How to tell if you're old...

What I liked about "The Queen's Gambit" was that American escorts told her not to leave her room, not to answer the door, and a myriad of other things she could not do while in Russia.

She was also pressured to 'say' something about her freedoms in America, to be a part of a political statement, and about how America was so much better than Russia. She was silent or declined to be used for propaganda.

Leaving, on the way to the airport, the chess player said to stop the car, under protests by her escort, she got out and walked. Ending up at the park where elderly men gather to play chess. She greeted them and was readily identified as the American Chess Champion. She played chess with them. No document, no statement could have better shown the freedom of a U.S. citizen in Russia than her actions.

My hubs and I watched the Netflix series "The Queens Gambit". Takes place in the late 50's and 60's mostly and part of the enjoyment I got from watching it (aside from it being a very well-done and engaging story) was seeing the myriad wallpapers in the period homes of the story. I personally remember the "mirror" foil wall paper with an avocado green velvet pattern on it in my neighbor's home. And that her formal living room furniture was completely covered with clear vinyl all the time to protect it. It was the forbidden room for us kids.

FF, I do remember wallpaper; we had it in our living room, which at the time was cozy to me.    I guess people today look down on wallpaper, just based on some comments I've read.   I'm sure there was a legitimate reason back then, maybe like not wanting to paint the walls, or the walls being wet plaster and needing some kind of top covering.

How about wallpaper patterns when growing up. I remember our dining room c1940's-1950's had this heavy dark red pattern. Example of older patterns: https://www.pinterest.com/musicalcows58/old-wallpaper-patterns/

One time my Dad paid a tradesman to remove that wallpaper in the dining room. Some type of heater was used on the walls to loosen the wallpaper. Then Dad heard "help" from the tradesman. Apparently under the painted ceiling was wallpaper which the heat had loosen up.... that was one big drop on one's head surprise.

We never has air conditioning until dad passed which was about 20 years ago. I am glad we have it now. My father kept the house quite cool in the summer months, curtains closed on the sunny side of the house, big old fan that cooled practically the whole house. Our house was heated with an old antique furnace with steel radiators throughout the house, it was very warm and cozy. I could hear the steam from the radiators on the cold days but the heating bill got expensive so my dad bought a portable gas stove that heated the living area and also put in a gas heater in the wall. Heating bill were much lower. He was somewhat frugal, but we never wanted for anything. He was in the depression as a kid and remembers the hard times. He worked 2 jobs to give his family a good living. My brothers had a huge steel train set back in the 50's early 60's. It blew smoke. I loved the train set, my brothers would play with it for hours at a time. My dad made a bowling alley in the cellar, had a pool table, friends were always welcome to our home. My brothers had steel fire trucks, I had my dolls and carriage with a high chair. My brothers would trade baseball cards with their friends. I played with paper dolls. We as children played outdoors a lot. Building igloos, football , ice skating in back of our house on a pond. I cherish those days gone by.

shell - you are right. Some people would tear down the quarantine signs and shout about their rights. Another memory was that I was allowed sit on the front steps but not beyond while I was quarantined. Someone called the school and said I was playing hooky (staying away from school) as I looked so well. I guess they didn't see the quarantine sign. We listened to the radio too. I remember during WW2 my father required the house be absolutely silent when the BBC news was on. I can still see him sitting in his armchair, with his hands clasped together in his lap and a very serious expression on his face. We listened to Ozzie and Harriet, Red Skelton and I remember a scary one "The Creaking Door". You had to use your imagination for a lot of those shows. I also remember being taken to "Snow White" when it first came to our local movie theatre.

Neighbourhood kids of all ages played games on our street like "Kick the Can" and "Run Sheep Run". As the sun started to set, mums would call for their child as it was their bedtime, and so the group got smaller and smaller with only the older kids left to play. It was good healthy fun.

I love this Thread, GardenArtist. Can't wait to read all the interesting posts.

Golden,
You have seen so many wonderful things in your life. I am sure it probably wasn't easy, but just think how much the world has changed and you got to see it.


My dad use to tell me stories about people having quarantine signs on their doors and how in his family home they had a coal running furnace. And when he was a little boy he would listen to shows on the radio. I used to love hearing his stories.

