 More new memories! Don't Forget to Send Us Yours Iris M. sends these memories: "I recall getting a new mustang '64 convertible 4 on the floor with a 289 engine. I would race a lot; everyone waanted to drive it.......going to the Domion Grill hang out for kids. My friend & I would take a 1 quarter and buy each oof us pop and play 1 song. Doing the Twist on a throw rug for my parents and my boy friend, then they would let us go on a date." Just had this sent to me and wanted to add some I thought of: gimp necklaces, etc. and making yarn rope using 4 nails and an empty thread spool. Paper dolls, "Ginny dolls, and "Betsey Wetsy." I do have a "bad memory" of the 50's...practicing what to do if there were air raids. We'd have to go into the basement under a table while at home, until the all-clear alarm went off, or if we were at school, we'd gather in the stairwells with our heads down and neck covered with our hands. [email protected].... (I remember that, too, and wonder how much protection they thought our hands would provide?!? signed: Pede) "I remember wearing my boyfriend's ring, and putting angora around it so that it would fit my finger. You either did that or wore it around your neck on a chain. Roller skating was fun. You could meet a lot of guys there, and when the organ played a slow song it was so much fun slow-skating with a guy. Then it was off to the A&W Root Beer Stand. If you were lucky, you could get a root beer in one of those "baby mugs" and take it home with you. Anyone still have one of those? Wisconsin still has A&W Root Beer stands in nearly every community. We were there a couple of years ago and boy, did they bring back good memories. Thanks for having this page. What FUN. Sudi ([email protected]) "Remember the radio show, "Stan's Private Line" from Sacramento in the '50s?...and the superb hamburgers at Stan's Drive-in there? We used to cruise the avenue for an hour or so, and then gather at Stan's to check out the competition. A lot of impromptu drag races had their genesis there. I remember working on an aircraft radar one afternoon in the mid-50's. We would turn the plane's radio on to the local radio station while we worked. One of my cohorts noticed a song being played and told me to, " watch that guy. He's going to be big!" My reaction was that he was without talent, and would go away soon...some guy named Elvis Presley, I believe. What ever happened to him?" From Mike B. (Just goes to show, doesn't it? Not everyone shares the same tastes...in music or anything else! I know a lot of people, particularly girls, who are glad you were wrong that time! Bet it doesn't happen often~....Pede) "Hi, Pede. I remember the "big bully" in school. He was 16, 6' 2" and 250 pounds. He wore black pegged pants and a tight black muscle shirt undera pink dress shirt, and bullied all us skinny kids....girls too! Now....35 years later...I saw him 2 weeks ago....he's about 6" 4 now, and over 400 pounmds, and could hardly walk. I wanted to say to him, "Remember when???" But I didn't. I just said hello and walked away, and felt really sorry for him. All those years of being mean rewarded him. The rest of us skinny guys are doing pretty well, and look good for 50+ year-olds. You always reap what your sow. Thanks for the great site and stirring up memories. Bill S., New York "I remember going to the Sutter Hill skating rink on Saturday nights with our older cousins. The rink was under lots of big shade trees, and on hot summer evenings they would open the doors and windows and a cool breeze would flow through the building. My cousin and I were young , maybe 8 or so. We watched the big, cool kids, and enjoyed the skating rink very much. All the little towns in the area used to have skating rinks, Ione, Sutter Creek, and Fiddletown. We used to skate dance to the hokey pokey...."put your little foot in, and you shake it all about".....and so on. I remember the songs we skated to, "Beep Beep," and it started real slow, and as the song went faster and faster, you would skate as fast as you could go! One of the songs we skated couples to was, "To Know Him is to Love him". Good Memories!!!! Lolly I can remember buying gasoline to cruise the drive-ins; all my girlfriends would chip in a dollar and we could cruise all weekend. Cigarettes were 35 cents a pack, and my mom sent me to the store to buy them for her. Movies were a quarter, and you had a whole 75 cents to blow on goodies. I remember Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare shirts were the thing in 1962. Everyone had one and you were uncool if you didn't own at least one. [email protected] [email protected] says: How about the balloons at the 5 and 10 for the banana splits....pop the balloon and pay the price inside, from a penny to fifty cents.  