Do you Remember....

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
Here are a few things I remember that anyone born today will never even know they existed ---

1. Riding in the rumbleseat of my best buddies car with a sweet young woman.

2. Getting my first pair of "long pants" instead of knickers (for you Brits - knickers are NOT ladies undergarments).

3. Hitching rides on the running boards of cars.

4. Going to the Wednesday Matinee movies and seeing - a Flash Gorden or Buck Rogers seriel, two cartoons, a newsreel, two feature films and getting a free comic book. All for two bits.

5. Creating a "band wagon" and riding around singing, and dancing when V-J day ended World War II.

6. Hay rides in the country.

7. When a "big" thing was stopping at a diner for pie and coffee...and the coffee was a nickel a cup.

8. Playing your favorite song on the juke box for a nickel

9. The malt shop --- in our case it was "Kay's Sweet Shop" --- as the local hang out for kids of all ages.

10. People sitting on the porch and actually being happy when the neighborhood kids dropped in to say hello.

11. Everybody's Mom being home whe you dropped in at buddies' houses.

12. Being told "Why don't you go out and play" by your Mom when you got underfoot.

13. When the biggest threat a teacher could make was "LeRoy, how would you like me to tell your father about this?"

14. When everybody (and I mean everybody) removed their hat and stood at attention when the flag passed by.

15. When someone getting a new car was reason for everyone in the neighborhood to drop in for a visit to look it over. And, if lucky, get to go for a ride in it.

16. When everyone in the neighborhood (or town if you lived in a small town) knew you on sight, knew your parents and had absolutely no qualms about correcting you if you misbehaved. (Or, reporting it to your parents if they saw you smoking or doing something you shouldn't be doing.).

17. When you even knew who every dog in the neighborhood belonged to and whether or not you should catch it and take it home if you saw it running loose.

18. Swimming in any near by creek or pond where the water was deep enough.

19. The little flags in all the windows with a star for every servicemember from that household -- gold if they had died in action, blue if they were still living.

20. Ration books, stamps and tokens.

21. Putting a set of "baloney skins" on the car until you could afford "retreads"

22. Gas Wars where the price got as low as fifteen cents a gallon.

23. Squeezing the margarine to get the yellow dye mixed in to make it look like butter instead of lard.

24. Five cent bottles of soda pop and candy bars.

25. Penny candy and penny post cards.

26. 3 cent stamps to mail first class letters and an extra penny for airmail.

27. Sears and Roebuck Catalogs that were 2 1/2 inches thick ( Montgomery Wards, Speigels and JC Penny's as well) coming in the mail twice a year.

28. Steam locomotives with the distinctive steam whistle rather than the darned air horns on modern trains.

29. When a long freight train was maybe 35 cars rather than 150.

30. When most people had never flown in an airplane - or even wanted to.

31. The TV network logos that filled the screen when there were no TV shows on ---- usually several hours every day.

32. Major Bowes Original Amature Hour on radio.

33. Jack Armstrong - the all American Boy

34. Sargent Preston of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his lead dog "Yukon King" meeting the "Challenge of the Yukon" every afternoon on radio.

35. Pickup baseball and football games, held just about anywhere where there was enough room.

36. When it was safe to walk just about anywhere you wanted to go.

That's just a few --- there are many more.

Those are some of the things that make me happy to have lived and grown up during the time that I did. We might be "richer" today but I wouldn't trade my life lived for one starting today for anything. While things are still pretty good today I personally think those of us over 70 had it the best. Particularily when we were young.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

shadetree_1

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
934
Location
Wittmann AZ
Smitty37,

Not quite as old as you my friend, only 64, day after tomorrow, but I still remember alot of what you listed and I wish it could still be that way for our kids, kids today, we tried to raise our kids along those lines, they were all taught to drive a our old 65 ford granny gear 4 speed pickup when they were 10 and all were taught how to shoot and handle a firearm properly and had their own single shot 22's by the time they were 12, They all turned out to be great kids and are now responsible adults, and I feel it is because of the " old " ways they were taught ! "those were the days" Wish they were still here !!!!!
 

ctubbs

Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
3,588
Location
Murray, Kentucky
38. It was just fine to take your rifle/shotgun to school if you were going to spend the night at your buddy's.