You brought back memories of my dad. 😊

Just think if they did quarantine signs today someone would scream that their rights were being violated!

Recently I found the TV remote control that my Dad designed and made in his workshop back before remotes became popular. My gosh, it was so EASY to use. On button/off button.... volume up/volume down.... forward channels/back channels [we only had 3 channels in those days].... and for the heck of it, Dad also had light on/light off for the lamp on the side table next to the sofa. The remote looked pretty nice, Dad had wood around the edges of the remote to match the side table.

This remote was run by wire from the TV to the remote.... Mom wasn't too thrilled when Dad drilled a hole in the hardwood floor behind the TV and another hole in the floor next to the sofa so that the wire would run through the basement ceiling.

I remember doing double dutch skipping and daddy shovelling coal into the furnace every morning to get the heat up and banking the fire at night. The coal bin was filled by a shute placed through a small basement window. The story goes that my sister and I were dressed up for some occasion and while my parents were getting ready we went down and played in the coal bin. I sort of remember that. We weren't popular!!! Then we got oil.

I never had a Barbie doll. I was too much of a tomboy, so my parents thought I would get more use out of train set and Lincoln logs. I still have that train :)

Oh I remember begging for a "training bra" to which my Dad would ask "why do they need training?". Mom finally got me one, but after wearing that Medieval torture device, I went back to my comfortable undershirt for next couple of years.

I had a Huffy bicycle and would ride all over the area. I see that style of bike has come back into style.

Whoever would think that some day one would have hanging up a TV on the wall. My Dad worked for General Electric in the TV design division so he was always bringing home a prototype to try out. I remember the first color TV, Dad had his huge wire looking ring, a degausser I think it was called, that he had to use in front of the TV to get the color to work.

Chinese checkers was mentioned. I remember taking two kitchen chairs and placing them in a certain way to put my Chinese jump rope on. It was fun too. I liked a regular jump rope better.

MysteryShopper, I hope I can have the same memory recollection you experienced.  So far all I can think of are unrelated jump rope accompaniments, like "Mabel, Mabel, set the table.  Don't forget the red hot pepper."  I don't remember if we did the double jumping with 2 ropes.    I have no idea why that ditty is occupying my mind.    I never liked red hot peppers, but I did like jumping rope.

Golden, you brought back a lot of memories...milk delivery, rotary dial phones (and multiple callers using one line), quarantine signs on the front door, burning trash in a "burn barrel", collecting red and green stamps to use for food purchases, the excitement of learning what a television was, and even more when we could afford to buy the first tv we'd ever had.

And I remember the daily shoveling of coal (and all that coal dust!) for heat, the periodic dumping of masses of coal into the coal bin, then using oil and having the massive tanks filled periodically.   Electrical heating is such a piece of cake now.

Garden - I was playing with the cat's cradle instructions you posted. I was amazed that some of it came right back to me. However, I will have to practice the rest!! Thanks for posting that.

What a fun thread!

No TV in the house till I was a late teen ager.

We had ice delivered to the back porch by a guy with horse drawn wagon. It was covered with sawdust as it was stored in sawdust on the wagon. . The refrigerator (called an ice box in those days) had an upper compartment that you kept the ice in and you chipped off ice with an ice pick as you needed it for cooling drinks or whatever. As well, the block of ice cooled the fridge.

The "egg lady" delivered fresh farm eggs weekly also using a horse drawn wagon and sometimes gave us a loaf of home baked bread which smelled heavenly. Mother never baked bread.

There was an empty lot across the street which the dads fenced and flooded for a skating rink. Sometimes the couple in the house next to it put out a gramophone and we skated to music.

Our "swimming pool" was an abandoned quarry, the river which had some dangerous currents but we survived and became strong swimmers, or the Ottawa River which had log booms in it. We learned to walk on the booms.

One bathroom - only a bath, no shower.

The family next door had a wood fired stove for cooking and thus a woodpile behind the house. Sometimes there were rats in it

The local dads dealt with wasp's nests in the hedges by burning them out with lighted gas soaked rags on the end of a long stick.

Friends had a car with a rumble seat. It was a treat for us kids to ride in it.

