Top Menu

Remember Some of These!

Posted from the internet. I am not sure who the author is but this was sent to me a few days ago;

Someone asked me the other day “What was your favourite ‘fast food’ when you were growing up”?

“We didn’t have fast food when I was growing up”, I informed him, “all the food was slow”!!

“No, come on, seriously, where did you eat”?

“It was a place called home”, I explained. “Mum cooked every day and when dad got home from work, we all sat down together at the dining room table. And if I didn’t like what was on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it”!

By this time the lad was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn’t tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

TV test patterns came on at night after the last show had finished and again in the morning before transmission started

TV test patterns came on at night after the last show had finished and again in the morning before transmission started

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I’d figured his system could have handled it;

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, never wore jeans, never set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card. My parents never drove me to school, I had a bicycle that weighed about 50 pounds and it only had one speed, slow. We didn’t have television in our house until I was 10, It was of course black and white, and the station went off air at 11pm, after playing the national anthem and epilogue. It came back on air at about 10am next morning after showing the test pattern for about an hour and there was usually a locally produced show featuring local people and products.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home but milk was. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. My brother delivered a newspaper 7 days a week. He got up at 6am every morning.

Film stars kissed with their mouths shut, at least they did in the films. There was no movie ratings because all movies were produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanities, violence or anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or granchildren. How many do you remember?

1 Headlight dip-switches on the floor of the car

2 Ignition switches on the dashboard

3 Trouser leg clips for bicycles without chain guards

4 Soldering irons you heated on a gas burner,

5 Using hand signals because the cars did not have traffic indicators

6 Lolly cigarettes

7 Coffee shops with Juke Boxes

8 Bread delivered in a horse and cart

9 Party lines on the telephone

10 Newsreels before the pictures

11 Kerosene heaters

12 33 rpm records

13 45 rpm records

14 Hi-Fi and streophonic sound

15 Metal ice trays with levers,

16 Blue flash bulbs on the camera

17 Cork pop-guns

18 Wash tub wringers

19 Peashooters and slug guns

20 Telegram boys

If you remembered 0-5, you’re still young

If you remembered 6-10, you’re getting older

If you remembered 11-15, don’t tell your age

If you remembered all 20, you’re positively ancient!

Well, don’t feel too bad I remembered them all. In fact some of these are the best memories of my life

Don’t forget to pass this on!

 

 

 

 

14 Responses to Remember Some of These!

  1. michele nooteboom December 9, 2014 at 6:10 pm #

    I was just chatting with my parents last week about take away. They are in their 80s and 90s.
    The rare take away we did have was fish’n’chips.
    I even recall my brother and I spending our sixpence collection plate money for Sunday School (yep, he tought me how to avoid the nuns) on fish’n’chips on a Sunday . . .

  2. Matt December 9, 2014 at 6:14 pm #

    Great stuff. Unfortunately, I’m all over the lot! 🙂 I must admit, that for much of my childhood, it was but a dream to see the test pattern in colour. 😉

  3. Marilyn Brazel December 9, 2014 at 6:31 pm #

    Oops I remember them all and my Dad delivered bread from a horse and cart. His horse was called Maude.

  4. Jill December 9, 2014 at 7:20 pm #

    I’m in the truly ancient category; I remember all those things.

  5. Kaye December 9, 2014 at 7:24 pm #

    We used to put billy on the post for the milkman to leave milk and cream,if we were up early enough we got some extra cream

  6. Bernadette December 9, 2014 at 9:27 pm #

    I remember all that, but something I haven’t heard anyone mention. When the Television was switched off, there was a tiny, very bright light in the middle of the screen that took ages to fade out. I was fascinated by that. Maybe I’m older than Adam, but I remember TV closing after Children’s programmes. I think it came back on around 7.or 7.30 .

  7. Lyndlee December 9, 2014 at 9:47 pm #

    My husband to be was telegram boy. And I’m fairly sure that the lady at the telephone exchange listened in on our phone calls when we were first ‘going out’ – that I made to Adelaide from that far distant town of Tailem Bend!!! when I first started working. I remember 19/20, though had forgotten most until you reminded me. And I really didn’t realize I was that old . .
    And as for the test pattern – even Norm used to tell us to warm the set and cool the tinny.

  8. Diane December 10, 2014 at 6:58 am #

    The telephone girls in Murray Bridge did listen in. Then they said “Three minutes, are you extending?”. You held your breath whilst there was a pause and then he said “yes”.

  9. danny bocchino December 10, 2014 at 8:34 am #

    Yep…after reading your entire “list”, I’m like you, Bob. That is, ‘ancient’.

    Such is life, whilst learning and managing the many ‘corporate changes’ experienced by me (and many others of similar ‘ancient’ status).

    Sadly, Gen Y’s seem disinterested about ‘ancient’ person’s life journey.

    But, for me, those ‘slow days’ will always be the best parts of my life.

    From Danny Bocchino

  10. ian douglas December 10, 2014 at 9:49 am #

    Ah yes very fond memories of all those plus many more like the rattle of the milkys bottles and the ice man and his horse ,those childhood memories will never fade.

  11. Jim nestor December 13, 2014 at 7:04 am #

    i remember about 15 of them but one I remember was when we had to leave the milk money on our doorstep for the milky and hope it wouldn’t get pinched.

  12. Steve December 21, 2014 at 10:50 am #

    12. 12? I couldn’t be THAT old, could I?

  13. Jason Templeton December 21, 2014 at 9:30 pm #

    I was raised by my great aunt so all but #20 are familiar. You did forget 78’s though 🙂 I still remember that my Grandmother did not even have a telephone till around 1997.

  14. Jane July 10, 2017 at 10:11 pm #

    I’m not sure if this qualifies as fast food but I remember for my 10 year old self the biggest luxury in the world was when the baker would drop off the bread in the morning .. white sliced of course and it would be still warm. Mum would let me have the.crust with butter and what we then called peanut paste . I’d swing by the Blue Dove deli on Sturt rd for a Farmers Union malted milk and I was as happy as I think I’ve ever been :)) Heaven

Leave a Reply