Memories of Growing Up in the 40's and 50's (and since, even)

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[dsutah]

I remember one of my grandmas had a ringer-washer in her basement. She didn't use it anymore, but still had it down there. She had a regular modern washer too. She had a lot of curious and interesting things in her house!

[dsutah]

That's funny! I had a cousin who had really curly hair. She didn't have anyway of straightening it out. So she got orange juice cans, and rolled her hair in them! Of course, she couldn't sleep in them, so she used a hair-dryer. One of my kids later on used a curling iron that had an interchangeable plate that could be used as a straightener. Poor cousin Andrea could have really used that!

[Balata]

I remember that X-ray machine like yesterday. I've brought that up on several occasions and noone seems to remember it but me. As a kid, it was very...COOL!

[dsutah]

My Mom remembers having to use "Sears" catalog pages for toilet paper in the outhouse! She also taught herself how to drive!

[wardaddy]

My dad dragged me out of school by my rather long hair in 1971 from school after the principal called complaining about the poor influence on others I was creating.

How funny now that at 45 my hair is cut in the gray David Hackworth style.....

Dippity-Do was like petro-gel in lime and fuschia as I recall......for the flip.

[dsutah]

You lived in Maryland too? I lived in Prince George's Co. New Carrollton now. The "Beltway" was not quite finished when we left!

[Gigantor]

"I remember talking to a college student from New York City back in the late 60's at the University of Wisconsin. Being a Wisconsin native, I politely asked him how he liked Madison, then one of the premier cities to live and raise a family. He told me that it was okay, but needed some of the "vices of New York City to make it worth living in." I would dearly love to get my hands on that pompous, "sophisticated" puke for just five minutes today. I'd give him some "sophisticated vice" to last him the rest of his miserable life...all two minutes of it!"

What did you do or say to him at the time?

[Gigantor]

Being home sick and Dad bringing me home a 45rpm song I loved called "Black Slacks"

The Sparkletones?

[B-Chan]

My mother, her folks, and her 10 siblings were sharecroppers in rural Mississippi until the 1950s. The stories my grandma used to tell! When my mom talks about her childhood it's like hearing about life on some alien planet...

I was born in 1965. I remember the moon landings, the Vietnam War, milkmen, twice-daily mail delivery, telephone exchanges (EVERGREEN8-1306), Mr. Zip, "You Can Trust Your Car To The Man Who Wears The Star", Texaco and Sinclair gas station attendants in jumpsuits, bowties and hats selling leaded Ethyl Sky Chief gas at ¢30/gallon, high schools with cigarette machines in them FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS, national anthem sign-offs, Civil Defense, the Ed Sullivan TV show, Star Trek (in its original syndication run), Big Boy restaurants, school segregation, smallpox vaccinations, and burr haircuts. The 1960s took a long time to filter down to East Dallas. By 1975 it was all over, and the modern world began.

My fondest memory: in the Dallas school district, every morning at 8:00 the principal would come on the loudspeakers and lead the kids in a prayer addressed to Jesus Christ. We all stood for the prayer, with our head bowed and our eyes closed. No one complained.

Our old neighborhood went downhill fast in the 1970s, but now the Mexicans are moving in, fixing up the old houses, and opening stores. I wish them well, but the Dallas I knew is gone. I live in Tarrant County, now, and I don't look back.

I miss the moon landings, the school prayers, and the full-service gas stations. I don't miss the smallpox, the legal segregation, or the Viet Nam war -- but smallpox is back, gas is cheaper now than it's ever been, and we have a new Asian war to fight. Toujours ça change, toujours c'est la même chose; mais, je me souviens.

[capitan_refugio]

Dale - do you remember the "Thrifty 89er"??? At Thrifty Drug Stores, which were famous in Southern California for their cheap triple scoop ice cream cones, some of the stores had a lunch counter. When I was a kid, you could get a grilled hamburger and french fries served in an oval red plastic basket, lined with white paper. The burger was half-wrapped in yellow paper, fresh tomato and lettuce, condiments on the counter. You got a glass of soda too, and if you wanted a refill you paid another 15 cents. All that for 89 cents. Of course the price went up, but I never remember them changing the name!! ;^) My buddies and I would each scrouge up a dollar or so and ride our bikes to Thrifty on the weekend. With the change, we could get an ice cream cone too!

Given the time value of money over 40+ years, I imagine a five dollar burger combo would be about the same deal, but I swear, they just don't taste the same (except, maybe, for In-N-Out).

[capitan_refugio]

Still got my slide rules. There are several sites on the net. My prized posession is a Pickett, classroom demo model. Six feet ong, one foot wide, and bright optic yellow.

[capitan_refugio]

"But then none of his sons ever married......"

Episode No. 416 Forever September 12, 1972
Written by: Michael Landon
Directed b: Michael Landon
This episode is very sad for a number of reasons primary among them is that this was the first episode shown after Dan Blockers death. In fact this episode was written for Dan and was changed to be about Joe. In this episode Joe marries Alice Harper. Shortly after telling Joe she is pregnant, she is killed by men who were owed money by her brother. There is a very touching scene between Ben and Joe as Ben holds his son and tries to comfort him as they both cry for their loss.
Guest stars: Bonnie Bedelia, Roy Jenson, Andy Robinson, Larry Golden

[StormEye]

"You lived in Maryland too? I lived in Prince George's Co. New Carrollton now. The "Beltway" was not quite finished when we left!

I also remember the Beltway when it was under construction.

[Redleg Duke]

I told him we were doing just fine without those "vices"...and we were.

Now "Mad-Town" has all of those vices and more and is better known as a "Peoples Republic".

I'm greatful I don't have to raise my son anywhere hear Madison, Wisconsin!

[hardhead]

In my region of the country (east) they were called 'flip-top shoes' after the 'new' Marlboro boxes. Real cool.

[Las Vegas Dave]

The McCartneys down the street had the first color television in our neighborhood. We'd all go over to watch Shari Lewis.

For me, the first Color TV show I saw, was early 60's "Bonanza"! What a thrill it was!

[Ex-Wretch]

Being home sick and Dad bringing me home a 45rpm song I loved called "Black Slacks"

The Sparkletones?

I can't remember the name of the group. It was around 1955 or so. He also brought me another record called "Get a Job" :)

[DBtoo]

Oh the Hot Shoppe! They had those in Maryland where I was born and lived my first 7 years. There was one on the corner of New Hampshire Ave. and University Blvd (?). It was my favorite place to go eat when I was a little kid in Silver Spring.

[xJones]

Thanks, I missed Little Joe's short-lived marriage.

[VMI70]

We went to the one on Connecticut Ave near Military Road (I think}, and the one at Wisconsin Ave near Old Georgetown Road. My sister used to take me, as I was too youg to drive.
Great place and good food.