Yul Lose Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 A friend sent me this. It brought back a lot of memories and drove home how much things have changed in the last 60 years or so. Hope you all like it. Remember Slow Food?'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food whenyou were growing up?''We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,I informed him.'All the food was slow.''C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?''It was a place called 'atHome,'' I explained. !'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat downtogether at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she puton my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was goingto suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part abouthow I had to have permission to leave the table.But here are some other things I would have told him about mychildhood if I figured his system could have handled it :Some parents NEVER owned their own house, never wore Levis, never setfoot on a golf course, never traveled out of the country or had acredit card.In their later years they had something called a revolving chargecard. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears& Roebuck.Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly becausewe never had heard of soccer.I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow)We didn't have a television in our house until I was 11.It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the airat midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God;it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually alocally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.I was 19 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.'When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slidoff, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that,too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was inthe living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, youhad to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren'talready using the line.Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was.All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys deliverednewspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. Itcost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to getup at 6 AM every morning.On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. Hisfavorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him tokeep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemedto never be home on collection day.Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in themovies. There were no movie ratings because all movies wereresponsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanityor violence or most anything offensive.If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you maywant to share some of these memories with your children orgrandchildrenJust don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?MEMORIES from a friend :My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December)and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle topwas a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what itwas, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to makeit a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on theend of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn'thave steam irons. Man, I am old.How many do you remember?Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.Ignition switches on the dashboard.Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.Real ice boxes.Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.Older Than Dirt Quiz :Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.Ratings at the bottom.1. Blackjack chewing gum2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water3. Candy cigarettes4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles5. Coffee shops or diners with table side jukeboxes6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers7. Party lines on the telephone8 Newsreels before the movie9. P.F. Flyers10. Butch wax (that was our hair product)11.. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show andwere there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there wereonly 3 channels... [if you were fortunate )12. Peashooters13. Howdy Doody14. 45 RPM records15.S&H green stamps16. Hi-fi's17. Metal ice trays with lever18. Mimeograph paper19. Blue flashbulb20. Packards21. Roller skate keys22. Cork popguns23. Drive-ins24. Studebakers25. Wash tub wringersIf you remembered 0-5 = You're still youngIf you remembered 6-10 = You are getting olderIf you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,If you remembered 16-25 = You' re older than dirt!I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the bestparts of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I AM NOT THAT OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have experienced them all. Not only that, we had a 2 digit telephone number! And I almost bought a Packard (but I didn't have any place to keep it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I don't recall an RC bottle, but I do remember a plastic Comet scouring powder bottle that had been repurposed. It had holes in the top to sprinkle the powder, so worked well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Dirt! squared How about setting the telephone in a metal pie pan so you can hear the line buzz when your neighbor is on the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Officially older than dirt, I delivered newspapers on a coaster brake bicycle. Imis...and my first skateboard was made from taking a clamp-on skate apart and nailing the pieces to a 2x4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Yep....I remember all of them. Guess that I'm older