![[SeMissourian.com]](http://www.t-g.com/images/nameplate.png)
|
|
Fair ~ High: 59°F ~ Low: 41°F |
|
A small, small town
Posted Monday, May 19, 2008, at 10:38 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
I am probably older than most of the bloggers -- with the exception of Bo. That means there has been a lot more for me to remember. It doesn't mean that I remember it all. Often I wish I could remember more.
Occasionally I think back to my childhood and remember things that I would love to share with someone. I can just imagine the young readers thinking of their grandmother and other "older" adults. When I was about 5 or 6, Nabisco Shredded Wheat came in a large "pillow". There were no small bite-size pieces. One of the large pillows constituted a serving of cereal. I really didn't care for cereal and certainly hated milk (still do), but I wanted the cereal boxes. Buildings were printed on the inside of the shredded wheat boxes. We cut them out and put them together with the little tabs and slits on the corners -- no glue or Scotch tape. There were churches, schools, libraries, houses, fire stations, police stations. There was a girl who lived upstairs, and together we had an entire town. That was fun for me. It might not have been so much fun if I'd had a sibling a couple of years younger who could grab the scissors or step on my buildings. My one sister came along much later. Ask your mothers or grandmothers if they ever played with the shredded wheat villages. It made for cheap toys. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
Hot topics It is deer season(5 ~ 10:43 AM, Nov 19)
Are Snuggies really snug?
Veterans Day 2009
My country thinks I'm old.
The Price is Right - or not
|
![[Feed icon]](http://www.t-g.com/images/icons/feed-icon-14x14.png){kind=icon}
Isn't it funny the things we remember?
I don't remember there being villages in shredded wheat boxes but it sounds like something I would have liked. I guess I don't remember this because we weren't much of a shredded wheat lover.
I got down some old quilts my grandmother had made a long time ago and was showing them to my grand daughter. They are beautiful quilts but she made them from feed/flour sacks she was amazed that they were so beautiful and on the inner side had the imprint of the feed sacks. I told her that was truly recycling. :>)
That is so cool! I wish my children could grow up in those times! Today, children are so spoiled and do not appreciate things that are done for them(maybe it is our fault?)!
Oh I remember the large one serving shredded wheat. Just crunch it up, pour milk over it and breakfast is served!
I don't blame the kids.
I've seen even poor families (ESPECIALLY poorer families!) get each child two or more major playthings at Christmas.
Often,these toys and gadgets must be sold,pawned or bartered to pay for necessities like food,gas,utilities and rent.
Such situations don't lend themselves to a child looking forward to an item,being stunned when they get it and treasuring it until it's time to hand it down to the next child (or next generation).
You seldom see children playing with a lot of simple,inexpensive stuff during the year that are kid-powered or crafted by the youngsters.
That's not to condemn the new stuff altogether but,once upon a time,the boxes they came in would have seemed magical on their own.
They'd have turned into cars,rocket ships,forts,doll-houses,grocery stores and time machines-all in a single day.
Now,I fear,they are kept pristine so they can send a faulty toy back to its maker or turn the toy back into Wal-mart for money on a gift card.
Years ago,big ticket items were rare even among the wealthy.
Kids were encouraged to save up for things themselves and there were more grocery aisle purchases such as balls,jacks,jump ropes and marbles and more delights to be had from cereal boxes and jars of Ovaltine.
I never knew the days of feedsack dresses but I miss the mindset of those days-just as I miss the days of trading stamps,getting dishes with gas and drawings being held between the cartoons and the main feature at the movies.
We didn't have drawings at the movie theater in Lewisburg. We must have been deprived. It only cost 12 cents to get in though, & I went a couple of times a week because my grandmother lived 1 block off the square, and the theater was on the square. On Saturdays we had the western, a B movie, a serial, and a cartoon. My grandmother moved from one side of the square to being a block off the other side of the square. Then I would skate on the sidewalk on that side of the square. I was the only kid doing that, so there was no problem.
You were more blessed than deprived. :)
quantumcat:
I remember one time when my family got a new stove and refrigerator at one time. Oh the fun my cousins and I had (I was an only child for quite some time) with those boxes. We layed them on their sides and made "tunnels" out of them. Now that I'm grown with children of my own, I taught them the same things. I have videos of my own children playing in a stove box and they were having the time of their lives. My youngest child cut holes for doors and windows and drew a television, curtains and a rug on the inside. I even crawled inside to see the "decorated" home.
We also had high banks on the side of our driveway where I grew up. We would dig holes (large and small) in the banks. Those were our "stores". We would drive our hotwheels and matchbox cars from one shopping area to another.
Our driveway was just dirt and rather long. After a couple weeks of good rains, we'd have long mud puddles there were about 4 to 6 inches deep. Our plastic boats were ships and the mud puddles were our oceans.
There are so many good memories of my childhood. We didn't have big money but we had a big imaginations. Our imaginations took us anywhere we wanted to go and let us do anything we wanted to do.
Those were the BEST times!!!
Even if you didn't have Barbies,Liddle Kiddles,Hot Wheels,Transformers or a slew of plastic soldiers,cowboys or dinosaurs on hand,your own imagination provided anything you needed.
That was a "renewable resource" that never ran down even after the kids had to come in and wash up.
(Speaking of washing up,we had a field day with boats,water pistols,bubble stuff and empty Soakie bottles shaped like our favorite cartoon characters.)
Miss. Betty
Remember the hand made toys for Christmas-wheel barrows-wagons-carved animals- rag dolls-doll houses- barns ect. Didn't realize how much love and work was put into Christmas,untill many years later. No stores to buy from at that time. Friday nights after a day's work, was a time to relax. Several families would meet at someone's house bring a dish,socialize with each other after eating, break out the guitars,dulcimers,fiddles, mouth harps, and have a hoedown. Yes,I remember we were taught if our neighbor was in trouble it was our duty to help.
We were taught to respect our teachers,law,and elected officals. I may be wrong, but something seems to have gone wrong. The love of money seems stronger today, than the love for God and our fellow man. Yes, I miss the simple days I remember.
Sometimes I wonder if I'am remembering right,or am I hullcinating. You tell me.