The new generation will never know the pleasure of buying a used jalopy that barely runs. With your life savings of $25. Then making repairs. Yes, that's right, repairs (fixing), not just replacing parts. Money was very tight so a person learned to repair things. Automobiles are so complicated these days, it takes a post high school 2 year degree just to know where to start. Parts are never fixed, they are replaced. Back in the day when Elmer worked at a local gas station/garage, items such as a generator was fixed by a mechanic or his helper. Not replaced by a technician. Flat tires were patched, carburetors were cleaned then new parts added. Generators had brushes that frequently wore out. The mechanic would take the generator out of the car, take it apart, replace the worn out brushes and often the bearings also. Alternators have long since replaced the generator. Now if there is a problem with this item, the technician will remove it and put in a new one. Finding a good mechanic will tax your patients as well as your resolve to do so.
Shoes were fixed not thrown away. So called tenner shoes were washed. When the heels on a pair of good “Sunday” shoes wore down, they were taken to a shoe repair shop to have new heels put on. Then the shoes were good for another year or two. “Sunday” shoes were the pair you wore on Sunday to go to church. Work shoes were used for anytime except Sunday. Just try to find a shoe repair shop these days.
Radios, entertainment centers and even televisions had electronic tubes in them. When these items stopped working, it was either taken to the repair shop or the shop would send out a repairman. In either case you went without entertainment for several days if not weeks. Nobody panicked, threw the item away and rushed out to buy another one on credit. No one knew what a boom box or MP3 player was.
Almost every family had a garden. Attended by the kids. They grew items such as corn, beets, even potatoes. This lowered the grocery bill each week. This system had the added benefit of keeping the kids out of trouble, off the streets and gainfully occupied. The extra food was preserved, in jars, for consumption during the non growing season. Some was given to others in the extended family or neighbors who may not have been so fortunate. Some families raised and butchered small creatures such as chickens or rabbits for the table. This supplemented the food bill. The younger generation does not have enough to do these days. They find all kinds of ways to get into serious trouble. Lets put them to work in a garden or butchering chickens.
Fishing is one of the favorite pastime of kids and adults. Fish was food for the family table. Catch and release was not practical nor had anyone heard of it. That was something to be left for a future generation to think about. Back in the day, if you found yourself by a lake or river and the urge to fish fell upon you, you just cut a stick, attached string and hook, baited it with a worm (which was dug up with bare hands) and commenced to catch fish. Any you caught was taken home for supper. A kid always had a piece of string about his person. A hook could be made from old baling wire. A lot of the times, a person fishing was found on the bank, dozing. Catching fish was not always a high priority. Fishing was the priority. No self respecting fisherman these days would be caught without the latest technology designed to catch fish and fisherman alike. It takes a small fortune to buy the equipment required. Boat optional.
Every kid played outside. When asked, a parent would answer with a puzzled look, “Where are the kids?? Outside of course,” while looking as if the person asking was out of his/her mind. You were safe enough as long as you were outside. If you were lucky enough to go to school, you played outdoors fall, winter & spring. Weather did not stop school. Same thing applied after school back in your neighborhood. You did your homework, then outside you went until called for supper. If the neighbors caught you doing something wrong, you got a spanking and another one from your parents when you got home. Time outs were a thing to be invented in the far future. There certainly weren't any games to be played indoors on the television or computer. Television had not reached the neighbor hood and cell phones along with computers had not been invented.
Obesity was never a childhood problem. Not only was the so called “Fast Food” industry in the future, but families didn’t have money for frivolous things. Any funds available was used to put food on the table. Eating between meals was not allowed. There was just enough for three meals a day.
“Lets stop at Big Berger’s for a malted milk,” your high school friend would say.
“Big Berger is a farmer and I don't think he will give us a malted milk,” You reply. “More likely he will want us to help milk the cows.”
“Sorry, did I say that out loud? I was thinking about the future,” your friend replies. “Forget I said that. Milking cows is a lot of work for an eight year old. Besides, I'm not sure what a malted milk is.”
“Your not eight years old.”
“I know but my parents must think so. They say I act like one at least once a week.”
Many parents could not afford new toys for their kids. The kids made their own from scraps of wood found around the older buildings or around areas where there was new construction going on. A kid with a good imagination could make a lot of different toys from blocks of wood & some wire and nails. It was not unusual to see kids playing in a dirt pile, pushing trucks, tractors, and trailers. Driving the toys up to buildings made from the same wood scrapes.
A kid with an imagination could go any where. At least anywhere that he/she had seen in a picture, read in a book or heard on the radio. Or possibly had visited with the parents on an occasional vacation. Not that they had time to go on vacation. They were more concerned about the garden, getting shoes fixed and making repairs to the jalopy so it would last one more year. Going on more fishing trips was a distinct possibility.
Elmer is not a kid any longer so he would not be getting toys for Christmas. He had to work on his jalopy, a 1949 Chevy pick-up with a 350 engine, auto transmission, bored & stroked, dual exhaust pipes, dropped front axle, disc brakes all around. It was painted with a custom flame theme. It had to last at least one more year. He was going to pull his boat to the lake and go fishing. He would stop at Big Berger’s for a malted milk. No, he is not eight years old and he lives in the “now” generation.
Works for me.
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