What's your "long ago" story?

We had rotary phones too, with exchange numbers MU1-1864. Grandma's phone had a cloth cord and was heavy enough to use as a doorstop. You could hear the person on the other end across the room - LOL!

I loved spending summers and holidays with my Grandmother. I think she only rec'd 3 channels. Watching Red Skeleton, Lawrence Welk, I Love Lucy...
Sleeping in the bed with flannel sheets during winter, piled with homemade quilts and blankets. She had a quilting frame that hung from her ceiling, all the ladies had quilting bees. So many of her quilts have scraps from dresses she made me when I was little.
In the summer we'd sleep under ironed cotton sheets and her chenille spread. Her floor was covered in linoleum with a cabbage rose design.

When I learned to drive it was in a Rambler with standard shift on the column and no power steering - talk about building your arm muscles!!

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Vickie

I'm only mid-40's, but I do remember some of the things others mention. The milk man leaving milk in the metal milk box by the back door (had a big red check mark on it). If you wanted ice cream you had to let him know in advance so he could bring it the next time. I believe he came twice a week. Then there was the bread man and he would either ask my mother what she wanted or maybe she filled out a little card, I don't quite remember, but he would go to his truck and bring back her order. Coal deliveries were extremely noisy.

Also remember some candies were two for a penny. My grandparents and parents had a black rotary phone on the kitchen wall, and the handset hung from the hook on the front of the phone, above the dialer thing. My grandmother's number was Rock Glen 035. I also remember my grandparents getting a window air conditioner, and it was a massive thing, took up the entire bottom of the dining room window. It put forth a gale that would make your hair stand straight out, and was so loud you couldn't hear a thing if you were within about 8 ft. of it. We did not have air conditioning for many years, even in deep east Texas. We lived with a creaky, creepy belt-driven attic fan which made the house creak and sucked mosquitos in like crazy. We finally got a couple of window air conditioners, and life was good.

Grandparents house had push-button light switches. Push the top button in to turn the lights on, push the bottom one in to turn them off. Had a round brass 'door bell' on their door, mounted in the center just below the glass, and it had a key on it you'd turn to make the bell ring. Sounded like a big bicycle bell.

My dh loves to build old cars and pickups, so I am lucky to be able to jump in an early 60's model pickup with side vents (or whatever y'all call them) in the windows. One has a column shift, which really confuses young people because many of them have never even seen a column shift. And on the '49 Ford sedan, the pedals come up out of the floor, which amazes the youngsters even more.

South Mountain Creamery delivers in our area. They have milk, ice cream, yogurt, ect but since we have 2 Jersey cows, we don't need it.

I remember going out to eat, someone already mentioned this but where we went,they attached trays to the side of your car and the waitress came out and put your dinner on the tray.
One time, my older brother was standing behind my father's seat, there was plenty of room in those old cars, and after he drank his milkshake, he told my parents, "I don't feel so good." Then he proceeded to puke up his shake all down the back of my dad's shirt.
Daddy started that car up, put it in gear and took off for home with the tray still attached. As soon as he got there, he jumped into the shower, clothes and all. He never could stand dirty diapers, puke and any other stuff kids have plenty of.

I had one grandparent I remembered, my mom's mom. She was widowed when my mom was 7 years old. My granddad was struck and killed by lightening as he stood by the kitchen window and watched a storm come in.

Anyways, my grandmother came to stay with us for a few weeks when I was about 5. I remember she was a frail little woman that dipped snuff and had a metal coffee can as her spitoon. Other than that, she was the cleanest woman I'd ever been around and her dress was always a polished cotton print and she wore a matching apron over the top of it.

Her hair is what fascinated me. It was down to the floor but she had an intricate braiding that she did on it everyday to wear as a big knot on her little head. She was very touchy but she allowed me to comb her hair a few times. At 5 yrs old, I was still pretty bald with a few blonde patches here and there on the top of my head. So looking at that much hair on one person's head was a humbling experience for me. I really cried when she left to go back home. I still hadn't learned how to make that braid.

After she left I was trying to use the mule's tail to practice braiding, but that didn't work so well for the mule or me.

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There are endless combinations of truth.

Very neat story. You dad must of been our milkman when I was a kid. Like most kids of the 50s and 60s, we'd play outside from dawn til dusk. On hot summer days we'd beg the milkman for some ice - yes, milk trucks were cooled with ice, not with refrigeration - and he'd always give a a chunk or two to suck on....really nice guy. Did he drive for Dairy Fresh? We have at our place a half dozen vintage Dairy Fresh wooden milk crates.

