quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
Growing up as a kid (of a large family with modest means) in a big old (very old) house in the city, we had rooms that where in winter, the temperature never got above the 50s. And seemingly none of the house broke the very low 60s except for around Christmas when dad would succumb, and agree to put an OPEC kid through a week of college to get that hulking wood frame colonial beast nice and warm.

So blankets were the norm. And cheap-ass Army surplus green wool blankets were the rule. Adults called them "wool blankets". Kids call them "Army blankets".

I saw a post of a SF member looking to buy some, and it was then, at that very moment that I realized that they very well may be an inoculation to Millennial fever. Perhaps it is with this simple technology (vs. velvety soft polar fleece for example) that we can restore resiliency and grit to the next generation.

What other small hardships are foreign to modern youth through our short-sighted attempts to give them a better childhood than we had? I image the cold house, and bread bags over the socks inserted into thin rubber boots with metal buckles (pick the pair that sort-of fits you from the bin), that may have played a part as well.

I remember in B'ham, AL in the summer - close to or over 100 degrees with extremely high humidity - one window AC unit in the living room that got used only sporadically. That will build some toughness for sure!

In the summer, my parents would make my brothers and I clean the hardwood floors and put down Johnson's paste wax. We'd take one of the wool Army blankets, sit the youngest on it, and drag him around until the floor was buffed. They we'd wash the blankets and hang them on the line. We had one of the boys for a remote control, but it wasn't much needed, we only got two channels.

Lots of memories here. Some good, some not so good.

I can relate to virtually every description of houses, events, actions, etc.

We were living in rental houses when the war ended, and when the veterans started coming home they had lots of money in their pockets. Those rental homes went away as they were purchased by the vets. AIR, we lived in 4 houses in about 9 months until dad got tired of moving and bought a chunk of land on the outskirts of town. threw up a basement wall, put a big box (house) on it and we moved in. Outer walls consisted of sheathing and studs. Inner walls consisted of studs, except the bathroom. Dirt floors in the "basement".

We eventually got it finished, and then added 2 more rooms. Heat for years was a single oil fired stove, in the basement, with a "stack" to lead the heat up through the upstairs floor.

And every enhancement/improvement was done by my dad and me.

Don't remember the blankets we kids had, but in the summer we would take the mattress and blankets outside and sleep out there. Don't recall that we ever had AC in the house or cars.

Most of the meat we ate was venison or elk, with the occasional pheasant, grouse, cotton tail thrown in.

We did buy chickens a time or 3. First for the eggs (most of which were sold to stores) but then dad would buy 100 baby chicks which we raised and slaughtered. He bought a chest type freezer where we kept the chickens, veggies from the garden and misc. game meat. Oh, and any fish we caught in excess of what we promptly ate.

And, I paid room and board to live at home. So, I had part time jobs from the time I was about 9 or 10. Mowing lawns, rototilling gardens, etc. Spring was always consumed by picking cherries at 2 cents a pound. Spent one early summer pitching peas for a commercial cannery in town. 12 hours on the job, and 3 hours travel each way. Only the time on the job was paid. At the whopping rate of $1 per hour.

Went in the army at 17 and seldom looked back.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:
No cell phones, no computers, no internet, no texts, no answering machines.

One phone in the house. As Henry Ford said, “Any color you want as long as....”

If you got a long distance call it was either good news or bad (birth, wedding, death).

No a/c in the car.

No remote controls for the tv. Likely no color tv. Ours was “portable”, which meant it was some kind of massive 30” x 30” and weighed 50+ lbs. That giant glass tube/screen made it so heavy. What made it portable was the suitcase handle on the top.

Treehouse and tent camping in the back yard.

BB gun shootouts in the front yard. They were my BB guns, so I always knew which was the best.

Dad using Kingston charcoal for that rare cookout on the grill. Seemed to take him forever to get that fire going.

Me getting a haircut from Dad, crewcut, also seemed to take forever.

Those were some good times.

I go way back, our phone number was two longs and a short on our party line. Pick up the receiver sometimes and hear the local gossip.

quote:

Originally posted by SHOOTIN BLANKS:
But our first house had a coal furnace converted to gas and it was convection. No forced air. So the heat would rise straight to the second floor. One gaping 2' x 4' "Cold" air return in the living room floor made for a breeze you could feel.

My first house Oakvale house had that. Converted to forced air of course, but that was the ducting. The downstairs heater vents were glorious with a chair over them and a blanked. Darn near cooked ya, which was A O K with me.

I remember when I was about 6, going to Maine in the winter.
Very old house, single wood iron stove in kitchen.
We used a bucket for the over night emergencies.
You wouldn't dare go to the outhouse in the cold.
Sleeping, about five of us crosswise on single mattress with a few Army blankets.

Soon after, all kids lined up in car, some on laps taking the long ride from Maine to Florida. No ac, no seat belts, chain smoker always driving.

Once in Florida, we had to stay at a motel. Only time we experienced ac on the trip. Adults had that thing set to arctic cold setting.
Not to pleasant after cooking out in Florida sun swimming for hours. Sunscreen, nope none around.

Eventually, we got into a mobile home.
Only fans to cool off with.

Many hours outside playing, doing just about anything that didn't get us in trouble, or disrespectin anyone or their property. Always had to be home BEFORE streetlights came on!

Eating out was a diner, and special occasions, meaning only one time in four years, a ponderosa steakhouse trip.

Ah the memories. How did we ever survive, lol.

Now, my nephew can hardly stand a car ride without the ac on, or sitting still without wanting a smartphone to play with.

I grew up without AC, and the house was cold for the sake of economics.


I wouldn't trade my childhood without all the this new tech for anything I could get today.