than dirt too. I especially remember my first slice of pizza, very similar experience to yours...and yes, still the best ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Where I grew up in a small town in the panhandle of Nebraska and then a small mining town in Colorado they didn’t have any pizza shops. I never had pizza until we moved to Monte Vista, Colorado and a neighboring city, Alamosa had a pizza restaurant that I was taken to when I was a sophomore in high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Plasters, SASS#60943 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 My dad had gotten sick after eating pizza at a party (knowing dad he had probably eaten dozens of other things too ) but the pizza got blamed. So we were informed that pizza was bad and not allowed in the house. I was the youngest guy on our church basketball team and after practice or a game we all went out for pizza, except me who informed everyone that I didn't like pizza (having never tasted it). Finally one night I was coerced into trying it .I thought I had died and gone to heaven! The best pizza I have ever eaten was at a little joint in Wayne, Nebraska. The owner would routinely throw us out for squeezing the grease out. But man, it was good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoken D Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 The one I disliked was the floor board dimmer switch. In my detective's car next to that switch was the same button to hit the siren. I have big feet, size 13 eee, and I was always hitting the siren at very bad times. I also had to stretch a bit to get out of the car and would hit that dang button. Of course it would take 5 minutes for the siren to wind down and the looks I would get. I hated that sucker. But that first taste of pizza, wow, was that ever good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Born in 51 and grew up in E. Tennessee. Here is what I remember: Hard cola cans. We used those to test the strength of our BB rifles. Cork under the lids of those Cola bottles (glass). 3 packs of gum or 3 candy bars for a dime. Coke machines that used a 'lever' you pivoted downward to dispense one of those 'glass bottles' of Coke for 6-cents. Bubble gum with baseball cards. Octagon soap. Krystal burgers for 10-cents each OR 12 for a $1. Bias-ply tires. Never heard of radial tires when I was young. White wall tires were for those who could afford them. Black wall tires for the rest of us. Fender skirts on cars.. In the 50's and early 60's, a sporty looking American made car was low in the rear and jacked up in the front. In the late 60's, a higher jacked up rear and lower front became the norm for the American muscle car. Squirrel tails hanging off the car antenna. Most trucks, atleast in the South, had a rifle rack in the rear window, usually with a rifle in it. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 How about: Branded shoe stores, (Thom McCann, Buster Brown...) F.W. Woolworth Western Auto Ipana toothpaste Pepsodent toothpaste Milton Berle on TV The Dinah Shore Chevy Show Good Humor trucks $.05 Cokes in the crank handle machines, (folks pitched a fit when they went to $.06) Coal and heating oil deliveries Traveling knife sharpening trucks Encyclopedia salesmen The Fuller Brush man Cars without seat belts Bread delivery Edward R. Murrow did the news The Friday Night Fights, (boxing on TV for free) Burma Shave signs along the road Red and green only traffic lights Penny bubblegum WAX LIPS $.25 pack of cigarets from a machine Ice deliveries Vegetable carts in the city, (Yeah! I lived in the city for a while when I was little!) The pie man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 24 minutes ago, Charlie Plasters, SASS#60943 said: My dad had gotten sick after eating pizza at a party (knowing dad he had probably eaten dozens of other things too ) but the pizza got blamed. So we were informed that pizza was bad and not allowed in the house. I was the youngest guy on our church basketball team and after practice or a game we all went out for pizza, except me who informed everyone that I didn't like pizza (having never tasted it). Finally one night I was coerced into trying it .I thought I had died and gone to heaven! The best pizza I have ever eaten was at a little joint in Wayne, Nebraska. The owner would routinely throw us out for squeezing the grease out. But man, it was good! My step dad was the same way with any kind of fowl, he got really sick from eating chicken when he was in the army during the Korean War and refused to have it in the house. We’d get chicken at school for lunch and they’d always serve turkey and dressing at school around thanksgiving and then if we went to a relatives house we’d get fried chicken there sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Blackwater, I remember most of those also. Those Friday night boxing matches were brought to us by Gillette. The Lone Ranger was brought to us by Meritta bread (sp). I remember those ice truck delivering big cubes of ice to put in the ice box. We had electricity in Knoxville, but our family didn't have an electric cooling refrigerator. And along with that, our vegetables during the summer was delivered by a horse drawn cart owned and operated by the farmer. And KEDS shoes were the favorite for us kids. We could run faster in KEDS..... Door to door vacuum cleaner salesmen. AND..... disobedient kids got a 'whoopin', usually with a switch that had little barbs still on it. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlaw Gambler Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 anyone else remember using the phone that you picked up the hand set and waited for the operator to ask "number please" and you gave her a three digit number to call? