Take a short stroll down Memory Lane with me... back in the 1940s and the 1950s...
by James K. Sayre
First, setting the stage: a few major differences between back in the 1940s, the 1950s and the 21st century: setting the stage for memory lane.
Snippets of the past... it's interesting, that after many thousands of hours of being awake and at least semi-conscious, how few things still in our memories. Repetitive and unpleasant things probably get filed in the most obscure parts of the mind... Below are some fragments of ancient memories in small, convenient, bite-sized pieces.
Part I: in Ridgewood, New Jersey (1945 - 1949):
The Great Treat: dipping into the large penny-filled bowl on Halloween. (late 1940s) The Great Treat .
The Ridgewood Duck Pond (late 1940s): Ridgewood Duck Pond .
Climbing in the Lilac bushes (late 1940s) Climbing in the Lilac Bushes.
Learning to swim in the Ridgewood pool (late 1940s). Learning to swim .
The old Ridgewood Library on a hill (late 1940s): Remembering 1947 .
The Ridgewood creek overflowed once. The Hohokus Brook
1947: the earliest year-date that I remember. 1947
The magic opal-button (late 1940s): Magic opal-button .
Automobile inspection in the late 1940s in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Auto inspection .
My childhood gardens,.childhood gardens (1950s).
The round television set The round television set .
My first, last and only date in second grade (1949) First date in second grade .
Part II: in Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania (1949 - 1950):
Our Apartment in Castle Shannon, PA, from late December, 1949 to May 1950 Castle Shannon Apartment .
Making As in 2nd grade in Castle Shannon Elementary School in early 1950. . Castle Shannon School .
The spectacular night-time firefalls of the pouring of the liquid slag from steelmaking in Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania in early 1950. Steel slag firefalls .
Part III: in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1950 - 1960):
The Mount Lebanon minute in Second Grade (early 1950s). The Mount Lebanon Minute .
The big little truck. The Big Little Truck .
The Woods The Woods.
The short-cut. (early 1950s). The Short Cut .
The slinky toy (early 1950s) The Slinky Toy .
Playing card games as children in the 1950s Playing card games
Six weeks of Cub Scouting in Third Grade 6 weeks of Cub Scouting .
Trying to learn to play the drums in 3rd grade to impress a girl. Learning drums in 3rd grade
Gathering Horse Chestnuts after school every autumn. Gathering horse chestnuts .
Iceland: the first country that we studied in 4th grade geography class. Iceland .
Dawdling Dawdling .
Television in the early 1950s Television in the 1950s .
Mittens and Galoshes - standard wear for kids in snowy and wet winters back East in the 1950s. Mittens and Galoshes .
The Cootie Game: The Cootie Game .
Lefthander has a little trouble learning to write with dip ink pens in fifth grade back in 1953. Writing with dip ink pens .
17 Cartoons. 17 Cartoons .
Hand coloring the oleo-margarine in the early 1950s Hand coloring margarine .
Oval, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. (early 1950s). Oval, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 .
Playing wiffle ball with the neighbor Harvey boys in our backyard. Playing wiffleball in the backyard .
My first pocket knife. pocket knives .
Collecting postage stamps collecting postage stamps .
The 3-speed Dutch Racer bicycle 3-speed Dutch Racer bicycle .
A slight touch of juvenile delinquency: plinking cars with paper clips powered by rubber bands on summer evenings, while crouching in hiding places behind some low hedges along Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon. Plinking .
Newspaper carrier: Delivering the morning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in the early 1950s. 1952 - 1956. Newspaper carrier .
Taking the #38 streetcar from Mount Lebanon down to the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh. 38 Streetcar .
Driving a car at age 12 on a sandy road in lower Michigan Driving at age 12 .
The Brownie box camera and my tiny bird pictures. Brownie box camera .
Grandfather Bower's great home in Detroit, Michigan . Grandparents' great house .
Blackberry picking: 1950s - date: . Blackberry picking .
Mount Lebanon Day Camps in the 1950s Mount Lebanon Day Camp .
Point Pelee, Leamington summer vacation in 1953. Point Pelee, Leamington summer vacation, 1953.
Playing card games as children in the 1950s Playing card games as a child.
Playing board games as children in the 1950s Playing board games as a child.
Collecting glass animals Collecting glass animals as a child.
My first pair of binoculars: 7x35, purchased in 1956 and still in fine shape My first pair of binoculars.
Birdwatching as a child Birdwatching as a child.
The full-sized leather-topped wooden desk that I purchased in 8th grade. My leather-topped desk.
The Crystal Radio Receiver Kit Crystal Radio .
Summer vacation in July 1956 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Summer vacation in Florida
We used Tide, a laundry detergent, as our hair shampoo in the late 1950s. Tide detergent .
I had some nice annual flower gardens in Mount Lebanon, PA in the late 1950s. Adolescent flower gardens
Growing up under fluorescent lights in the 1950s Growing up fluorescent
Audrey's grand jar collection Audrey's jar collection
Electric Blankets Electric blankets .
Sputnik, the first space satellite, launched in October, 1957. Sputnik
Building HeathKit receivers Building HeathKit Receivers.
Playing on the Mount Lebanon High School Chess Team (late 1950s): Mt. Lebanon High chess.
"Peanut butter, honey and cinnamon!" : Peanut butter, honey and cinnamon.
Crossing the wake in summer water-skiing in a warm Michigan lake. Water skiing in Michigan.
The Creative Imagination Class Creative Imagination Class .
Take a short stroll down Memory Lane back to the Mt. Lebanon Senior High School in the days of yore (Graduation Day, June, 1960): Mount Lebanon Senior High School: Mt. Lebanon High School.
Forbes Field Memories Forbes Field Memories.
Robert Kedzie Sayre, a mechanical genius, or at least very close to one. Robert K. Sayre.
Part 4: Carnegie Tech
Is this all there is? Is this all there is?
Other:
Tiny snippets of memory Tiny snippets of memeory
The Weekly Scherzo - Magazine of the National Music Camp, Interlochen, Michigan. The Weekly Scherzo Memories.
Christmas for One Christmas for one Memories.
End.
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Web page last updated on 1 August 2010.