REMEMBER WHEN!

Life was different back in the old days, and it was also more difficult.  There were no modern conveniences like we have now, that's for sure.  No matter how hard it was, the older generation looked back on their past and had fond memories, and even delighted in telling their Grandkids how they used to do things - like walking to school uphill both ways!    We are going to take a step back in time and say - REMEMBER WHEN??

(Click to enlarge images.)

Antiques - A walk through Grandma's house!

     Every Grandma had some of these shoes!

Rosewood China

Appliances 

Stove from 1949

An old push vacuum

An old mangle, used for ironing curtains and sheets.

Washboard used for washing clothes

An old wringer washer.  You had to be careful or you could get your arm or hair stuck in the wringer!  It took forever for clothes to dry, unless you hung them up outside on the clothesline!

Iron

Vacuum cleaner

Bathroom

Claw foot bathtub

Candy Store - Every Neighborhood had a Mary's Store

My Mom and her siblings went to their corner Mary's Store whenever they had a few pennies in their pocket, which wasn't very often.  They'd look at the counter at all the penny candy and take quite a bit of time deciding what they wanted to buy.  Or, they'd get a soda or a phosphate in any flavor that you could imagine.  Not only was the corner store a great place to go for candy, but it was also a place to socialize - the gathering place!

Who can forget Euclid Beach popcorn balls!

Children

China and porcelain dolls are very collectible nowadays.

A game of jacks, anyone?

Pickup Sticks.  

Roller skates - don't forget the key!

Diaper pins for cloth diapers which you had to wash - no Pampers back then!

Yesterday's version of a baby walker.

Anyone who could afford it had their baby's first shoes bronzed.

Electronics

In today's age of tiny cell phones, MP3 players, iPods, and digital cameras, kids today have no idea how bulky our electronics were!

Radio/record player from the 1940s

Operator?  And remember the days of party lines?  You'd pick up the phone and hear your neighbor talking and had to wait til they were done to make your call.

Transistor radio.

Before today's tiny digital cameras.

The forerunner of air conditioning!

No flat screen TV here!

Nothing beat the tabletop juke boxes at restaurants where you would insert your money and pick a song!

Old pushbutton light switch.

Food

Going out to eat was a rare thing back in the old days.  Mom got up before the family, cooked them breakfast, usually always serving the husband first, because he was the man of the house!  Eggs, potatoes, bacon, with the eggs fried in the bacon grease!  Then Mom packed lunches for the kids in their lunch boxes!  Dinner came next and depending on your ethnicity, what you ate was quite different in every household.  In my German ancestor's household, there were always potato pancakes, fried potatoes, kielbasi or some other type of meat.  During the Depression, my grandparents ate horse meat!  But I'll never forget this:

Funerals

Funerals in the olden days were not like they are today.  In days past, you died at home and your funeral was at home.  It was up to the family and friends of the deceased to prepare their loved one for burial.  They washed them, dressed them in their very best, and laid them out in a coffin in their living room.  The burial usually took place two days later, because embalming didn't exist back then.  When a death occurred, changes were made to the house to show that the family was in mourning.  Black fabric was hung on the front door, and mantles and picture frames were also draped with fabric.  Some folks covered mirrors with black fabric or turned them around.  This was due to the superstition that the next person to see his reflection would die.  After the funeral was over, all fabrics were removed because there was to be no trace of death left in the house.  Instead of cars to take the body and family to the cemetery, there was a hearse pulled by two horses.  There were glass windows with curtains on the hearse.  If the curtains were down, people knew that the hearse was on the way to the cemetery and they should stop to show respect.  If the curtains were up, they could continue on.  Back in the old days, it was quite common for people to take pictures with the mourners standing around the deceased in the casket.  Not something that you see today!

Furniture

Steamer trunk that brought my great-grandfather's belongings from Prussia to the United States.

Even picture frames were different way back when.  This oval has a  bowed piece of glass covering the picture.

Gal Stuff

Forerunner to today's hand-held hair dryers.

Miscellaneous things from my grandmother.  Lipsticks, thimbles, and powder cases for face powder and rouge.

Guy Stuff

No Bic throwaway razors back then! You could cut your throat with these!

Magazine stand and cigarette holder so your cigarettes didn't get stale or humid.

All men took pride in shining their shoes!

A push lawnmower.  Some had a basket that hung on the back to catch the grass clippings.

