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Online now: 1 member: TABLE SETTER 11; 72 anonymousDiscussion: Old As Dirt, But Young At Heart.
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| Jan. 30, 2010 southpaw Men's 70 1077 posts | Old As Dirt, But Young At Heart. Someone 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,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.' 'C'mon, seriously... Where did you eat?' 'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. ! 'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on 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 going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it : Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. My parents never drove me to school. 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 19. It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at 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 a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people... I never had a telephone in my room.The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line. Pizzas were not delivered to our home.... But milk was... All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 6AM every morning. Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive. If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just 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 top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it.. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old. How many do you remember? Head lights dimmer switches on the floor. Ignition switches on the dashboard. 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.Candy cigarettes 2.Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes 3.Home milk delivery in glass bottles 4.Party lines on the telephone 5.Newsreels before the movie 6.TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate] ) 7.Peashooters 8. Howdy Doody 9. 45 RPM records 10.Hi-fi's 11. Metal ice trays with lever 12. Blue flashbulb 13.Cork popguns 14. Studebakers 15. Wash tub wringers If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age, If you remembered 11-15 =You're older than dirt! I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts of my life. Don't forget to pass this along!! Especially to all your really OLD friends.... |
| Jan. 30, 2010 chico senior Men's 60 134 posts | I can remember growing up about 20 miles south of San Francisco and my Dad giving me $2 to go to a Giants game. That would take care of the 50 cent round-trip bus fare, 75 cent ticket to sit in the wooden bleachers in right field at Candlestick, and money left to buy a 50 cent hot dog and 25 cent soda. |
| Jan. 30, 2010 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | Our first fast food was at the original McDonalds on Florence Ave in Lakewood, Ca. We would stop and get burgers for a dime, fries for 8 cents and a soda for a dime. We had a great time trying to figure out what the heck it was going be when they were building it. Big old yellow arches. At the time Mom was in elated, she didnt have to cook for the 8 of us! The Alcazar theatre in the City of Bell charged 17 cents for a double feature, of course with the cartoon. |
| Jan. 30, 2010 Bill in Sac Men's 75 32 posts | Southpaw, I remember all 15 plus, probably because I'm older than you. Here's one. I remember waiting at the corner grocery store for the Sunbeam bread delivery man,( I was 7, 8 or 9) because he gave us baseball cards , and we put them in our 50 lb bike spokes so it would sound like a motorcycle. This was in 1947,48. Those baseball cards would probably be worth big money now. Bill Enos |
| Jan. 30, 2010 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | Dirt, here, because I remembered dealing with all 15. I had forgotten about peashooters! Wow, wasn't that a toy (of course another option to "putting someone's eye out!"). Yes, I was a paper boy and those glass milk bottles were a real challenge. Most people wanted their paper porched and I wanted to finish my route as quickly as possible, so the porch shot was from my bike from the street or sidewalk. And when those milk bottles were out... This kind of accurate exercise probably helped make me the player I am today (a pitcher). |
| Jan. 31, 2010 Norq44 59 posts | Funny, I don't feel old as dirt, but I surely do remember every one of them.Of course I was born and raised in Minnesota, we were two full years behind with everything. Concerning the pea shooters. I still have the scar on the roof of my mouth where I fell with the damn thing in my mouth. Lucky it hit on the boney part or I probably would have driven the thing into my brain. |
