milkmansdaughter
Super Self-Sufficient
I'm not sure how I ended up on this thread now but it's a good one. Maybe we can revive it?
Here's a picture from when I was a kid (sorry it's sideways.)
I'm third from the left.
One of the things I remember the most about childhood is KIDS. There were ALWAYS kids to play with. Every family had lots of kids. 6 kids was a small family. A car would stop someplace and 11 kids and two adults might climb out from every possible opening. When getting in, the adults got in front with a baby between them. The big kids all had little kids on their laps and extras crawled in wherever they found room. Little kids were freely passed back and forth over the seats during the drive. And we'd be little and still walked or rode bikes for a long way (miles) to play with friends, play in the woods, go sledding, build a treehouse, climb trees, build racetracks, and even for work. Every fall we went to the county fair, and if you had an animal, you got free tickets. If you had a horse, you got to stay overnight. Neighbor parents could spank you if you misbehaved and if they did you got it again when you got home. Kids got spanked in public schools, and then again at home. We prayed and sang patriotic songs every day in public school. No cell phones. Cars were left in the driveway with the keys in the ignition, houses were never locked, guns were left leaning in the corner or over a fireplace and no kids ever messed with them. Kids worked. We cut lawn, bailed hay, babysat, shoveled snow, washed and dried dishes, drove the tractor as soon as we were tall enough to reach the (blocks on the) pedals (often driving tractors while half standing half sitting on the very front of the seat to reach), cut and stacked wood, cared for animals, milked cows, and worked in the garden. A swing was a marvelous toy. We made our own kites and flew them. There was NO swearing on tv or on the radio and no one said the words "pregnant" (It was "pg") or "divorced". A family was a dad, mom, and kids. Most of the moms stayed home with the kids.
I remember quilting bees and card parties, women getting together to can, and my mom ironing piles and piles of clothes while watching some of the first soap operas (As the World Turns and Days of Our Lives??) Clothes dried outside on the line summer and winter. In the winter they would freeze solid and the pants could stand up on their own. We built snowmen and forts and flooded the low area to make a hockey rink. We froze water on the sled trails to make bumps and faster trails.
For fun on hot summer nights, we'd sleep outside and watch the stars and play night games. If we fell asleep in the car, we'd be left there in the car until we woke up.
We could go to a saw mill, potato farm, mechanic, maple syrup farm, paper mill or any other kind of factory to go see how things were done or made without worrying about injuries or lawsuits. If we got hurt, it was our fault.
There were no private phone calls, and no eating between meals. Everyone shared a room and clothes, bathroom, bathwater, etc. There was one bathroom for a family of 10. (We also had an outhouse until i was a teenager.) We found things to do or mom would find things (work) for us to do.
When anyone in the community had problems (like a barn fire or tornado damage) people from all over the community showed up to help or sent food.
We had a local dump, and kids freely climbed all over the piles to drag things home to make things. We once had a bike for 4 people from old parts. We build a clubhouse with parts from an old burned out barn. Nails were pounded straight and used over and over. We FIXED things or made them ourselves.
Cameras used film that cost money and took weeks to develop (that cost money) and often many of the pictures were blurry when we got them back. (I do love my current cameras.)
People wrote letters and used stamps.
Enough for now. Anyone else??
Here's a picture from when I was a kid (sorry it's sideways.)
I'm third from the left.
One of the things I remember the most about childhood is KIDS. There were ALWAYS kids to play with. Every family had lots of kids. 6 kids was a small family. A car would stop someplace and 11 kids and two adults might climb out from every possible opening. When getting in, the adults got in front with a baby between them. The big kids all had little kids on their laps and extras crawled in wherever they found room. Little kids were freely passed back and forth over the seats during the drive. And we'd be little and still walked or rode bikes for a long way (miles) to play with friends, play in the woods, go sledding, build a treehouse, climb trees, build racetracks, and even for work. Every fall we went to the county fair, and if you had an animal, you got free tickets. If you had a horse, you got to stay overnight. Neighbor parents could spank you if you misbehaved and if they did you got it again when you got home. Kids got spanked in public schools, and then again at home. We prayed and sang patriotic songs every day in public school. No cell phones. Cars were left in the driveway with the keys in the ignition, houses were never locked, guns were left leaning in the corner or over a fireplace and no kids ever messed with them. Kids worked. We cut lawn, bailed hay, babysat, shoveled snow, washed and dried dishes, drove the tractor as soon as we were tall enough to reach the (blocks on the) pedals (often driving tractors while half standing half sitting on the very front of the seat to reach), cut and stacked wood, cared for animals, milked cows, and worked in the garden. A swing was a marvelous toy. We made our own kites and flew them. There was NO swearing on tv or on the radio and no one said the words "pregnant" (It was "pg") or "divorced". A family was a dad, mom, and kids. Most of the moms stayed home with the kids.
I remember quilting bees and card parties, women getting together to can, and my mom ironing piles and piles of clothes while watching some of the first soap operas (As the World Turns and Days of Our Lives??) Clothes dried outside on the line summer and winter. In the winter they would freeze solid and the pants could stand up on their own. We built snowmen and forts and flooded the low area to make a hockey rink. We froze water on the sled trails to make bumps and faster trails.
For fun on hot summer nights, we'd sleep outside and watch the stars and play night games. If we fell asleep in the car, we'd be left there in the car until we woke up.
We could go to a saw mill, potato farm, mechanic, maple syrup farm, paper mill or any other kind of factory to go see how things were done or made without worrying about injuries or lawsuits. If we got hurt, it was our fault.
There were no private phone calls, and no eating between meals. Everyone shared a room and clothes, bathroom, bathwater, etc. There was one bathroom for a family of 10. (We also had an outhouse until i was a teenager.) We found things to do or mom would find things (work) for us to do.
When anyone in the community had problems (like a barn fire or tornado damage) people from all over the community showed up to help or sent food.
We had a local dump, and kids freely climbed all over the piles to drag things home to make things. We once had a bike for 4 people from old parts. We build a clubhouse with parts from an old burned out barn. Nails were pounded straight and used over and over. We FIXED things or made them ourselves.
Cameras used film that cost money and took weeks to develop (that cost money) and often many of the pictures were blurry when we got them back. (I do love my current cameras.)
People wrote letters and used stamps.
Enough for now. Anyone else??