39. As long as you were home in time for supper, it was just fine. No one was worried about what you were up to or where you were.

40. When the neighbor hood needed entertainment, all the musicians gathered at one home, the popcorn, sweet tea and lemonade came out in massive quantities.

41. Every boy had at least one knife in his pocket and most girls carried one in her purse.

Charles
 
Last edited:

wolftat

Product Reviews Manager
Joined
Aug 19, 2007
Messages
5,377
Location
Fairfield, CT, USA.
37. And your uncle gave you a Winchester Model 42 .410 Shotgun and 2 boxes of shells for your 8th birthday, and trained you how to be a safe hunter!

Tom
My uncle gave me a .38 and a box of cartridges and told me to go have fun, I think I was around 10. My parents did get a little upset for some reason.
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
I love that

38. It was just fine to take your rifle/shotgun to school if you were going to spend the night at your buddy's.

39. As long as you were home in time for supper, it was just fine. No one was worried about what you were up to or where you were.

40. When the neighbor hood needed entertainment, all the musicians gathered at one home, the popcorn, sweet tea and lemonade came out in massive quantities.

41. Every boy had at least one knife in his pocket and most girls carried one in her purse.

Charles
I remember doing that -- carried my 30-40 Krag on the bus to high school, stood it in the coat closet during school and walked home with a buddy to go hunting after school and the next day. Also remember when mumble 'de peg was one of our favorite recess and lunchtime pastimes in elementary school and we all had our pocket knives with us all the time.
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
Actually....

37. And your uncle gave you a Winchester Model 42 .410 Shotgun and 2 boxes of shells for your 8th birthday, and trained you how to be a safe hunter!

Tom
It was my brother, and it was a Stevens bolt action.....and only one box of shells.
 

Haynie

Member
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
3,516
Location
Page Arizona
Different water fountains, entrances, and seating for African Americans

Native Americans being forced into boarding schools then "placed" into foster homes by "well meaning" religious and government organizations.

Yep thems the good ol days. I think it was Socrates that said the younger generation was worthless and lazy.

Trust me folks it was not all peaches and cream in those days.
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
Not where I came from

Different water fountains, entrances, and seating for African Americans

Native Americans being forced into boarding schools then "placed" into foster homes by "well meaning" religious and government organizations.

Yep thems the good ol days. I think it was Socrates that said the younger generation was worthless and lazy.

Trust me folks it was not all peaches and cream in those days.[/quote]

I don't think I said anything about the "Younger Generation".

I don't think I said it was all "peaches and cream" either...I brought up things that I think were good, that today's children will never have.

That being said, while some things are better today and others worse, I don't believe the world overall, is a safer friendlier place today than it was 60 or so years ago. Maybe you do and that's your right.
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
8,206
Location
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, USA.
Here are a few things I remember that anyone born today will never even know they existed ---

1. Riding in the rumble seat of my best buddies car with a sweet young woman. I remember riding in my grandfather's Model A with a rumble seat... by the time I got old enough to be interested in girls, they rumble seats were a thing of the past.

2. Getting my first pair of "long pants" instead of knickers (for you Brits - knickers are NOT ladies undergarments). Never wore knickers, but remember when I started school I had to wear home made overalls... refused to go back until I got a pair of real blue jeans...

3. Hitching rides on the running boards of cars. Stood on a few running boards... went out of style by the time I was a teen... do remember riding in the back of the pick up.. specifically, my uncle's Studebaker pick up.