| Jan. 31, 2010 armiho211 Men's 70 449 posts | growing up in south texas in the 40's,50's- we never locked the house, we had the only tv on the block. the tv was black and white, BUT dad put a filter screen in front that was to provide color . remember gas @ .18 c a gal. walked 2 miles to school, walked to little league fields to play. made my own sling-shots, and bows and arrows. the rubber for the slng shot came from RED RUBBBER tire inner tubes. worked in the cotton fields during the summer with 90 deg plus heat, money made went to the family, mom gave us .25 c on saturday to go see a double feature movie, had $$ left over to buy popcorn and candy. no credit cards, pretty much all meals at home. i dont remember complaining about anything, we did what mom and dad said. in our effort to make sure that our kids didnt work as hard as we did, we ended up spoiling them, now the grand-kids laugh at us, probably thinking how stupid we must have been. favorite candy was the tri-colored coconut BAR, had chocolate,stawberry and vanilla. STILL AVAIL AT THE CRACKER BARREL ! man, that was a long time ago. |
| Jan. 31, 2010 kbl Men's 60 544 posts | some very good posts here. i remember all 15. i think we had more fun growing up in late 40s, 50s and early 60s than most kids today, even though they have more available to them today. plus, there was more respect for older people back then. ken |
| Feb. 1, 2010 southpaw Men's 70 1077 posts | A good friend, Russ Arthur, had sent this topic to me. I thought it would be of interest to us. I appreciate the responses. It is amazing how much has changed over the last 50-6o years! I was the oldest of 4 sons. We lived with parents and grandparents. Indoor plumbing and a t.v. arrived at our house in 1955 (I was 6 yrs old). |
| Feb. 1, 2010 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | yep dirt here also,how many have got their fingers caught in the washer ringer,i'm not confessing to anything tho,LOL.was watching b/w tv in 55,watching howdy doody. |
| Feb. 1, 2010 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | Wonder how many boys could resist that spinning wringer when mom was out of the area? I couldn't, but the wringer had some sort of safety mechanism that jarred one of the rollers up when encountering a stubborn finger. I was busted when mom returned. It didn't stop for my younger brother when he experimented a couple of years later. Wow, the howls from the garage!! |
| Feb. 1, 2010 southpaw Men's 70 1077 posts | My mother is one of 10 children. My mother and grandmother delivered babies pretty much simultaneously. I have an uncle 8 mo. older and an uncle and aunt who are younger and the same age as 2 of my brothers. The story is told that Grandmother delivered her 10th child at home in the a.m., then baked 100 homemade bisquits for supper. |
| Feb. 1, 2010 shortly51 Men's 60 6 posts | I'm not old as dirt but I remember all 15, what about the Helm's bakery truck, the Fuller brush man & going to A & W for rootbear with diner brought to your car by a carhop? |
| Feb. 2, 2010 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | I also remember all 15. Anyone remember playing until the street lights came on? I played all day. 5 cent baseball cards with the gum? My first job was McDonalds, 1967. 10 cent hamburgers, 15 cent cheeseburgers, 12 cent fries--Big Macs came out in 1968, I think, at 35 cents. Cardboard stuck in the spokes of your bike for motor effect, roller skates with keys?? Memories!!! |
| Feb. 2, 2010 southpaw Men's 70 1077 posts | Webbie, in the late 60's, we would cram as many friends in a car as possible (6-8) pool our resources, go to Jack's Hamburgers, and order 100 burgers (15 cents), cokes and fries for everyone. It would really freak them out! My wife and I met at a Valentine's Sock-Hop in High School. |
| Feb. 2, 2010 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | We rode our bikes everywhere in Ann Arbor, sometimes with a friend on the handle bars(what were we thinking). A&W Root Beer in the Mug,transistor radios under the pillow listening to the Tigers, or Red Wings, playing hockey in a park that had been flooded in the winter to make an ice rink, remember Sadie Hawkins Day-I got disappointed every year--(no wonder). |
| Feb. 2, 2010 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | Webbie, you grew up in Ann Arbor? Now I'm jealous. I loved my two years there. |
| Feb. 2, 2010 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Southpaw, To add to your short list: Hop scotch, double dutch, Spit wads (one of my favorites), Slinky's Pick up Stix, Jaxx, yo-yo, Bo Zo the clown, Clarabell the clown, Grouch marx, Phineas T Buster (Howdy Doody character), Hamms beer dear, Spinning tops. Black Jack gum,,, & about a hunderd more.... Yes...old, but better than the alternative. |
