If you lived as a child in the 30's 40's, 50's, or 60's. I Can't Believe
You Made It !
Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have
because...
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding
in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had
no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
(Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!)
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode
down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into
the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were
back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball
would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there
were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to
blame, but us. Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned
to get over it.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were
never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games at all,
99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell
phones,
Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went
outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there
in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it?
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although
we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did
the worms live inside us forever.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who
didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment..... Some students
weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the
same grade.....Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide
behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem
solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of
innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and
responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
And you're one of them.
Congratulations!
you forgot walking to school,being held after for not doing your homework, or what ever. pep rallies on friday nights and no police were around. we took our boyscout knives and or our hunting guns during hunting season. and there is a ton more. I'm glad I'm not young.
Just sit back and relax....remember those good old days as you
read this little story
Close your eyes.....And go back in time....
Before the Internet or the MAC, Before semi automatics and crack
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!
30'S TO 60'S
Interesting historical piece ~ 1943 Guide to Hiring Women
The following is an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation
Magazine. This was serious and written for male supervisors of women in the
work force during World War II - a mere 58years ago!
Obviously, the intent was not to be "funny," but by today's standards,
this is hilarious (if not horrendous).
Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees:
There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women
for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled
that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women
available and how to use them to the best advantage. Here are eleven
helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties:
1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of
responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be
flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still
have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public
efficiently.
2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked
outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never
contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined
to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women
the importance of friendliness and courtesy.
3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a
little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their
underweight sisters.
4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical
examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects
the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the
employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or
physically unfit for the job.
5. Stress at the outset the importance of time; the fact that a minute or
two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point
is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.
6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that
they'll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every
few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers
when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in
finding work themselves.
7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to
another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less
nervous and happier with change.
8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You
have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more
confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply
fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.
9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are
often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never
ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.
10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women.
Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow
to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.
11. Get enough size variety in operators' uniforms so that each girl can
have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women
happy.
HIRING PROCEDURES FOR FEMALES IN 1943
Come stroll with me..close your eyes...and go back before the internet...before
bombings, aids, herpes, before semiautomatics and crack...before SEGA orSuper Nintendo...way back!
I'm talking about sitting on the curb, sitting on the steps...about malt shops,hide-and-go-seek, Simon says and red-light-green-light. Lunch boxes with a thermos...chocolate milk, going home for lunch, penny candy from the store,hopscotch, butterscotch, skates with keys, jacks and Cracker Jacks, hulahoops and sunflower seeds, wax lips and mustaches, Mary Jane's, saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the names of cities on the bottom.
Remember when it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
When nearly everyones's Mom was at home when the kids arrived home from school.
When nobody owned a purebred dog. When a quarter was a decent allowance.When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces. When all of your
teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done every day and wore high heels. Remember running through the sprinkler, circle pins, bobbypins, Mickey Mouse Club, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Kookla, Fran and Ollie, Dick Clark's American Bandstand...all in black and white and your Mom made you turn it off when a storm came.
When around the corner seemed far away and going downtown seemed like going somewhere. Climbing trees, making forts, lemonade stands, cops and robbers,cowboys and indians, staring at clouds, jumping on the bed, pillow fights,ribbon candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree, white gloves, walking to the movie theater, running till you were out of breath, your first haircut, laughing so hard that you stomach hurt...remember that?
Not stepping on a crack or you'd break your mother's back, paper chains at Christmas, silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington, the smells of school, of past and "Evening in Paris" perfume.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oiled checked and gas pumped without asking -all for free- every time. You didn't pay for air and you got trading stamps to boot. When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner to a real restaurant with your parents. When the worst thing you could do at school was flunk a test or chew gum. The prom was in the gym or the lunch room and you danced to a real orchestra. When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed - and they did it.
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home. Basically we were in fear for our lives,but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was so much greater than the threat.
Remember when people went steady; and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped adhesive tape so it would fit their finger. When no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the car and house doors were never locked.