4. Going to the Wednesday Matinee movies and seeing - a Flash Gorden or Buck Rogers seriel, two cartoons, a newsreel, two feature films and getting a free comic book. All for two bits. Don't remember getting the comic book, but the movies were 9 cents for "children" and .25 for "adults", popcorn was 10 cents a bag, candy was .05, and a big orange drink another .05...since we were share croppers, not often much cash for such things, so a big treat was a chance to go to a real sit down theatre.. most of the time we would do drive in's and sit in the back of the pick up.

5. Creating a "band wagon" and riding around singing, and dancing when V-J day ended World War II. I was born 3 months before Pearl Harbor, so not a memory.

6. Hay rides in the country. No hay rides, but first 6 years of my life, our primary transportation to town was a mule drawn spring wagon.

7. When a "big" thing was stopping at a diner for pie and coffee...and the coffee was a nickel a cup. Remember when a hamburger was .25, with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onions, mustard and the buns were tossed on the grill to get crisp and toasted. Included french fries.

8. Playing your favorite song on the juke box for a nickel.. see nr 6... not much juke box playing.

9. The malt shop --- in our case it was "Kay's Sweet Shop" --- as the local hang out for kids of all ages. As a teen, ours was the local Dairy King... or the City Drug that had a soda counter.

10. People sitting on the porch and actually being happy when the neighborhood kids dropped in to say hello. ditto

11. Everybody's Mom being home when you dropped in at buddies' houses. ditto

12. Being told "Why don't you go out and play" by your Mom when you got underfoot... or, "f you don't go out side and play, I'll find a chore for you."

13. When the biggest threat a teacher could make was "LeRoy, how would you like me to tell your father about this?" or, if I did get in trouble at school, the worst punishment was waiting when I got home.

14. When everybody (and I mean everybody) removed their hat and stood at attention when the flag passed by. ditto

15. When someone getting a new car was reason for everyone in the neighborhood to drop in for a visit to look it over. And, if lucky, get to go for a ride in it. ditto

16. When everyone in the neighborhood (or town if you lived in a small town) knew you on sight, knew your parents and had absolutely no qualms about correcting you if you misbehaved. (Or, reporting it to your parents if they saw you smoking or doing something you shouldn't be doing.).

17. When you even knew who every dog in the neighborhood belonged to and whether or not you should catch it and take it home if you saw it running loose.

18. Swimming in any near by creek or pond where the water was deep enough.

19. The little flags in all the windows with a star for every service member from that household -- gold if they had died in action, blue if they were still living.

20. Ration books, stamps and tokens. Actually still have the rations books that were issued to my family for sugar, flour, shoes and one of them has my name on it..

21. Putting a set of "baloney skins" on the car until you could afford "retreads"

22. Gas Wars where the price got as low as fifteen cents a gallon. And when a car got 16 miles per gallon we bragged about it.

23. Squeezing the margarine to get the yellow dye mixed in to make it look like butter instead of lard. ditto

24. Five cent bottles of soda pop and candy bars. But 16 ounce bottles of soda pop was 10 cents.

25. Penny candy and penny post cards.

26. 3 cent stamps to mail first class letters and an extra penny for airmail.

27. Sears and Roebuck Catalogs that were 2 1/2 inches thick ( Montgomery Wards, Speigels and JC Penny's as well) coming in the mail twice a year. Some times for entertainment, sit and thumb through and look at all the thing you wish you had...

28. Steam locomotives with the distinctive steam whistle rather than the darned air horns on modern trains.

29. When a long freight train was maybe 35 cars rather than 150.

30. When most people had never flown in an airplane - or even wanted to.

31. The TV network logos that filled the screen when there were no TV shows on ---- usually several hours every day. First time I saw TV was in 1954 or 55.. I was in fifth grade and we had a field trip to a local merchant's house to sit and watch "Howdy Doody".. my whole class room, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade... all 12 or 15 of us.