| Feb. 2, 2010 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | 2 blocks from the Big House. That's why talking to Rick Leach was a big deal.--- More stuff--candy cigarettes with the red end, digging the cork out of bottlecaps to see if you won, coke in a bottle (only way I liked it),Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans, Bunny rabbit and Mr. Moose,Romper Room!!LOL,holding the TV antennae at a certain angle for a half hour so Dad could watch a program,Smothers Brothers dissing the censors,Laugh-in,---I guess I miss those days. |
| Feb. 3, 2010 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | Off of State? |
| Feb. 3, 2010 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | Other side, Dirty, by Allmendinger park on Edgewood St.Also 2 blocks from Pioneer High. I spent a lot of time at Ferry Field because a good friend lived in the white house that was at the State street entrance to the field right by the Old Yost Fieldhouse. I left just after they built Crisler Arena. |
| Feb. 3, 2010 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | I take it you attended Pioneer. Was Huron also open then? I had basketball season tickets both years I was there, and spent a lot of time in Crisler. |
| Feb. 3, 2010 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | It was Ann Arbor High until my senior year. Then, because Huron was not ready, we ran split shifts my senior year out of Pioneer.Did you go to UM? |
| Feb. 3, 2010 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | I went to grad school there from 1979 to 1981. It was interesting coming from Ohio, especially with people back here even now, but I enjoyed it. |
| Feb. 3, 2010 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | Crew Cuts and the Flat Top haircuts. Butchwax & Peach Polmade hair wax. Converse Tennys. I am fortunate to work on Classics, Hot Rods and Streetrods from the era of our youth. Each one seems to bring back memories. If you want to see some of them let me know, I have some on my website. |
| Feb. 3, 2010 ju25 Men's 60 236 posts | Rabbit ears on top of the tv and getting up off your seat to change one of the 4 stations we received. Mono records, wooden hockey sticks with straight blades and dress codes for school. Those were the days! |
| Feb. 3, 2010 JamesLG 420 posts | E4/E6: Send some of your pics to me at jgrohandfam@nventure.com. I did the hot rod/ pro street thing for several years and had a lot of fun. Thank You: James |
| Feb. 4, 2010 SOFTBALL6 18 posts | What is your web address? I'd like to see some of your cars. Where are you from? |
| Feb. 4, 2010 SOFTBALL6 18 posts | E4/E6 -What is your web address? I'd like to see some of your cars. Where are you from? |
| Feb. 4, 2010 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | Softball6 Heres my web address: www.theairshop.com Shops in Santa Ana, Ca |
| Feb. 5, 2010 Wes Men's 65 335 posts | You guys sound young..I remember all 15---we had a real Icebox and the ice truck would come down the street 3 times a week- you could get a block of ice that was 12x12x12 for 1 cents. There is a building here in Louisville that looks like the the old flashcub. My wife and I give direction by telling people to go to the flashcub building a turn right-my son ask me one day what I was talking about.. How about eating the cream off the top of the milk that stayed out in the cold to long.. any one remember "don't wast soap" no the raido |
| Feb. 5, 2010 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | Wes, as kids we would wait for the Ice Truck to stop, when the IceMan went inside to our IceBox we would pull the canvas cover back and grab some ice chips, he always caught us and would give us a yell, with a smile on his face. |
| Feb. 6, 2010 Gary33 149 posts | All these things I remember. Just listen to the Chicago song Old Days. |
| Feb. 7, 2010 hitman Men's 70 339 posts | Remember them all and add the Daisy pop guns that you could plug with an apple and shoot out. Having to work all day bailing and hauling hay and having the team come by to go to the game and DAD daying can't go till the hay is in the barn. Team immediately all became farmers and pitched in and I got to go to the game. How many would do that today???????? The Hitman |
| Feb. 7, 2010 southpaw Men's 70 1077 posts | Jim, there you go again shooting stuff! Bullets, arrows, chickens, and now apples! You are right about the pitching in with the hay. Most would say sayonara; Most have never seen a hay field. I think picking cotton may be worse. I worked one day for my uncle in his cotton field. 14 hours, 99 lbs (I wasn't very good at it). He paid me a penny per pound. Handed me a dollar and said "keep the change". |
| Feb. 8, 2010 hitman Men's 70 339 posts | Steve, Don't worry I won't bring anything my bat to Birmingham and hope it's warm enough to play under reasonable conditions. It snowing here right now but nothing like what MY BROTHER IN PA GOT (26"). Turn the heaters on so we get some swings. The Hitman |
