I remember when.....

[wenrob]

No UPC scanners! I worked retail right out of high school, and had to learn what the million buttons on the cash registers were all for. Grocery stockers had to stamp prices on everything, and the cashiers practically memorized all the prices.

Oh yeah! Totally forgot about this! That wasn't really that long ago. I was customer service so I spent a week learning it every time we got a new register system and then two weeks all day teaching it to all the cashiers.

 

[Claudia1]

Seatbelts. I remember not having them in any vehicle.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

A bike! Mine had a basket on the handlebars.

Every word!

OF COURSE...

I won one of those from the rexall drug store contest, but I already had a ten speed, so I traded it for a lawmower and mowed laws in the summer for extra cash.

My dad made mine from an old small bike, and put the handle bars and seat on it. It wasn't pretty but I could pop a wheelie like nobody's business!


this isn't mine, but here's a pic of one for those who are too young to remember:

 

[OK!]

Now you've got me wondering if my parents still have their encyclopedia set. I need to show it to my kids!

My cousin, who's probably 10, was fascinated by my parents' old World Book set (I think it was from '82-ish) when they visited at Thanksgiving. So much so that she asked my mom if she could have them; guess who got to tote that 50+ pounds of books into the post office to mail them? Why she couldn't have asked for them when they were still in town is beyond me.

I remember getting our first microwave, back when we lived in CA (we moved here when I was 5, more than 30 years ago) It was MASSIVE. It was so big that I remember my mom using it for a hiding place for stuff if a last-minute house showing came up and she needed somewhere quick to stash magazines, etc.

We got our first video camera when I was 10--it was one of the ones that had 2 separate components, one of which was a huge chunk of the VCR itself (and they were metal back then, not plastic, so they weighed a TON.) The camera was connected to the part that held the tape by a long cable and kinda looked like a police radar gun; the whole ensemble was very heavy and big and awkward to carry. Years later, we were watching some family vacation videos from WDW and noticed a lot of footage of wildlife in the parks (ducks, etc.) I had never realized that my dad was such a nature lover, and when I asked him about it, he looked somewhat ashamed and admitted that what he'd actually been trying to do was run down the battery a little faster so he could stash the whole shootin' match in a locker in the park and not have to lug it around anymore.

I totally remember waiting by the radio for my favorite songs to come on. The one I have the most vivid memory of is "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard--my tape recorder sat by the stereo for DAYS until I was able to capture the whole song.

Oh, and big Friday nights were spent at the roller rink, hoping that you'd get asked to skate with someone during the "boys ask girls" skates. Songs I distinctly remember hearing while there include "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band and "867-5309" by Tommy Tutone.

 

[OK!]

No UPC scanners! I worked retail right out of high school, and had to learn what the million buttons on the cash registers were all for. Grocery stockers had to stamp prices on everything, and the cashiers practically memorized all the prices.

Imagine my surprise when I got a part-time job at Hobby Lobby in 2006 while going to school and found that they STILL didn't use UPC scanners. I did whatever I could and worked as hard as I could to get the hell away from being a cashier as quickly as possible. Ugh.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Anyone remember when home video cameras came out? You had to have a very strong father...the camera went over your shoulder and you had to hold it up with two hands PLUS balance it on your shoulder...then the cords would go to the tape deck slung around your body in a carrying case. My current video camera is now small enough to fit in my wristlet!

Audio cassettes came out and we were amazed how much smaller they were from the 8-track tapes we had to lug around. And the sound, wow, it was so clear! (As I listen to my very small iPod with over 4000 songs on it.

My DH had one of these video cameras, they were the first at home cameras, and they had two parts like you said. He got his back around 1980 something and it cost $1000 back then! Funny thing about that, around 1988 we had our house broken into and the crooks took one part of the unit because they didn't know it needed both parts! It was obsolete by then, so when we claimed it on insurance, they gave us the $1000 for it!

And audio cassettes. My heart would stop when the tape stopped playing. I would pull it out and the cartridge would come out with the tape still hanging in the player.. Then I would have to try and wind it back up! If I left one in my cold car overnight, I had to sit on it before I could play it!

