[senior citizen]

Who remembers being a "kid" in the 1950's, etc. when the sales clerks , men & women, would tally up the purchases on a piece of paper, without the help of a calculator, cash register, or computer?

I distinctly remember the two Jewish deli's on our "avenue" where the owners would tally up the purchases on the exterior of a brown paper bag.....with your items inside. Math whizzes. They'd also give us a free pickle out of the barrel.

Do kids today even get to run errands for their mothers?

We always would run down our long block on some errand for our parents, either bringing something to the tailor's shop, picking up something at the bakery, etc., etc.........all of my little girlfriends would have to take their mom's "orders" to the butcher shop.......whereas my mom bought her meat at the A&P supermarket every Friday when she got out of work.......& my brother & I would fight over who was going to pull her shopping cart back home.........imagine all of our groceries for the week in a shopping cart.....the type you pull ............

Who remembers going to the corner shoemaker shop to get a "free" shoe heel in order to play hopscotch all day long on the sidewalks we marked with chalk????

Or, jump rope with all of our friends.........actually, other than the rural kids, one rarely sees children playing outdoors anymore..........mostly it's "play dates" whereby the moms or dads pick up the children for some planned activity......

Who remembers catching fireflies in mason jars on a hot summer night?????

We did that with our own little ones..........they were happy to stay up in the dark as I recall.

How many of you guys remember going to the JUNKYARD to get parts for your bikes? My husband does. He actually built his own two wheeler out of parts from the junkyard..........I never had a bike as my mom was afraid that my younger brother & I would get a concussion like my older brother who suffered a fractured skull while riding his bike........unfortunate for us. But we roller skated on the slate sidewalks all the time............we took our kids' training wheels off of their two wheelers at about age 5.......& they still bike/cycle.......on country roads.....at ages 43/46......with their children, either in the baby seats or riding along on their bikes, as a family unit.

We may not have had as many consumer type toys as the kids of today, but we sure have wonderful memories of growing up in the 1950's.....coming of age in the '60s.

Please share your own memories..........always fun to read....

[Taltarzac725]

Firefly.org | Firefly & Lightning Bug Facts, Pictures, Information About Firefly Insect Disappearance

I remember catching fireflies in Wisconsin and Illinois in the 60s. I do not remember any of these in Arizona nor in Nevada.

Jean P., one of the girls next door in Menomonee Falls, WI I had caught fireflies with actually turned up in Denver when I was at the University of Denver Graduate School of Librarianship and Information Management in 1983-1984. She had moved there after a divorce and wanted to be a librarian so we got together (not as much as I wanted though) once in a while around Denver.

She eventually returned to Wisconsin, got a MA in Librarianship, worked in a MA library, and married a lawyer.

Not on my Facebook page yet though.

[billethkid]

I remember the discipline at home and in the schools.....a firm hand or a paddle kept us in line.

Playing outside and being gone all day doing it.

The above are two extinct activities......UNFORTUNATELY!!!!

[Happinow]

I remember walking about 2 miles to the local lake to swim on a hot day. There was a little restaurant on the lake and I would get a hot dog and chips for lunch. All back roads.....didn't have to worry about being abducted. Those were the days.

[Nightengale212]

I grew up in a small town in R.I. where I still live which had a significant number of Italian immigrants from the Foggia province of Italy which included my maternal grandparents. My grandmother (Nonni) was queen of the triple decker apartment complex where my grandparents lived their entire lives and all morning long there would be a parade of visitors. These visitors which included in addition to friends and family, the fish man, the fruit and vegetable man which us bad kids called Papa Garbage, the bread man, the milk man, the rag man, the curtain man, and even a soda/pop man. These visitors knew better than to come to Nonni's when she was watching her "stories" from 1-3pm!! Since Nonni was my babysitter, I got to watch the "stories" with her and think I knew the names of all the characters on Days of Our Lives and Another World long before I knew my ABC's

Even though I am a Nonni myself now, there is not a day that does by that I don't think of and miss my beloved Nonni.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I think that one of the factors contributing to this difference is the way that communities have been set up today. They have spread out way beyond town centers and a car is needed for almost everything.

I remember many times walking with my mother or father to the grocery store of other business down to Broadway, the main business area of my hometown.

When had my own family we lived in places where it was virtually impossible to walk to the Main Street area. Houses were 50 yards apart, set back 40 yards from the street and we had no sidewalks. The closest shopping area, which was a strip mall, was three and a half miles away. You's have to walk three and a half miles along a road where the speed limit is 45mph and there are no sidewalks.

The other thing that happened was the introduction of shopping centers and malls. Malls killed downtown areas.

Most communities had a downtown area where most of the people did their shopping. Many people in these communities could walk to these districts. These areas have been decimated by malls. Business in downtown areas have either closed up or have moved into the mall. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Of course almost everyone goes to the mall in their car. And of course most malls are filled with impersonal chain stores. Unless you live in a big city, there are very few Mom and Pop stores in your area.

