A phone number with only the name of the town and THREE numbers!
I can remember 5 numbers, but not three.
SAratoga2-6046
DAavis3-0932 
Cars with manual steering and manual brakes (not power assisted). You practically had to stand on the brakes to get the car to a stop!
My brother had lunar landing vehicles.
Hand Crank Phones, I never personally used, but the box was used to hold the rotary phone in my childhood house and that of a lot of neighbors. My husband has one in the garage as decoration and my roommates 5 yr old nephew was very curious about it when he came to visit a couple months ago.
party lines
I was going to put that one in there too!
8 track tapes
washer ringers
irons you heat on the stove
peddle singer sewing machines
tube radios
pay phone booths
Oh yeah, Basic and Fortran languages
You forgot COBOL in those programming languages! And now I feel even older because I remember everything on all the replies so far...
Punch cards
My mom used to do keypunching for the railroad.
What’s a tube radio? Do you mean how they operated, vacuum tubes or something like that?
Yes, they ran with vacuum tubes. This one looks like the one we listened to.
This is one we currently have - a Philco. You can still buy vacuum tubes (though hard to find). This works like a dream. Even has short wave and police band and you can pick up overseas stations. I think this is a 1941 model.
Wow now that's really cool.
VHS Tapes
Having a phone that a cord is attached to and couldn't go far from the phone and rotary dialing only. Having TVs only black and white picture and only 4 channels. Fun blog good distraction.
Playgrounds that didn't protect you when you fell and you learned good life lessons.
Cokes in real glass bottles
A time before television and cell phones where you had to create your own entertainment
Typewriters that had a carriage you had to manually move to go back to the beginning of a sentence, that had no correction tape so you'd have to use a hard eraser that looked like a pencil with a brush on the opposite end.
Smoking on planes, (where they provided ashtrays as part of the arm of your seat), smoking in movie theatres ... essentially everywhere.
When the majority of kitchen cabinets were made of metal.
It being normal to have somebody pump your gas FOR you.
Cracker Jacks that gave you a metal prize inside.
Board games, with real metal tokens.
Cameras that used film. Then the Polaroid cameras that developed a picture within 30 seconds and you could watch the image appear. I still have some of those pictures from the 60s and they have held up pretty well.
I'm so glad you've joined us anausssiemom. You've already added some fun to this community. And goodness knows quitters can use all the fun they can get!
So assuming you're from Australia (because of your name) - where in Australia?
"It being normal to have somebody pump your gas FOR you"
They'd also wash your windshield, check your oil & your tire pressure.
I call myself an Aussie mom; My daughter resides there. It has not been an easy transition for either of us. Australia is on Pluto I think. And thank you
These were the kind of monkey bars at our elementary school.
Getting up to change TV channel (turning *****), no remotes with buttons! Going outside to play ( no technology gadgets) Having to use our imaginations to figure out what we were going to do each day!
I miss those days!
UHF
Waffles for dinner every Friday, not just during Lent.
Military Draft
3 kids in a bedroom
Typewriter correcting tape
Hiding the fact you had a non-ATT phone by disconnecting the ringer
Winding your watch
Being driven to the Doctor's home for emergency stitches
Shoes handed down from older brther
Lying on the back shelf of the car on long trips.
Cloth diapers and plastic pants
Oh my Greg, those are some good ones! Cloth diapers and pins especially, I remember running diaper pin points through my hair to sharpen them, it made them slide easily through the cloth!
There were 9 of us kids gregp136 . Four boys & 5 girls. Small 3 bedroom house. Mom & Dad had a room, The girls had a room with the 2 oldest girls having a bed to themselves & the 3 youngest girls shared a bed. All 4 boys were in the other room in ONE bed. We had no A/C but Mom & Dad finally got a small window unit for THEIR bedroom. On the hot nights we would wait till the parents were asleep & we'd all sneek in with our pillows & sleep on their floor like a pack of dogs under the porch. There was more than one night Daddy got up to go to the bathroom & stepped all over us. You never heard so much carrying on in your life.
Keep on keepin on,
M n @
Did anyone say black and white TV? I remember when the first ones came out.
We used to go to my grandpas on Sunday nights to watch Disney.
Black and white to color was a huge deal.
I still love the old black and white movies I watched with my mom on rainy days.
Bonanza came out in color after Disney!
