OK, here we go: "I'm so old I remember..."

[Frustratedlady]

35. Oh, my. Many years, many memories.

I remember metal drives during WWII. Dad saved all the barbed wire and any iron he could. We even made balls out of aluminum foil gum wrappers. Savings books with stamps that could be traded in for a bond when full. Joining the Civil Defense group that volunteered to watch the sky for foreign planes. Quarter/gallon gas. Cake mixes, sliced bread, Cracker Jacks w/toys inside, potato chips and the beginning of pizza places.

I remember our first TV which was a Halo-Light TV by Sylvania because Dad believed TV would be hard on our eyes. Neighbors would come and watch the programs until the news ended at 10:30 until they got their own TV. Mom would serve dessert or J-ello (lots of J-ello in those days). My first record player and 45s. I could only get one at a time and nearly wore it out before I bought another.

Getting to stay home for many days because snow filled the ditches and the buses couldn't find the road. Making yarn dogs or putting model airplanes together (with the strong smelling glue) to keep us from whining about being bored. Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan and the Beatles. Mom always had the radio on to listen to Stella Davis, I believe the soap opera was called, while we washed and dried the dinner dishes. Chicken dressing day with 25 or so chickens lined up, the smell of feathers from hot water to loosen the feathers. Pork butchering day when Mom would make tenderloins for supper or she'd render the fat for lard and we'd sample the cracklings that came from the process. Donuts were also made after rendering.

Washing with a wringer washer, starching and hanging net cancan slips on the clothesline to wear under poodle skirts. Saddle shoes, white bucks (popular after Pat Boone), Jeans Day (once per year), sweater sets, bobby sox, hair pins and egg shampoo. Tailored one-piece gym suit for girls, freshman initiation, marching band, concert band and plays or operas. Declam contests, spelling bees and state basketball tournaments with a caravan of students/parents heading to cheer on our teams with PomPoms, balloons and posters hanging out the windows. Oh, in comparison to today's book bans, teachers had to keep an eye on the boys checking out the latest National Geographic magazines which was probably their sex education to a point. That was pretty racy at the time.

That is only a sample of what comes to mind. Thanks for the exercise.