The doctor routinely made house calls.

Mother phoned in her grocery order including fresh meat. She would ask for a nice roast of beef and we always got it. It was delivered later in the day.

The phone was a rotary dial with a hang-up ear piece and an operator which connected the calls. As a preschool kid I would chat with the operator.

We walked to school in almost all weather and home and back at lunch time. Very rarely when it was extremely cold the parents car pooled and drove us. We had to walk on an old railway track and bridge which crossed a stream which raged in the spring when the snow melted. You could see the water between the railway ties. It was scary sometimes. Once I remember it was very icy and slippery and I crawled across.

I was quarantined when I had mumps. I remember the large sign that was posted on the front of the house warning people.

Yes, there was quarantining in those days. It's not new.

OMG....
I used #5 last week for mashing our Thanksgiving potatoes.
All of my cars have had a #10.
I used #12 working on weekends as a teen.
I still have a #15 but only for decoration in my laundry room.
I used #34 in grammar school. O.M.G.
My BFF and I spent hours in a #35.

There isn't enough money in all the world to pay me to be a kid again. I think growing up today looks pretty darn miserable.

Guy stuff from long ago.....

Daisy BB guns

Erector sets

Chemistry sets
(what were our parents thinking!?)

Lawn darts (Lethal)

Sling shots like Denis the menace

Lincoln logs

Electric trains

Trips to ER after playing Superman or Tarzan. Involved jumping from roofs. (Don’t know how any of us lived to the age of 12)

Adjusting carburetors

Three On The Tree

Ice tray popsicles

Converse Chuck Taylor’s . Never worn with socks.

Earth Shoes. So you’d always be walking up hill.

Bra strap hooks that would support 1000 lbs.

Recap tires

Doctors smoked cigarettes

Getting paddled by the principal at your elementary school.

Window fan in my kitchen.

No air conditioning until I was a teenager.

No remote control and no cable! Rabbit ears.

Birthday parties at home. No fancy parties like kids have now!

Hats and gloves for church!

Rolling houses! Don’t see that now due to Covid!

Our dates drove us to our proms. No limousine service like today’s seniors!

To go on a date my daddy would ask for last name, phone number, address, name of his parents and he gave me change for the telephone and bus fare in case of an emergency! Hahaha 🤣 I better not be late getting home either!

Mini skirts!
My mother would tell me to stoop to pick something up if I dropped it, instead of bending over! LOL

First bra size was size 28 triple A! LOL, I had to beg for it!!! My mom kept saying, “You have nothing to put into a bra!” I think they were called ‘training’ bras!

All of my friends were wearing bras and mom kept telling me to wear my undershirt under by white school uniform blouse. I told her that I had to have a bra! Hahaha 🤣

I was always the smallest kid in my class. I gave up on trying to put on a few pounds. It’s genetic I guess. My grandmother, aunts, mom and I are very small.

One bathroom and one black rotary phone in the hall!

Remember those princess phones?

ONE BATHROOM! 🚽

Glad someone mentioned S&H Green Stamps and Top Value stamps. When I was a kid, I loved placing those stamps in their books. It was one of my favorite “chores.”

Cars: Leaded gasoline. No power steering. No power brakes. Seatbelts were lap belts only; and very unpopular. (My family didn’t bother with seatbelts until the late 1980s or so.)

Kitchen: Metal ice cube trays with a release lever; such a distinctive sound. Igniting the oven pilot light with a match. Washing dishes by hand.

I wore saddle oxfords everyday with my Catholic school uniform.

Loved my hula hoop!

We wore those slips under our fancy dresses with the hoops.

We didn’t have air conditioning, dishwasher or clothes dryer.

I got cotton candy at the circus. I am so glad that Ringling Bros. is gone now! Our parents did not know about animal abuse in the circus.

Everything was full service, shoe stores, gas stations, etc.

Our parents could run a tab for groceries! You brought in a list. They filled the order. Even delivery if you needed it. Drugstores delivered.

Now everyone does Amazon!

Woolworth’s became Kmart and Walmart and Dollar stores.

Mom and Pop hardware stores became Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Who thinks movie theaters are going to die out? I do.