Screen doors slamming
Tin roofs
Going barefoot
Church revivals
Cars a kid could walk around in
Penny candy
Mighty Mouse
Keep on keepin on,
M n @
I still go barefoot except when I go shopping or to a restaurant or while I'm pumping gas. :-)
I'l only go barefoot in private now...I have some ugly crooked toes.
KOKO,
M n @
I am not sure what to say hope all is well. idk Sorry. Um have a great day Mike
Jarts!
Jarts? Is that an Aussie thing? I call myself Aussie mom do to my daughter lives there .
No. They were also known as lawn darts.It was a (short lived) yard game when I was a younger. It was based on horseshoes somewhat. But instead of stakes and horseshoes you had two "rings" you placed about 20 feet apart and these large metal tipped (yes!) darts about 1 foot long.
You would throw the darts in air and try to land them (stick em) in the ring.
I believe they were outlawed but I still see them from time to time at rummage sales.
I very much remember, mate!
Damn I remember those! They were a summertime staple of a game for my family! Y'all need to STOP making me feel so old!!
2 Party telephone line.
Kids being given woodburing and chemistry sets (bunson burner anyone) for charistmas.
Oh my goodness yes!
Thinking about childhood. My parents telling me" to come in when street lights come on".
Yes, I remember that.
Or the public service announcment that would come on TV at 10:00 PM:
"Do you know where your children are?"
Never using the door bell as a kid at a friends house, just shouting their name at the back door.
Getting ONE special present for Christmas and being THRILLED about it!
gregp136 "Lying on the back shelf of the car on long trips." That makes me think of the fact there WERE no seat belts in the good ole' days, where you could sit in the front seat in your mama's lap and get a good tickling, where there were no push buttons; where radios had dials that your turned and side mirrors were manually operated and there was only one.
Mike.n.Atlanta LOVE your air conditioning story! Well, the whole growing up story. It's such a visual.
milk delivery to the homes. Also, charles chips delivery.
the old fashion ice cream trucks, i should say the one we used to have was on a bike and would go around honking his horn. I still see an ice cream truck from time to time but its not like it used to be. It used to be a treat, now you can get cheaper in the stores in bulk.
I Yes milk delivery and Charles chips. On hot day he would give us a kids humongous ice cubes to keep. lol Wow I dont think I was even in K grade then. Great memories ShawnP
Some of these have reminded me of others!
How about the air raid siren test every - Friday? - I think - at 1:00?
And on TV - "This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. Had this been a real emergency, you would have been given instructions...(and I don't remember the rest.) with that funny looking bullseye on the screen?
How about the air raid drills at school during the Cold War when we had to kneel and crouch under out desks with our hands covering our necks? Even as a kid, I remember wondering what in the h#ll THAT was going to do for us!!
The Sears Roebuck catalog
Bathing caps covered in flowers
One piece bathing suits - the fabric of which must have included steel mesh!!!
Listening to baseball games on a transistor radio under your pillow?
College football games where you dressed up to attend like you were going to church?
Youngatheart.7.4.12 I work at a school and we now practice lock downs for active shooters. So sad. When I was in school it was just tornado and fire drills.
Yes. Very sad.
TV turning to STATIC at 12pm!!!
Polio vaccine
Going to town in our 'good' clothes
Getting yelled at by any of our parents close friends who also had permission to spank our butts if it came to that.
Being in the woods by myself (11-14) on Saturdays & no one worried about me. I would have a fishing pole, a 22 rifle, a knife & some matches. I cooked what I caught or shot & it was pretty tasty over a fire that I had built.
A farmer kept his horses in a pecan orchard next to our house. My friend Bobby & I figured we had seen enough cowboys & Indian movie that we could ride em bareback. We'd herd em into a corner & when they ran by we'd grab a handful of mane & swing up on their backs. It took a lot of try's before we actually made it but we got pretty good at it. A lot of bruises though.
Giulia mentioned gas station service. I remember going to the gas station with the family & everyone would get out of the car while it was serviced. On lucky days we would get a "Coke" but we were always nosey & ended up in the garage bothering the guys working or anywhere we weren't supposed to be. One sister was obsessed with bathrooms & no matter where we were she HAD to check out the facilities.
Keep on keepin on,
M n @
Adding on.....Giulia mentioned seat belts and i remember the old days when you could ride in the back of a pickup truck. thats before all the seatbelt laws or taking your baby home from hospital on your lap.
Thanks anaussiemom for the trip down memory lane.