Health Remedies

Just about every mother had their list of home remedies that were handed down from their grandmother or mother.  And, they also had a good list of passed down superstitions as well!  Some of the home remedies were giving their children a tablespoonful of Cod Liver Oil.  It was believed that you'd never get sick if you had that Cod Liver Oil, and I have to say that maybe there was something to it, because my Dad had his daily dose and was a very healthy kid!  Cod Liver Oil is full of Omega 3's and good for you!  If you had a sore throat or cold, there was homemade cough syrup - honey mixed with whiskey - and this was added to a cup of tea!  Witch Hazel was used for acne, and chicken soup for a cold.  Some made a poultice and put it on a child's chest while they slept to ease the symptoms of a cold.  One thing is for sure - Mom's thought these things worked, and usually they did - and they used every method available to them to make sure their kids were well taken care of when sick!  

Kitchen

This is an old time butter dish that was used when women bought their butter in huge blocks rather than the sticks that we have today.

Spices came in tin cans back then!

Late summer/early fall, a woman's day was spent canning the vegetables out of the garden so that they would last then all winter long!

Cast iron skillet - potato pancakes don't taste the same made any other way than in one of these skillets and fried in lard or Crisco!  Cast iron is making a comeback today!

Coffee was bought in bean form and you ground your own!

Most ladies were proud of their collection of teacups!

Rationing

Back during World War II, rationing occurred.  You couldn't go to the store and buy as much sugar, butter or gasoline as you wanted.  You were only allowed to buy a certain amount, because things were in short supply.  War ration books and tokens were issued to each family.  These books indicated how much a family could buy.  Items rationed were tires, cars, stoves, gasoline, kerosene, shoes, rubber footwear, nylons, sugar, coffee, meats and canned fish, cheese, canned milk, and typewriters.   There were also rationing boards that made sure that these rules were followed. 

Sayings

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Better than sliced bread.

A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

On the fritz.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

That's a fact Jack!

Act your age and not your shoe size.

You make a better door than a window.

Move your feet, lose your seat.

What goes around comes around.

Don't let the grass grow under your feet.

Go pound salt.

All's well that ends well.

How do you like those apples?

I brought you into this world and I can take you out.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Now you're cooking with gas.

Mind your Ps and Qs

A stitch in time saves nine.

Money doesn't grow on trees.

Go take a long walk on a short pier.

You can't take it with you.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

Close the door, were you born in a barn?

Like white on rice.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Measure twice, cut once.

Comb our hair, it looks like a rat's nest.

Busier than a three-legged dog with an itch.

Another day another dollar.

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

He'd be late for his own funeral.

From your lips to God's ears.

Act your age, not your shoe size.

Sticking out like a sore thumb.

Cheaters never prosper.

This will hurt me more than it hurts you.

Don't bite off more than you can chew.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

My eyes were bigger than my stomach.

If the shoe fits, wear it.

If they had a brain they'd be dangerous.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Stores

Before the big grocery stores, there were corner stores that sold meat, dry goods, spices, flour, vegetables, and many other items.  Many back in the day were self-employed with their own corner store.  You didn't have to walk far to get what you needed, and often, Mom's would send their kids to the corner to get what they needed.  My grandmother would send my Dad up to the corner to buy a chicken from the live chicken coop that was set up on the corner.  Dad would pick out a chicken, the owner would kill it, pluck it, and send Dad on his way back home with dinner!

When Businesses Came to You

There was one instance where the old days were rather convenient - when business came right to your door!  There was the milkman who brought you milk, butter, cheese, and sour cream.  You'd leave a note outside your door for what you were in need of and when the milkman made his delivery, he'd deliver what you asked for.  There was also the Paper-Rex man - the old time version of today's recycling - only he paid you!  He ride his cart down the street yelling "Paper Rags".  Everyone thought he was yelling "Paper-Rex."  He'd buy paper, rags, cardboard, anything that you wanted to get rid of!  Then there was the coal delivery man.  Just about all old homes had a coal chute - a door in the side of the house that had a chute going down to the basement where the coal man would dump your coal to heat your home.  There were salesmen of all sorts - selling vacuum cleaners, knives, encyclopedias later - anything that you could think of!  Then, there was the ice cream man in mid-century - driving down the street playing his music, and the kids would run to buy some sort of ice cream.  Those were the good old days!