32. Major Bowes Original Amature Hour on radio. Can't remember him.

33. Jack Armstrong - the all American Boy ditto

34. Sargent Preston of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his lead dog "Yukon King" meeting the "Challenge of the Yukon" every afternoon on radio. One of my favorites, along with "Sky King", "The Shadow", "The Lone Ranger and Tonto", "The Amos and Andy show", Jack Benny.

35. Pickup baseball and football games, held just about anywhere where there was enough room. Full contact football on the school ground during lunch.. usually played in cowboy boots.... work up baseball... everyone who had a ball glove and many who didn't in the outfield...

36. When it was safe to walk just about anywhere you wanted to go. ditto

That's just a few --- there are many more.

Those are some of the things that make me happy to have lived and grown up during the time that I did. We might be "richer" today but I wouldn't trade my life lived for one starting today for anything. While things are still pretty good today I personally think those of us over 70 had it the best. Particularly when we were young.
Those were great days, but since I grew us as a share cropper, not sure I would want to go back and do any of the past over again... we have to progress as a society or we become stagnate, and to stagnate is to die.
 

alphageek

Former Moderator
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
5,120
Location
Green Bay, WI, USA.
Most of these aren't just about people born today. There is a TON of these (especially those that you remember from when those of you agreeing with above were youths) that even don't click with me... An I'm by no means as young as many on here.

The changes in the generations is interesting though. Before my grandmother died (in her 90s) she and I would have conversations. One of the points that I made was that I wasn't sure which was more foreign to me - what life was like when she was young... or what life would be like if I made it to my 90s.

Generational perspective :
My grandmother saw the rise of electricity.
My parents saw the rise of TV
I saw the rise of computers
My daughter saw the rise of portable connected electronics
My grandkids - I can't wait to find out.
 

Mapster

Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
505
Location
Orlando, Florida
Being a young person in today's world (17) I am highly jealous of those days. I have not been brought up the good old way because of the large city we live in. I hear stories all the time and still try to do a few of the good old things because they are so much more fun! I don't understand a kid that would enjoy sitting in front of a flat screen playing a video game instead of, say, just going for a ride with a friend, some music, and the windows down.

I just went up to Iowa and got to visit a lot of the people that still bring kids up the old fashioned way. I went to a farm and got to drive an...
old 65 ford granny gear 4 speed pickup

Exact same car, had the greatest time in months just cruising around in that for an hour. And the good old times where if you don't know how to drive stick you will find out very quickly. None of today's babying people along so they really don't have to do anything or learn anything on their own. Easy enough, I am highly jealous and truly agree those were the days! And you just can't do the stuff these days :frown:
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
Well here's another sample ---

Most of these aren't just about people born today. There is a TON of these (especially those that you remember from when those of you agreeing with above were youths) that even don't click with me... An I'm by no means as young as many on here.

The changes in the generations is interesting though. Before my grandmother died (in her 90s) she and I would have conversations. One of the points that I made was that I wasn't sure which was more foreign to me - what life was like when she was young... or what life would be like if I made it to my 90s.

Generational perspective :
My grandmother saw the rise of electricity.
My parents saw the rise of TV
I saw the rise of computers
My daughter saw the rise of portable connected electronics
My grandkids - I can't wait to find out.

My mother was 10 years old when the Wright Brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, NC ... she also watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon?

When she was born electricity in homes was unheard of outside of a few large cities --- when she died homes without electricity were just about as unheard of.

She saw the rise of motion pictures, radio and television from nothing to being the dominant entertainment.

She also saw the coming into use of practically all of the home appliances that we still see today. close washers, electric ranges, refrigeraters, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric toasters, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens (actually invented in 1947), electric irons, electric sewing machines, electric clocks, blenders, telephones, food processors..... and you name it. She passed on just a few years before home computers started becoming more than toys
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
Here are a few things I remember that anyone born today will never even know they existed ---

1. Riding in the rumble seat of my best buddies car with a sweet young woman. I remember riding in my grandfather's Model A with a rumble seat... by the time I got old enough to be interested in girls, they rumble seats were a thing of the past.

