Rhonda

My grandparents had a crick not a creek as my grandfather lectured a crick is smaller than a creek not to be confused one for the other. And my grandma spent most of her time in the summer down at the crick fishing. We were there as a family alot. My dad taught me to float there. My grandparents kept bunches of old fishing rods and cane poles beside the basement door and all the paraphanelia that goes with fishing. It was a major part of my growing up years.

I also was my dad's shadow when he and my grandpa went fishing from the time I was 2. I went with them in the jon boat to throw out nets along the edge of the river and then they also sunk lines along the edge to catch catfish. I was scared of the jon boat as the water came right to the edge of the boat side and I was always afraid we would sink. But I followed my dad everywhere no matter what.

Rhonda

We also took my grandparents for a 2 week vacation in Minnesota or Wisconsin every summer. We are in Iowa so it was a long trip to the cabin dad would reserve. My mom was scared of water so dad would sometimes rent a pontoon boat that had big floats under the boat for her to join in a litte while. I remember fishing off the pier with my grandma for perch.

Dee

All the things that made the good ole days. It was really living.

duckydo

I remember all of those games we used to play too. We also used to just lay out in the grass and watch the clouds change and find all kinds of things in them.. I have my grandkids do that too.
Going out on the nights when there was a full moon and lots of snow on the ground and laying in the snow making snow angels by swinging your legs and arms in the snow
We lived on a small lake and when it froze over in the winter we played fox and geese on the ice.. We also stomped on beer cans (soda did not come in cans back then, only beer) and used them as ice skates. We were poor, but we sure had fun.. Back then there were only about 3 channels on tv and it was on just so many hours a day, you had to use your imagination. Some of these kids now days don't know how.. I know we have to keep up with modern times, but we need to share some of the things we did as children with our grandkids and great grandkids... Ahhh the memories,,, thanks for making me remember...

coopah

Dakota Girl, I DO remember hop scotch and jacks. When I taught, we'd use the last 1/2 hour on Friday PMs for clean up and finishing work. If anyone had everything done, they could have "free" time...so I always kept a set of jacks in the room and even the boys would try to master it. Also Pick up Sticks...dominoes...jigsaw puzzles...fun!!

Greenheron

Every summer my knees had scabs, my legs had berrybush scratches and my little brothers and I dug and built little villages with sticks and stones and dirt. Our backyard had steep spots and Daddy built us an on-the-ground slide with board sides and masonite 'floor.' My mother always insisted we play in old clothes--imagine our bottoms with the ground in dust and masonite particles!

Before TV we'd sit on the front porch and identify car makes as they drove by or sit in the back on hot evenings and chase lightning bugs. Dad was a carman for the B&O RR and would take me with him on payday across the rail yard to get his wages. He'd lift me up on a coupler, duck under a car and lift me down on the other side. I was only mildly alarmed by the thought that the train would move. The paymaster window was near the Roundhouse and the sight of the great engines, first steam and then diesel was awesome. I can still smell the coal, steam, oil and hot steel. Daddy would give me a nickel and I could make a selection from a vending machine kept there for the workmen. (Mom would let me pick a candy bar at the tiny local grocery but the machine was special to payday.)

Rhonda

We never had pop at home. When we went to town(the town of 400 where I live today) to Glanzman's which had everything groc boots home appliances clothes etc I was allowed to get a bottle of orange Nehi or Root Beer. In the next town over Mt. Pleasant (2000 people) we shopped for clothes at Spurgeons. I was fascinated with the glass display case with all the rows of glass jars full of penny candies.

In Burlington ( twice the size of Mt. Pleasant) we went to Sears where they had an elevator ran by an elevator operator. I loved riding the elevator. I remember the small car with a metal grate door that he had to pull closed before the car could move up or down. You had to tell him which floor you wanted by the merchandise on that floor. As in shoes or women's clothing or kitchen wares etc. This elevator was still running when I was in high school but they modernized shortly after that and now of course the store isn't even there anymore. It's been gone for along time now. So sad to lose those special experiences.

Rubesgirl

Wow, you all really bring back memories that I had forgotten. I grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC, so not too much country around us. We played kickball in the street, with someone always watching and yelling "CAR!". We'd all step aside, let it pass and continue our game. We had a deep culvert in the middle of our street that was storm water runoff, but we took it as a shortcut to get to the other side ofthe street, stopping to float sticks or capture tadpoles. We'd cross to go play tetherball at one kid's house, then walk down the street to cross somewhere else. We'd sit on the front porch and make gum wrapper chains or play kitchen or read if the weather was not good. There were so many kids on our block, I couldn't count them and we all played outside from sunup til the street lights came on, Then we had to go home or our parents would skin us if they had to come looking for us! I remember the bus market, which was an old bus that traveled around the neighborhoods and sold staples and sundries, and best of all ... fireballs - 3 for 1 cent. Also the Good Humor truck. We didn't have a lot of money and there were 5 kids, so mom would buy 3 5cent popsicles and split them in half. Aahhhhh, I loved the root beer ones! Also Fizzies that we would drop into a glass of water and make "soda". We roamed freely around the area, walking 1/2 mile to the local rec center to learn the hula or just lounge under the trees or play on the swings (which were wooden boards held up by heavy chains). No one worried about where you were or how long you were gone. So many nights we ate at someone else's house or stayed overnight (3 or 4 houses from home) but it was ok, someone's parents went to your house for a cup of coffee, talked with your mom and the deal was set. They drank a lot of coffee back then :^). ALL the parents looked out for ALL of us. We had a rich childhood, but we didn't know it then.

Nell Dwyer

OH-the memories, we sure did have a lot of them, I tell our Grandson-10 years old about some of the things we did, and what his mother and aunt did when we/they were all young-Grandson says-"But Grandma, that was in the Olden Days" now we have modern technology you don't have to do that silly stuff no more-I roll my eyes, and have a lot of good "Olden Days" memories, hopefully he'll have some of those memories, when he comes to stay with us for a week next month from Ohio-haha

booklady

My sister, a neighbor girl and I would play cards and board games all summer long. Monopoly lasted for days! We would mark everything, then slide the board under the couch until the next day. We didn't play rummy to 500, we played to 5,000! Then we would play nertz games forever! (It's a form of solitaire with the aces played in the middle by everyone). The yellow light on the car port would be on so we could play out there sitting on a quilt.