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This is the government the Founding Fathers warned us about.....

When I was 14, the "tobacco money" was what bought any Christmas presents we got. And, my DOD asked me & my brother which we'd rather have, a TV or a power mower.
We had a huge yard to mow, on the farm.....So, we chose the power mower. That was in 1954........We got the TV for Christmas the next year.

When I left Home, at 19, to go to the USAF, we still didn't have running water in the house. Any showers I got were from a bucket of water, or at school, after gym, or basketball practice.
I think it wasn't until the late '60's or so when they had a basement dug & poured, and put I-beams across it. They bought a big double wide or modular, I guess. DOM had said she was really tired of that out-house.
And, that's my "Long Ago Story".

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Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

Well, grew up in a different country but lots of the same memories.Our phone was connected to the operator, no dial. We told her our number and what number we wanted to call and she would connect us. We also had a party line with a neighbor. Actually, when we moved into this place in 1979 we had a 5 party line. There was at least one teen and sometimes more in each home. The kids would race home from the school bus stop to see who could get the phone first. We didn't have a t.v. until I was 12 and it was a black and white with 2 channels. It was on only from 4p.m. until 11 p.m. They always finished the days broadcast by playing "God save the Queen". Our milkman had a pony and cart as did the coalman and the man that delivered fruit and veg. The veg. man had a big horse and cart. Us kids would meet him at the end of the road and he'd let us ride on the cart until he got to our house. Every Saturday morning we'd go to the theater for the childrens matinee. We'd see a cartoon, a news reel, the weekly episode of a seriel and then the main film. That was usually a cowboy film or space film. Sometimes it was Laural and Hardy or Shirley Temple. The noise was incredible! We used to go off for hours with our friends too. As long as we were back by dark, noone seemed to worry about us. We spent a lot of time on the beach and in the woods playing made up games and making 'dens'. We never had a bunch of toys, having a bike was the most impotant thing. The kids that didn't have one would ride with someone else. Not much traffic then . We did have a bathroom but my grandma didn't. When we stayed with her we took a bath in a tin tub in front of the kitchen range. I loved it, it was nice and warm. Our bathroom was freezing cold. No central heating back then.

Dad worked for Northland. Among others, he had the Lake of the Isles route. During the 60s he told me that on occasion, nude sunbathers could be seen. He had one of the newfangled trucks cooled with ammonia. He would hook it up to a pipeline at night and it would stay cool all day. His truck had 2 brake pedals and 2 clutches and could be driven seated, or standing up. It had a seat that would swing to the side for driving while standing. It was easier to drive standing up on short hops between houses.

My Grand dad on my moms side also delivered milk for Northland. For most of his career he was a true teamster, driving his route with a team of horses.

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Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

Wizard of Oz came on TV once a year and if you missed it you had to wait a whole year to see it.
No power windows
Station wagons
Looking for unleaded gas when my parents got a newfangled car
Attaching the tallest stalk of corn to the bag of the wagon so others could be impressed

I remember the first time I saw the Wizard of Oz at our cousins house and I didn't even know that it was in color when she went over the rainbow. I'd seen it on black and white TV only before that.

And that picture of the hay wagon could have been my grandfathers. When I was 7 they put me up on the tractor and told me where to drive. I didn't have older brothers, so I got the job. After the haying was done for the day us kids went swimming in the farm pond.

Rosemary

LOL,you must be about the age of my two sons.I remember them watching it on tv twice in two years.That is till my smarty pants wife went out and bought a dang VCR and we was watching it every other night for the next 4 or 5 years.

Up until a few years ago,I knew how many steps it was from Munchkin land to OZ.I started dreaming about flying houses,witches,and flying monkeys.

I got so aggravated,I went and bought a coon dog and started coon hunting every night. Just kidding about the "steps"and dreaming,but them young uns wore that vcr slam out playing that recorded tape.:smiley-laughing013:Well they finally grew up and left the nest,I quit coon hunting and it was just me and Bopeep.

Finally I could see the weatherman and the news again,thank goodness.About the time I was really enjoying married life and watching some tv that interested me again,them two sons and their wives started rolling out grand babies to beat the band.Seven so far, and one more on the way.