2. Getting my first pair of "long pants" instead of knickers (for you Brits - knickers are NOT ladies undergarments). Never wore knickers, but remember when I started school I had to wear home made overalls... refused to go back until I got a pair of real blue jeans...

3. Hitching rides on the running boards of cars. Stood on a few running boards... went out of style by the time I was a teen... do remember riding in the back of the pick up.. specifically, my uncle's Studebaker pick up.

4. Going to the Wednesday Matinee movies and seeing - a Flash Gorden or Buck Rogers seriel, two cartoons, a newsreel, two feature films and getting a free comic book. All for two bits. Don't remember getting the comic book, but the movies were 9 cents for "children" and .25 for "adults", popcorn was 10 cents a bag, candy was .05, and a big orange drink another .05...since we were share croppers, not often much cash for such things, so a big treat was a chance to go to a real sit down theatre.. most of the time we would do drive in's and sit in the back of the pick up.

5. Creating a "band wagon" and riding around singing, and dancing when V-J day ended World War II. I was born 3 months before Pearl Harbor, so not a memory.

6. Hay rides in the country. No hay rides, but first 6 years of my life, our primary transportation to town was a mule drawn spring wagon.

7. When a "big" thing was stopping at a diner for pie and coffee...and the coffee was a nickel a cup. Remember when a hamburger was .25, with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onions, mustard and the buns were tossed on the grill to get crisp and toasted. Included french fries.

8. Playing your favorite song on the juke box for a nickel.. see nr 6... not much juke box playing.

9. The malt shop --- in our case it was "Kay's Sweet Shop" --- as the local hang out for kids of all ages. As a teen, ours was the local Dairy King... or the City Drug that had a soda counter.

10. People sitting on the porch and actually being happy when the neighborhood kids dropped in to say hello. ditto

11. Everybody's Mom being home when you dropped in at buddies' houses. ditto

12. Being told "Why don't you go out and play" by your Mom when you got underfoot... or, "f you don't go out side and play, I'll find a chore for you."

13. When the biggest threat a teacher could make was "LeRoy, how would you like me to tell your father about this?" or, if I did get in trouble at school, the worst punishment was waiting when I got home.

14. When everybody (and I mean everybody) removed their hat and stood at attention when the flag passed by. ditto

15. When someone getting a new car was reason for everyone in the neighborhood to drop in for a visit to look it over. And, if lucky, get to go for a ride in it. ditto

16. When everyone in the neighborhood (or town if you lived in a small town) knew you on sight, knew your parents and had absolutely no qualms about correcting you if you misbehaved. (Or, reporting it to your parents if they saw you smoking or doing something you shouldn't be doing.).

17. When you even knew who every dog in the neighborhood belonged to and whether or not you should catch it and take it home if you saw it running loose.

18. Swimming in any near by creek or pond where the water was deep enough.

19. The little flags in all the windows with a star for every service member from that household -- gold if they had died in action, blue if they were still living.

20. Ration books, stamps and tokens. Actually still have the rations books that were issued to my family for sugar, flour, shoes and one of them has my name on it.. One of my neices has our family ration books, including mine.

21. Putting a set of "baloney skins" on the car until you could afford "retreads"

22. Gas Wars where the price got as low as fifteen cents a gallon. And when a car got 16 miles per gallon we bragged about it.

23. Squeezing the margarine to get the yellow dye mixed in to make it look like butter instead of lard. ditto

24. Five cent bottles of soda pop and candy bars. But 16 ounce bottles of soda pop was 10 cents. - True....but 12 ounce bottles of Pepsi Cola were just a nickel, like the 6, 6 1/2 and 7 ounce bottles of Coke. Coke came in slightly different sized bottles depending on where you lived.

25. Penny candy and penny post cards.

26. 3 cent stamps to mail first class letters and an extra penny for airmail.

