When I was a kid

[luvwinnie]

Oh, I'm just a bill, yeah on Capital Hill...

...I watched H.R. Puffinstuff and Sigmund and the Seamonsters

I was from the NY area and watched "Wonderama" to this day, when I exercise I can hear the song "Exercise, exercise, come on everybody do your exercise"!

In Jr. High, we wore Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and had a LeSac purse.
We played Charlie's Angels and fought over who was going to be Farrah Fawcett...no one wanted to be Sabrina.

LeSac!! Forgot about that! How about LAND OF THE LOST and the
slestacks"??

 

[minniebeth]

LeSac!! Forgot about that! How about LAND OF THE LOST and the
slestacks"??

luvwinne, you are from Bergen County...I grew up in Wayne...

 

[msdznyduck]

I was from the NY area and watched "Wonderama" to this day, when I exercise I can hear the song "Exercise, exercise, come on everybody do your exercise"!

With Sonny Fox as the host.

The teacher made "dittos" with purple ink on a mimeograph machine...remember that smell?

Riding my bike about a mile to the community pool almost every day (opened at 1pm...after lunch, except if you took **gasp** swimming lessons, those were in the morning) During 'badge checks' (badges were 25 cents for the season) played knock hockey until we could go back in the pool. Stayed until it closed at 4:30 or 5 and rode my bike home again.

During the summer, we were out after breakfast, and maybe would go home for lunch, but had to be home when the 5:00 whistle blew.

 

[Virgo10]

Hula Hoops were all the rage.

Ice cream cones cost 9 cents at the corner store.

We went home for lunch when I was in grammar school.

The girls had to wear dresses or skirts to school and that was a fact for me right through high school.

The rag man came down our street with his horse drawn cart and I lived in a city!

Some of my neighbors still had coal furnaces.

My grandmother had a toilet with the box above the bowl. Just like the kind at POFQ.

We still had gas fixtures that were used for lighting. They had been capped but were still there.

I had friends who had polio.

A special treat was going to Quincy center to ride the escalator. One of my friends broke her arm on it by trying to push the hand rest backwards. It pulled her arm into the machine. Her parents didn't even think about suing the store.

You could still ride the wooden escalator at Washington Street in Boston. It was the last working wooden one. The Smithsonian wanted it but the jerks in Boston had it dismantled before a deal could be struck.

There was NO southeast expressway or Rte 128.

The phone numbers in Quincy, MA started with PR3 and GR2. The letters stood for GRanite and PResidents.

Hurricane Carol was the first time I ever remember being truly afraid.

We had a store in our neighborhood (Kennedy's) that sold only milk, cheese and eggs.

Drug Stores had soda fountains.

Sleeping at my grandmother's house was a special treat. She had a bed with a feather mattress.

 

[MzDiz]

Our VCR remote had a cord.

When my parents bought a microwave, all the neighbors came over to see how it worked and watched in amazement as my dad heated up water.

 

[monorailsilver]

My parents only had one TV in their house and it had a unique remote control feature, ME! I remember my dad barking out orders to change the channel and lucky there was only 3. He would also yell if my sister and I turned the dial too fast and the famous words spoken were, "Hey, you will burn it out turning it that fast."

Your dad & my dad must of been related. My parents house is a split level & he'd be downstairs & if he hear either me or my 2 older sisters walking into the kitchen from upstairs he'd summond us downstairs to turn the channel while he layed on the couch. He would say "no, no, no, wait let me see if this is any good, no, OK"

The only places to stay at Walt Disney World were the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Ft. Wilderness.

Hey you forgot the Golf Resort later named the Disney Inn & now the SOG

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?

I'm just a bill yes I'm only a bill & I'm living here on Capitol Hill.aye aye yay.

We played Charlie's Angels and fought over who was going to be Farrah Fawcett...no one wanted to be Sabrina.

I thought we were the only ones who played Charles Angels. But my best friend liked Sabrina so she always wanted to be her.

ok ok the magic garden

The Story Box, The Story Box.. I loved Paula & ??? & Sherlock. I emailed them about 3 years ago & one of them emailed me back.