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

Anyone remember:

transistor radios? I bought one with my first pay when I was 16. I only made 85 cents an hour too but felt oh so rich!

no city pickup of tons of leaves in the fall. we were allowed to burn them in the gutter.

having to stay inside for a few hours after the city sprayed for bugs in the summer.

going to the beach & greasing up with baby oil to get a good tan. no bikinis either; all girl swimsuits were 1 piece.

walking to save our bus fare for candy money.

no road rage; at least I don't remember road rage & there wasn't as much traffic either because cities were much much smaller.

the only thing that hasn't changed much is there's 2 seasons--winter & road construction!

 

[escape]

You're right! How did I miss that! Must not have had enough coffee when I posted!

Let me rephrase!

Having to walk 25 miles, barefoot, uphill, both ways, in the snow, all year long.

You forgot - Walking [to school] 25 miles, barefoot, uphill, both ways, in the snow, all year long and that's AFTER doing an hour's worth of chores around the house every day (at least that's the version I got.)

Did anyone ever have an Amana Radar Range when it first came out (one of the first microwaves)? My dad was into the "latest" gadgets. He bought my mom one. She HATED it...refused to use it (thought it was a fad). So, he took it to work with him. He no longer had to use the autoclave to re-heat his food.

In addition to what many of you have mentioned (and I've experienced), and since we didn't have VCRs or DVD players, etc., watching movies like the Wizard of Oz when it came on once a year was a big event in the neighborhood. Of course, we watched it on one of those big TV's (25 inch). It took a few minutes for the TV to warm up but it was so worth it.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Anyone remember:

transistor radios? I bought one with my first pay when I was 16. I only made 85 cents an hour too but felt oh so rich!

no city pickup of tons of leaves in the fall. we were allowed to burn them in the gutter.

having to stay inside for a few hours after the city sprayed for bugs in the summer.

going to the beach & greasing up with baby oil to get a good tan. no bikinis either; all girl swimsuits were 1 piece.

walking to save our bus fare for candy money.

no road rage; at least I don't remember road rage & there wasn't as much traffic either because cities were much much smaller.

the only thing that hasn't changed much is there's 2 seasons--winter & road construction!

I taped a transistor radio to the handlebars of my sting ray and I had my first "Walkman"!


Baby oil and iodine for laying out in the backyard, and Sun-In or lemon juice if you wanted to go blonde. No such thing as sunscreen back then.

 

[wenrob]

HAM Radios and CBs and learning how to do morse code. If you had a computer it took up the whole spare room.

 

[OK!]

Sears, Penneys, and Monkey Wards all had candy counters or candy with nuts.

I was surprised when I went to work for Sears over my winter break sophomore year in college (1992) and found that they still had the candy counter on the ground level. It was right with all of the hardware and stuff.

I also remember (way before that!) how excited I was when stores first started being open on Sundays. I remember going to the mall with my parents and looking around in wonder at everything like it was all brand new and exciting (and hadn't been precisely the same the day before. Lol. It was Sunday, so it was SPECIAL!)

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

Oh gosh, I almost forgot--no infant car seats back in the late 50's & early 60's either. My baby brother rode in a seat that hooked over the bench seat in front between mom & dad. Brother had a pretend steering wheel too. Yikes! Can you imagine what would have happened to all of us if we'd have gotten into an accident? There were no seat belts for mom, dad or me either!

No malls either. Going "downtown" was a production for my grandma. She'd get all dressed up with a hat & gloves. Sheesh!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Oh gosh, I almost forgot--no infant car seats back in the late 50's & early 60's either. My baby brother rode in a seat that hooked over the bench seat in front between mom & dad. Brother had a pretend steering wheel too. Yikes! Can you imagine what would have happened to all of us if we'd have gotten into an accident? There were no seat belts for mom, dad or me either!

No malls either. Going "downtown" was a production for my grandma. She'd get all dressed up with a hat & gloves. Sheesh!

