May in Jersey

I grew up in Brooklyn, and remember the Good Humor man, ours usually came daily in a small white truck. Treats were sometime things, a penny or two to buy candy on our way back to school after lunch at home, soda maybe once a week.

Kids played outdoors all the time, skating in the street as there were very few cars, going to the playground, up to Prospect Park by ourselves and having 'adventures'. In the summer we took the bus to Sunset Park to swin in the big pools and sometimes on the weekend our family would pack a huge lunch and go to Coney Island or Riess Park for a day at the beach. Remember those gallon thermos for our drinks? No matter how much ice we put in them our drinks were always luke warm. Sunday after dinner we went to the movies taking along all our younger brothers and sisters. Movie, cartoon, news reel and a chapter all on one small box of candy. Had to ration out the candy to the little kids or they would eat their's even before the movie started and then they would cry to go home. A big woman in a white uniform and a flashlight was the matron who walked up and down the aisles to make sure we kept quiet during the show. Just the thought of her makes me shiver even today. Ah, those were the good old days, LOL!
May in Jersey

PS. We also lived in the 3 story house, it was owned by my grandfather. We had a huge kitchen in the basement and occupied the first floor, the 2 other floors were rented to other families. We had use of the back yard and spent may days there playing and helping my grandfather with the garden and his fig tree. Fig tree was wrapped up every winter so the frost wouldn't kill it. Sweetest figs I even tasted. Everyone had clothes lines from their kitchen window to the pole in the back of the yard and laundy was hanging every day of the week except Sunday. My mother had a wringer washing machine in the storage section of the basement that she rolled over to the kitchen sink. One time she got her arm caught in the wringer and that was the end of wringers for her.

May in Jersey

Forgot to say that the several "Remember when" topics are keeping me from my housework, on second thought that's not a bad idea, LOL! May in Jersey

sueisallaboutquilts

Forgot to say how much I loved Woolworth's!!!!!!!! :D

ptquilts

Woolworth's, OMG, where else could you buy windmill cookies and a parakeet in the same store.

Ramona Byrd

I remember walking to town with Grandma, proudly carrying the feed sack we had to match so I could have a new dress, and if she had the money (in the 1930s) she would take me to the little ice cream shop with the lovely white bent metal chairs and white tables. And the fancy ice cream!! All we had in the winter was snow ice cream, when it was too cold to really want it.

Going into town by myself for Grandma's cigarettes..old Blind Man Price could tell by the footsteps who it was coming into his store, and call me by name even before I would say a thing. At that time, way back then, kids were allowed to buy cigarettes for the adults in their familes if the shop keeper knew the older ones couldn't walk into town so easily. And that nice man always put a piece of penny candy in the sack with the cigarettes. (off the record, I've never smoked in all my life.) My one and only smoke was made from corn husks and dried corn silk...the experience cured me!!

sewmuchmore

going to the movies once a week was the big thing we got to do. We had to pay a quarter. At the cafe would bought a buger and fries and coke for .35 cent Remeber when you when out on Halloween the streets were filled with kids. You had to be fast because they ran out of candy. Wow the good old days.

stitchinwitch

I remember when I was 4 - yes FOUR - and my grandfather asked me to go to the grocery store 5 blocks away to get him a pack of camels and I could get myself an ice cream - he gave me 35 cents that covered it.....hard to believe - 4 years old - walking that far - and BUYING cigaretts for that amount!

sosew4fun

Since we are in memory lane... Do you remember your first
job after high school? I came to Des Moines to work for Ma Bell.
Wore dresses with slips, hose & high heels, earrings & gloves
every day. NO AIR CONDITIONING in the building..Walked to work everyday... Hmm. maybe that explains bad knees now.
Wouldn't trade that experience for anything!
Carole

Grandmama Pat

I certainly remember my first job. Went to work the week after graduation working as a secretary in a school of nursing for $1.00 an hour. That was good money back then.

I remember when I was a child, we lived in the country also. And I do mean country. We lived in Montevallo, AL before it was a college town, but we lived in a rural area. My mom canned all our vegetables and my dad raised chickens, pigs and cows for meat. Mom had a day she baked bread, pies and cookies for the rest of the week. She also had a wash day and an ironing day. Ironing was sure a chore back then because she ironed everything -- most of it was starched, too. I have lots of memories of that time. Then we moved to St. Louis, MO. We lived there for almost two years and my dad passed away, so Mom and I moved back to Alabama. I had three brothers and two sisters, (2 brothers have since passed away), they were all much older than I. The sister closest to me in age is 8 years older. We sure had some good times and times were tough a lot back then. I remember listening to the radio at night "Fibber McGee & Mollie", "Innersanctum" (spelling), and "George Burns and Gracie Allen." I remember when Elvis' "Love Me Tender" made #1 and all the others after and before that one.

So many memories! Like you said Carole, wouldn't trade these memories for anything.

sosew4fun

I ws born and raised in a small town. Have 5 brothers and 2 sisters,(all living & well). Life wasn't easy, all the gardening, canning, , washing (old wringer) and ironing..We were poor but didn't know it. Always had what we needed but no frills. Spent
every Sunday afternoon visiting grandparents along with a
house full of cousins, aunts & uncles. Will celebrate my 50th
class reunion in May...Only had 21 in the class and hve lost 4 but the rest remain close friends...Rural Iowa was the best
place to live.