Skating rings are out. Now there are escape rooms, paintball, etc.

I never could bowl! I would bowl gutter balls in the next alley over! LOL

MysteryShopper, I found a good source with instructions for Cat's cradles:

https://www.wikihow.com/Play-The-Cat%27s-Cradle-Game  

I'll get some yarn and start playing; it'll probably take me longer to learn at my age, but it will be fun.

Do you remember going to ice cream shops and getting real ice cream dished up on the spot?    There was such a fresh fragrance in those stores; it was a special treat, especially on a hot day.

And that reminds me of something we did NOT have:  air conditioning.

Just remembered - cotton candy.   We used to get massive mounds of it in cones at state fairs.   Spun sugar?   I vaguely remember that.


Paper dolls?   I do remember them, with various outfits with tabs to hold onto the doll base.   I believe Dover Publications still publishes books with paper dolls.  Do children still play with dolls, or are their toys all electronic?

I remember finding some doll dresses mixed in with some material; it really was a trip back in time.     I do still have dolls set out to remind me of our earlier days. 

That relates to another collection:   A&P store used to either sell dolls, or give them out - I just don't remember.   I do remember they were female and represented costumes of various nations.   Mom used to collect them, and I vaguely remember seeing some when going through the house to sort out items.

Mom had quite a collection of them.

Golden, I didn't realize jacks were still available.    Did you get them at a general store, something like Target?   I don't remember how to play them, so I'll have to research.    Imagine having to find instructions for something we did naturally decades ago!

I do remember slinkies, and hula hoops.    And what about those hoops that we wore underneath skirts?  I remember starching mine, putting it out in the yard to dry, then wearing it under...guess what...another oldie:   a  paneled Lady and the Tramp skirt that I made.

Remember the saddle oxfords that were pink and black?

I wouldn't say the can tab makes you old or the potato masher or the meat pounder. They are all still in use. I bought a set of jacks for my youngest grandson a few years ago.

I did cat’s cradle. I can still do it!

I loved marbles! I liked Chinese checkers because of the marbles.

I never played dominoes but I loved lining them up to knock down.

I loved my brother’s matchbox and hot wheels.

Who made bubbles out of dish liquid? I did!

Who played dress up, pranced around in your mom’s high heel shoes, an old purse of hers and a fancy scarf, etc?

My girls loved playing dress up!

I loved Spirograph!
I loved my slinky. I loved Gumby and Pokey! Barbie was for ‘big’ girls then. Now younger kids play with them too.

I liked Barbie and Skipper. I hated Ken. He was dorky! I was crazy about my brother’s G. I. Joe, he was cool!

I had baby dolls when I was really young and I loved the disappearing milk bottles.

Who had a doll that you pulled the string and she would talk, giggle, etc? Or the three foot doll, was life size to me because I was so tiny!

I loved paper dolls. I loved exchanging Valentine’s cards at school! Who had a pen pal from the Sunday newspaper? I did!

I loved the gold stars on test papers! I loved the ribbons for winning contests.

Hahaha, our nuns would be dressed in ‘full habit’ pointing the cap guns towards the sky for our races to begin.

I would always win the races because I was super fast.

Being fast came in really handy when running from a spanking!

I would run around the house five times faster than my parents.

My parents would get worn out and couldn’t catch me.

I was so little I could hide in places they couldn’t get to.

When I did come out I still got spanked! I only prolonged the inevitable.

Back then, there was corporal punishment in school. The nuns did not hesitate to smack us with the ruler.

My mom sewed a beautiful wardrobe for my dolls. She could make anything! She made my clothes and phenomenal costumes for Halloween and Mardi Gras.

I had to have wooden blocks placed on my bicycle pedals to reach them.

I loved going to my aunt’s house because she could afford chocolate milk delivered. Something about that cold chocolate milk in the glass bottle was better tasting than our Bosco or Hershey syrup.

Thanks for the trip! I've used or know of them all.

Officially Old

There's a store near me which I *think* is a surviving full-service butcher shop. People really don't cook nearly as much anymore and some of today's young people were never shown how to plan, shop, prep food, clean up. They don't know where to start, so they don't bother. However, this butcher shop has tried to morph into something the younger crowd would like: selling things like "baconators" and things like that. I think, underneath it all, it's an old style butcher shop.

