitting and talking after dinner outside, just "playing" in the grass or playing w/rolypolies. Our kids led a more structured life, again mostly outside but as far as I can see, the grands don't have any "fun" at all what with their iPods, computers, camera phones and instant msg'g . They do DO anything - they seem to wait for someone to call or something on the screen to talk to them - you know what I'm talking about. Malls and school - and while they are at the mall they are talking to someone who isn't. They don't really DO ANYTHING except talk and gaze and expect to be entertained.

Ann

Amen, Ann. I was born in April 1938.

I was born in July 1943.

I agree about living outside as a kid. I might be gone in the woods or pastures miles from the house for hours.

Would have a hard time in school now days - used to carry several pocket knives when I was in grade school - never gave it a second thought - they were tools to a countryboy.

I can still carve a wooden chain, ball in the cage, or make a whistle from a length of green willow limb.

Made many bows and arrows. Preferred to buy the arrows when possible.

Learned to embrodery when I was less than 6 - helped repair fish and minnow nets. Braided more clover than I can remember.

Edited to eliminate double posting. Sorry 'bout that.


Ann

This message was edited Dec 8, 2006 3:21 PM

We lived in Garden Villas (outside the city limits of Houston until 1949) and some of the kids were bussed in from neighboring communities: Minnatex, Hobby Airport, Mykawa, the prison farm,etc. Some of the kids were very poor but we didn't know it. We thought it was neat that they got to go barefoot and wore coveralls. We didn't realize that they went barefoot because there might be only one pair of men's shoes in the family and those were reserved for church and that coveralls were all they had except the handmedown clothes for Sunday. They were always so clean and the clothes were washed and ironed. And they got to ride a school bus while the rest of us walked or rode our bikes! I thought that living on a farm was really "something". Didn't realize they were up late and got up really early to feed the chickens, milk the cows and all that. That's why, I learned much later, they often didn't have their homework done and couldn't go on field trips because they really didn't have the money. Nowadays, "charge it" whether they have the money or not.
I had forgotten playing in the fields but I lived across the street from the elementary school so we had a big vacant lot to play in there and were allowed to. No playground equipment - we played our own games. And the guys did a lot of whittling - whistles, mostly, I think - at least that I saw. That and sling shots.


Ann