Warm and fuzzy--childhood memories

[PrincessRosie]

:yes: I'm going to start a new thread, since we are all posting on the same ones.

Let's remember the things from our childhood that we loved and that, when we think about them, it brings a smile to our face. And let's see how many different things we can come up with.

Again, something to warm our hearts, if just for a second.

I'll start--feeding the ducks.:) :)

[BaciBecky]

Walking down Main Street in Disneyland when it was new and I was about 8 :D

I have very few childhood memories (we moved a lot), but remember everything about Disneyland!

[PrincessRosie]

sleeping over at Grandma and Grandpa's house

[Cruey]

sleepovers

[BriarRose]

Sunday drives when I was 7 to 15 with my Great Aunts :D Yes I said Aunts I had 4 of them! I would sit in the back and we would go all over gabbing and stopping for lunch.

I usually took a book but it was fun anyway :D

[Cruey]

Slapping a Turkish Taffy on the sidewalk to break it to share with friends.

[PrincessRosie]

riding a carousel horse and grabbing for the brass ring

[BaciBecky]

breaking a 3 Musketeers in 3 equal parts for friends

[Cruey]

wearing my skate key around my neck

[johnnyblack]

Opening a fresh jar of Skippy's Peanut Butter.

[PrincessRosie]

mixing all of my grandma's expensive perfumes together to make a special present for her (and she didn't even fuss at me)

[AndyL]

making tents out of sheets in your bedroom

[Cruey]

catching fireflies in jars

[Flash]

making mud pies in my grandma's huge yard

[BaciBecky]

Christmas Eve

[AndyL]

balsa gliders

[Lady]

throwing the seeds from a tree (the ones with wings) up into the air and watching them come spiraling down as if a helicopter

[Lady]

popping caps in long red strips of paper with a rock on the sidewalk since no one would buy me (a girl) a cap gun lol

[LisaG]

riding our big wheel up and down the sidewalks on hot summer nights...

[OhMickeyYoureSoFine]

My first field trip, to a dairy farm.

Explaining to the teacher that I wanted to drink the milk from the cow with the most black spots on its hide, because it would surely have the most chocolatey milk.

[Cruey]

Watching the annual telecast of The Wizard Of Oz.

[PrincessRosie]

Oh yeah, Cruey--I remember that, too. That was always a treat.

How about this one--the tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Fisher (was that his name)? They called it the Battle of the Sexes?

And then my mama went out and got me a tennis racket, and then I took lessons and ended up on the tennis team at the country club because I wanted to be a great tennis player, more like Chrissie Evert, who I thought was a lot cuter than Billie Jean.

[Lady]

cutting through the neighborhood cemetery on the way home from school (first grade) and gathering some of the new flowers from the graves to take home to my mother :yikes: :yowsa: my mom was so touched by it :cry: naturally at 6 I had no money but still wanted to give my mom flowers :lmbo: She explained that she didn't need any more ;)

[Cruey]

That's pretty funny Lady, you were very brave to go into the grave yard. Along the same theme, I used to take sissors and cut the climbing roses that grew through the fence and gave them to my mom and teacher. I would bring a piece of foil to wrap the stems in so it would look professional. The roses grew at a neighbor's but since they grew through the fence and hung over the sidewalk, which was public property, I figured I wouldn't get arrested for helping myself. I did the same thing with lilacs in the spring.:lol: I was about 8 at the time.

[Lady]

ya know in some odd way - the departed might have been happy that their flowers were used in that way : )

covering boxes with macaroni noodles and spray painting them gold or silver - etc. - presents to make for family members in school - we usually did this right before the holidays : )

[PrincessRosie]

Now I understand why you looked so at home in Metairie Cemetary, Michelle. hahahaha I knew guys in college who would go and get flowers for their girlfriends from the cemetary. That was sick.

And btw--we're going to Commander's Palace on Friday for my mama's 70th birthday!!!! First time since the storm.

Anyway, your post got me thinking of another childhood memory.

Covering an old shoe box with foil or wrapping paper, glueing Mardi Gras beads or doubloons and dolls on them every year to make a Mardi Gras float to bring to school for a school project. Mine never won.:crying:

Oh--I ate at Crabby Jack's 3 times last week.;)

[Lady]

I really loved Crabby Jacks Rosie!!

Your float school project reminded me of another one : )

We would read a story and then you had to take a shoebox and make a diorama - of one of the scenes from the story : )
I remember using clay, fabric, etc. made the scene where Marley visits Scrooge while he's eating his soup by the fireplace - it was fun making all the links of Marley's chain with gray clay : )

great thread Rosie!!

[PrincessRosie]

Having a goat at a petting zoo try to eat my school skirt while on a field trip with my kindergarten class.:yowsa:

[AndyL]

Collecting frog eggs to watch grow into frogs in the class fish tank

[BaciBecky]

being so shy would wait in the attic for my relatives to arrive for the annual summer visit :oops:

[AndyL]

Fizzies http://www.fizzies.com/

[Belle]

Watching my 1st Grade teacher - a young nun in a full length nun outfit and habit, no less - hiking up her skirt and wading through the puddles in the school yard to catch us tadpoles! :lol:

What is even better is that she was doing that kind of stuff when Mikaela was in her class just 3 years ago! :lol:

[AndyL]

Lincoln Logs

[MJTinNH]

Staying overnight with Grandma.

