[CarolSells]

"Believe it or not, even though we were raised in Jersey, when we'd go to "call on our friends" to come out and play......we'd stand outside their homes and yell "Yo Carol" or "Yo Johnny"......whatever their name was." (Posted by SeniorCitizen in 3 word sentence thread)

We did that in my neighborhood where I grew up in Cincinnati! 'Cept we said, "Oh Carol". As children we very rarely used the telephone. Of course, we did sneak in the occasional prank call. My dad had us call the zoo on April Fools Day morning to ask for Mr. Bear. I can still see him laughing about that! The zoo people were really kind about it even tho they obviously fielded a million of those calls!

Kids went home for dinner when the church bells chimed 5 or 6 o'clock and had to check in when the street lights went on. We had such fun playing outside in those days. Worst punishment in the world was to be grounded. My mother soon figured out that was just as bad on her as it was us!

[chuckinca]

Pretty much the same in Chicago and burbs in the 50's and 60's.

Hardly ever used the phone when I was a kid or teen.

.

[asianthree]

after dinner flashlight tag the streets in Ky were the best, we didn't use phone either cause you picked it up and elenor had to ring the house for you and always knew what you said LOL

[ugotme]

WOW !
When I think (that far) back - IT HURTS !
On the streets of Brooklyn, during the summer especially, stick-ball ALL Day! Only a break between games to get an egg cream or lunch. Iron tag, Skullsy, King, Ring-a-levio, punch ball. I could go on and on.
BUT, when my father whistled (and we could hear him for what seemed like miles) my brother and I came running home ! LOL
sorry - Just reminiscing!

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by ugotme

WOW !
When I think (that far) back - IT HURTS !
On the streets of Brooklyn, during the summer especially, stick-ball ALL Day! Only a break between games to get an egg cream or lunch. Iron tag, Skullsy, King, Ring-a-levio, punch ball. I could go on and on.
BUT, when my father whistled (and we could hear him for what seemed like miles) my brother and I came running home ! LOL
sorry - Just reminiscing!

A spaulding ball is all you needed.

Mothers would call out your name from windows for you to come to dinner.

You would go outside to play all day.

[JAV0108]

Kick the can after dark was our favorite thing to do. My parents never worried about us. Wouldn't it be nice if it was still that safe? I relish the wonderful memories and all the new ones to come with the grandkids.

[justjim]

After supper in the summer, in a small town of 4,500 in Southern Illinois we would choose up sides and play CHALK RABBIT. With 4 or 5 kids on a team, we would draw straws to see who would get to be the rabbit first. The rabbits got a five minute head start. You run down to the corner and draw an arrow with chalk on the sidewalk to tell which direction you ran. You did this at the end of each block. Finally, you would draw on the sidewalk four arrows in each direction and hide somewhere within that block. Sometimes we played with water guns and would hide in strategic places to eliminate the hunters. We played until dark and ran all over town. Simple game and lots of fun.

[msendo]

I grew up in Queens, NY. We would "call for" our friends, never using the phone, of course. Also, we never played in anyone's house. We hung out on our block and usually on a favorite stoop. Other games we played was I Declare War (bouncing a Spaulding or Pennsie Pinky ball in a chalk drawn circle, Johnny on a Pony, and Running Bases. We also would go in the house for supper when we hears the church bells. My mother wanted us in at night when she would turn the stoop light on and off. In the winter when all the snow was piled high by a snow plow, we would play King of the Hill. Usually, the popular strong kid was on top of the snow pile and would try and stop the others from reaching the top by throwing them down the hill. Anyone ever get a pink belly?

[Geewiz]

Flashlight tag each night during the summer. Truth or dare. Going down to the lake to watch the sun rise.