[Sable99]

I don't have quite the same memories.

I grew up on a farm and our neighbors were about a quarter mile away. There were other kids in the area that we got to visit with our bikes. My alarm clock was usually the sound of the John Deere tractor in a nearby field very early in the morning.

I went to school in in Britton which was the closest village and probably 8 miles away. The village didn't have 1,000 people and my graduating class was 49!! At that time, it was the biggest class ever!!

We always got groceries and other supplies in Adrain which was about 15 miles away! So, we had to take the car. Mom and I live in Adrian now which has about 25,000 residents. (Imagine my shocker when I moved home after living in the Washington, DC area for 26 years!)

We had fun though. We had a huge side yard. In the summer, all the neighborhood kids came to play baseball in our yard. We didn't have enough for two teams so we took turns. Our cocker spaniel was our outfielder!! In the winter, Dad flooded the yard so all the kids could ice skate in our yard.

Britton is still small. So small that they consolidated our school with our arch rival! How sad!

[OldManTime]

You ignite my fond memories to the point of shedding tears, when thinking growing up in the 40's and 50's
Thanks

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Nightengale212

I grew up in a small town in R.I. where I still live which had a significant number of Italian immigrants from the Foggia province of Italy which included my maternal grandparents. My grandmother (Nonni) was queen of the triple decker apartment complex where my grandparents lived their entire lives and all morning long there would be a parade of visitors. These visitors which included in addition to friends and family, the fish man, the fruit and vegetable man which us bad kids called Papa Garbage, the bread man, the milk man, the rag man, the curtain man, and even a soda/pop man. These visitors knew better than to come to Nonni's when she was watching her "stories" from 1-3pm!! Since Nonni was my babysitter, I got to watch the "stories" with her and think I knew the names of all the characters on Days of Our Lives and Another World long before I knew my ABC's

Even though I am a Nonni myself now, there is not a day that does by that I don't think of and miss my beloved Nonni.

nightengale: My grandfather was from Foggia. I'll bet my grandfather knew your grandfather

[FlamingoFlo]

Oxoboxo Lake in CT. Summer friends. Swimming, boating, skiing all day. Kick the can or michigan rummy at night followed by a late night swim. Lots of kids all playing outside together all summer. Walks to the store for penny candy that actually cost a penny. The
arrival of the bread man and the daily visits of the ice cream man. Picking blueberries with grandma and the wonderful things she would bake. Playing pinochle with my grandfather and his friends. Catching worms using dry mustard mixed with water and pouring it down their holes, then selling them to fishermen for a penny each or going fishing ourselves. So many wonderful memories.

[Nightengale212]

Originally Posted by rubicon

nightengale: My grandfather was from Foggia. I'll bet my grandfather knew your grandfather

rubicon, they probably did over in "the old country". Unfortunately I did not know my Nonno as he died when I was 8 months old Fortunately I do remember Nonno's mother who passed away when I was around 6, and also Nonni's mother who lived with her in her later years that passed away around the same time.

Sad to say when all these women passed away my ability to speak Italian fluently passed away with them. Funny, my 85 year old mother-in-law who is zero Italian and 1/2 Cherokee from NC still can speak pretty fluent Italian as she learned the language from my husband's grandparents who lived with them and spoke no English. Picture an 85 year old Cher minus the botox speaking Italian with a Paula Deen accent and that is my mother-in-law

[Lauren Sweeny]

I believe every neighborhood had " a mean lady or man" on the block. You know the one who would always yell at kids if they stepped on the grass. This same meany would keep your baseball if it landed in their yard. No light on the porch, no candy for Halloween. Parents just gave excuses as to why this neighbor was a recluse and un friendly. Now that I think of it , that person was probably a nice senior who wanted peace and quite but did not want to move away from their comfy home. Or just disliked noisy obnoxious kids!

[PR1234]

One of my fondest memories of growing up in the 50's, was every summer the 'Bookmobile' would come to our neighborhood. This introvert lived for that!

[karostay]

From Memorial day Weekend till labor day weekend there was a neighbor hood pot luck picnic on Sunday after church weather permitting.
Our neighbor had 50 acres and carved out a picnic grove in the woods.
10 to 20 families would show up the children boys girls would play ball,horse shoes and volley ball in the field or swim in the nearby brook and the adults would play various card games scrabble just chit chat.
Summers were such a joy

[Bill Tasker]

I experienced most of these things. I remember looking forward to the "Weekly Reader" and the long walks to school in all kinds of weather. Playing outside using our imaginations, .50 cent movies, the milkman, the fullerbrush man, gardening and canning our rewards. The TV signing off at night, partyline telephones, penny candy, 10 cent sodas, the first Gino's, after school dances, 45 records, and long play albums, cars with fins, acer racers, school carnivals, dinners at home, Shock Theater.