[AndyL]

Listening to Grandma's music boxes

[PrincessRosie]

Belle--

Hahahahaha!!!!:lmbo: Nuns hiking up their habits!!!!! Do they still wear habits in your neck of the woods???

I got one. Nuns hitting kids on their hands with rulers. And how about those HUGE rosaries that hung from their belts--was it a belt. I sure didn't want to find out. I never got whacked with a ruler, though.;)

[Cruey]

A nun gave me her rosary, it is really huge and it did hang from her fabric belt. They were a great early warning device to let you know a nun was in the near vicinity and to behave. You could hear them clicking a mile away.;) A favorite memory of mine is line dancing to Motown music with the nuns. They were pretty funny in their full length habits and grooving to the Temptations, their rosaries would swing to the beat of the music, we learned they were human too.

[Belle]

Belle--

Hahahahaha!!!!:lmbo: Nuns hiking up their habits!!!!! Do they still wear habits in your neck of the woods???

I got one. Nuns hitting kids on their hands with rulers. And how about those HUGE rosaries that hung from their belts--was it a belt. I sure didn't want to find out. I never got whacked with a ruler, though.;)

Yup :lol: The catholic school/church I went to was run by the Sisters of the Presentation - they still have the neck to ankles/wrists blue dresses with apron, full head habit to the waist, looooooong rosaries ties to teh belt, etc. Very traditional... Though there are many more lay teachers there now than when I was there :? But I was glad Mik got to have the same teacher I did - she played the piano in class, caught tadpoles, made snow angels, and just got right into the fun with the kids. Thankfully, most of our nuns were very loving and never even threadened the ruler.

Another memory -- The principle (who was atleast 150 and had 6 chins when I attended and only recently retired :yikes: ) had only to walk in the room with a stern look and the disappointment speech and you felt horribly guilty - even if you didn't do anything... I think 50+ years of dealing with insolent children will bring that out in a person :lol: I remember the looks of fear on everyone's face when she entered the room - but alone, she was a big teaddy bear... one of the sweetest women you'd ever meet. :)

[PrincessRosie]

A PRESENTATION SISTER--FROM IRELAND????

No way!!! They taught me too.

And I have a really good memory of that, too. They came to the US when I was in like 3rd grade, which was in the very late 60s. They didn't know what a toaster or a dishwasher or a washing machine--nothing was.

But the crown jewel was when this one nun, the one who was the queen of whacking kids with her ruler (Sister Paul) took the huge station wagon that the parish bought for the nuns, brand new--and Sister Paul hit the school fence, and knocked the whole fence down--and some kid, whose father was president of the Men's Club came to school and told us. We laughed and laughed--so we got punished and had to miss recess that day. hahahahahahahaha

[Lady]

St. Joseph's Nuns taught me : )
Gettysburg/Hanover PA

Seeing my first concert at Hershey Park - Grand Funk Railroad
with a few of the nuns in attendance - just as Cruey mentioned
... hey they are humans!! It was fun : )

[Lady]

Prep School - gosh these memories would take three more threads at least!! ;)

[AndyL]

Wax Lips

[Cruey]

I was taught by the Ursulines, a French order.

Lady and I went to boarding schools, so we were with the nuns 24/7. As for a memory, my dad would send a couple of bottles of beer back for the 2 nuns who actually slept in the dorms with us. The beer would be packed in my luggage, I never got in trouble with Customs either. The sisters were so happy to get that beer too!

[VeronicaG]

Standing on my dad's feet and dancing with him. I wish I had a duaghter so I could see my husband do that, it's so precious.

[Lady]

Cruey and everyone : )

At night we would wait for the dorm nuns to fall asleep - then would walk through the school part - through a tunnel or two into the convent part then up some stairs and sneak through the living area of the convent down the stairs into the basement and take liquor out!! :yikes: :yikes:
They had wine - vodka and orange juice and something else :lmbo:
We would only take one bottle of something - they didn't catch on for a couple of years - then one time it was all gone - haha - maybe they got caught :lmbo:

I swear when I watch The Trouble with Angels it makes me think of school days - gosh the plots we would scheme up!! ;)

[Cruey]

:lol: Ha Lady, we used to help ourselves to the altar wine. We had one priest, name never known, who kept several bottles of wine for Mass. Naturally it was unconsecrated. We used to sneak into the Nun's side (it was the motherhouse for 200 nuns) they had a special diet kitchen where food was made for the elderly and infirm sisters. Well, it just so happened they had baby food. :mrgreen: We used to take off with jars of baby bananas. Those were SO good. Oh the stories Lady and I could tell. :yowsa:

[BaciBecky]

Hmm.....what interesting "nun" memories....I have a few from behind the scenes...I was a nun. Yup. Full habit.

