[Graytop]

My brother from Ohio and I were e-mailing,.. remembering how different things were when we were growing up....he wrote this note to me....


When :

Half of the roads in Ohio were gravel and clay.

If you owned a TV you were one of the privileged elite.

If you wanted to use the phone you had to check the line to see if the
neighbors were finished talking yet.

The Health department didn’t concern themselves with shutting down
church and fire department ice cream socials because a fly was spotted on one of the pies.

Also the Health inspector was on the Church council, the town council and the volunteer fire department.
( When was the last time you heard of an all volunteer fire department?)

If you wanted to buy meat at the local grocery it had to be Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday.

If you were disobedient at school the principal and or teacher would whip you before you went home to see what your mom and dad were going to require of you.

On the other hand if a boy brought a shotgun to school no body panicked because he probably was hunting before school and planned
to go out again after school, or else the shotgun his grandfather gave him needed re-blued and the shop teacher had promised to help him blue
it and refinish the stock. The principal might sight down the barrel and reminisce about the .22 his grandpa gave him When he was 8,
and then compliment the young man on his shotgun, where after it went back into the pick-up truck without any other special notice taken.

Mom’s roasted everything for a couple of hours before you could chew it because all the chickens were free range,..all the beef was grass fed and game meat wasn’t much tougher than what was being raised on the farms then.

More than half of the dad’s in town suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome from WW II or Korea, but nobody knew what PTSD was back then.

People tolerated Hobos and gave them work and meals because they were usually just men who never quite adjusted to normal life after the war.
Everyone knew it, and understood it and just treated them as members of the community.

The oak floor boards in the hardware, grocery, barber shop, post office, and millinery creaked a comforting kind of creak when anyone came it.
Noone knew when or if those oak floor boards were finished. Hard tellin’ from looks. If this recession lasts long enough we may get back there.

The local Willys mechanic used a block and tackle hung from an apple tree for an engine hoist.

The local banker would tell you how much you had to save up before he’d loan you the balance for a new car. Used cars you could usually just pay cash for.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by Graytop

.......
If you were disobedient at school the principal and or teacher would whip you before you went home to see what your mom and dad were going to require of you.
.......

Ah yes - fond memories of my school days...............

Bill

[CaptJohn]

Graytop,
That's pretty much how I remember it too. Thanks.
Many pickups in high school had rifles or shotguns in the rack in plain sight behind the driver.
Often the trucks weren't locked and nobody stole anything.
We certainly have lost a lot in the trade for fun gadgets!
Oh, and we had a Willis station wagon too!
New memory: my 6th grade teacher had a closet in his classroom full of antique weapons he used for show and tell.
I specifically remember the blunderbuss and civil war musket plus sword.
How will we ever get that innocence back?

[rubicon]

I remeber most of that and also being stuck with the chore of plucking the chickens...

[l2ridehd]

I remember way to much of that. And we used to carry guns to school lots of times. Would leave them in the car so you could go hunting after school. After all that was how we had meat a lot of the time. And I used to milk 3 cows before school and my brother did it after school.

[Bobbie416]

I remember being able to play outside all day without adult supervision. I remember leaving the front door open if we were just going out for a few hours. I remember walking or riding my bicycle to friends' houses or the park. I remember sleeping on the front screened in porch in hot weather. I remember being able to play ball on some streets. However, I also remember air raid drills. Do you think crouching under our desks at school would really protect us? I also remember polio scares. I think there are a few things that have changed for the better, although the older life style was much more relaxed and enjoyable. Unless I just feel that way because I was a kid then.

[Graytop]

Originally Posted by Bobbie416

I remember being able to play outside all day without adult supervision. I remember leaving the front door open if we were just going out for a few hours. I remember walking or riding my bicycle to friends' houses or the park. I remember sleeping on the front screened in porch in hot weather. I remember being able to play ball on some streets. However, I also remember air raid drills. Do you think crouching under our desks at school would really protect us? I also remember polio scares. I think there are a few things that have changed for the better, although the older life style was much more relaxed and enjoyable. Unless I just feel that way because I was a kid then.

Oh, ...I agree with you about some things changing for the better. I told my brother,...those times weren't all good but there was definitely something wholesome from that era that's just been lost....

[2BNTV]

I remember being outside in the streets playing ball and not having to worry about being aducted. The neighborhoods being a safe place to be out late.
I remember people could play jokes on other people with no serious ramifications.

Being a city slicker, the only person that carried a gun was the local policeman. Remember, the cop who was assigned to your neighborhood? I remember that people were less stressed out after WWII and wanted to have fun. A strong sense of community and being respectful of your friends and neighbors.

Maybe, it was because I was a kid and had no responsibilties yet, except to grow up to be a decent human being and stay healthy.

A time fondly remembered.