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

email | 1/4/01 (this time) | Unknown

[Dakotabound]

"Hey Dad," My Son asked the other day, "what was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?"

"We didn't have fast food when I was growing up."

"C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?"

"We ate at home," I explained. "Your Grandma cooked every day and when your Grandpa got home from work, we all sat down together at the table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I had to sit there until I did like it." By this time, my Son was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer some serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to get my Father's permission to leave the table.

Here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I had figured his system could handle it.

My parents never: wore Levi's, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country, flew in a plane or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a "revolving charge card" but they never actually used it. It was only good at Sears-Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears and Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was because soccer back then was just for the girls. We actually did walk to school. By the time you were in the 6th grade it was not cool to ride the bus unless you lived more than 4 or 5 miles from the school, even when it was raining or there was ice or snow on the ground.

Outdoor sports consisted of stickball, snowball fights, building forts, making snowmen and sliding down hills on a piece of cardboard. No skate boards, roller blades or trail bikes.

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 12. It was, of course, black and white, but you could buy a piece of special colored plastic to cover the screen. The top third was blue, like the sky, and the bottom third was green, like grass. The middle third was red. It was perfect for programs that had scenes of fire trucks riding across someone's lawn on a sunny day.

I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza. It was a Sam's Pizza at the East end of Fruit Street in Milford. My friend, Steve took me there to try what he called "pizza pie." When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down and plastered itself against my chin. It's still the best pizza I ever had.

Pizzas were not delivered to your house back then, but the milk was. I looked forward to winter because the cream in the milk was on top of the bottle and it would freeze and push the cap off. Of course us kids would get up first to get the milk and eat the frozen cream before our mother could catch us.

I never had a telephone in my room. Actually the only phone in the house was in the hallway and it was on a party line. Before you could make a call, you had to listen in to make sure someone else wasn't already using the line. If the line was not in use an Operator would come on and ask "number please" and you would give her the number you wanted to call.

There was no such thing as a computer or a hand held calculator. We were required to memorize the "times tables." Believe it or not, we were tested each week on our ability to perform mathematics with nothing but a pencil and paper. We took a spelling test every day. There was no such thing as a "social promotion." If you flunked a class, you repeated that grade the following year. Nobody was concerned about your "self esteem." We had to actually do something praiseworthy before we were praised. We learned that you had to earn respect.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and most all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered the "Milford Daily News" six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents. On Saturday, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were the ones who gave me 50 cents and told me to keep the change. My least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut on screen. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they just didn't do that in the movies back then. I had no idea what they did in French movies. French movies were considered dirty and we weren't allowed to see them.

You never saw the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers or anyone else actual kill someone. The heroes back then would just shoot the gun out of the bad guys hand. There was no blood and violence.

When you were sick, the Doctor actually came to your house. No, I am not making this up. Drugs were something you purchased at a pharmacy in order to cure an illness.

If we dared to "sass" our parents, or any other grown-up, we immediately found out what soap tasted like. For more serious infractions, we learned about something called a "this hurts me more than it hurts you." I never did quite understand that one?

In those days, parents were expected to discipline their kids. There was no interference from the government. "Social Services" or "Family Services" had not been invented (The ninth and tenth amendments to the constitution were still observed in those days.)

I must be getting old because I find myself reflecting back more and more and thinking I liked it a lot better back then. If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your kids or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they wet themselves laughing. Growing up today sure ain't what it used to be.

[expatguy]

I was born in 1963 but a lot of this brings back memories for me.

[WVNan]

Yes, I was born in Delrose, which is in Lincoln Co. Tenn. Have ancestors/relatives all over that region. Grandparents lived near Coldwater. My Great-Grandfather gave the land and helped build Smith Chapel United Methodist Church in Coldwater. My maternal grandparents were closer to the Winchester area. They lived in Warren Co. Tenn. near McMinnville. The name, Bynum, sounds familiar, like there might be some relatives by that name. We were Stewarts (paternal) and Jones (maternal). Great grandparents included Womack's, Smith's, Commons. My Grandfather was a farmer and also was Lincoln Co. Road Commissioner for years. We moved to Huntsville in early 42. Moved back to Tenn. in 49, only further north to Robertson Co. Many years later (76) my husband and I moved to Montgomery and lived there for 3 years. During that time I visited the old homeplace in Huntsville a couple of times. I miss some things about the deep south. Mostly the smells, as I said before. Tell everyone down there "hidy."

[WVNan]

Mothman. True, but not like the movie. The real story is much more frightening than the movie. Have you read John Keel's book, The Mothman Prophesies? If not, you should read it. John Keel comes to town frequently. He sat in our photography studio and talked to my husband for a long time on his last trip in. A book store owner told me the other day that my copy of the Prophesies is worth several hundred dollars. I bought it 10 or 11 years ago and they no longer publish that particular copy. Next time John comes to town I'm going to get him to sign it so it will be even more valuable. (g). If you are interested in the paranormal you would enjoy a vacation in this area. I've been to the TNT area a few times and sometimes I can feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck. And, I'm the world's greatest sceptic. A couple of local guys have put out a book that is a compilation of all the newspaper clippings from that time period and the event. If anyone is interested in a copy I can find out if they have a website. The book is $20. BTW, the movie stinks. If they had simply told the real story it would have been a much better movie.