I remember listening to Perry Como and Andy Williams on the radio. We did not have a tv until mid-1950's. Fresh milk from the cow, butter, vegetables from the garden. Walking to school, town, or library, and getting a double scoop of real ice cream on a cone. Thanks, mjsuni128 Rose Marie S. sent these memories for us! Elvis first came out...of all the screaming we did. Especially if you were lucky enough to have a tv. That was on the Ed Sullivan Show. Remember Pat on American Bandstand? Do you remember rolling your hair in "Spoolies"? This is something I did every night so my hair would be curly for school the next day! Remember when the Stroll (a dance) first came out? Everybody was doing it. And those white buck shoes!!! I just had to have a pair!! Too cool!! I remember pulling up to the gas pump and asking for 50 cents worth of gas!! ....Sondra We lived right on the Highway 25 in New Jersey. My girlfriends and I would sit on the porch and wave at all the service men as they were going down the highway in a caravan on their way to and from their camp. We would get big smiles and waves back, and we thought that a great thing ,and that we were very patriotic. We just loved all the guys hanging out of the trucks. Diane R  I went to a small high school...47 in our graduating class, and that was the largest graduation class EVER! At lunch every day, we had the option of eating our lunch in the cafeteria ONLY for 25 cents, but only one choice on the menu; you ate what was served..and that was it......and then going to the gym. The record player was going full blast, and one of the guys was the DJ. We could bring our own records from home, take off our shoes and dance our lunch away! Of course, some of us would just skip the good old "cafeteria food" and just go straight to the gym and dance! [email protected] (...and just look at us now! Pede)  I remember Saturday nights when all the teens would go to a sock hop behind the green door, and dance to our hearts' content to a school rock band and all those great beats......what about the slumber parties where the guys would be invited over for a party that had chaperones, lots of good food, music out-of-sight, and your sweetheart....just the sight of her made you so weak youcouldn't breathe or stand up without your knees shaking.... ....Remember cruising the best teen beat in town with a 1956 red and white Mercury with "flipper" hubcaps, bubble skirts, glass pack twin mufflers, chrome tailpipe extensions, frenched headlights, 8 coats of simoniz wax and the most beatiful sweetheart you've ever met, sitting on your side of the car! And a radio that never moved off the local rock station. Of course, to finish off the cool scene, you always had your arm hanging out of the driver's side window. Bill S. This is from Pede: My mother says, "I remember when Poppa got his first car. I was just 6 or 7. It was called a"Moon" but I don't know what company made them. He was trying to learn to drive it, and going very slowly, and when he neared the barn where he was to park it, he started hollering, "Whoa, whoa!" All us kids were laughing and having such a good time! We thought he forgot he wasn't driving his horse!!" How about going into the local shoe store and putting your feet into the "Xray Machine" and looking at the bones in your feet. [email protected] How about Pogo Sticks? They worked great on the cement, but when you accidentally bounced onto the grass, what a bummer! [email protected] I remember cruising around the block in Trenton, at State and Broad Sts looking for girls. We had seven theaters in town; now you have to go to the multi-screen movie houses. Cigarettes were $.14 a pack...not having to worry about car-jackers or hoodlums trying to mug you ....walk anywhere you wanted to....school hops, proms, soda fountains banana splits for $.25 cents $.05 cent ice cream cones with jimmies... [email protected] Long, straight skirts with cardigan sweater worn backwards, then added a knotted scarf at neck. Winter time wear: coats never, ever zipped or buttoned - Scarves on head with knot on chin - sooo cool! LOL Dishes, glasses, towels found in detergent boxes. "Katy Keene" comic books, where you could send in your designs for dresses, blouses, etc. Maybe they'd use in next edition. Also her paper-dolls, where you could make up fashions for her, or cut them out of the comic book. Always returning to the house that give you a nickel for Halloween. Boy, money! Not some stupid candy. Anyone remember the "7-Up" candy bar. It was seven different pieces of candy joined together that you broke off as you ate it. How about "Goo" bars? I lived in Chicago, and the word always got around that the "ship" was in - meaning that the sailors from Fort Sheridan were downtown looking. Great time for pick ups. Nice guys too. Friendship rings. Green River drinks. Booth minimum rate was 25 cents so you ordered a cherry coke and fries. Everyone shared. Hot summer mornings - you put your girdle in refrigerator to get cold so you could get it on easier. Cindy from Chi Town Here's a few from Eve! "All the kids wore cords and hang-ten t-shirts and wallabees (with beads threaded into the top lace). Remember click-clacks, (the hard plastic balls on a string that