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Widder!! Red Ball Jets Mitch Miller and his Orchestra AND..... Mamma sent you to get the switch, "And it'd better be a GOOD one!!" AND "Andy's Hour" with Andy Devine and cartoons on Saturday morning.... "Pluck your magic twanger Froggy!" Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, and The Grey Ghost on Saturday night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Willie Nelson Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 10 hours ago, Yul Lose said: 1. Blackjack chewing gum2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water3. Candy cigarettes4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles5. Coffee shops or diners with table side jukeboxes6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers7. Party lines on the telephone8 Newsreels before the movie9. P.F. Flyers10. Butch wax (that was our hair product)11.. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show andwere there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there wereonly 3 channels... [if you were fortunate )12. Peashooters13. Howdy Doody14. 45 RPM records15.S&H green stamps16. Hi-fi's17. Metal ice trays with lever18. Mimeograph paper19. Blue flashbulb20. Packards21. Roller skate keys22. Cork popguns23. Drive-ins24. Studebakers25. Wash tub wringersIf you remembered 0-5 = You're still youngIf you remembered 6-10 = You are getting olderIf you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,If you remembered 16-25 = You' re older than dirt! 18 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said: Ipana toothpaste rut row! Yul got me on the Packard and Black water on the Ipana. I guess I've lived a sheltered life as I don't recall actually ever seeing either. and I always thought that off-air test pattern was boring show about Indians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 28 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: And KEDS shoes were the favorite for us kids. We could run faster in KEDS..... EVERYONE knows you could run faster and jump higher in P F Flyers. In the fall of '71, we (my high school band) did a "tv show' at halftime. We would play a tv show theme, while forming something that had to do with the show. Did a pickup truck, for example, for Sanford and Son. And when we moved to a new formation, we played commercials. I'd like to teach the world to sing. It's the Pepsi generation. You deserve a break today (did you know Barry Manilow wrote that one?) See the USA in your Chevrolet. And The Gillette Look Sharp March. I had no idea what that one was. Many years later I found out it was the theme from Gillette-sponsored boxing matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punxsutawneypete Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Definitely older than dirt. I'm just happy to make it this far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 My first slice of pizza was heavenly. I also could have been a little star struck. An Italian family move in about 5 houses down the block. They had 2 daughters, the parents spoke mostly Italian. I was a sophomore in HS and the oldest daughter was a classmate and a raven haired beauty I was smitten with. Her Dad opened an Italian eatery about 1/2 mile from our house and both daughters worked there. A couple of buddies of mine and myself saved our allowance and money from cashing in soft drink bottles we collected (that's another story) and went to see the girls and eat something. They suggested pizza and I was hooked for life after the first bite! I just couldn't get up the nerve to ask her to the movies. Saw her at our 50th class reunion in 2009 and she was still a looker even at her age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie T Waite Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Darn - So far I remember and experienced evverything post so far.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Willie Nelson Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 29 minutes ago, Alpo said: And The Gillette Look Sharp March. Thanks Alpo, now that stupid theme is stuck in my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 When the operator answered you could ask them if they knew where "John Jones" was this morning. They often could tell you that he was at the Smith house and he would ring him for you. Frequently there was only one operator and they would sleep by the switchboard. They, of course, listened to every call so they could tell you the health status of a sick member of the community, who had chickens for sale and the price of gas at the service station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Yep, remembered and experienced all of them . Don't forget you had to be at least in the yard when the street lights came on( yes, I was a city boy, at least on the outskirts) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Bascomb, SASS # 47,494 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Remember them all, and still have some of 'em....... Distinctly remember listening during dinner to Gabriel Heater comment on the news during the Korean war...