Garden - I remember the cat's cradle. I wouldn't know how to do it anymore, but I remember it. I used the same string for that as I used for macrame. I used to make bracelets, necklaces, and holders for hanging plants all summer long. I would also send away for free samples in the mail of whatever was being given away. I had fun saving labels from products and mailing those in as well for whatever the reward was. By the time the stuff arrived in the mail, it was like a surprise because it took weeks to get things at that time. Our Sears had a full square shaped candy counter with the workers in the middle (how did they get in there? haha!). Candy, nuts, popcorn all sold by a big metal scoop and an old time scale. My dad bought me snow caps once and I thought I'd hit the lottery. Whole store smelled wonderful and I can still remember that smell. It was a large free standing store - built before malls were everywhere. I remember getting wax lips for Halloween from my music teacher - she thought it was hilarious (I found them a little odd)!

Another "in the good old days" memory....Jacks, pick-up sticks, marbles, especially the Cat Eyes marbles.... I found some several years ago and bought a couple packages.  Just gazing at the lovely array of colors is relaxing.

And cider mills:    we grew a lot of our own produce but the apple tree wasn't very cooperative.  So we'd pile into the old station wagon and drive to the local cider mill.   Mom brought several 1/2 bushel baskets to be filled, and she even had the labels written out for the kinds of apples she wanted.

Northern spies were her favorites for apple pies and turnovers....and now I'm really getting the urge to bake.  

Another tradition was for Mom to make pancakes on Sunday, creating various shapes for more decorative delights.   After eating, we'd sit down with Dad and he'd read the comics, or "funnies" to us.    Good old days, and I really miss them.

I also remember going shopping with Mom.  Last stop was a real butcher shop, with lots of sawdust on the floor.    Butcher shops to my knowledge are now sections of chain stores, as opposed to independent shops.

Does anyone remember fashioning strings over our fingers to make "cradles", I think we called them?    "Cat's cradle?"   I saw one sometime ago but couldn't recall what they were called or how to loop the string around my fingers.

And remember jumping rope, the little ditties we sang, or skating on roller skates that strapped on, frequently came off and were major contributors to skinned knees?


MysteryShopper, your comments brought back memories of another tradition that's probably only being continued in small areas.   We lived close to a very small sort of country store.   Around Halloween we would walk over and buy "lips" and other "decorations."   They were made of wax, I think.    We had fun altering our appearances, and for years I haven't remembered those wax lips.   But I see NeedHelpWithMom remembers them too.

I remember green stamps and I think there were red ones too.  I found some when going through my parents' files as I'm slowly cleaning out their house.    I think they arose from  WWII rationing, or am I wrong?  

Sears - there was a large (for its day) Sears store close to where I worked, so I would walk over on my lunch hour.    Peanut and other nuts were sold, fairly fresh, and the fragrance of heated peanuts was sooo tempting.    The whole store smelled like roasting peanuts!

There was a small elevated alcove that was a book haven, and definitely a treasured destination.    When I now think of the Borders flagship store, 2 stories of books and music, I realize how that little alcove in Sears was at that time a beacon to me, to see all the different books, and what a wonderful selection there was.   Compared to Borders though, it was just a tiny postage stamp of a store, but it still had its own aura.

Does anyone remember giving Valentines at school?   I also worked close to a Woolworth's and especially remember the card section.    It was like visiting an art gallery to wander through and pick out Valentine's Day cards.

GladI'mHere, nutcrackers bring back such memories, not just of the charming and beautiful ballet, but of a holiday tradition.    Mom and Dad would buy pounds of walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and sometimes Brazil nuts just before Christmas.  We'd sit down in the kitchen and crack the nuts, using the nutcracker and picks.     I still have them but haven't used them for awhile.   They have such a strong affiliation with Christmas.

And that reminds me that it's time to stock up and starting making holiday fudge.   Yummmmmmmm!

(I'm trying to keep up with items that haven't been explained, but I get dizzy going back and forth in the messages.   If anyone hasn't identified something, please feel free to raise the issue again.