This is obviously not mine, but interesting.....Lynn
Growing up in the fifties, things were so different. They really were!
Women would breastfeed their baby anywhere and no one thought anything about it. They might or might not cover their breast.
Not many people had bathrooms and if they did they had a bathtub and no shower.
Many of us girls aspired to be a home-maker as a career. Home economics was a popular class.
We were given more responsibility, especially watching younger children.
We would play outside in the woods or river all day long. Boys started hunting at an early age. We had few store bought toys. We mostly got a sock with candy, fruit and nuts for Christmas.
Most churches gave brown paper bags with candy, oranges, apples and nuts to all the children who attended Christmas services. Almost all churches had a Christmas play. Most grade schools had Christmas plays. Grade schools and some high schools had a morning devotional. Many high schools had Bible clubs. Grade schools had missionaries who came around once a month and told stories with flannel boards. If we learned 250 Bible verses in school we would get a free week at Bible camp.
We all sat down at the table for supper. We ate a home made breakfast. The cafeteria at school had home cooked meals that were amazing. We drank milk at school lunch in cafeteria. We walked to the drug store if we did not carry our lunch or eat at the cafeteria. The drug stores sold amazing hamburgers and hotdogs. Hotdogs came with chili.
Girls wore dresses (with a slip) no woman or girl went without a slip for fear of being ‘sunned’. We drank milk or kool aide for dinner and supper. Dinner was at lunch time and supper was in the evening.
We spent a lot of time outside. Neighbors were allowed to discipline us if we were bad or rude.
We used Mrs or Mr and sir and mam. We got switched with a keen switch that we had to go get for the disciplining.
When a person was dying, they often preferred to die at home and neighbors would gather and sit with them. A dead person would be brought home for one night before the funeral. Funerals were at the church not the funeral chapel. Someone would go around the neighborhood and collect money for flowers. Women from church or the community would go into the home and clean the house to prepare for the setting up. Food was brought.
Most of the time women would be buried in a sort of gown. I think it was called a shourd I forgot how the men were dressed. Funeral flowers had large ribbons on them and after the funeral the ribbons would be gathered and given to the family. Sometimes they would be made into quilts or other keepsakes. Children attended funerals and learned early that death was a part of living.
Most people attended the church in their neighborhood regardless of the denomination. We were baptized in the river. Most churches had an all day meeting and dinner on the ground.
Memorial Day was called decoration day and was very important to mountain people.
Many people ate squirrels, rabbits, ground hog and some ate raccoon and opossum and most fished a lot.
We ate mostly vegetables. Pinto beans, cornbread and fried potatoes was eaten at least a couple of times a week. We seldom ate between meals and if we did it usually would be fat back and a biscuit left over from breakfast. We had biscuits for breakfast almost every day.
Hamburgers and hot dogs were a treat and so was pop.
We loved holidays and seldom missed a parade. Paper fans advertising funerals were used in church in the summer.
We would run outside if we heard a plane so we could see it. Big planes broke the sound barrier and made a loud noise and we loved that.
Once a small plane crashed and the pilot had parachuted out. He left the parachute which was a bright color between orange and yellow. My brothers and cousin got it and divided the material for mama and my aunt. They made curtains, pillow covers, aprons and there may still be things around made out of it.
Books were scarce. Some people did not have electricity. Most houses did not have closets but if they did they were small.
We never lived in a house that was painted. You read your own electric meter. Most people had a garden. Most people canned their food for winter. We cooked everything from scratch.
Fast food was when mama hurried and built a fire in the cook stove and heated up soup beans and made corn bread while the potatoes were frying! We charged things at the local stores and paid them on payday. We were given a bag of all sorts of penny candy whe it wsd paid. Most people seldom bought ‘light’ bread. Few people ate sandwiches. We didnt buy buns for hamburger or hot dogs. We used regular bread. If we ran out of sugar or some other small thing we would borrow from a neighbor instead of running to the store. We saved food scraps to feed dogs, cats and hogs. Nothing was wasted. Most women sewed. Many quilted. We gathered at grandmas house or another relatives, for Sunday dinner. We often had someone else at our table for a meal. We offered a meal to anyone who stopped by.
Ok what did I forget??? Have a good evening!!!
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