______________________________________

Mine:

Captain Caveman (and son later on)

The Laff-a-Lympics

Dastertly & Muttley

Tuesday night line up on ABC-Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Three's Company

Jordash jeans & there was another brand, not Sasoon

Leg warmers

Izod shirts

Mork from Ork suspenders

Atari

Michael Jackson was cool

Vinny Barbarino

Along with The Magic Garden era there was The Electric Company

Channel 11 was WPIX & the home of the NYY

Phil Rizzuto "Holy Cow", "Oh geeze, these are the best canolli's" "Cora" was the voice of the Yankees (sorry I know the original was Mel Allen but I was born in 1971)

Soda cans didn't have the flip top thing they have now but the pull tab

The back of the wagon had the seats that folded down (aka what those Chrysler vans have now) so 4 kids could sit back there & play a game because I swear that there was a table.

They were called Great Adventure & Riverside not Six Flags GA & Six Flags New England

I-95 & the Merritt Pkway had tolls in CT

Trumbull Mall had Korvettes & an A&P & Woolworths

I could go one but I won't.

 

[goofygirl]

When I was a kid:


You had to go to the library and/or use an Encyclopedia to research something for a paper. That was the Stone Age before the Internet!

You typed your term paper on a typewriter- not a computer!

You listened to music on a Walkman. You bought records and tapes, and even 8 tracks.

You watched only about 4 channels on tv. You moved the antenae- "rabbit ears". if you missed a show, you missed it. There was no VCRs yet.

You ate anything and didn't hear of "low fat" ot "low carb."

Metal boxes sat outside all the houses on my street for the milkman. By the 70's though the milkman was gone, but the boxes were still there.

 

[JanDave]

I grew up in the 50s and 60s in a large suburban city next to Detroit, Dearborn.

We had a telephone party line with the Buttons' family. Such fun. I could never call a boy unless it was for a homework assignment I missed.

We walked and/or biked everywhere -- the library, school, bowling, church, grandma's, etc.

We had a black and white television until approx. 1967. We only had 3 major television stations, and UHF, channel 50.

We had two cars (Gasp)!!! My mom worked (Gasp)!!! Most women didn't drive, and the norm was one car per family.

I remember seeing the Beatles for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show. "What long hair they had", my dad said disgustingly.

We all had transister radios which only had the AM dial. We'd walk around carrying our transisters. Keener 13 was the popular rock and roll station in Detroit. Also, CKLW out of Windsor, Ontario.

We lived next door to a large city park. We were there all day, came home for lunch and dinner. We swam, played, ran, had lots of innocent fun. Came home when the street lights came on.

I can remember 3 cent stamps being used on envelopes.

Girls were not allowed to wear slacks. In high school, if the principal thought our skirts/dresses were too short, we had to kneel on the floor and if the hem did not touch the floor, we were sent home.

Growing up Catholic, we had to wear a hat or veil-like thingy on our heads or if we forogt, we used a Kleenex and attached it with bobbie pins.

My dad would give me a $1.00 to go shopping with my girlfriends and he always said "bring back the change". I'd buy a tube of lipstick or a 45 record, have lunch at the Kresge counter, and bring back change!

We had no answering machines, cell phones, computers, calculators, color TVs, DVDs, VCRs, dishwashers, microwaves....

We watched the local news which consisted of a 15 minute synoposis of the day's news. National news filled up the other 15 minutes. I remember national news going to 30 minutes when Americans were taken hostage in Iran in the late 70s.

Favorite TV programs were Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie & Harriet, Sky King, Lassie, Donna Reed, I Love Lucy, I Married Joan, Peyton Place, Dr. Kildare, Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, Soupy Sales, Milky the Clown and others I can't quite remember now.

We used to fill up the car with gas for less than $2.00.

My mom would write a note for me to buy her cigarettes at the local party store. She would also write a note authorizing me to shop at Downtown Detroit Hudson's (bought out by Marshall Field, now by Macy's) and she would let me buy something for $5.00 or less. The accounting department would approve the "note" and let me charge! This was after I would take the bus from Dearborn to Detroit alone or with a friend.

My high shool boyfriend and I each paid $2.00 in 1968 to see Bill Cosby in Detroit.

I attended a community college for $6.00/credit hour!!!

Thanks for the memories, everyone!!!

Jan

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

When I was a kid.........


Corporal punishment was practiced by the nuns (and I have a scar to prove it)

We dressed for church

We went to the drive-in in our pjs

We did not have to make appointments to play with other kids

We were never in the house

Wonderama was on saturday mornings

Smoking was allowed in my Catholic HS (smokers lounge only)

My family doctor smoked as he treated us

Donny Osmond sang Puppy Love only to me

Vinnie Barbarino was all that

 

[reeeoga]

When I was a kid.........


Corporal punishment was practiced by the nuns (and I have a scar to prove it)

We dressed for church

You go Nekkid Now?

