Simpler times ... perhaps not ...

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They got several of those wrong. I'm not telling which ones though. They left out a few REALLY big ones, too. :) I never saw any of that stuff. I'm MUCH too young. I've never even HEARD of the 50s. What is it anyway, some kind of computer game? ;)



-Irish
 
Dimlee said:
The grass was much greener. I swear.
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I often wonder about that. My parents lived through WWII in which two uncles were killed at 18 and 19YO. Could not have been a fun time. In the 50s Dad was trying to make a living and playing in a band every weekend. Mom had an office Job and we lived with my Gparents. Gma had spinal cancer was in terrible pain living on morphine. I was 5 when she died. Not much fun yet. When I was 6 Mom and Dad finally managed to get a massive $10,500 loan to buy a house. It was out in BooFoo and the house had only electricity and water. Heat and cooking were via a cast iron fuel oil stove in the kitchen. Wonder if they were having fun? Me, I was happy a a pig in shit...woods, forest, streams, ponds, horses...which at 6YO was to young to have to do much work. Vacations were at a "resort" owned by a friend of Dads. A clap-board shack, bare single bulb lights hanging from the ceiling, no air, no heat, no toilet, and a two burner propane stand to cook on. Mom had Gma to help but Dad had to work. We took a greyhound to get to the nearest town and had to walk 10mi unless a kind soul gave us a ride (one car, Mom didn't drive). Wonder how much fun they were having...Me...I had everything, a row boat with a 2hp outboard, a fishing pole and all the worms I could dig.
I often wonder now how simple Mom and Dad thought life was...back then?
 
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mikewint said:
I often wonder about that. My parents lived through WWII in which two uncles were killed at 18 and 19YO. Could not have been a fun time. In the 50s Dad was trying to make a living and playing in a band every weekend. Mom had an office Job and we lived with my Gparents. Gma had spinal cancer was in terrible pain living on morphine. I was 5 when she died. Not much fun yet. When I was 6 Mom and Dad finally managed to get a massive $10,500 loan to buy a house. It was out in BooFoo and the house had only electricity and water. Heat and cooking were via a cast iron fuel oil stove in the kitchen. Wonder if they were having fun? Me, I was happy a a pig in shit...woods, forest, streams, ponds, horses...which at 6YO was to young to have to do much work. Vacations were at a "resort" owned by a friend of Dads. A clap-board shack, bare single bulb lights hanging from the ceiling, no air, no heat, no toilet, and a two burner propane stand to cook on. Mom had Gma to help but Dad had to work. We took a greyhound to get to the nearest town and had to walk 10mi unless a kind soul gave us a ride (one car, Mom didn't drive). Wonder how much fun they were having...Me...I had everything, a row boat with a 2hp outboard, a fishing pole and all the worms I could dig.
I often wonder now how simple Mom and Dad thought life was...back then?
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That does sound like a tough go of it. Wish they could have had an experience more like mine. Times were pretty good in the 70s and 80s for me........except for the first wife......... but that had nothing to do with the times. Just poor first wife selection on my part.:)
 
Lord that brings back early childhood memories! The Quarters are wrong being 1965 dates. I didn't experience indoor plumbing until I was 7 years old. In rural North Carolina we had an outhouse and if you wanted water, you had to prime a hand pump on the front and only porch. Hot watrer was a luxury since it had to be heated in a pan on the stove and a bath was in the wash tub. Kids today think they have it rough if they have to go without all of the technology. H*ll we had to go down the road just to make a phone call since we didn't have one of those. As much as I love my internet and computer, unlike these little pansies of today, I would still be able to survive without it. Bored, yes but still able to find my own entertainment.
 
michael rauls said:
Just poor first wife selection on my part
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In the words of my sainted grandmother: Wenn der Putz steht, der Geist fliegt

We suffered illnesses that children do not suffer today. The only inoculation from a doctor was for Smallpox and I still have the scar on my shoulder. As a young child I had Chicken Pox, Mumps, and Measles mostly because Mom took me to visit any child who came down with these before me. She knew that these diseases were much less severe if you had them as a child than as an adult and afterward you'd be immune.

Homes did not have air-conditioning, or even gas or electric furnaces for that matter. Grandpa's big house had a coal furnace octopus and I can still hear the coal truck dumping tons of coal into his coal bin. We had a refrigerator but Grandpa kept his ice box until the ice company went out of business. There were no home freezers, microwaves, dishwashers, dryers (Mom had a roll-out washer that attached to the kitchen sink), televisions (I was 5YO when we got out first), CD or DVD players, touch-tone phones (no dial either just a hand set and a 10-person party-line, we were 2-shorts & a long, just tell the operator who you wanted to talk to) or cell phones, electronic games, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, portable radios or computers.

More than one car in a family was a rarity. There were no school buses; we walked to and from school. We walked to the store and lugged grocery bags home. Movies were a real treat as was their "Refrigerated Air" in the summer. Matinees were 5 cents and they dropped me off so they could shop in peace. At around the age of ten, we stood at the edge of the road, stuck our thumb out, and hitch-hiked or, if we owned one, we rode a bike.

Most yards didn't have fences. Most people did not lock their car doors or the doors to their homes.

At school, home, or even at a neighbor's house, if you misbehaved you likely got spanked on the seat of your pants. If you acted up in school, you got spanked. If you continued to act up, your parents had to come to school and then you really got it, another spanking, no supper, and grounded.

