I remember when.....

[hereyago]

Rotary phones and less then 7 digits.

As for the bathroom: My grandparents didn't have one built until after I was born: I was the eighth grandchild. My grandmother would still use the bed pot, slop jar at night in the winter because she thougth she would get pneumonia going out to the bathroom that was on the porch?!

 

[legalsea]

I will add that when I was young back in the early 1960s and would visit my great-grandmother up in Kansas, in her kitchen was a hand water pump over the sink.

For those who don't know what they are, here is a link (I'm glad to see they still make them):

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/handpump.html

You may also recall seeing one in old movies (such as Wizard of Oz).

It was often my job to pump the handle to get the water going. We kept a glass of water close by in case you had to 'prime the pump' to get the water flowing (i.e., you would pour some of the water down the throat of the pump; I guess it helped create suction to start the flow).

Sweetest water I ever had.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I will add that when I was young back in the early 1960s and would visit my great-grandmother up in Kansas, in her kitchen was a hand water pump over the sink.

For those who don't know what they are, here is a link (I'm glad to see they still make them):

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/handpump.html

You may also recall seeing one in old movies (such as Wizard of Oz).

It was often my job to pump the handle to get the water going. We kept a glass of water close by in case you had to 'prime the pump' to get the water flowing (i.e., you would pour some of the water down the throat of the pump; I guess it helped create suction to start the flow).

Sweetest water I ever had.

my grandparents had one of those when they were on their farm, (before they moved in town and got "city water"

it WAS the best tasting water (they had their own well)

 

[kaytieeldr]

Telegrams. I'd forgotten, but I guess it was the closest thing we had to e-mail back then.

Several of my siblings and I went out for breakfast today, and my sister, who still lives in the house where we grew up, handed one brother a telegram somebody sent to our grandparents, congratulating them on the birth of their eighth grandchild - him.

You paid by the word, but whoever sent it paid for a full - not 'cryptic' - message!

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Ah...sniffing the math test before you handed the pile to the person behind you.

 

[rie'smom]

Ah...sniffing the math test before you handed the pile to the person behind you.

oOOOOh yes, and the paper was icy cold.

 

[aristocatz]

Fun thread!

Ok, here's mine:

-Just like many others on here, the dreaded typewriter-drove me crazy! I upgraded to a modern word processor for college, but that thing was awful too

-99 cent gas!!! (most places were over a dollar, but we had one place near my town that was always 99 cents a gallon!)

-Tape recording songs I liked on the radio because I couldn't afford the cassette tape!

-There were only two choices of WDW resorts if you wanted to stay on property: Contemporary & the Polynesian. You had to shell out a pretty penny to stay on property

-Sending your film in the postal mail to get developed!!

-Waiting ALL year for TV holiday specials. If you missed your chance, you had to wait until next year!

-Postal mail penpals!!!! The only way for a kid to keep in touch!

Things that were MUCH better back then:

-Remember when going to McDonalds was a special occassion??? When I had a birthday party there, it was the talk of my first grade classroom!!

-You didn't have to wait in line forever to meet a character at WDW. They would just saunter around the parks & come right up to you as a fun surprise!

-Also WDW: We used to make ADR's the morning of each day (remember the direct phone lines to dining reservations at the Communicore at Epcot??) & had no difficulties getting a dining reservation.

-No leash law-My childhood dog just loved playing and hanging out in the neighborhood all day long.

-Not as much video game and computer craziness-kids were outside until dinnertime playing and getting exercise and fresh air!

 

[sms]

Playing in the neighborhood and going home when the street lights came on.

Drawing and playing hopscotch on the drive way.

Mom getting up early and frying chicken to eat at a picnic site or rest area on the side of the road on the way to family vacation spot.

Portable record players, easy bake ovens and shrinky dinks!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I remember when everyone had a BB gun, and you knew not to shoot at windows, people, or animals!

 

[MickeysMommy]

I remember being bored out of my mind on Saturday nights having to watch Lawrence Welk

I went through 4 years of college with only a typewriter and this wasn't that long ago.

The salesman coming to our house selling the encyclopedias. And then being really mad when my parents decided against getting them.

Phone booths were 10 cents.

McDonalds served their food in styrofoam containers.

Rode our bikes, also, without helmets. I still don't wear one

Five and Dime stores were the greatest.

My allowance was a quarter.

When the streetlights came on we had to come home. During the summer you couldn't get us to stay inside. As a PP said...the biggest punishment was having to stay inside.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I remember black and white TV!

I also remember when things weren't quite so expensive though. Technology has probably helped bump the prices of things up a lot.

Really? To me things have come down. (except tvs) I remember when dvd players first came out they were close to $300. Now you can get one for $100 or less, sometimes $40-50 at walmart.

I'm not as far back as some of you but cassette tapes and waiting for reruns. Looking research up in a book, at the library instead of google at home. When everyone didn't have a computer. My kids can't even imagine that

 

[kaytieeldr]

Really? To me things have come down. (except tvs)

Even TVs. When I was growing up, we had one black and white console television in an eight room, four bedroom house. We eventually got a small black and white tv for the kitchen.

I have three color televisions in a one-bedroom apartment; while I don't know what my parents paid, ignoring inflation, I bet I paid less for the three than they paid for the one.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

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.