 

[Annette_VA]

...
There was no "Super Size"
...

That reminds me....

I remember when 7-11 introduced Big Gulps and thinking, "Holy cow this is a big drink!" And, now, that's like almost the smallest size drink you can get at 7-11.

And, what was a large drink at McDonald's is now the smallest size drink you get w/ a regular combo.

 

[figment52]

You had school clothes, church clothes and play clothes and play clothes were NEVER good enough for church or school!!!

 

[KirstenB]

A lot of the Mom's wore wigs just for fun, or if they didn't they frosted their hair.

The Sear's catalog was where we got our snowmobile suits every winter.

My sisters and I had Holly Hobby matching pantsuits.

Our family had one car.

The baby always rode in a carbed.

There was only one type of gas: leaded.

The TV set came in a giant cabinet with a record player and radio. You always had to fiddle with the record player to get it to drop the record.

Mom had an 8 track player with Tom Jones and Barry Manilow tapes.

The Sonny and Cher show was on.

I don't remember ever having homework til junior high.

We wore uniforms for gym class.

P.E. was kickball and softball in warm weather, and floor hockey in the winter.

Houses only had one bathroom, and that was upstairs.

My best friend and I had huge crushes on Andy Gibb and Bucky Dent.

Everyone, boys and girls wore straight leg Levis and Levis cords and shirts.

 

[U2_rocks!]

We did exactly the same thing!

BTW: around here some dogs still run free around the neighbourhood, our drive in is still popular, and we only got zip codes last year!

 

[barkley]

o.m.g. i feel so old-most of the posted memories are things i remember as a young adult (talking senior year and several years into college )-so fess up people and let's put it into perspective-


the bi-centenial (aka known as 1976)- is it something you know of because your parents told you about it? is it something you briefly talked about in elementary school? or-is it something your highschool or college class used as a basis for their theme that year? other option-is it something you celebrated unwillingly as a full blown adult by virtue of every product in the u.s. carrying some marketing tie in?

 

[Forevryoung]

I'm older than you guys-

I got a cabbage patch doll for pooping on the potty!

I had a Big Bird turn table so that I could play my own records (I still have it somewhere)

Fraggle Rock, Captain Planet and Inspector Gadget were favorite cartoons

MTV and Ren and Stimpy were banned from my house

Full House!

Snap bracelets and collecting pogs and beanie babies

Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponys and Polly Pocket

Favorite board game with friends: Mall Madness (cha-ching!)

My first world event that I clearly remember is the Gulf War (I was in Kindergarten/first grade)

 

[beagle744]

o.m.g. i feel so old-most of the posted memories are things i remember as a young adult (talking senior year and several years into college )-so fess up people and let's put it into perspective-


the bi-centenial (aka known as 1976)- is it something you know of because your parents told you about it? is it something you briefly talked about in elementary school? or-is it something your highschool or college class used as a basis for their theme that year? other option-is it something you celebrated unwillingly as a full blown adult by virtue of every product in the u.s. carrying some marketing tie in?

I was 16 y.o.

 

[piglet50]

we only had a.m. radio. loved listening to the beatles, monkees, etc. but only until dark, then the signal faded away. ran down the battery in my dad's car one evening because we got some far away channel and could listen for a long time. dad was not happy.

 

[Becky2005]

o.m.g. i feel so old-most of the posted memories are things i remember as a young adult (talking senior year and several years into college )-so fess up people and let's put it into perspective-


the bi-centenial (aka known as 1976)- is it something you know of because your parents told you about it? is it something you briefly talked about in elementary school? or-is it something your highschool or college class used as a basis for their theme that year? other option-is it something you celebrated unwillingly as a full blown adult by virtue of every product in the u.s. carrying some marketing tie in?

I REMEMBER it (I was 8 )...the *main* thing I remember about 1976 was our town went around and re-painted all the fire hydrants red/white & blue. Some with stars, some not. I know somewhere in that vicinity (either 1976 or 1979) was the "big snowstorm" year...I don't recall much of that other than my mom telling me they had to go mark where the mailboxes were & also fire hydrants (I do notice a lot of fire hydrants around here now have tall poles with little metal flags on them! My guess is so when they get buried in the snow they can be found!).

I don't know the year but I also remember playing Star Wars with my brother with our "sabers" which were flashlights attached to yellow plastic blow-up material. The winter reminded me of that because I remember we were on snow banks doing it.

 

[Felicia]

I am loving this thread.... thanks all!

So many great memories.....