In all my years of knowing women religious who were teachers, I have never met one who hit children. I did meet a few sharp tongued ones though.:-o Whatever negative experience one may have had with women religious, there were even more such stories of lay teachers. :yes:

Belle, so good to know the Presentation Sisters are kind - I know someone who is discerning with that Community.

My warm and fuzzy memory is the first day I entered the convent and the beautiful candles all lit on the altar...then after we chanted the Office (prayer), we went outside for a picnic and made one another disgusting ice cream Sundaes - which we had to eat :lol:

It was during the picnic that they told me all the celebration was not for my entrance, though they were thrilled I'd arrived :yes:, but because it was the feast day of our Foundress. I played along as it was all in fun.

Wow, what a wonderful memory. A very, very special day in my life. I was 18.

[Lady]

No. 2 brother and I putting Creepy Crawlers in each other's bedroom :yikes:
didn't have to make them either - when we moved into our house (an old Phila. home) in the basement was a brown bag in a corner of some shelving - inside the bag were a good 300 or so bugs (creepy crawler bugs) We had a blast with those fake bugs lol

[PrincessRosie]

Creepy Crawlers--that's the name of those things that we used to make with that liquid goop that you would cook. And then there was that thing that you could make the flower things with, and the Incredible Edibles--which were so gross, but my grandma used to be so very polite and eat them and pretend like they were good.

Wax lips--haha--these are all great!!!!!!

How about All American Band Stand and Dick Clark and go-go boots (the white patent leather variety) and Souuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul Train!!!!!!

[AndyL]

Listening to Mercury Space Launches in the school yard on your transitor radio

[Lady]

Two Words!!

Pixie Stixs

[PrincessRosie]

How about listening to the air raid alarm that they rang every day at noon?

[VeronicaG]

Going fishing on the weekends and eating what we caught for dinner that night. It was always so much fun to tease my brother when he didn't catch anything!

[PrincessRosie]

running through the sprinkler on a hot day

[AndyL]

making & flying kites

[PrincessRosie]

rolling down the levee

[AndyL]

red light-green light

[Lady]

Mother May I?

Being lucky enough to have the beach as your yard : ) and going to school at "The Shore" - In April - May - June - our teachers would take us to the beach with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop and teach us while we were sitting in the sand - WOW thanks for the memory - those days were so very special!

This was post my schooling with the nuns - last two years of high school
I was home at The Shore :)

[PrincessRosie]

Sitting on the counter in my great grandpa's store and drinking all of the Chocolate Soldiers that I wanted to drink.

[Cruey]

..Penny pretzel sticks and if they were broken, 2 for a penny! Naturally I went for the broken ones.:mrgreen:

[Lady]

sliding or rolling down a grassy hill inside a cardboard box :yikes:
well actually it was part of the box - you lay on it and hold the sides up around you - sort of like the mats at a water park

[AndyL]

Playing horseshoes with Grandpa

[Cruey]

Faygo Red Pop

[PrincessRosie]

rolling up your Catholic school skirt to make it shorter

[Cruey]

I did that all the time, Rosie.:lol:

Having our boyfriends call the dorm and telling the switchboard nun that they were our "uncle". Think the nuns fell for that one?:rolleyes:

[PrincessRosie]

how about this one--putting Elmer's glue into that little ditch in the middle of a wooden ruler, letting it dry, and then removing it--voila--fake fingernails!!!!!

[AndyL]

hunting salamanders

[PrincessRosie]

catching doodlebugs

[AndyL]

Making puppet theaters from Refridgerator boxes

[FLSharon]

We didn't have lincoln logs, we had red bricks.. I loved building houses... it was so difficult to put in the windows.

Picking up pop bottles at a soft ball field behind my house.. After collecting a whole case it would be exchanged for a bag of popcorn.. and It was really good popcorn.;)

I also loved the running through the sprinkler on hot days.. did that many, many times.

Walking to the corner store after school to get a 3 cent candy bar.

And I too loved the red wax lips...

Taking my dog home because he was in the school hall barking.. happened many times.

Going trick or treating with my sister (who was 7 yrs older).. we would go two nights and get two whole bags of candy. Other nights we would soap windows..:oops: no TPing back then.

Or did you ever do this one??? take an empty spool of thread ...oh the spool was made of wood then.... put notches around each end. Next wind a string around it. Put a pencil through the center hole and hold it against a window .. then pull the string real fast.. made a horrible sound .. and you really had to run fast!:oops:

This is a fun thread....

And I love the catholic school stories.. and to Rosie, Cru, and Shell ... never would have thought;)

[PrincessRosie]

buying penny candy

[AndyL]

Launching water rockets

[FLSharon]

Shell's sliding in a box reminded me of snow sledding... one big hill in particular.. not actually so big now...:lol:

trying ice skating for the first time

[LimeGreenCheri]

listening to my great grandfather play bluegrass music in their living room on Friday nights.

[VeronicaG]

Going on school field trips to Myakka River State Park.

Canoeing on the Myakka River and watching the alligators swim by and counting the ones on the river bank sunning themselves. In the early afternoon sometimes we would count up 12 alligators sunning on the river bank and at least 6 swimming in the river and around the lake.I'm taking my nieces out there this weekend to go canoeing. The younger of the two ( they are 13 and 14) just moved down here a couple of years ago and has never been before. It will be an experience she will never forget!

