What did kids do for fun when they visited their grandparents in the late 50's and early 60's?
Here's what I remember:
Drop the clothespin in the milk bottle.
Spinning a large metal top... the only toy on the premises that I recall.
Pulling or riding in a red wagon on the sidewalk on Noble Street.
A game of Old Maid... a specialty card game.
Playing on the stairs.
Playing catch on a nice day (including off of the garage roof).
Swinging on the bench swing listening to rock and roll on a transistor radio (bring your own).
And our most common snack... a sliced apple!
I don't remember a lot of reading material, but I do remember that they had a subscription to Highlights magazine, a kids magazine for young children often found in Doctor's offices waiting rooms.
Perhaps my cousins will recall some other games or playthings we enjoyed.
My uncle Don emailed information Aunt Janet remembered:
Our kids (my cousins Joni and Cary) always remembered Mother fixing jello for them which they liked very well. Mother would fix some with bananas and some without since Cary didn't like bananas.
How could I forget the jello (with bananas, of course)?
3 comments:
I remember as kids playing whiffle ball in our grandparent's back yard, but we were soon hitting the plastic ball over the garage into the alley behind or into the street. I think the ball and plastic bat mysteriously disappeared.
We also rolled the wagon--with a brother or cousin in it--down the bank in front of the house. No wonder Grandma was a bit nervous with 11 active boys around at times. That bank seemed so large and steep then--it's only about three feet high. Curt Feb 8, 2008
My most lasting memory was all the families meeting at mom and pops on sunday afternoons in the summer...pop sitting in the swing...and uncles warren, jerry, don and my dad cranking the hand made ice cream makers and grandma handing out the nilla wafers. The boys were of course playing wiffle ball in the yard....and poor joni and tonia were trying to stay out of our way! Can't recall what the aunts would be doing!
Bruce reminded me via email of the sewing machine in the corner of the dining room with the rocker foot pedal, which we weren't allowed to play with... and the appliance we were allowed to play with, the Electrolux cannister style vacuum cleaner. No, we weren't tricked into cleaning up the place, we actually took the sweeper apart and played with the pieces! What creativity!
He also remembered the games of dominoes we played... and the games we played with dominoes. If you don't understand, just ask one of the boomer cousins!
I may have to go out and buy Elliot and Zack a set of dominoes pretty soon. Elliot loves to play "crash" with cars. He'll love dominoes!
Bruce also mentioned those great fried chicken dinners my grandmother Della made for us.
Post a Comment