clicked together above and below, and usually died when shattering into a million pieces)? Remember Crissy dolls with the hair that grew when you pushed a button? Remember stingray bicycles? Or Wonderama? "Has anybody here seen an aardvark?" What was that M.C.'s name? Or Hobo Kelly (I always wanted her to look into her magic mirror-thing and tell ME that there was a present waiting under my bed...). Gigantor cartoons? H.R. Puffenstuff? The Bug-a-boos? " '60 Eve I remember when you could take a $ 1.00 and walk into a candy store and come out with a whole bag of penny candy. Roxs [email protected] says: Remember the first time you added "color" to your hair with those little packages of powder that you added water to and then rinsed your hair?? They may have been made by Nestle. Everything was fine, your hair was so shiney UNTIL the first time you were caught in the rain; then the rinse ran off your hair and down your face and neck ??? :-) Do you remember when you could get a hamburger with fries and a shake at Mickey D's for $.45 ??? Oh, my...THE Hair Styles were called "Hair Do's"....like: the "Bird Nest," the"Bee Hive," and The Flip." And Yes, oh yes... things called "Gas Wars" [email protected] Jan H. says" We called saddle shoes "rah-rah's" and went to sock hops and dawn dances, and just loved those old Model -T's that had a shade you could pull down between the front and back seat....great for double dates. I remember going to a concert,and Paul Revere and the Raiders were there! My girlfriend and I were so close, but I never realized how close till Mark Lindsay sang " Little Girl In The Fourth Row" and I was in the 4th Row!!!! from Betty T  My husband, Brien, grew up in So. Buffalo. He remembers shoveling many a snow-laden driveway, just until he had the money to go bowling at Riccio's Bowling Alley. Why do we just GIVE money to our kids now??? Eileen Remember riding in a "Rumble seat"---A hay ride pulled with real horses. Ring the bell and win a cigar at a Carnival ? George Coffey When American Bandstand was giving away the ISETTA, which was the car with the door that opened in the front. It took all of $.76 cents to fill the gas tank & the reserve gas tank! [email protected] I remember the angora dice that all the guys had hanging in their cars. Also the fluffy angora tops that the girls knitted and wore on their socks. Back then when you got in trouble at school, it was taken care of then. The girls also wore peddle pushers, now I think they call them capris. We thought we had it rough then, but I would not trade places with the young people today for anything. [email protected] I remember how far a dollar would go; it would buy me a good lunch! Twenty-five cent hamburgers, 15 cent french fries, 10 cent coke, and oh, boy! 50 cents to go to a movie, and that would include candy and popcorn. What's the dollar today? Maybe the Coke, and thats debatable. Thanks for the memory site, Diana No one mentioned the days before TV, when we would spend the evenings in front of the living room radio, listening to some of the great radio shows of the 40's and 50's....Inner Sanctum, The Big Story, The Fat Man, and many others. JAK AND MOST IMPORTANT!!! THOSE GRRRREATTTT "57 CHEVY convertibles, and drag racing and beating the guys! Wow, what a kick, and smoochin' in the back seat! Pat...GRAD '60...EFHS, Eliz.,Pa. When I was ten years old in 1941-2, my mother and I used to go to movies occasionally at night. For me, the price was 12 cents, and my mother's was 27 cents. After the movie we would stop for a hamburger and coffee. Yes, I drank coffee then too. The cafe had only two prices for hamburgers: 5 cents and 10 cents. They were good-sized, too. French fries and coffee were 5 cents each. The hamburger and fries I had last night cost $5.50. Dick P Wow, I'm remembering the "hair thing." I had to get out the ironing board, cover my long locks with a dish towel and iron it straight. I had a friend, who forgot the dish towel part! She had frayed hair for ages. Then there was the scotch tape we put on our bangs to make them straight. Yep, made them straight all right -- plus we had those red, lumpy, irritated scotch tape marks on our faces! I now bow down to my blow dryer! Janie Hey -remember the radio! Those great programs: Fibber McGee and Molly, The Shadow, Lux Radio Theater - we had to use our imaginations then. My favorite came on on Saturday morning - "Let's Pretend". Now, they show us more than we want to see - we sure don't have to use our imagination! And sitting outside with your friends at night - talking -swinging on the front porch - maybe "smooching" a little. Ah, innocence. Where has it gone? PS Florida  I remember Kukla, Fran and Ollie on TV, The Howdy Doody show, I Remember Mama, Your Hit Parade on Saturday night, with Rusty Draper, Gisele MacKenzie, and 2 others that slip the mind, and all the good things from Battle Creek, Michigan off the cereal boxes. Frank Sellers Remember when the new cars would come out, and all the dealers would hide