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pete black

Well-known Member
the post on milk wells reminded me of things no
longer heard about. here's some from alabama.
unheated bedrooms, taking a bath in a washtub,
non-homogenized milk, heated brick placed under
covers at foot of bed, block ice manufacturing
plant, hot patch inter-tube repair, car bumper
jack, deep well on a kitchen stove, cloth
flour/feed sacks, playing mumble pegs or stretch
with a pocket knife, rubber band gun fights, bb
gun fights, individual bicycle parts at western
auto, slot car racers, clamp on roller skates, pea
shooters, spit wads shot through a soda straw,
paper soda straws, peanuts in a bottle of coke,
driving a car on the rails of an abandoned rr
track. rear deck in a car with speakers, selector
switch mounted under dash to select which speakers
to use, coal oil tank at corner grocery store,
buying individual slices of bologna at corner
grocery store, bologna and crackers, parking in
downtown on saturday afternoon just to see who
passed by. whoa, i could go and on.
 
They still make and deliever block Ice in the Amish country for their iceboxes as some do not have access to ice to cut or cannot cut or store enough for a full year. They use the washtubs yet for bathing, most bedrooms are unheated, and the coal oil (kerosine) is used daily for their lights.
 
We had two country stores within a mile or two that sliced of bologna off a big roll from the cooler. They also sliced ham, it was called 'boiled ham' around here, from a square loaf that was in about a one foot long tin. They made sandwiches also, kept a jar of mayonnaise sitting under the counter most of the day. No one ever got sick. Merita was a big bread brand around here, followed by Sunbeam, Bost and Bunny brands.
 
We bathed in a small stock tank in the back yard last summer when I was redoing the bathroom. Hooked a hose to the hot water heater. She still married me!
 
Church keys to punch holes in cans containing liquids.
Yokes to keep cows from crawling under,over and through fences.
Calf muzzels for weaning calves.
Sharpening plow sweeps.
Blueing for white laundry.
Door to door Watkins and Mason shoe salesmen. (My dog doesn't know what he missed).
Black Draugth syrup. Kids should be thankful!

Respect for older generation,removing hats before eating,,,,,oh wait,you are asking about stuff,not behavior. :)
 
My dad is 87 and was the youngest of five children, 19 years between oldest sister and him. He actually had a nephew that was a year older that him. But anyway, he said that his mother used to give them a patent medicine called 'chill tonic'. He says it was kind of grainy and tasted terrible. I remember one local country store had some on the shelf into the early 1970s.

I Googled it a while back. Groves Chill Tonic.
 
How about cod liver oil? didnt dare get sick in those days..Hows about screw worms, tick fever, horse linament or the ever popular vick vapo rub!I wonder if women still haul their kids over to where one of the neighbor kids has the mumps, measles or chicken pox so they would get it and get it over with.and when we got skint up mom would dose it good with "monkey blood". I even remember when having a mean dog that would bite was a GOOD thing! sleeping/cooking outside with no air conditioners, kids werent allowed to use the phone,and the radio was special entertainment on saturday night. Having company was a special deal. You could drive to town without seat belts or car seats,and ride in back of the truck. Hauling cattle in stock racks was always fun, especialy when one tried to climb on top of the truck.razor straps, neck straps and switches were applied liberally (along with anything that was to hand in a emergency) ,and "time out" was what you yelled when you got tired of playing.
 
I always loved the smell of those hot patches burning. Think I still have one of those vulcanizing clamps. Are those patches still available anywhere? Joe
 
Jeans with knees patched with fabric salvaged from the back of legs of other worn out jeans.
Our daughter in law gave mom a box of old cloths for patchwork quilts.
Mom patched and returned a pair of my son's jeans that were worn between thighs as commonly happens with husky guys. Our son loved the look and proudly wore them when he team roped. Son brought mom a pair plus $20 for each of two other men who liked the jeans.
 
My big treat was getting a hunk of cheese off of the cheese block at the store. Plus a Coke and some crackers. We were really big time when we could get hot links to go along with it.
 
I think the Black Draught theme was "Smile from the inside out". I wonder how many laxatives could make it on such a theme these days? Ha ha ha.