[FLSharon]

Going on school field trips to Myakka River State Park.

Canoeing on the Myakka River and watching the alligators swim by and counting the ones on the river bank sunning themselves. In the early afternoon sometimes we would count up 12 alligators sunning on the river bank and at least 6 swimming in the river and around the lake.I'm taking my nieces out there this weekend to go canoeing. The younger of the two ( they are 13 and 14) just moved down here a couple of years ago and has never been before. It will be an experience she will never forget!


Oh you can bet it will be!! I've never canoed that park... sounds just a little unnerving!:shock:

[Photographer]

Crying at the end of each episode of "Donny & Marie".

[AndyL]

Ben Cooper Halloween Costumes

[VeronicaG]

Oh you can bet it will be!! I've never canoed that park... sounds just a little unnerving!:shock:


It really isn't as bad as it sounds. The alligators in the lake never come more than 12 feet to a boat or canoe. Most of the time they are swimming away from the caones as they approach. They really don't want anything to do with them. There are always people wadeing into the lake and fishing during the day also. The alligators keep a wide distance between themselves and the people in and around the lake and river. I wouldn't go near the lake at night though. It's actually off limits at night because thats when the alligators start hunting and feeding.

[AndyL]

rowing my Grandfather as he fished off the side of the rowboat

[FLSharon]

rowing my Grandfather as he fished off the side of the rowboat

Oh so you were his trolling motor...;)



and Thanks VeronicaG

[AndyL]

And all the minnows I wanted to eat ;)

[Cinderella]

I loved family get-togethers at the holidays. We lived upstairs from grandma and grandpa (mom's parents) and the entire clan would meet downstairs on Christmas Eve (after mass). The adults would be in one room and the kids in the other (tons of us). We'd put "records" on and listen to 50's music and dance (one cousin was in a dance group on TV and we all took turns dancing with him).

I loved getting in the old car and having my father drive us to "long island" when we lived in Brooklyn NY and we visited my one aunt who was smart enough to move out of the city. We thought we were in heaven. My two brothers and I would run around all day, fight for the hammock, play crochet, batmitten etc. Then it was a few hours drive back home in traffic. (We lived in three room apartment - my brothers and I had one room to share until we were 8, 11-me, and 16).

My grandma was not healthy and she would sit by the front window and talk to the neighbors from inside the house. When my younger brother and I said hello she'd give us 5 pennies and told us not to tell grandpa. We'd run around the corner to the candy store and take hours to figure out which penny candy we wanted. I loved playing flashlight tag and hide 'n seek, double-dutch jump rope. My favorite was roller skating down the street and stopping myself by grabbing hold of a car handle before I hit the big avenue with lots of traffic. (these are the real roller skates which needed a key to tighten the skates on to your shoes).

I LOVED school - from kindergarten to high school. Loved having our sorority, being class secretary, running the dances, going on bike-hikes and picnics with our group (girls and guys).

Especially loved getting out of that tiny apartment and heading for cabins in New England in the summers - didn't stay long as we always ate more then my dad thought we would. We'd stay in those little cabins near streams - favorite was in Lake George where the cabins were called, "The Seven Dwarfs".

Was raised Catholic but didn't go to Catholic Schools (parents couldn't afford it) but I had to leave classes every Wednesday to go to "religious instructions" in the church next to the school. The nuns were not happy with us because we went to "public" schools and they gave us tons of work to memorize each week. No nun every hit my hand with a ruler as I was a "good" girl back then.

cinderella

[AndyL]

Making snow da ms in the gutter to see them collect water

[PrincessRosie]

sparklers for the 4th of July

[AndyL]

playing with puppies

[PrincessRosie]

playing cowboys and Indians

[Cinderella]

Building a "fort" with my younger brother in the TV room using a card table and sheets and cutting a hole for the "door" and eating sugared cereal out of a box while watching Saturday morning CARTOONS!!!

cinderella

[AndyL]

Cracker jack in boxes

[ChrisR]

Making Christmas sugar cookies with my grandmother

[Timon]

The smell of Gandma's whole house, but the pantry in particular.

[ddoll]

Waking up scared in the hospital as a kid and turning to see my grandfather sitting right next to me.
He smiled and said "Hi Gorgeous" and I answered "Hi Handsome"
(our standard greeting)

[AndyL]

The comforting smell of Vicks Vaporub when I was sick as a child

[Timon]

Playing ball (base, soft or whiffle) all day long all summer long with breaks only for lunch and a dip in somebodies pool.

[AndyL]

Planting fruit trees with my dad

[FLSharon]

The comforting smell of Vicks Vaporub when I was sick as a child


Well, I'm not sure this one is comforting but andy's vicks reminded me of it...... Mom used to have this steamer things that she put vicks in.. then when i'd get a chest cold, she'd put a sheet over me with this thing going so I'd inhale the vicks vapor... literally. Never really liked it much:razz:


But on a fun note... hide and seek .. and red rover , red rover.