OT-Just guessing, but from your season comment and this one, it sounds like you grew up near Detroit, and maybe went to Hudson's with your grandma?

 

[golfgal]

OT-Just guessing, but from your season comment and this one, it sounds like you grew up near Detroit, and maybe went to Hudson's with your grandma?

For us it was going to Dayton's with Grandma. We would stop at the candy counter and go out for lunch in the River Room.

I remember that in our house you could go downtown ALONE as soon as you turned 8. That was a HUGE deal. I remember spending a lot of time in Ben Franklin, which at the time was more like a dime store and buying all kinds of candy.

I remember being our for HOURS trick or treating. We would canvas the entire town. You knew what the "good" houses were and you had to hit the really spooky ones too. Our parents never went with us either (well, when we were really little but not once we started school).

The best times were had in the wayback of the station wagon going to Grandma and Grandpa's. We had all kinds of games we played, no seatbelts for anyone. My dad would put a bunch of blankets down and we would have toys, etc. to play with for the trip. We spent a lot of time shooting aliens as I recall.

 

[OK!]

I've spoken to people recently - in the last few years - who STILL rent their phones from the phone company!!! Can you imagine how much they've paid??? Just one or two people, and right now I don't recall in what context, but I'm sure they're elderly people.

I used to work at a used computer store that also was a "Mailboxes Etc."-type place; the owner decided to make a little extra money by functioning as an AT&T authorized dealer as well (landline phones only...this was before cell phones were as widespread as they are now.) Most of the people who still leased their phones did it for 1 of 2 reasons: either that was how they'd always done it and they weren't about to change now, or they wanted to be able to just swap out the phone if something went wrong with it. I took in returns all the time from families of elderly people who'd passed away; most of the phones were rotary and had been hardwired into the walls of their homes (the cord had a kind of cloth covering on it and there'd be all these jaggy-lookin' wires sticking out of the end of it.) Each of those suckers weighed about 10 pounds apiece. I don't remember how much they'd been paying to lease them; I want to say it was something like $3-4 a month on up to $30-some a month if you wanted a top-of-the-line cordless phone with multiple lines for business use, etc. This was circa 1995-6 or so, and I dealt with dozens of customers every day who were perfectly happy to keep on leasing their phones, no matter how little sense it made financially.

 

[OK!]

Anyone remember:

transistor radios? I bought one with my first pay when I was 16. I only made 85 cents an hour too but felt oh so rich!

Yes! My dad actually still has the transistor radio that they used to put in my crib to play music when I went to sleep; it sits on his desk. He never uses it, but I think it's cute that he still has it.

 

[Feralpeg]

The first phone I remember having was 424. No area code. No prefix. The number was just 424.

I remember the day we got out first color television. There were only a few programs broadcast in color. They were Bonanza and, of course, The Wonderful World of Color (Disney).

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

OT-Just guessing, but from your season comment and this one, it sounds like you grew up near Detroit, and maybe went to Hudson's with your grandma?

Nope; grew up in Madison WI & remember going "downtown" with grandma to Manchesters on the square across from our Capital Building. I suspect our Manchester store was comparable to your Hudson's. Rather an upscale store back then & no longer around now.

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

The first phone I remember having was 424. No area code. No prefix. The number was just 424.

I remember the day we got out first color television. There were only a few programs broadcast in color. They were Bonanza and, of course, The Wonderful World of Color (Disney).

I remember 5 numbers then later 5 numbers preceded by letters--CH1-2345 or AL1-2345 etc.

I remember watching those shows; the colors were just amazing! So was watching the Rose Parade in living color!

Thought of another show--Ed Sullivan. Anyone remember Elvis from the waist up? I wasn't allowed to watch TV after dinner so didn't see it. I had to wash dishes/do homework, etc. Ewwwwwwwwwww

 

[Kathi OD]

No ATM's. I had to physically go to the bank, during normal banking hours, to withdraw $20.00 from my checking account.

Don't forget that normal banking hours were until 3 M-Th; open late only on Fridays, with no Saturday or Sunday hours.