27. Sears and Roebuck Catalogs that were 2 1/2 inches thick ( Montgomery Wards, Speigels and JC Penny's as well) coming in the mail twice a year. Some times for entertainment, sit and thumb through and look at all the thing you wish you had...

28. Steam locomotives with the distinctive steam whistle rather than the darned air horns on modern trains.

29. When a long freight train was maybe 35 cars rather than 150.

30. When most people had never flown in an airplane - or even wanted to.

31. The TV network logos that filled the screen when there were no TV shows on ---- usually several hours every day. First time I saw TV was in 1954 or 55.. I was in fifth grade and we had a field trip to a local merchant's house to sit and watch "Howdy Doody".. my whole class room, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade... all 12 or 15 of us. Sounds like you went to school in about the same sized school I did (actually a bit smaller than mine) we would have had about 20 or so in those three grades.

32. Major Bowes Original Amature Hour on radio. Can't remember him.Frank Sinatra was one of his major discoveries.

33. Jack Armstrong - the all American Boy ditto

34. Sargent Preston of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his lead dog "Yukon King" meeting the "Challenge of the Yukon" every afternoon on radio. One of my favorites, along with "Sky King", "The Shadow", "The Lone Ranger and Tonto", "The Amos and Andy show", Jack Benny. Yep, they were all popular. Superman was another.

35. Pickup baseball and football games, held just about anywhere where there was enough room. Full contact football on the school ground during lunch.. usually played in cowboy boots.... work up baseball... everyone who had a ball glove and many who didn't in the outfield... We didn't wear cowboy boots....we also played Red Rover which involved tackling and piling on as well.

36. When it was safe to walk just about anywhere you wanted to go. ditto

That's just a few --- there are many more.

Those are some of the things that make me happy to have lived and grown up during the time that I did. We might be "richer" today but I wouldn't trade my life lived for one starting today for anything. While things are still pretty good today I personally think those of us over 70 had it the best. Particularly when we were young.
Those were great days, but since I grew us as a share cropper, not sure I would want to go back and do any of the past over again... we have to progress as a society or we become stagnate, and to stagnate is to die.

Like any time period, they had their good and the bad -- I was born in a house with no electricity, no indoor plumbing and no central heat and even though it was toward the end of the depression my parents didn't have a pot to go in or a window to chuck it out. But, that being said, I prefer to remember the good -- the human contact with people of all ages and all walks of life. The complete lack of concern for my safety that my parents could have, knowing that friends and neighbors would watch out for me anywhere I was.....That was great and we should have tried harder to keep that.
 

navycop

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
2,334
Location
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
I am only in my 50's but I remember:
my dad gave my brother and me BB guns when we were 13. Then one Christmas gave us 22's when we turned 16.
Swimming in the pond down the road.
My brother, friend and I would walk down the tracks to the golf course when we were 15 or 16. Collect the balls from the woods and sell them to my older brothers.
Going to the drive-in and only paying for 3-4 people. The other 5-6 were hiding in the backseat of the stationwagon.
Playing outside all day until the streetlights came on.
Having snowball fights with the other neighborhood kids.
These are just a few off the top of my head.
 

PenMan1

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
6,380
Location
Eatonton, Georgia
37. You were living well if it took two grown men to move the radio in your house.

38. If it had that little gold sticker that read "Made in Japan", it was junk.

39. Western Auto had the best bicycles, but Sears, Roebuck and CO RULED in baseball gloves.

And for the record, #27- the Sears Roebuck catalog had multiple uses if you lived out in the country.
 