[Timon]

:whistle: Dad's whistle calling us home for supper. It was loud enough to be heard throughout the neighborhood and had a distinct "melody". Among my 6 siblings and myself, I'm the only one that learned how to whistle like Daddy. I used it at his funeral when I said his eulogy and broke up (happily) my brothers and sisters. Boy what I wouldn't give to hear that sound again. I guess I have to settle for hearing it when I call Stitch.:whistle:

[Timon]

Well, I'm not sure this one is comforting but andy's vicks reminded me of it...... Mom used to have this steamer things that she put vicks in.. then when i'd get a chest cold, she'd put a sheet over me with this thing going so I'd inhale the vicks vapor... literally. Never really liked it much:razz: Sharon, that steamer was a Vicks Vaporizer.

[Timon]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this one yet. Watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.

[AndyL]

My first sip of coffee as a kid

[Cinderella]

Timon,
You beat me to it. I wanted to add:
Running home from school to watch Annette on Mickey Mouse Club.
Staying up to watch Walt and the newest adventures/movies on the Wonderful World of Disney - never missed a night!

cinderella

[AndyL]

Touch Football games

[FLSharon]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this one yet. Watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.

Oh how could we forget that one??:lol: And I remember going to a neighbors house to watch one night b/c they had just gotten the first color tv in the neighborhood!!

[AndyL]

Radios with Tubes

[BaciBecky]

pay phones that cost a nickel

[PrincessRosie]

or phones with a rotary dial

[Timon]

or phones with a rotary dialRosie, my IL's still have phones with rotary dials. DW refers to there house as casa de Flintstones.

[FLSharon]

pay phones that cost a nickel


They still do in Wapakoneta, Ohio!!:lol:



or phones with a rotary dial

What about this one.... the special rings for your family. We had the ol' operator.. ours was long, short, long. :yikes:

[AndyL]

Slide rules

[BaciBecky]

Squirrel candies for a penny

[AndyL]

When Margarine was new and you had to mix in the color

[BaciBecky]

Gee, when was that?? :shock: :wink:

when a nickel bought a bottle of Coke from the machine

[PrincessRosie]

The Brady Bunch (and Party Teacher from the old RCH really went to school with Marcia Brady in real life)

[GloriaK]

I will list a couple of things that came to mind..............

being able to get on a major sugar high with 50cents at the penny candly aisle :yikes:

playing Barbie with my friends..... we would set up our cases and make separate apartments and just spend hours playing make believe

[Timon]

GloriaK's post reminded me of this, which is basically the boy's equivalent playing with Barbie, and that's playing with Tonka Trucks.

[AndyL]

Playing with Erector sets

[Lady]

putting straight pins in my barbies' ears for earrings and using discarded cartons as apartments for them - built their homes from trash :lmbo:

Caramel Cremes!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AndyL]

Camping with my Boy Scout Troop

[Lady]

Colorforms!

[PrincessRosie]

Chatty Cathy

[Cruey]

Dancerina!
http://www.dollinfo.com/images/60misc/dancbox.JPG

[OhMickeyYoureSoFine]

http://www.kidspartyfun.com/images/legos.jpghttp://www.terragalleria.com/images/pacific/hawa32952.jpeg
http://www.camps.ymca.org.au/htm/img/phillipisland/img_1452.jpghttp://www.brandsoftheworld.com/brands/0015/0833/brand.gifhttp://www.travelaustralia.org.au/userimages/user1312_1148474199.jpghttp://www.campbellsoup.co.jp/arnotts/images/what03.jpghttp://www.simplylush.com/Uploads/Images/craigieburn_nsw2.jpghttp://p.vtourist.com/1/895327-Hanauma_Bay_Toilet_Bowl_Before_and_After-Hanauma_Bay.jpg

[Ursulinda]

When 'sanding the roads' meant literally, a guy standing in the back of the truck throwing out shovelsful of sand by hand. We lived at the top of a long hill and one day mom and I were out sledding on the road. The guy did not sand the hill on the down side ( which would have ruined our fun) but waited until they came back in the other direction and only sanded the "up" side.

[FLSharon]

Playing Jacks and Pick up Sticks

[Photographer]

Fashion shows. Yes, I was a liitle model for temple fashion shows many moons ago alongside 2 of my mom's friends' kids: Neil and Jeremy.

[Lady]

Baby First Step

http://www.geocities.com/ourtoys1961/baby1ststep1.jpg

[Lady]

Cruey great idea posting a photo : )

Here's another fun childhood memory!!

http://www.mariva.com/images/mysterydatebox.gif

[Cruey]

http://www.sodapopstop.com/images/products/large_692.jpg (javascript:history.back();)

The best orange pop, ever! I consumed many of those on Sundays in the summer. We were only allowed 1 bottle of pop a week and Sunday was the big day!

[AndyL]

Hot Chocolate w/marshmallows in it

[MJTinNH]

Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies from scratch with Grandma

[MJTinNH]

Walking back to the Farm Pond behind the house and checking on the Tadpoles.