I remember being taught to drive when I was 9. Straight shift, could barely reach the pedals & had to look between the steering wheel & dashboard. We were in an open field so that was good.
Awww your so welcome.
Oh yeah, dragging Main Street every Friday and Saturday. In my town Main Street was maybe 6 blocks long! Back and forth for hours and sometimes switching passengers from one car to the other like the movie American Graffiti.
jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Re the tv sign off - Wow. Yes. I do remember that. We've come a long way, baby. Some of it very good and some of it very bad. I'm glad I grew up when life was slower and simpler, when moral values were greater, education finer, and people talked to each other face to face, not by texting on little video screens in their hands. There was a self-discipline ethic back then and a sense of pride in how one looked walking down the street, which died in the 60s when the "free for all - I can do whatever I want whenever I want, however I want" mentality came about. Where mail was the way to communicate at a distance and there was an excitement about the waiting to open that next letter in the post box. It was like a present, something to look forward to. It actually still is to me. There is something vibrant and unique about hand written letters and cards. It is a part of what makes that person special to you. You know who has sent it before you even open it. It's part of their persona. It's like a fingerprint - it belongs only to them. Texting and email is so impersonal, so robotic. So lacking in grace and heart, though the words may be marvelous. Waxing. Sorry.
Look at what you've done here anausiemom. Taken us down memory lane. Thanks for it.
I believe every era has marvelous new beginnings and sad ends. Thank you for sharing all the things that I so enjoyed and still enjoy. I also love the new times. So many new changes, we used to only dream of. <3
I do agree with what what you have written as well.
OOPS I'm off topic LOL.
.
If my mother were alive today she would be appalled at seeing anyone out & about in their PJ's. That's a pretty common thing here for some reason. Pride has left the building.
I loved getting mail Giulia. Kim & her SIL still mail each other regularly & she is so excited when she see's a new one in the box.
Yes, thanks for thr trip down memory lane anaussiemom. It was fun.
Keep on keepin on,
M n @
The outhouse and sears catalog as tissue paper with a flashlight and stick to check for wild animals outside or inside outhouse BEFORE you sit down!
Oh my.
Transistor hand held AM FM battery radio. Good ole days, when that made us kids dance and giggle.
Just found one antique in Wisconsin snd brought for 8.00 gift for my hubby works great he took to work for show and tell the young kids 20s were amazed lol my hubby loves it because it picks up the packer games and st louis cards games too a 9 volt battery keeps it going lol
Aw that's awesome.
Whitewall Tires
We called em 'Gangster Whitewalls' cause that's what the gangsters in the movies had on their cars.
KOKO,
M n @
Hm... Childhood memories getting ready night before Church on Sundays usually. We all remember these things right? *wink.
My sister had those ALL over!
With 5 sisters I know exactly what those are.
lol
No. What are they? Toothpicks? Ah - I was about to say "How 'bout these?" and was looking for some hair roller pictures and discovered what they actually are. Interesting. I never used that style so didn't recognize them.
Manual transmission with the stick on the column. I didn’t actually drive one of these, but it was my mom’s first car and my husband had several cars with stick on the column. I know there’s a correct term for that but I can’t think of it.
Flimsy TV stands that you could roll around the room. Jeff Foxworthy has a joke about how dangerous they were for kids and the dad of the family saying “let him drop it on his head, he’ll learn” - lol
Swanson TV dinners in metal trays that you cooked in the oven.
Making all of your Barbies furniture out of scraps you found around the house, like Kleenex bed sheets and pillows.
Bicycles with banana seats and streamers in the ends of the handlebars.
Putting playing cards between the spokes of your bike to make loud noises.
Playing hide-n-seek, Simon Says, Duck Duck Goose
My first car had "Three on the Tree". A three speed with shifter on the column.
Going to the movie theater on Saturday afternoon with only a quarter in your pocket and you still had enough for popcorn.
Terry
Yes good one. Also bartering helps, I think to this day lol. Which used to be used in the ole day".
Off topic for a moment.
Went to last football game for high school grandson; Senior this year. Was so thirsty. However I was standing very close to concessions, phew. I said to the gent running it for the eve, I have a half a bag of M&Ms left", could I trade it in for a bottle of water"? He laughed, and said you dont have .50 cents? I said well I do up on the top bleacher pointing at hubby. He laughed I got the bottle of water...
Told hubby I bartered, for a water. His reply you ripped off the High School"! I said no silly I gave him some M&Ms for it.