Last edited:

Daniel

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
5,921
Location
Reno, NV, USA.
I am a bit young for most of that list. I do remember setting in a coffee shop. NO not Starbucks a real coffee shop. and a cup cost a dime with free refills.
I did get the 410 at the age of 8 along with the lessons. You have to wonder. If they still had gun clubs in high school would there be any shootings?
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
True

37. You were living well if it took two grown men to move the radio in your house.

38. If it had that little gold sticker that read "Made in Japan", it was junk.

39. Western Auto had the best bicycles, but Sears, Roebuck and CO RULED in baseball gloves.

And for the record, #27- the Sears Roebuck catalog had multiple uses if you lived out in the country.
And, you were well-to-do if you happened to have a 3-holer to use it in...And - the index and harness sections went first because for some reason they were made with thinner paper.
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
8,206
Location
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, USA.
37. You were living well if it took two grown men to move the radio in your house.

38. If it had that little gold sticker that read "Made in Japan", it was junk.

39. Western Auto had the best bicycles, but Sears, Roebuck and CO RULED in baseball gloves.

And for the record, #27- the Sears Roebuck catalog had multiple uses if you lived out in the country.
And, you were well-to-do if you happened to have a 3-holer to use it in...And - the index and harness sections went first because for some reason they were made with thinner paper.

We never had a 3 holer, but I remember in the late 1950's my rich farmer uncle put in a two holer and actually bought toilet seats to install so it would be more comfortable than just a round hole cut in the 1x12.... worst thing about the outhouse - other than the smell if you didn't put lime down the hole ever so often - was where we lived, the wasps loved the sheltered spaces to build their nests... at any given time we could have one or two 6" nests in the upper corner... my dad would periodically soak a corn cob in kerosene, light it and burn the nests out... worst was when they built under the seat. (Guess the smell didn't bother wasps.)
 

Smitty37

Passed Away Mar 29, 2018
In Memoriam
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
12,823
Location
Milford, Delaware 19963
Nope

37. You were living well if it took two grown men to move the radio in your house.

38. If it had that little gold sticker that read "Made in Japan", it was junk.

39. Western Auto had the best bicycles, but Sears, Roebuck and CO RULED in baseball gloves.

And for the record, #27- the Sears Roebuck catalog had multiple uses if you lived out in the country.
And, you were well-to-do if you happened to have a 3-holer to use it in...And - the index and harness sections went first because for some reason they were made with thinner paper.

We never had a 3 holer, but I remember in the late 1950's my rich farmer uncle put in a two holer and actually bought toilet seats to install so it would be more comfortable than just a round hole cut in the 1x12.... worst thing about the outhouse - other than the smell if you didn't put lime down the hole ever so often - was where we lived, the wasps loved the sheltered spaces to build their nests... at any given time we could have one or two 6" nests in the upper corner... my dad would periodically soak a corn cob in kerosene, light it and burn the nests out... worst was when they built under the seat. (Guess the smell didn't bother wasps.)
No it didn't seem to - but then maybe wasps don't have noses.
 

tim self

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2008
Messages
2,150
Location
Atoka, Oklahoma
At 53, I remember a number of your items Smitty. My grandparents didn't have indoor plumbing (two seater) until I was about 10. Other set of grand parents didn't have running water and had to draw from the well. A lot of the list has to do with where you grew up as well.

Not everything was better but growing up in those times definately set my view of what is important.
 

LeeR

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2010
Messages
630
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
38. If it had that little gold sticker that read "Made in Japan", it was junk.

I remember those stickers, and how you felt when you saw it (like the crap with the same stickers that now say "Made in China" ...).

Now the object would be prized -- soemthign made somewhere other than China.

I recently set up a retro stereo system in my study, with my 70's receiver and turntable. I found them boxed in my basement, and had to admire the the boxes they came in. They said "Made in Japan" in huge letters -- no apologies for these. These were very high quality white, glossy cardboard boxes, with internal stiffening, not the cheap boxes you see today from China, that seem to be made of pressed sawdust.

I am not sure what is made in Japan anymore, I think all of our electronics come from China. About the only Japanese products I can think of are cars, and I guess at least some of those are built here now.

Final note -- my speakers are vintage Klipsch KG4s from the mid-80s. Made in America. Wow, do they sound great. :)
 
Top Bottom