[Timon]

I was a little older when this took place. I fondly remember enjoying a Milkyway bar and an RC cola while waiting for the delivery truck to drop off the afternoon newspaper which I delivered. Sometimes the papers would have already been delivered and then I'd enjoy my afternoon delight while folding them. In the summer, the candy shop owner would freeze the Milkyways. Mmmmm Mmmmmmm good.

[AndyL]

learning how to cook pancakes as a kid

[Lady]

horseback riding at Malvern Prep (boy's school) - PA every Friday : )
My horse was Teddybear lol

[Timon]

Andy reminded me of a camping trip we took when I was 8. One of the places we stayed was along the Blue Ridge Trail in Virginia. There were huckleberry bushes that were in season so Dad made huckleberry pancakes that were just magnificent.

[PrincessRosie]

The Mickey Mouse Club before they started rapping and hip-hopping

[Lady]

Amen to that one Rosie!!!

Timon's and his berries reminded me of going to my Aunt's home in Delaware and out to my Aunt's strawberry garden with a basket when I was about 5 or 6 - mom and her sister wanted to talk and out I went to pick strawberries - I always brought in an empty basket :lmbo:

[FLSharon]

There were huckleberry bushes that were in season so Dad made huckleberry pancakes that were just magnificent.

Are huskleberries tiny little red things?? I had a bush with something red on them.. but forgot the name... There was also one with green berries.. maybe gooseberries.. Whatever happened to these? Are they still around anywhere??

[AndyL]

Along those lines wild blackberry & raspberry picking

[Timon]

Are huskleberries tiny little red things?? I had a bush with something red on them.. but forgot the name... There was also one with green berries.. maybe gooseberries.. Whatever happened to these? Are they still around anywhere??

Sharon,

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Huckleberry is a name used in North America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America) for several plants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant) in two closely related genera in the family Ericaceae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ericaceae): Gaylussacia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaylussacia) and Vaccinium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium).
While some Vaccinium species, such as the Red Huckleberry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_parvifolium), are always called huckleberries, other species may be called blueberries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry) or huckleberries depending upon local custom. Similar Vaccinium species in Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) are called bilberries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilberry).
Note that there is much confusion in naming of berries in American English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English). The 'garden huckleberry' (Solanum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum) melanocerasum) is not considered to be a true huckleberry but a member of the nightshade family.
The fruit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit) of the various species of plant called huckleberry are generally edible. The berries are small and round, usually less than 5 mm in diameter, and contain 10 relatively large seeds. Berries range in color according to species from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet, with a flavor similar to that of a blueberry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry), especially in blue/purple colored varieties. Huckleberries are a favorite of many animals such as bears (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear).

The ones we had were blue, but it's possible the bush you mentioned was indeed a Red Huckleberry bush.

[AndyL]

Coloring books and Crayola crayons

[Cruey]

Climbing a tree and sitting in the branches

[Timon]

This one is one that not too many people can share with me, but it's something that always gives me a warm fuzzy whenever I think about it. When I was 9 years old my Mom & Dad packed our camping equipment and their 3 youngest children into a VW microbus and we camped our way cross country and back. On our way to the Pacific coast I got to see the Indianapolis Speedway, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands of SD, Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks in WY, Lake Louise in Banff AB, the Sky Needle of Seattle, Crater Lake in OR, CA Rte 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway), Redwood National Park, San Francisco (eating at Fisherman's wharf), Los Angeles, Disneyland and the Mission at San Juan Capestrano. Heading back east we went down the Las Vegas Strip right at mid-night, swam in Lake Mead, stayed on both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon in AZ, saw oil wells in TX and OK, went through a torrential down pour in Little Rock AR, had my first encounter with overt racism in Jackson MS and spent a fantastic week at my uncle's farm outside of Greenville SC to wrap up almost two months worth of travel. BTW we did this in a tent.

[BaciBecky]

Timon, I can share a similar memory! My dad was career Navy.We moved more than most Navy families and usually coast to coast. We always drove (took the train twice!) and so I have the most wonderful memories of those road trips.

By the time I was eleven I'd visited the The Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, DisneyLand, Pacific Coast Highway (we lived in Oxnard for 2 years)...(even Niagara Falls when returning the northern route)...the list goes on. We drove Rt 66 so many times that it is an indelible (& wonderful) childhood memory of a Tee Pee Trading Post, old time local gas stations, souvenir shops and so much more.

It was a magical time for sure!

[FLSharon]

Wow, Mark and Christine...you guys sure got around... sounds like fun now... but when I was a kid... if my folks had done that and made me sleep in a tent , I probably would have whined like crazy. Go figure!:confused:

[AndyL]

Watching Crusader Rabbit

[BaciBecky]

Wow, Mark and Christine...you guys sure got around... sounds like fun now... but when I was a kid... if my folks had done that and made me sleep in a tent , I probably would have whined like crazy. Go figure!:confused:

Me too, Sharon! Thank goodness my mother had us in nice motels every night. Back then (waaay back then :lol:) Best Western Motels had an excellent reputation for cleanliness (my mother was cleaner than God), so we began watching for one about 4 each afternoon. Early to bed, early to hit the road the next morning :yes:

[PrincessRosie]

Captain Kangaroo

[Cruey]

building a snow fort

[Lady]

Mr. Green Jeans

[Cruey]

Wearing a head-to-toe new outfit for Easter, including a hat and white gloves and Mary Jane's.

