Search
It Was Just a Few Years Ago
In the Sunday, February 18th edition of the Press-Republican, columnist Steve Ouellette wrote an interesting and humorous article called "... And we walked to school uphill both ways in the snow." I laughed my way through it and then realized that some of the things he mentioned in his article were on my list for a future blog.
In the article Steve recalled how his parents and grandparents told him how life was so different way back when with ice boxes, horse and buggies and the like. Steve, who has young children, wondered how his kids will react when he lays the same complaint on them. He mentioned things like 8-track tapes and black-and-white television sets and using a typewriter.
Am I really that old that I can say there are many things that we had as kids that my grandchildren (if I live that long!) will never see? Life seemed so great growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, it is hard to believe that our life is actually even better now that we have some of the more modern conveniences of the 2000s.
For example, licking stamps has become a lost art. Mailing out birthday party or wedding invitations used to be a yucky task. Who wants to lick the stamps? Not even helpful Aunt Vera wanted to do that! Licking twenty or thirty stamps could leave a taste on your tongue that not even a pack of Black Jack gum would take away. Nowadays all we do is peel a stamp off the handy-dandy book of stamps and place it on the envelope, tongue-free.
Driving a car at night used to be a bit more challenging with the dimmer switch on the floor. Part of your driving instruction was to get a feel for where on the floor (somewhere on the left side) that switch was so that you could use high beam or low beam headlights. If you weren't good at it, you would end up doing a condensed version of the hokey-pokey, putting your left foot in and your left foot out. Nowadays we just flick the lever on our steering column and change the headlight beam. Another big step in making our life easier in the 21th century.
My Dad was quite the amateur photographer. In fact, he had a darkroom in the basement of our house. For those not familiar with this, I don't mean it was a dark room without lights. It was a darkroom for photographers to process film and print pictures. Dad had all kinds of cameras, but they all seemed to have this big flash attachment that he would affix to the top of the camera. He would insert a flashbulb and the camera would be ready to go. Flashbulbs will surely be relics and museum pieces some day. Remember those big bulbs that would explode when he clicked the shutter? He would pop it out and it would burn a hole in Aunt Geraldine's new carpet. Nowadays our digital cameras have flashes, but they are built into the camera. Nothing pops out onto the floor. Life is so much easier.
Our Grandmother and our Mom used to make us popcorn on Saturday nights. That was always a big treat. Corn kernels into the big kettle, some cooking oil, a stick of butter melting on another burner. Heating, shaking, listening, popping, and tossing into a big bowl. The entire procedure might take ten minutes -- maybe even fifteen -- but it was worth the wait. I got into such a habit of enjoying popcorn that way that I still have a kettle for popping corn the old-fashioned way. Nowadays my (future) grandson (or granddaughter) will only know about microwave popcorn. No fuss, no mess, and ready in just two minutes. Times sure have changed.
And to go with the popcorn, how about a long-necked bottle of Royal Crown cola? RC Cola took Johnson Avenue by storm when it first came out in those streamlined bottles. I even gave up my beloved Pepsi for RC Cola. As you know, glass soda bottles have almost become a thing of the past. You can still get your beer in a glass bottle, but soda is much more readily found in a plastic container or aluminum can. I still think soda tastes better out of a glass bottle.
Another thing my grandchildren will never see, unless they visit Grandpa Foxy's museum, is a record player with a dial for setting the speed at 33 1/3, 45 or 78. I would have to explain that the numbers represent the revolutions per minute. And they would say, "But, why, Grandpa Foxy? All CDs play at just regular speed."
I won't have an answer for them. I'll just open pop another fireball in my mouth and get up and manually turn the channel on the television because I can't find where I left the remote control. Can life get any easier than what we have now in 2007?
Comments
Foxy:
As a 'Fox Hiller' from way back, I can recall with fondness many of the thoughts expressed thus far. I also remember when NYSEG stopped providing natural gas in the city and flushed the gas lines with water in the late forties. Speaking of NYSEG, remember the old foot bridge that went from their plant on the flat to where the farmer's market is today? We almost burned that thing down one day using match shooters made from two kinds of clothespins and strike anywhere matches. The tall grass under the bridge readily ignited and only quick action by the local FD saved the structure. Needless to say, we beat it out of there and took refuge in a matinee at the movies.
Playing at war, building forts and just raising hell in general in Monty's woods was always a favorite pastime in those days as well as 'hanging out' in the hayloft of Cook's barn which was between S. Peru St. and S. Catherine St. After all that hard play, stops at Vi Ashline's or Jack Tyrell's stores for refreshments rounded out our days.
For a while in the early 50s, there were regular wrestling matches at the Baily Ave park with big name performers like "Georgeous George", "Tojo" and others. We used to jump the fence during the national anthem when the police were respectfully at attention.