them, and cover their display windows so no one could see them until the BIG day they officially came out. I bought my first brand-new car, a red 1965 Chevy Impala for $2500.00. Remember the wide white-walled tires, the fins, the 327's & 409's and high school detention. Gary sandridge Remember rushing home from school so you wouldn't miss a minute of American Bandstand? And, everyday trying to do all the dances that Arlene did on there. That's where most of us learned how to dance. I remember being the first in our group to rush out and buy Elvis' newest 45, just so I could say I had it first. Going to sleep listening to your transistor radio. Wearing your guy's class ring. Going steady! French twists! Friday night dances! Slop Shops! Kick the Can! Spin the Bottle! Sock hops (where you danced in your socks, so as not to scratch up the gym floor)! And, who could ever forget short shorts.... Sharon of Cleveland (Home of Rock n Roll) I remember Royal Burgers! They were wonderful, and here's the actual recipe. I made them for Valentine's Day, and they were great: ROYAL BURGER 1 Sesame Seed Hamburger Roll, uncut 1 tablespoon margarine, softened 2 hamburger patties, 1/8 lb. (2 ounces) each salt and white pepper to taste 1 tablespoon shredded lettuce 1 slice American Cheese 4 teaspoons Mighty Mo Sauce (recipe included) 2 dill pickle chips, each Prepare Mighty Mo Sauce (recipe follows) Cut sesame seed hamburger roll crosswise into three equal slices. Spread bottom, top and one side of center cut of bun with margarine. Grill bun until lightly browned and heated throughout. Shape hamburger patties into thin 4" diameter patties. Grill hamburger very lightly on both sides. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Grill second hamburger very lightly on one side, turn and top with one slice of American cheese and grill lightly. Do not overcook. Spread 2 teaspoons of Mighty Mo sauce on bottom of roll. Top dressing with shredded lettuce, then hamburger. Top hamburger with middle layer of bun, grilled side up and spread with remaining 2 teaspoons of Mighty Mo Sauce. Top with cheeseburger. Place 2 dill pickle chips on cheese. Cover pickle with top of bun. Do not cut. Mighty Mo Sauce: 1/2 cup Catsup 1/4 cup Chili Sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons A-1 Sauce 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce 2 drops Tabasco Sauce 1/2 cup sweet pickle, finely chopped 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise Combine catsup, chili sauce, A-1 sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco Sauce. Finely chop sweet pickles and add to the mixture. Combine the sauce/pickle mixture with mayonnaise, stirring until well-blended. Store in a tightly covered container. (Thanks to [email protected]) I remember watching Queen Elizabeth being crowned the Queen of England, that was very exciting. I also remember the show on tv I Remember Mama. I also remember the first scary movies they came out with on t.v. that would be the "Mummies Movies"!! And Most importantly, Dick Clarks American Bandstand. My favorite couple was Bob and Justine. I copied all her hair styles and clothes too. And then there was Arlene and Ken. I think these kids date back to the '57 to '60's era. I remember also the soda bars where you drank the REAL Coca Cola. Or bought Cokes in the green bottles, real coke. We used to buy "Love" comics for 10 cents, and candy bars for 5 cents. Gail Rogers I remember going to a special section of road in the country which was marked off for the quarter-mile to drag race. To see who had the fastest car in town. Also the fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror...wore a pair of pegged, black pants with a pink stripe sewn into them, and collar turned up on my shirt. My two friends and I would sing "In The Still Of The Night" on the corner and in hallways where we could get a good echo effect. Cool Man!!!! Hank G. I remember when my sister dressed up in her "real" poodle skirt (it was gray,) and her white blouse. She had her initial pin on, and man, I couldn't wait till I got old enough to go to High School so I could be cool, too. I remember when you ate a hamburger and it tasted like it was grilled, you didn't care how much grease dripped out of it. Going for Sunday drives, and then capping it off with an ice cream cone or a frosty mug of root beer. Watching the cool dudes go by in their hopped up cars with the moon eyes decals, woodpecker decals, and lake pipes. Man, we'd roll up the cuff of our jeans; we made sure that mom bought the extra long. Rick R I remember when you could take your girl out for Burgers, Chips, Root Beer and a DriveInn Movie for $4.00, including gas and a Coke after the movie. Bo said it I lived in a Pa. country town, quite some distance from the school where I attended Jr. High. We were driven to all functions such as dances, basket ball games, school plays, skating parties, and many other functions, by school bus at night. Those long, slow, bus rides were the most memorable