They even had a theme song:

"smile from the inside out,
smile from the inside out,
Black Draught make you smile from the inside out" :)
 

How about heating with a kerosene wick burner, penny candy, Coca Cola out of the machine for ten cents, brushing teeth with baking soda, waxed paper instead of plastic wrap, push lawn mower with no motor, manual lawn trimmer with no motor, a few wraps of gauze and adhesive tape instead of band-aids, a crank drill instead of electric. walking or riding a bike instead of getting a ride from mom.
 
metal expanding frames fitted inside newly washed pant legs to keep wrinkles out
brile creme hair oil
scarf on the back of dads chair to keep hair oil off of furniture
hoosier cabinet with 25 lb. flour dispenser complete with sifter
liquid starch
sprinkling clothes, rolling into a ball before ironing
grocery store with a hitching rail
mule drawn wagon with plow in bed for breaking gardens around the neighborhood
peddler man slowly driving down street beeping horn
burning a rag at night while sitting to front porch to keep mosquitoes away
checking every tire for a flat before driving
making sure you weren't in dad's chair when he entered the room
never say anything about dad's cigarette smoke
 
I remember well the old man that ran a grocery store in our town. He was an expert at slicing bologna with a butcher knife - you could order it thin, medium, or thick. every slice in your order would be uniformly matched to the other slices.

He also ran a funeral parlor attached to the grocery store, with an embalming room. (I never knew whether he learned his embalming skill from slicing bologna or his bologna-slicing skills from his embalming work. Heck, I don"t even know if he had two different sets of tools!)
 
string dipped in coal oil and tied around ankle to keep ticks and chiggers off
here's a good one; as a young boy having your mom check your privates for chiggers
putting coal oil on a bad cut
butter churns/molds
table cloth placed on sunday's dinner leftovers
everybody got a designated amount of meat to eat
everybody had a designated place at table to sit
crawling out under the table when finish eating
peeing outside with the big boys
would not ride a girls bicycle
walking to town with a bicycle tire to air it up
using a car inner tube at the swimming hole
looking under bottle cap for a free one
using bottle caps for checker pieces
using bottle caps for tips on homemade arrows
playing crack the whip
playing tug of war
 
I remember and did most of those. What about playing kick the can and hiding with the prettiest girl in the neighborhood. Calling a can opener a church key. Our ice plant was across the street from our grade school(Do they still call it that?) 50 cents got you a block of ice, another quarter and you could run it thru the chipper. There was always a bunch of stainless steel milk cans lined up on the dock.
 
I remember a lot of that stuff. Black Jacks, the candy, jawbreakers, 1-cent Bazooka bubble gum, 16 oz. 3V cola, Oso Grape and Hire's rootbeer. Remember Creolyn? I soaked my feet for an antiseptic. Nasty smellin' stuff!!!

Larry
 
Nobody said anything about swinging birches. You'd find a gray birch 15-20 feet high, climb up it until it started to lean over, then hang on with your hands and jump. Sometimes you landed hard, other times stop a few feet above the ground and jump the rest of the way. I fell out of one when I was eleven, spent the summer in a cast with a broken leg. Never did swing any more, lol.
 
want some more?
dipper in the water bucket for every one to use
ceiling light fixture with a strip of bed sheet tied to the short chain
pants leg caught in bike chain due to no guard
no rear fender on bike and water splashing all over your back
riding double on a bike
delivering newspaper from a bike
folding newspapers into a triangle for delivery from bike
riding a moped or being laughed at for riding one
still occurring but roller skating at a skating rink
leisure suits
oxford shoes for easter
perry como's sweaters
first time to wear pleated dress pants
stove top coffee percolators
sipping hot coffee from a saucer
using the oven to warm up the kitchen
ringing off a chicken head, mom was good
dunking the carcass in boiling water to pluck
singeing off the remaining feathers with a flaming newspaper
old hammer left in coal pile to break up large pieces
cooking beans on top of coal heater
storing the coal heater in the warmer months
placing the decorative spring fit plate over the stove pipe hole
all the colored paint flaking off the christmas tree lights
deuce bags discreetly stored under the sink
what about these; kotex belts-don't ask!
enjoyed the others, remembered a lot of them. ole well, tomorrows another day.
wait
saw dust sweeping compound impregnated with oil for sweeping wood floors in stores, it also reduced squeaks
day old bread reduced in store at the a&p
remember a&p spanish bar cakes? yum yum
home delivery milk in glass jars/paper lid
whew!
 
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