Any way thank you. Movies an awesome memory.
~Kim
Green stamps!
(for the younguns' -they gave them out (kinda' like coupons - depending on the amount you spent) at the grocery store and the gas station. You pasted them into books and you took your books to a Green Stamp Store and you could get stuff for them - like lawn chairs, or TV stands, or interior "design" stuff (OMG - I remember a black ashtray with raised gold leaves on it!). There was a catalog you could pick up that had the number of stamps each item needed.
We used to get those green stamps from Bi-lo and across the street used to be the old 5 and dime. Now you should start one for old restaurants and stores that no longer exist lol. This is fun
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Indian head pennys
Mercury head dimes
Half dollar coins on a regular basis as change
Party Lines ( Ugh, Mrs. Mckinley next door was the worst)!!!!
Rowen and Martins Laugh in
Merry Griffith show-Dorthy Fultime- The dating game-Mr. Ed-Petticoat Junction-The Rifleman-Lone Ranger ( I loved all the western shows more than anything)
Who could forget...DARK SHADOWS....scared the bejesus out of me!
25Cents a gallon gas
25cents school lunch
The Four Seasons
Rubbers...lol, the kind Mom made us wear on our shoes when we walked to school and we pulled off when we got out of site of the house. Yes...we walked. 4miles there and back in Jr. High.
Cool post. Lots of memories
Just my 2 cents....oHHHHHH speaking of two cents....PENNY CANDY
Galoshes. You can find them on net.
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yes, we grew up calling them rubbers though. I hated them and I also hated having to wear pants under my dresses for the cold walks to school. Us girls always pulled them off and shoved them in our book bags, which back then liked like mini briefcases, lol
Remember you had to wear a dress or skirt to school. And your skirt line couldn’t be more than one hand above the knee or you’d be sent home.
Oh yes, Id forgotten that one. I also recall dress lengths were called, Mini-Midi or Maxi....hahahaha
The Twilight Zone
The Ed Sullivan Show
Montgomery Ward
Rexall Drug Stores
McCrory's Five and Dime
Read's Drugstores and Soda Fountains
Hecht Company
May Company
Hess Shoes (they actually had a bridge over an X-ray machine and took one of your feet!) oh, my! Ours had a display in the windows that included live monkeys!
Stieff Silver
Stewart and Company
The Goul, golardi.....
Swallens
Mailbox at front door
glass thermometers for taking your temperature
American Motors ( AMC)
Stereo council with built in tv and record player
Westinghouse ( Our old building is still up but in shambles)
There is a Twilight Zone marathon on TV that starts on New Years Eve and runs all the way through New Years Day and night! We never fail to watch at least most of them.
Julie
The only episode I actually remember is one in which there was a creature that, when introduced into an ear, would eat its way through the brain to get out of the OTHER one. At the end of it, the villain had the creature introduced into his ear.....that terror is still with me to THIS day!
Are you sure you don't you mean the Night Gallery episode with Laurence Harvey called Caterpillar? We've got it on CD. Shocking and brilliant acting. If you have hulu you can get it there. Even though his character deserved everything he got, it was still horrifying!
Could be! But - right now I have enough terror in my life thinking about my upcoming surgery, so I ain't lookin'! For some reason I decided to update my medical history yesterday, and I swear I caused the PTSD from that one surgery/rehab to come roaring back. I SO wish I could go for a walk to get it out - but 18 degrees with 35 mph wind gusts on crutches is not happening. I know I have to do some work on myself, though.
Im so sorry sending prayers your way for a calm mind.
Repeat after me: "Everything's going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine. EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE FINE!!!"
((((((((((Here's a gentle caring hug from me to you Nancy along with good thoughts and prayers)))))))))) Youngatheart.7.4.12
Oh heck, how did I miss this???? You have an upcoming surgery????????????? Prayers your way girlfriend. Man oh man, this weather is COLD, currently its a balmy 10 degrees outside
Our milkman used to bring our milk inside and put it in the refrigerator - never locked our doors back then - we were way out in the country!
Woodburning Set.
I burnt my thumb more than once. :-)
My first power tool (7 years old) was a Craftsman scroll saw that you could stick your fingers directly on the blade and not get cut. I bought tools with all my Christmas and birthday money.
I would probably poke my eye out with it!
:-)
Dial telephones with with 10 people on a party line!
Record Player