I remember Mimi Baughn when she was just a cute little tyke living next door to the Prenoveaus.
Does anyone else recall taking a little red wagon full of comics around "the hill' to see if anyone wanted to trade? Some of those comic books would be worth some dough today!!
Those were the days of walking the streets with your BB gun without fear of reprisal - every boy had a pocket knife and a slingshot. Political correctness was far in the future. Accidents were occurances in which no one was at fault and for which no one got sued.
While I relish many of the technological advances of today's society, I wish that today's youngsters still had the same opportunities that we did - to explore, exercise out of doors, and to use their imaginations.
Ron
Posted by: Ron Turbide | March 6, 2007 1:23 PM
Mimi Baughn.....now that's a blast from the past!!!...you're right foxy, her mother was one of the original fearsome foursome ( before the Rams made it famous) at the olva gym...you know the group that drove the husbands to the other side of the court!! Wow I'm glad I wasn't an offical in those days! Glad to hear Mimi's alive and well!!... any word from "old timer"...last I heard he was walking the beaches in Florida in those Bermuda shorts he actually got in Bermuda during WW II....
Posted by: the carver | March 5, 2007 3:18 PM
Foxy I'm a good friend of Lenny "Popcorn" Smallacombe from Port St. Lucie, Florida. For years I've been trying to get information from him about his boxing career. Being the modest and loving person that he is, he keeps telling me "it's too long ago". I would really love to know of any web sites that might give more information about Lenny. He's going to kill me for writing this but, I'm sure he'll forgive me.
(Foxy's note: I'll send Joyce a copy of the "Where Are They Now?" article I wrote about Popcorn for the Press Republican many years ago. However, if any readers know of some other sources, let us know.)
Posted by: Joyce Maxie | March 5, 2007 12:14 PM
I TOO GREW UP ON FOX HILL, MONTY STREET TO BE EXACT, I GREW UP WITH YOUR SISTER, DARLENE, I REMEMBER HOW OUR PARENTS ALWAYS WENT TO THE FOOTBALL GAMES, BASKETBALL GAMES, AND BASEBALL GAMES. IT WAS THE FAMILY THING TO DO. GOING TO RICHARDS STORE. I REMEMBER THE BIG BOX OF BOTTLE CAPS THAT MY SISTER COLLECTED FOR THE NUNS AT OLVA. IT SEEMS SO LONG AGO, BUT THOSE DAYS WERE THE BEST!!
(Foxy's note: Great to hear from you, Mimi. I remember you well! Yes, the basketball referees hated to walk into the gym and see Peggy Baughn, Vi Gagnon, Sis Staves and my grandmother waiting to yell at every call that went against OLVA.)
Posted by: MIMI (BAUGHN) SULLIVAN | March 5, 2007 10:25 AM
Foxy, How about Mr. Art Parent delivering milk , smoking a cigar and humming a tune? Also, the cream on top of the milk bottle freezing and pushing the top off, oh those cold mornings. What about no insulated clothing, feet would freeze, hands, etc. Cure was to place your hands and feet in cold water. Boy was that dumb. Froze to death many nights walking home from skating behing the old high school, presently across from the police station. Tublers were the skates of the day for guys. Skating on the swamps down on ..Underwood ave. behind OLVA ball field. Always had a fire to keep warm, used cattails to burn and play hide and go seek. Nights were especially fun, hiding with your girl friend, and keeping warm by the fire while cooking marshmellows.Young kids will never see those days, too bad our grandchildren will miss those fun days. We didn't have much of anything on "The Hill" but fun and great memories. Guess that's all we needed. By the way Foxy, had a great time Saturday at Bobby's. Hope to meet there again in the future.
(Foxy's note: I agree, Lanny ... the good ol' days and now we meet at Bobby's or Meron's and talk about them. One slight change on the name of the milkman: I think it was Art Panton. I had his grandchildren as students early in my career.)
Posted by: lanny lavalley | March 5, 2007 8:08 AM
RC cola was the best.. and worth another cent when you cashed them in!!!! (3 cents instead of the normal 2) the boys at Murray's store and Fountain & Lucas, sure had alot of patience with us as we spent what seemed like an hour spending our 12 cents in bottle return money one cent at a time!
other things that come to mind...
back in the day, our communication network consisted of 2 tin cans and a piece of string...today they call them cell phones
back in the day.. kids showed up at Bailey ave, Oak St or St Peter's around 10 am and played baseball til dark... today it seems as though if its not an organized event such as little league or an indoor soccer league, the kids sit inside pounding away on the computer until their parents tell them where and when they have a game.
and lastly, some of my fondest memories in school that our kids didn't get a chance to enjoy were the great battles we had playing sports in grade school. there was St John's, Notre Dame, St Peter's, St Josephs, St Alexander's and probably a few other St's I 'm forgetting. In high school, the great city clashes with OLVA, St Johns, MAI, and PHS.. Although there are still the great rivalries.. those city matchups were the best!