Remember playing baseball with no adults needing to enforce the rules of the game. And, with all our progress, don't you wish, that just once you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace...and share it with the children of today?
So send this on to someone who can still remember The Lone Ranger and Tonto,The Shadow Knows, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Trigger and Buttermilk...As well as the sound of a real mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with bike rides, baseball games, bowling, visits to the pool...and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar from the palm of you hand.
There, didn't that feel good? Just to lean back and say: "Yeah, I
remember"
COME STROLL WITH ME BACK IN TIME
GOOD OLD DAYS
by Diane Dean White
I don't see them very often nowadays, but most baby boomers remember them.
They were located on the main street of most towns and in each city.
They went by a variety of names, but they always appealed to us for one
reason on another. They may have been known as the Ben Franklin Store,
S.S. Kressge, Woolworth's or just the drug store on the corner.
They often had doors that were large and hard to pull, or more often,
the kind that revolved and one person at a time went in. They were a plac
where young children could buy a small turtle or a gold fish for ten cents
and carry it home in small white cartons.
Teens gathered to try on some neat sun glasses or glance over the
latest shades of lipsticks. Most trips ended at the soda fountain over a
cherry Coke or a hot fudge sundae.
The main idea was that so many items were sold for such a small price
and you could get a variety of things at the Five and Dime. Mothers would
come in and check over the yard goods and look through Vogue, McCall's and other books with patterns. One area displayed a variety of favorite
magazines. It was a time when we knew the store manager or owner, and we always said hello and acted polite, because the store owner also knew our Mom and Dad.
Often the Five and Dime had a counter with stools and sometimes booths where we could order fries, a cheeseburger and a shake. They also had a daily special, for working men who would frequent the Five and Dime. Women in starched uniforms and aprons would wait on the customers. Their hair was done up and covered neatly with a hair net. The booths with the large seats were big enough for three girls on one side and three guys on the other.
We'd opt for the booths over the swivel stools at the counter, or the
heavy straight chairs at a table, because each booth had a small juke box
with the favorite selections.
When the Thanksgiving holiday came we knew where the decorations were kept, as harvest scenes with pilgrims and turkeys and pumpkins were placed in a central location for all to see. Very often, a large box for canned food donations was placed for customers to remember those less fortunate, and people back then always did.
We never saw a Christmas decoration until the first week in December,
and we could hardly wait to see the toys and items that were so popular
that year. Usually there was a manger scene with a bright star over it,
and Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were set up as a welcome display. A real Christmas tree would be covered with lights ten sizes larger than the ones we see today. Some tinsel and an angel on top would complete the decor.
The special town tree would be located exactly where it grew, and that
might be anywhere along the main street, away from the parking, but in view for all to see. On a special night, the store might stay open a little
later to invite customers to shop a little longer. The smell of freshly
made popcorn, peanut brittle, hot chocolate and coffee would remind us that the time of year for being extra good was here.
We'd look at a special pair of skates or see a train set with a
whistle tooting, as it made stops along the tracks, while in the background
a record with Gene Autry would play, as he sang Rudolph the Red Nose
Reindeer.
In the late 60s land developers began to visualize a compact shopping
experience, where customers could go into a variety of stores. After
parking their car, they could go from one end of a mall to another, being
able to purchase everything from clothing, to bath and bedroom linens, with a maternity shop, jewelry store and often a few small specialty shops.
By the mid 70s they were going up all over, and the small Five and
Dime Stores were beginning to become a thing of the past.
When we pass through a town today and I see a Five and Dime, or what used to be one, I often ask my hubby to stop because I know there are so few left.
There is something nostalgic about a visit back to the 50s where so
much fun and great buys could be found at these places.
"Honey, do you want to go over to the mall and look around?" my
husband will ask.
And I think of how much we have lost to progress, while my mind goes
back to a simpler time and memories of a juke box playing Mr. Blue, and all the great things found at the corner Five and Dime.