I worked at a grocery store when I was 15 for about 4 years. The first 2 years, we didn't have scanners. I got soooo fast on the cash register. I could ring up everything without looking at the register. To this day, I credit my amazing (LOL) 10 key speed to my first job.
Also, we only had paper bags for the first few years. We actually had a class when we got the plastic bags.
I haven't read the whole thread so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but i remember when our town first got MTV. It was the talk of the town. And that was back in the day when they actually played videos and nothing else. I miss that.

Also, if you wanted to watch or find news, you had to wait until 6:30 pm or you saw it the next morning. No news networks, no internet, no information!!
And I remember when the entire state of NC had one area code, 919.
When I was around 9, this was in 1982, our local grocery store got a talking coke machine outside of it. Everyone in town was so excited to buy a coke.
For third grade, I got a Woody Woodpecker record player. One of the lunchboxes looking things you could carry around like a lunchbox.
I wanted a Rubix cube SO badly in the 80's.
Also, I couldn't watch Little House on the Prarie unless WKRP was a rerun because they were on the same time.
The invention of Capri Sun! Made riding a bike with one hand while drinking a juice possible! I felt so cool.
Generic stuff in the grocery stores were black and white and only had the descripton of the product (ALUMINUM FOIL).
Took typewriting in high school, had one computer class and this was before Windows OS, so it was just on DOS. SO boring.
Listening to Casey Kasem on Saturday morning with a new cassette tape ready to record on when they played the song I wanted.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I remember when everyone had a BB gun, and you knew not to shoot at windows, people, or animals!

You mean to tell me I wasn't supposed to be doing that? Sure go ahead and spoil my fun why don't ya.

I remember on some of the older cars, the opening to fill up the gas tank was hidden behind the license plate. You used to have to pull down the license plate, and hold it down with one hand while you unscrewed the gas cap with the other; otherwise it would just snap back up and take off your fingers in the process.

Engines on the Volkswagen Beetles were located in the back of the car. The front of the car was the trunk.

 

[NotUrsula]

For your viewing pleasure...I present a favorite website "It Came From the 1971 Sears Catalog":

http://www.aperfectworld.org/sears.html

Hey, I *HAVE* that baby carrier! It's actually rather comfortable. We used it a lot with DS.

I remember the Lemon Frog Shop. Those polyester pants suit in the second LFS photo were the only way we got to wear pants to school, so you bet your bippy we were happy to wear them, no matter how butt-ugly they were! I remember that I had a navy one that had red horizontal pinstripes only on the body of the tunic. Ugh.

My older sister worked at Sears at the time, so my family used to shop there using her 40% employee discount.

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

I haven't read the whole thread so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but i remember when our town first got MTV. It was the talk of the town. And that was back in the day when they actually played videos and nothing else. I miss that.

DH and I were talking about this the other night...I remember when MTV was exactly that...Music Television...They played videos and had games based on music. Now it's all reality tv shows.

I know this is sad, but I remember when putting on eyeliner consisted of you having to light the tip of the eyeliner on fire with a lighter to get it hot enough to melt a little, and them blowing on it just so it was cool enough to put on so you didn't burn yourself or have a glob of black stuff in your eye!

I remember the TGIF lineup on Friday nights which consisted of Perfect Strangers, Full House, Mr. Belvedere and Just the 10 of us. which back then, had hosts and everything for the night of "fun."

 

[Uuaww]

They have a music MTV, its called MTV2, actually pretty good haha.

 

[Thumper_Man]

They have a music MTV, its called MTV2, actually pretty good haha.

That's MTV2. We're talking about when MTV first started. When cable tv was first introduced and was the greatest thing to come along.

MTV back in the days played nothing but music videos and shows related to music. MTV today is all reality shows. Still the same MTV as back in the days, just nothing related to music anymore.

 

[PUZZLDY5]

I haven't read through all of these so I apologize if I'm repeating anyone but here is my list.

Barbie had a dream house made of cardboard and she swam in the bathroom sink.

Early school computers had The Oregan Trail on them.

When the lights would go out in the house I would have to follow my mother to the basement with a flashlight so she could "change the fuse" (she still calls it a fuse box by the way)

I thought we were rich when we finally got a house with CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING!!!!

Staying home from school sick and watching all the gameshows until the stupid soap operas come on.

My first walk man. my mother no longet has to tell me to turn it down.

I walked to the bus stop when I was in first grade 4 blocks away. There was a ton of kids at that bus stop and we ALL walked a good ways to get there.

Okay that was my contribution. I feel old now.

 

[legalsea]

Someone mentioned having to have spare light bulbs for your camera. Remember when, like at Six Flags and Disneyland, they had little ‘dark booths’ for you to duck into so you could change the film in your camera without exposing the film?

At school, remember when the teacher would bring in the mimeograph copies and they would ‘smell’ so good?

At the grocery store, you learned which cashier had the best memory: they had to know the price of every item in the store. If you got a ‘bad’ cashier, you would have to wait while the sack boy would run off to get the price.

Movies: on a lazy summer day, we would show up for the first showing of a movie at the local theater (no multi-screen either, just the one) and spend the whole day watching the movie (and extra reels, cartoons, etc) over and over again. Great entertainment for a quarter.

Our neighbor had an excellent, water-cooled air conditioner. On hot days we kids would be told to go outside , pull out the hose, and water down the huge cotton filters that provided the cooling.

I still miss attic fans. Open all the windows in the house, turn on the attic fan, and a cool breeze all night.