Our playgrounds were vast and varied: fields, swamps, woods, backyards, parking lots and streets; all safe to play in, day or night. Our games were simple, baseball mostly in a field we made ourselves, the only equipment required was a tin can; two sticks and two rags; a flashlight; a ball, any kind of a ball; our feet; or a little snow—no money required; just imagination.

We had drive-in theaters. We didn't have fast-food places (I was in high school before 15 cent McDonalds came to town); but we did have soda fountains, candy stores, ice cream parlors, and ice chests full of cold soda pop at every gas station. We didn't have big-box stores, but we had five-and-dimes like Woolworths and Kresges which all had Lunch Counters where good boys who kept their hands in their pockets were treated to lunch.

When we played, we, not adults, determined the game to be played; picked the playing venue; established the rules; chose the teams; refereed the game; and kept the score. We played not to win or lose; but to have fun. And we played almost every day—snow, rain or shine; sweltering hot or freezing cold—from the time school let out until it was time for bed, breaking only when we had to do homework or eat dinner.

We had incredible freedom to choose how we would spend our days because there were two worlds: the adult one and the kid's one which adults stayed out of and God help you if they had to intervene. We had the latitude to try new things, to take chances, to make mistakes and, sometimes, bad choices, and to learn from these experiences, good and bad.
 
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mikewint said:
In the words of my sainted grandmother: Wenn der Putz steht, der Geist fliegt

We suffered illnesses that children do not suffer today. The only inoculation from a doctor was for Smallpox and I still have the scar on my shoulder. As a young child I had Chicken Pox, Mumps, and Measles mostly because Mom took me to visit any child who came down with these before me. She knew that these diseases were much less severe if you had them as a child than as an adult and afterward you'd be immune.

Homes did not have air-conditioning, or even gas or electric furnaces for that matter. Grandpa's big house had a coal furnace octopus and I can still hear the coal truck dumping tons of coal into his coal bin. We had a refrigerator but Grandpa kept his ice box until the ice company went out of business. There were no home freezers, microwaves, dishwashers, dryers (Mom had a roll-out washer that attached to the kitchen sink), televisions (I was 5YO when we got out first), CD or DVD players, touch-tone phones (no dial either just a hand set and a 10-person party-line, we were 2-shorts & a long, just tell the operator who you wanted to talk to) or cell phones, electronic games, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, portable radios or computers.

More than one car in a family was a rarity. There were no school buses; we walked to and from school. We walked to the store and lugged grocery bags home. Movies were a real treat as was their "Refrigerated Air" in the summer. Matinees were 5 cents and they dropped me off so they could shop in peace. At around the age of ten, we stood at the edge of the road, stuck our thumb out, and hitch-hiked or, if we owned one, we rode a bike.

Most yards didn't have fences. Most people did not lock their car doors or the doors to their homes.

At school, home, or even at a neighbor's house, if you misbehaved you likely got spanked on the seat of your pants. If you acted up in school, you got spanked. If you continued to act up, your parents had to come to school and then you really got it, another spanking, no supper, and grounded.

Our playgrounds were vast and varied: fields, swamps, woods, backyards, parking lots and streets; all safe to play in, day or night. Our games were simple, baseball mostly in a field we made ourselves, the only equipment required was a tin can; two sticks and two rags; a flashlight; a ball, any kind of a ball; our feet; or a little snow—no money required; just imagination.

We had drive-in theaters. We didn't have fast-food places (I was in high school before 15 cent McDonalds came to town); but we did have soda fountains, candy stores, ice cream parlors, and ice chests full of cold soda pop at every gas station. We didn't have big-box stores, but we had five-and-dimes like Woolworths and Kresges which all had Lunch Counters where good boys who kept their hands in their pockets were treated to lunch.

When we played, we, not adults, determined the game to be played; picked the playing venue; established the rules; chose the teams; refereed the game; and kept the score. We played not to win or lose; but to have fun. And we played almost every day—snow, rain or shine; sweltering hot or freezing cold—from the time school let out until it was time for bed, breaking only when we had to do homework or eat dinner.

We had incredible freedom to choose how we would spend our days because there were two worlds: the adult one and the kid's one which adults stayed out of and God help you if they had to intervene. We had the latitude to try new things, to take chances, to make mistakes and, sometimes, bad choices, and to learn from these experiences, good and bad.
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My German is not that great but i think I get the gist of your grandmother's wisdom and yes I must admit that was probably to much a factor in the failed selection process.
You are right there certainly are alot of advances that make life better in many ways these days but I do still miss the freedom and simplicity of earlier times.
 
A4K said:
always depends on personal circumstances
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Would have to agree in principle. My Dad's father was Chief Design Engineer for Uarco and had a high paying job all through the Great Depression. Dad even had private piano lessons. Mom's father and his knowledge of horses put him in high demand and he worked for both the Chicago Fire Dept and the CTA and maintained a good paycheck through the entire Depression.
1347 through 1351 had to be a very bad time for the majority of Europeans though again certain isolated pockets were totally bypassed.
 
Mike, that clip was awesome! Reminds me of conversations with my kid, whose reaching that age...
 
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special ed said:
build control line scale flying models,
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Amazing, I thought that type of flying went out of favor 40 years ago. Back in the day I could not afford the VERY expensive radio control models and control line was a lot cheaper. I well remember the rice paper covering and 110 coats of Dope over the paper. At the time I had a profile stunter and a Red Baron triplane and Corsair in what was called "stand-off" scale, as the inner wing had to be a bit longer than the outer.
 
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