I'm not saying things are better or worse today... just different!
Posted by: the carver | March 5, 2007 7:16 AM
Howdy Foxy!
I remember mailing out at least a hundred Christmas cards when postage was three cents. (Boy does this ever date me!)
We new mothers made baby formula from Carnation evaporated milk, water and Karo syrup. Somehow, our little ones survived!
Our mothers poured off rich cream from the top of glass bottled milk delivered by the milk man. (Say, yes, I even remember blocks of ice delivered for my mother's "ice box" at Gray Gables in Chazy in the late 40s.)
Popcorn was the best when we popped it in large pots and smothered it in real butter and salt. I don't remember seeing many overweight kids in school. Can't blame today's fast food joints - we consumed our share of "junk food".
My brothers and their friends even had an RC Cola club. They called it "Houns". No idea why! They were avid collectors of Mallo Cup coupons. What a treat when a box on 24 arrived at the post office.
As for us girls, we all wanted to be like Sandra Dee or Annette. I strangely long for those days of cultural innocence for my grandchildren.
Yet, I love the 2000s. How else would I be able to keep in touch with my friends back home. Keep up your great blogs, Foxy!
Lynda
Posted by: Lynda (Bouyea) Bevins | March 4, 2007 3:36 PM
Wow, that brings back memories Woody. I remember the bottles being from BayView Dairy though - well hey, I went to Oak St not Monty so that must be it, it was closer to BayView. I don't think they make those great sling shots anymore, with the Y handle and thick rubber strap. Man you could do a lot of damage with those things. When I was living in MacDonough Hall while @ PState we used to shoot M80s and cherry bombs up at the open windows of the girls dorms. Man, you never heard such language from a guy. I don't think they make peashooters anymore either. Bag of small pea beans and the shooter and it was trouble ahead. Too bad there isn't a Pavone's Novelty Shop anymore. They caused us kids to use our imaginations more than the internet does today. Mike Barr & I had the 1st skateboards in Plattsburgh, back in the summer of '64. Mike saw a picture of the new rage in California and we built our own with piecies of wood that we sawed and spent a book of green stamps (stole them from my Mom) for a set of metal roller skates. Took them apart and had a set of front & back wheels for 2 skateboards. They didn't work all that well but hey we were on the cutting edge. If you saw an empty pack of Lucky Strikes on the ground & were the 1st to step on it you got a free swing @ somebodies arm - ouch, Richie Duquette always beat me too it. Do they give out Detention anymore? I never minded Billy Rooke giving me detention because he'd play the piano while Donna Rivers sang old Gershwin songs after school - I got a free concert. If you never heard Donna sing Summertime by George Gershwin, you missed something in life. Man, she & Leta Kelly are Plattsburgh treasures, they sang so sweetly, as good as Bonnie Raitt or Carly Simon. Gotta go, I'm @ the library and the screen says my 30 minutes are up!
Posted by: Miney Rowlson | March 4, 2007 1:49 PM
Also things you'll not see again:
- pick up baseball games at Alpert's field
- Carnivals behind the old DPW building
- people waving to silent 8mm cameras
- Sharron Avenue woods.
- all-star marble playing
- when color tv was a piece of plastic with blue on top transitioning to yellow in the middle and green on the bottom
- the stately elm trees all over the City
Posted by: One of the Lost | March 4, 2007 12:21 PM
I've been thinking and one item that hasn't changed.Those carnation evaporated milk cans. How do you open them? Still with the old bottle openers. Some might call it the "church key" Am I behind the times and there is a replacement for that. I am not sure there is. You need that pointed edge .---Goose
Posted by: goose | March 4, 2007 8:38 AM
Foxy, you got me thinking back to the Good Ol' Days! How about those little glass bottles of milk from Rosebud Creamery that we used to get in grade school for our "milk break"? I can remember the milk man delivering them in a wire crate and leaving them outside each classroom door at Monty Street. I think it cost 5 or 7 cents a week for the opportunity to get milk delivered to wash down those homemade cookies your mom packed for the occasion. Of course, there was the reminder on the side of the bottle: "They came to visit, not to stay, return our bottles everyday".
How about using slide rules and logarithms for doing those complicated calculations in trig and geometry? I swear Mr. Pfieffer could calculate any formula faster on a slide rule than any calculater in existence today! Do they even teach those courses anymore??
Just a couple of things I can remember that our grandkids will never experience. I'm sure Miney will be here shortly to list a page full from his memory banks full of information!
Posted by: Woody | March 3, 2007 10:05 AM