part of that wonderful program. What wonderful memories! [email protected] Remember when Mom put starch in our Levis, and put them on pants stretchers to get that nice crease down the leg? P [email protected] Watching submarine races - at night - next to some body of water (like the local reservoir) - was the best way to make out in semi-private. That meant sliding down as low as possible in the front seat of the car (yours or your "steady's") without risking being unable to "recover" very fast in case someone pulled up and parked next to you, or had headlights glaring at you, like the cops once did to me...was I ever mortified! I can still remember blushing from my toes up to my head! Elizabeth M I remember the old cartoons, Felix the Cat, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Casper and our super heros, Superman, and Batman. They were fun, not like what they have today. Boy what memories. Would'nt it be great to go back, just for a day? Thanks for taking me back. Deb [email protected] says: I remember when Burger Chef came to our area in 1964, you could buy a burger, fries, and a shake all for 45 cents!! I remember the movie A Patch of Blue. How about watching the test pattern on tv at 5:30 pm, before Howdy Doody came on, in 1949. (I was only 3 then, but I remember.) Cigarette smoking was the big thing in school; nobody every drank, and nobody even heard of drugs. Those were the days. We used to ride down "The Strip" near the University of Tennessee in Jeannie's car named "Norman Greenbomb," looking for guys with long hair. We would sometimes go in the "Head Shops," just to look at the blacklight posters and smell the delicious incense, and hopefully, come out smelling like it. Of course, looking at guys with long hair in Head Shops was also an option. Groove on, Deb Does anybody remember "penny candy"? You could go to the store on the corner, and for 25 cents, get a little bag FULL of all sorts of candy. . . . Dots, MaryJanes, long Tootsie rolls etc. [email protected] "Ol Archer" sends this one: Do you remember when you could get 5 gal's of gas for a dollar, and all the used oil you needed for the old oil burner, to get you home from where you shouldn't have been in the first place? I can remember swimming in the river in town, off the dock, skinny dipping. Then some cars would drive into the park, and we'd have to stay in the water until they left, so we could get to our clothes. Got mighty cold when you were in the water that long, but it sure was fun in those days. Cast [email protected] has these to share: I remember we had to put a pre-printed sign in the window to tell the "Ice Man" how many pounds of ice we wanted for the Ice-Box. And I also remember what happened when someone forgot to dump the container that caught the melting ice. No self-defrosting fridges in our house back then. Here's a memory ... Saturday mornings raking leaves, carrying them in wooden bushel baskets to the street to be burned, before polution laws. Penny candy. Majorettes with white tassled boots. Memorial Day Parades when the whole town showed up to honor our men and women. Memorial Scrolls in the center hallway of the high school, for those that has fallen in WWI and WWII. Sadie Hawkins Day Dances. Remember when folks stood when the American Flag passed by. Bon Fires in the park before the Thanksgiving Day Foot Ball game ...Teaneck High School vs Hackensack High School .. New Jersey. How about air raid drills on Saturdays at noon! And the dream continues ... thanks for the memories .. (I remember going to a Sadie Hawkins Day party dressed as Moonbeam McSwine! Totally out of character for me...I was always so quiet and shy!...Pede) Laurie C.. [email protected] says: There used to be a Burma Shave sign on the old 3c Highway (Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati) that read: Dina doesn't treat him right but if he'd shave.... Dynamite! How about: American Bandstand, Kate Smith and "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain. And Sky King on Saturday mornings! Camilla The very first TV I remember seeing had a very small screen, and a very large, circular dial, used to bring in the local stations - I think it was a Dumont. The dial was bigger than the screen. It was, of course, black & white. The early shows that I remember were Captain Video and his Video Rangers, Hopalong Cassidy, Mr I-Magination. To put things in perspective, Sesame Street just celebrated its 30th Anniversary. Ed Slade, EHHS '62 How about the time you drag raced on two-lane highways. No cops were around and you could do anything. Going down the road and losing your brakes, or playing chicken on the road.... Hitting a bump and banging your head on the roof of the car... Looking for a drag race and finding out that you were in front of it... What a scare... Carol Message from Pede: Thanks again to everyone for sharing your memories with all of us! Hugs, Pede  Check out the previous book ....Lots more memories here! Next Pede's Porch "At The Hop" |