[WVNan]

Tell me, did you have real toilet paper for the outhouse?

Are you kidding? I never knew there was such a thing as toilet paper. It was Sears-Roebuck catalog in the outhouse and a box of corncobs for backup. There were red cobs and white cobs. You used the red cobs first, then you used the white cob to see if you needed another red cob.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

Summit was certainly a nice place to grow up, but I'm a Floridian now with no desire to go back.

[WVNan]

How about the wringer washer?

What wringer washer? We washed clothes in the back yard. Two galvanized tubs and a huge black "wash pot" with a fire under it. First the clothes were boiled in the pot, then the clothes and hot water was transferred to a tub with a scrub board in it. On that scrub board was a cake of homemade lye soap. Slap garment onto the scrub board, lather well with lye soap, scrub and scrub until the dirt is vanquished. Then wring out by hand and transfer to second tub with rinse (rinch)water. Slosh up and down until soap is removed, ring by hand and hang on clothes line with wooden clothespins. Repeat this for each garment. When finished take wash water to the house and scrub all the floors. Pour the rinch water on all the dozens of flowers on the front porch. Then cook dinner for the farm hands. Biscuits from scratch, fried chicken (after catching, wringing head off, scalding and plucking feathers off, singhing pinfeathers, gutting and cutting up), mashed potatoes, green beans (after picking, snapping and cooking), squash, tomatoes, and homemade apple pie. Wash dishes by hand in a pan set on the wood stove and rinch in second pan. Put leftovers in the warming closet of the stove for supper. Take your needlework and sit on the front porch and count your blessings.

[wimpycat]

My mom said her mother could cut up a chicken better than anybody she's ever seen since. One time the rooster attacked my mom, so Grandma threw something at it and accidentally broke its wing, so she had to kill it--unexpected chicken dinner.

[BooBoo1000]

Didn't those clothes smell good after flying in the wind all day??

My Mother used to iron our sheets and pillow cases, and she was always doing what she called "Fancy Work" She would embroidery flowers and leaves and everything on our Pillow Cases so you woke in the morning with daiseys and roses embossed on your cheeks..
I remember in the second war, my sister and her friends would buy this bottled stuff and paint their legs to look like silk stockings, and the hard part was painting on the seam down the back. Two person job..

[TracyPA]

That rooster attacking your mom brought back a bad memory! In the early 40's, my dad went to the war. My mom and I went to live on her parents farm until the war ended. I was about three, feeding the chickens, when this rooster jumped on my head! My grandfather killed the rooster, but to this day I wouldn't touch a live chicken if you gave me a million dollars!

[WVNan]

All the fancy work will cost you a fortune now at your local antique store.

[WVNan]

Every kid who ever lived on a farm has been attacked by a rooster. My grandparents had one that would actually hide and ambush us when we tried to go to the toilet. I hated that ole rooster.

[ladyinred]

I had forgotten completely about milk in waxed cartons! It was so fun to peel off the wax with your fingers when it was empty! Ah, the good ole days!

[aruanan]

Levis were sold in Sears and Roebuck or other catalogs. Mail order catalogs of the 19th century put today's Williams/Sonoma and Victoria's Secret to shame (back in the latter part of the 19th century, you could buy vibrators and other interesting electrical devices by mail order).

This grandfather seems to be remembering a time that was more nearly before the Civil War. It's also interesting he doesn't remember the horrible ravages of childhood deaths that plagued society even down into the 1950s. I guarantee you it was written by someone no older that 30 or 40--only someone from this more recent era could be so factually deficient and so naively sentimental as the author.

[Conservababe]

Talking of chickens remind me of a terrible deed my younger brothers and me did in our youth.

We used to like to climb atop the chicken house and sit under the shade of a plum tree growing up along side.

Well, one year my family ordered chicks and they arrived at the post office in those heavy cardboard boxes just cheeping and cheeping. They put them in the incubators on the back porch until ready for the chicken yard.

When they were good sized pullets, we were sitting on the chicken house roof watching them below. My younger brother picked a hard, not yet ripened plum, and chuncked it at the chickens. OMG, he hit it in the head and it died on the spot. Well, what did we do, but do it again. Soon there were a dozen or more dead chickens laying about the chicken yard.

We climbed down, unalarmed, and went in to supper as usual.

When the adults found the dead chickens they assumed that they died of some mysterious disease and were afraid to butcher and eat them. So, they killed and buried them.

We never told the true story.

When I told my Mother, about forty years later, she still got very angry at us. LOL

[Conservababe]

My word, Sears and Roebuck used to sell pre fab houses via catalog. We have about a dozen of them still here in my small town, inhabitated and in fine shape.

[Old Professer]

You broke the spell.

[mamelukesabre]

I don't recall ever being attacked by a rooster, but I sure remember getting attacked by turkeys! Those rascals were MEAN! TOUGH TOO! Even the dogs ran from them. They ran growling and snapping, but they still ran.

[tubebender]

Are you kidding? I never knew there was such a thing as toilet paper. It was Sears-Roebuck catalog in the outhouse and a box of corncobs for backup.

Sears in the outhouse taught me all I know about sex. It was my Penthouse of the day. LOL.

[Freee-dame]

ping

[Conservababe]

I just reread your post. I swear, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Did yall have a helper woman? My paternal grandmother, with three children, did. My maternal grandmother, with twelve children in twenty-two years did not.