As soon as the first one got big enough to watch tv,this woman around here I call my wife,up and went to Walmart and bought the tape "Finding Nemo"and its been on ever sense.The only time the TV ever cools off,is when the current goes off..Even then they are sitting there telling us whats gunna happen next,when the current is restored.They have it memorised,they know every one of those under water creatures names.You know,the swimps,clams,crabs and sharks.

The only way to get the attention of them grand kids,is to get between them and the gol durn TV, and even then they try to watch it between your legs, or lean over and look around you.

I told her if that tape ever wore out or broke, and she went and bought another one,she better have a coondog in the boot, or if she drove the truck it better be in the back

Somebody please help me out,if you ain't got a coondog forsale,do you know anybody that does?And one thats real slow is a plus.I don't need to spend my last few twilight years in a dead run every night through the woods,but if its hunting running, or setting home watching "Nemo",I'll find my running shoes.

PS,I hope You all know I'm stretching the truth.Its all true,just stretched a tad here and yonder.Oh,Bopeep and them Grandkids ain't the aggravating rascals I made them out to be,if they were, I would not thank God every day,for letting them be a part of my life.A true blessing I do not deserve,but a blessing God knew I needed.Thank You Lord...eb

Heres one more in remembrance.Any of you young whippersnappers remember setting in front of a radio and listening to this???

OUVickie, I can't believe you said that! Everybody knows it had power steering... It took lots of power to steer it!!

I always tell my kids about this- they can't even imagine not being able to watch whatever whenever. All of those specials on TV were truly special to us- the Christmas shows (Charlie Brown, Rudolph, Miracle on 34th Street), Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life...Gone With the Wind!! And now with DVR and VCR and DVD there aren't even commercials. We just pause the movie and wait while someone has to leave the room. It used to be that a commercial break was a mad rush for the bathroom, no dawdling, you only had 2 or 3 minutes to get back before the show was on!!

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Leah

I remember in the very early days of phones you could click call people by quickly clicking up and down the receiver holder. I'm sure that's why they changed to dialtone instead of the clicking sound.

The thing I miss most about "back then" was the safety of everything. You never worried about your kids/grandkids playing at the park alone, riding bikes all day through the neighborhoods. You never felt afraid to go to the "big city" at night and go into any establishment or any neighborhood.

I even remember back when the people of color-- any nationality-- lived at the edge of town and were not allowed in the city at night. Sad. Back then you were never afraid to go to the outskirts of town where they lived. Nice people, who deserved the same rights as any American citizen. But instead of those same rights, there were signs that said "Any N-word caught in town after dark will be hung in city square pavilion". Now, I never saw anyone ever hung in any town, but the signs were still up in the late 50s and even early 60s. And back then racism wasn't limited to people of color, Asians were disliked, Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans..... Anyone who wasn't lily white seemed to be not good enough for the mores of many people back before the 70s or so. It was a very unfair time to anyone who didn't fit the desires of society back before those times.

My Dad sold watermelons and muskmelons in the summer on the square, and every once in a while he would take the extras out to the outskirts of town and give them to the people. I know that sounds kind of racist, but they were so kind and thankful about it, and didn't see it that way. There was one older lady there who wouldn't take them for free, she would always give me a dime. I was a super-fat little blond kid, and she would always call me "dumpling".

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Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

LOL!! no doubt!!

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Vickie

Dumpling...... That's your new name here now....

__________________
Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

I am not sure if was safer back then, or you just didn't hear about bad things that happened.

I know when I was 9-10 years old, I would wander the neighborhood, walk to the store or the mall, play all day out in the fields and orchards, and not be home until dinnertime. Often times I wandered alone all day long.

Nowadays, if someone let their 10 year old daughter wander around town by herself, they'd probably call the authorities on the parents. As I mentioned before, I had strangers offering me rides more than once. I was smart enough not to take those offers, but since I was alone, it would have been very easy for some creep to pull me into his car. I think I was just lucky.

But back then, even when bad things did happen, it wasn't made as big a deal of. A guy I know told me a story of when he was a kid back in the 1960's; he went to the store alone and some guy grabbed him, took him off in his car and molested him. The authorities were called, they found them, took the man away in handcuffs and returned my friend to his parents. Their attitude was that now that the bad man had been taken off the streets, it was safe to let their kids wander around by themselves, and my friend continued to go to the store by himself, and wander around at will.

I think it's sad that kids aren't allowed to wander and play outside anymore, but if I had a kid, I certainly wouldn't allow it!