Remember when....

[#1]

....your mother put your school clothes on the oven door before you dressed in the morning?

[SewNSewSister]

@Former_Member.I think before the 80s there was more trust, courtesy and empathy for your fellow man (woman). Work ethics were installed in children by parents who handed down that wisdom from generations past. You worked for what you needed or wanted. Stealing was almost incomprehensible, bad manners were associated with low class, and getting older meant being wiser and more respected.

Not that it was perfect...far from it. But I believe we humans of that older generation actually tried harder to make each life matter besides our own.  A form of respect. More giving than taking. And while we may not have had everything we wanted/desired we made do with what we did have...and a lot of us counted our blessings.

Today's society saddens me. The elderly taken for granted and shunted away from life's mainstream. The all mighty dollar is just that...all mighty. What's yours is mine if I can find a way to get it. Social Security numbers and your identity are up for grabs if you're cunning enough to find out how to get them. Children learning how to fend for themselves and relishing the too few hours daily that they get from their parents because of work. Politicians that promise to help build a better society, but too many skeletons in their closet to make it happen some times...or greed or narcissism gets in the way. My, My we are a fast paced society today...and not very trusting either.

Finished venting. Bottom line...suck it up buttercup 'cause not much is gonna change anytime soon.

[GielDesigns]

@SewNSewSister  I agree with every word you wrote.  So true and, to me, so sad.  Sigh...

[DonnaDesigned]

Oh, my, yes.  We never locked our door during the day.  Kids were out playing and coming in and out all day.  We had one car... 8 in our family and only one car!  We walked or rode bikes all over town.  The car was only used when there were a lot of groceries to purchase or when we went out of town.  I hadn't thought about no talk about diets but that is true.  No one cmmented on what you chose to eat.

We spent summers with our grandparents and walked on the old (unused) railroad tracks and picked berries to eat and flowers for grandma.  We climbed trees and played on huge rocks .

I also grew up in Pennsylvania.

[Teddyrose54]

@SewNSewSister  You know, I think we just may end up back to where we started from. Things can not keep going the way they are. People have no time to raise thier kids, because they have to work. Elderly in homes as fast as their kids can put them there. It's as if in our society, that only the workers count. Those earning money for the big corporations. And those same companies grudge giving those workers every penny they have to.

I heard a kid once, say, he would put his parents in a home as soon as he could. As they had no time for him, so he'ld have no time for them. Sad, as he was only about 9 or 10. Makes you think.

I don't like social media much, or cars. When you couldn't travel far. Or get your 5 seconds of fame on social media, it makes you accountable for the type of person you really are.  Local people knew you, and you knew them. If you were spitful then you had to face those you upset.

But I still think that all that will sort it self out. That we can turn things around. We need manners, self respect, standards and caring people. That's what gives everyone quality of life.

[SewNSewSister]

I remember when carnivals came to town. I started saving those pop bottles so I could cash them in for 2 cents. I volunteered for extra chores for extra money. I was on my best behavior so my allowance wouldn't be in jeopardy. All this a couple weeks before that carnival was due to arrive.

I remember a ride called 'the Whip'. I would get in it with a couple of my sisters. I absolutely Loved that twirly ride with just a bar to hang onto. My youngest sister always threw up! My other sisters and I would kid her for days to come afterwards (added entertainment for us!).

The games were lame but everybody thought they were the best around! We were gambling and didn't even know it! Like the ducks' game. Hundreds of little yellow duckies with a number on the bottom floated round and round the little pool. And you picked one. The number on the bottom signified if you won a 'prize'. How about the penny toss. Cheap glassware was displayed and you tossed a penney on any one of them. If the penny landed on something you won it. A lot of pennies were lost on that game because it just didn't register that that penny would have such a bounce and land on the ground!

The side shows were always the best! We believed it all at our age. The Bearded Lady, The Elephant Man, The Lady with 2 Heads, The Talking Dog, and Monkey Boy. It was scary and believable. No common sense at our age for sure. We really did believe they were all real!

The food was always high calorie and tooth cracking good! Candy Apples, Cotton Candy, Chocolate Covered Pretzels and salt water taffy.

But I think the best thing about the Carnival was the 'bonding' of neighbor to neighbor. Everybody smiled and laughed with one another. It was safe to catch a ride home with whoever would volunteer to take you. Kids could make all the noise they wanted because it just blended in with the Carnival music. Prizes were won and proudly carried by all age groups. If you won a big stuffed Teddy Bear you were King! You spent your pennies, nickels and dimes and didn't mind going back home flat broke.

I went to many Carnivals during my growing up. My sisters and I still talk about them sometimes. It was pure innocence and added to our vivid imaginations as children. And we bonded more by sheer togetherness during those few hours at the Carnival. Good times.