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Willie Nelson Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I remember when my grandparents got a new TV, their second ever. It was still black & white but had a new fangled Remote Control thingy with it. I was about five or six and could walk past the TV and double click my tongue and change the channels. My grandfather was not amused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Outlaw Gambler said: anyone else remember using the phone that you picked up the hand set and waited for the operator to ask "number please" and you gave her a three digit number to call? Yessir! In Chicago in the late '40's. But the numbers were more than three digits, and usually had a name prefix, like Sheldrake 3539! Later, about when dial phones came in, they took the numbers corresponding to the first two letters of the name, but still called it, "Hudson 3-2700". Also, a payphone call cost only a nickel! My Dad's folks lived in a residence hotel, and they had two phone lines. One went through the hotel switchboard, and the other was a direct line. However, on the direct line, you had to drop a nickel in the slot! My uncle had been quite a tennis player in college, and had a few trophy "cups". One of these was parked near the phone...with a few nickels in it! Also, remember when it cost 3 cents for a first class letter? Airmail was, IIRC 4 cents, and a penny postcard cost...a penny! ZIP codes only used the last two digits after the state's name. I don't recall having pizza until college, around 1962 or so. Best, by far, was Shakey's Pizza. Remember when elevators had a human operator, and you had to ask for the floor you wanted? Also, if the elevator was in a residential building, gentlemen were expected to remove their hats. In a public building you didn't have to. Also, remember when almost all men wore hats? Usually fedoras, but occasionally a Hamburg (like President Truman). How old am I? Check my avatar! That ain't no donkey I'm riding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 29 minutes ago, Bad Bascomb, SASS # 47,494 said: Remember them all, and still have some of 'em....... Distinctly remember listening during dinner to Gabriel Heater comment on the news during the Korean war...... "There's good news tonight!" Even if there wasn't any. Also H.V. Kaltenborne and Morgan Beatty. Clifton Utley reported the news on WNBQ, the Chicago T.V. station, including reports from the battle front in Korea. His son reported from Viet Nam, and looked and sounded just like him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 38 minutes ago, Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 said: Yep, remembered and experienced all of them . Don't forget you had to be at least in the yard when the street lights came on( yes, I was a city boy, at least on the outskirts) Nope! Had to come in the house when the street lights went on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 3 hours ago, Outlaw Gambler said: anyone else remember using the phone that you picked up the hand set and waited for the operator to ask "number please" and you gave her a three digit number to call? You had "THREE" digits?? Livin' high there. We had a two digit number "11" and one of the telephone operators was a friend of the family and I would hang out with her at the telephone exchange ( a small one room office) sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Creek Law Dog Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I remember bread and milk being delivered door to door by horse and wagon. I remember my Mom and I meeting the train bringing my Dad who was in the RCAF, back home from WWll, . Back in the 40's and 50's we had house to house mail delivery twice a day and once on Saturday. The beat cops used the call box on the corner as portable radios were not in use then. Ah! The good old days, gone forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Shotgun Willie Nelson said: I remember when my grandparents got a new TV, their second ever. It was still black & white but had a new fangled Remote Control thingy with it. I was about five or six and could walk past the TV and double click my tongue and change the channels. My grandfather was not amused. We also had one with a remote. The early ones were really tuning forks. If someone made a sound or noise on one of their frequencies, it would change channels. I remember dumping a jar of change on the table before rolling it up. The noises caused the TV to go nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Let me give you something positive to ponder. We aren't "THAT OLD." We have survived long enough to fondly remember those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 6 minutes ago, Buffalo Creek Law Dog said: I remember bread and milk being delivered door to door by horse and wagon. I remember my Mom and I meeting the train bringing my Dad who was in the RCAF, back home from WWll, . Back in the 40's and 50's we had house to house mail delivery twice a day and once on Saturday. The beat cops used the call box on the corner as portable radios were not in use then. Ah! The good old days, gone forever. I was about 2-1/2 when Dad came back from overseas (1945). Met him at the airport and saw him get off the DC-3 and walk to the gate in the fence. He was in uniform. Several months later, my Mom and I had gone to visit her parents and were coming back by train to Chicago. Dad had just been released from active duty, and met us at the train. But I didn't recognize this man and started to cry. You see he was wearing civilian clothes, and I had never seen him dressed in anything but a uniform! Finally figured it out, pretty quickly, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Sweet - will be 51 at the end of the month (Lord willing) Such wisdom from some good pards here. GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I'll be 66 on Saturday!! I lived in the country as a baby and up until about 4 years old. Moved to Kissimmee, Fl. and then St. Pete where I started school. We moved to New Jersey in the spring of my first grade year and I got immersed in city life! Been all over since then. Started Jr. High in Nashville and went to five different schools in the same town before graduating. I got to see most of those thing pass into history or just disappear! Some of them are truly missed and would help make communities more friendly and closer knit these days!! MODERN AIN'T ALWAYS BETTER!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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