[BaciBecky]

Oh, I remember that too, Cur..that is a warm and fuzzy memory!

Finding the Easter goodies the Easter Bunny left hidden in green faux grass in the house (usually in corners:).

[jacobandlukesmom]

Me, LimeGreenCheri and another cousin of ours along with my Grandparents crammed together in the cab of a 1974 Ford F150 and going to Pigeon Forge for a week.

[jacobandlukesmom]

:whistle: Dad's whistle calling us home for supper. It was loud enough to be heard throughout the neighborhood and had a distinct "melody".
Timon, my dad used to whistle for us to come home when we were out playing. My family all came to see my oldest DS play a baseball game and in the midst of the croud my parents became seperated from us. Dad gave the whistle and the only 2 people to turn around were my brother and I.:lol:

[PrincessRosie]

Dressing up for the annual Santa picture, and then going to sit on Santa's knee with my pre-made, 5 page long list

[Lady]

This is a long one -

Going to John Wannamakers in Philadelphia with my grandmother (meet me at the Eagle) ;) walking around in Toyland - riding the monorail around toyland - watching the Christmas show on the wall with the giant organ playing Christmas tunes - then having a snowball icecream on a china plate in the Crystal Tea Room at Wannamakers!

What a Philly event!!! I had my white kid gloves and my black Mary Janes - the hat with streamers - dang I'm old :lmbo:

side note - all through life - even when I was older - we in Philly would say - Meet me at the Eagle - you knew just where to hook up with your pals : )

Hugs - great memory - Shell

[PrincessRosie]

Riding the riverboat and listening to the calliope.:minnie:

[Lady]

walking along the beach moments after a N'oreaster and finding all kinds of goodies washed up

[FLSharon]

Spending a family vacation on Clearwater Beach in a renovated garage that was rented out.. right on the beach. It was the best. Ofcourse it has condo's there now.:crying: We just drove through the area this week... the whole place is high rises..:crying:

[BaciBecky]

When I was 6 our front yard (of apt) was the beach of Narragansett Bay. Incredible!

[Lady]

taking white american cheese - the squares - making holes in the slice and pretending it was swiss :blink:

[Simba001]

...spendng all summer (M-F from 10 am - 4 pm) at the beach club with friends:grouphug1:. Just lying in the sun:girlLounge:( this was before realizing that slathering on baby oil and lying out was not a good thing!) and then jumping in the water after getting too hot:hot:. In the afternoon we would run out to the entrance and get an ice cream bar from "Jolly Joe":jogging: who would show up everyday!;)

[Lady]

OMG - I just read about the Mosquito spray - we did the same thing - all the kids in the neighborhood would squeal with delight when the spray truck came around and we would run and play in the FOG - Dang!!! So that's why we are the way we are :lmbo:

Yes - then they found out it was posionious and the truck never came around again!

[AndyL]

building tree forts with my dad

[Simba001]

.... Riding Tonka trucks along the side of the house in the gravel. Oh yes, and building little cave houses amongst the rockery for Troll dolls!

[FLSharon]

Has the milk delivery truck been mentioned?? I remember having the insulated box outside our front door and I always pleeded for chocolate milk!

[Timon]

Has the milk delivery truck been mentioned?? I remember having the insulated box outside our front door and I always pleeded for chocolate milk!No I don't believe anyone has Sharon. Along with the milkman we also had the Dugan man who brought fresh baked goods.

[kathleena]

Every winter, my Dad would flood the backyard and make a skating pond.

We had a double lot, and the second half of it was a hill. There was a nice open space for sliding. There were two sets of rocks, and a space between that the "flying saucer" would fit through. Or if there was plenty of snow, you could go over one of the rocks.

In the summer, there was a group of rocks in a row that we pretended was a train.

Playing hopscotch, hide N seek, kickball, red rover, riding bikes.

Putting cards on the bike wheels with wooden clothes pins so they made lots of noise.

[FLSharon]

No I don't believe anyone has Sharon. Along with the milkman we also had the Dugan man who brought fresh baked goods.

Oh my gosh, I forgot that one ... we had Nickles bakery. Mom bought all these little snack cakes for lunch boxes.. They were so good that I ate a whole big box one week and got into major trouble..:lol: I've always had a sweet tooth.

[kathleena]

Wearing a head-to-toe new outfit for Easter, including a hat and white gloves and Mary Jane's.

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it.......la la lala la lala.... The Easter pah-rade.......

Yes, it was so much fun to go pick out a new hat. And then the black patent leather shoes........

[kathleena]

Watching Red Skelton with my Dad. Heathcliff the seagull anyone?

Good night and God Bless.

[kathleena]

Watching Shirley Temple movies.

[Jimbolini1963]

Weekends in Long Beach Island.