[pigeonplumtree]

@SewNSewSister 

Mary, I have to tell you a story (or maybe I shared this one with you before?):

One time at the carnival when I was a little girl, I was riding the little train they had there, with my mother and a drunk man, with a beer bottle in one hand, began running along side the train quite close to us and trying to beat it.  But as he was running, he got too close to the wheels and I watched as he got sucked beneath the wheels of one of the cars.  He was being dragged on the ground and screaming.  When the train finally was stopped, I remember seeing him lying face down on the ground in a big pool of blood and part of his arm and head caught beneath the train.  I also remember an ambulance coming to the scene.

We didn't go for years and years and years after that.

[SewNSewSister]

Pigeon how truly awful! Especially for a little girl! Yes, I can imagine you were scarred for life after that. Fortunately, this wasn't a normal occurance at the carnivals. You know it wasn't until many many years later that carnivals in general started having to be inspected and safe guards put in place overall. But even today, as we know, accidents still happen.So very sad indeed.

[pigeonplumtree]

@SewNSewSister 

As a matter of fact, Mary, I wanted to go after that.  It was my mother who wouldn't let us go!  :)

[FinchvilleRoad]

@pigeonplumtree 

Pidgie, that's terrible!

I don't know which would have been scarier to me, the drunk guy chasing the train or seeing him run over.

[DonnaDesigned]

Many of the small towns in Pennsylvania still have a carnival each summer.  The one where I grew up still does.  

Knobel's Grove Amusement park in PA still has this sort of atmosphere as well.   Not side shows but the little games, the food, and rides of all kinds.  You don't pay to get in.  You pay if you ride or eat so if you want to take kids and not ride yourself, you don't have to pay for yourself.  It has always been a family favorite.

I wonder if fairs have taken the place of the carnivals?  

[SewNSewSister]

I remember when the school 'dress code' prohibited girls from wearing slacks or jeans to school. We had to always wear a dress. With a petticoat. And not more than 1 inch above the knees.

One time my mother was called at work to bring me another dress. The one I had on was shorter than was allowed. Thing was...I was growing and a new dress was not in the family budget. My mom explained the situation with the school. No compassion was given. I was sent home since another dress was not going to be brought to me.My mother was furious! The next day she went into the school before work and gave them a piece of her mind!

This was the earliest memory I had of my mom taking a stand. In those days women were supposed to be meek and always proper. The years that followed while growing up she taught all 5 of her daughters to always stand up when we felt an injustice had been done to us. She was ahead of her time in my opinion. She was also a firm believer in right and wrong and no excuses made in life. "Take it like a Man" was one of her favorite sayings. I miss you mom.

[pigeonplumtree]

@SewNSewSister 

Mary, my mom always stood up for us at school.

Schools were stupid about a lot of things back then.    They were stupid about certain things back in my day!   I'm glad your mom fought for you.  Good for her.

I can't get over what teachers were able to get away with back then.

[OpenVintagePreserve]

I was in high school in the early Sixties, and the dress length rule was, when you kneel on the floor, the skirt must touch the ground. So basically it had to be below knee length. It was during my college years (mid to late Sixties) and after, that my skirts got shorter and shorter. 

And like you, we were not allowed to wear pants of any sort. We also had to wear socks or hose - no bare legs! - and no air conditioning, so it could get hot during fall and spring. 

[WarmWeenies]

In High School during the 60's, if we lived in town, we walked to and from school. In winter (Michigan) my legs and knees, between the tops of my boots and the hem of my (required) skirt, would turn red and I could feel my knee joints "squeek" and "grind" when I used them after that long walk with no protection from the cold. One did not wear snow pants in High School. What a terrible thing to do to the girls.

[pigeonplumtree]

@WarmWeenies 

was this a public school?

[WarmWeenies]

Remember when we would admire each others nasty smallpox vaccines and the scabs that formed afterwards? The uglier it was the more attention you got (from other children). 

[SewNSewSister]

@WarmWeenies. I remember the very time I got the vaccine. I got to go into each class and announce "Time for Shots"! I felt like such a bigwig!

And I can still see the scar on my left upper arm all these years later.

[psych62]

It's the mark for "our generation", that scar! I don't know when they stopped giving that particular vaccine, but young people these days don't have it. 

[pigeonplumtree]

If had to choose just one element of the 60s fashion that you liked the best, which one would it be?

The clothing;

The hairstyles; or

The makeup?

[pigeonplumtree]

I love this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAeVOoTXt8o

[FinchvilleRoad]

Here you go Pidgie:

https://youtu.be/nuhoW-Bb6CE

[SewNSewSister]

Pigeon I adored the Beau Brummels! But the Beatles will probably always be my fav!

[PillowDetails]

I thought of something to post here in "Remember When" the other day - and then forgot what it was!  I do that a lot.  😜

[SewNSewSister]

Don't worry Pillow...we only 'remember when'...when we remember!#@*&% hahaaaa

[PillowDetails]

LOL!  It's usually at 3:00 am when I'm trying to bget to sleep!!