[PrincessRosie]

Mickey ears with name embroidered on back

[AndyL]

paper airplane distance contests

[jacobandlukesmom]

paper hornets

[AndyL]

slot car racing

[BaciBecky]

mornings when the Narragansett fog covered our front porch

[AndyL]

collecting colored leaves in the fall for 1st grade class decorations

[BaciBecky]

ironing leaves between wax paper

[AndyL]

Watching Bonaza with Dad

[Simba001]

making leaf ashtrays for grampa
( back in the dark ages when people smoked and it was OK for kindergartens to make ashtrays :lol:)

[AndyL]

snow forts

[53goingon10]

Following the ice truck and grabbing bigs chunks to snack on during a hot summer afternoon.

[AndyL]

Good Humor Ice Cream from the pedal cart vendor

[BaciBecky]

My uncle, who drove a Good Humor Truck, bringing home loads of ice cream goodies for the family.

[Simba001]

Eating Hostess Ho-Hos and Ding-Dongs right out of the freezer (where mom thought she had hidden them from us :lol:)

[AndyL]

Frozen Milky Ways that cost a nickle

[BaciBecky]

A pay phone that cost a nickel :yes:

[AndyL]

Phones with dials

[DizzneeMomma]

.......taking a snake to school and chasing boys with it.

[AndyL]

weekly school milk money was 7 cents

[DizzneeMomma]

The Monkees. . .and Captain Kangaroo.

[AndyL]

First color TV on block at grandparent's house

[DizzneeMomma]

Crissy & Velvet grow-hair dolls

[AndyL]

Crusader Rabbit

[jacobandlukesmom]

in honor of Easter weekend.....coloring hard boiled eggs for Easter. Who ever heard of plastic ones WAYYYY back then.....:lol:

[AndyL]

Grandma's pot roast when we visited her Sundays

[DizzneeMomma]

getting a pretty new dress for Easter.

[AndyL]

penny gumball machines

[imsal]

this thread is awesome!! andy, wax lips!!! we used to love to walk to the corner store & get penny candy all the time!!! creepy crawlers, big wheels!! ah, the memories!! i remember my friends & i trying to guess what we were saying underwater in the pool. i also had this pretty cool tootsie roll mold making machine. i could make little critters out of the little tootsie rolls. busy buzz buzz pen, my most favorite!!!

[DizzneeMomma]

my uncles grocery store, with wooden floors and sawdust on the floor behind the meat counter, eating cold hot dogs that came in links. . .and the free candy he'd give us each visit.

[AndyL]

Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor (It put Beaches & Cream to shame ;) )

[DizzneeMomma]

Strawberry picking at Grandma's and eating the sun-warmed berries as I picked.

[jacobandlukesmom]

Going to Grandmother's on every holiday.

[AndyL]

falling asleep on grampa's overstuffed chair

[DizzneeMomma]

Staying over at Grandma's for a week at a time during summer. . .coz Mom couldn't handle me. :D

[AndyL]

going over to neighbors to play with their 'Brand New' kittens

[DizzneeMomma]

....pet crows, Moe and Joe, followed me to school and caused a ruckus outside my classroom window, so the teacher took the class outside to meet them.

[AndyL]

When the Snap The Whip ride truck was on the block

[DizzneeMomma]

the snow cone jeep . .and butter rum snow cones.

[FLSharon]

Speaking of snow.... putting vanilla on fresh snow.:woot:

[Janie]

Whooops! Didn't see that thread before I started one. My bad.

Razzles--it's candy and gum!

[AndyL]

kite flying in the park

[DizzneeMomma]

"ghosts in the graveyard"

[AndyL]

leaf collections

[DizzneeMomma]

piano lessons

[AndyL]

learning to Cha Cha

[DizzneeMomma]

Mom teaching me the Stroll and the Twist.

[AndyL]

Fizzies

[DizzneeMomma]

returnable bottles

[AndyL]

Deposit Bottles

[DizzneeMomma]

coon dogs

[AndyL]

Dutch Oven Pies

[Janie]

Pop rocks in soda Ka-boom!

[AndyL]

Necco Wafers

[DizzneeMomma]

Ripping large marshmallows in half and dipping the sticky side into jello powder.

[Janie]

putting pennies on train tracks.

[AndyL]

playing catch the frisbee with your first dog

[DizzneeMomma]

playing Tag with my favorite dogs, Smokey & Rackette

[Janie]

rashes from poison ivy. Not exactly warm and fuzzy but hey we all look back on those stuff and laugh.

[AndyL]

Red Tricycle with streamers

[DizzneeMomma]

my dad's custom bicycle built for 5.

[Janie]

Penny loafers

[AndyL]

penny gumball machines

[DizzneeMomma]

penny allowance

[AndyL]

free air at gas stations for your bike tires

[Janie]

bellbottom pants getting caught in bicycle chain

[AndyL]

bicycle clips

[Janie]

bicycle streamers for the parade

[AndyL]

Cars without seatbelts

[DizzneeMomma]

buying cigarettes for my mom. :o

[Janie]

gas shortage in 1970's

[DizzneeMomma]

driving lessons

[Janie]

chewing gum stuck in hair

[DizzneeMomma]

Jarts

[AndyL]

First time mowing lawn in a new house

[DizzneeMomma]

summer camp

[AndyL]

skinny dip day at camp

[Janie]

campfire songs