Being a Kid in the Late 60s and Early 70s
91As you get older you tend to think back to when you were younger and about all of the things that have changed. I am certainly grateful for the vast improvements in technology that have occured just since I've been born, but sometimes I miss some of the simple things that got left behind.
This is basically my "remember when" hub.
- Candy cigarettes
- Bottle Caps (Soda flavored candy discs)
- Pop Rocks (you can still buy them)
- Mood Rings (I remember we bought mine in the dead of winter. When we went outside, of course, it turned black. My mother was convinced it was somehow "broken". It didn't take long to change colors after we got in the car.
- The mosquito fogger truck (kids loved riding their bicycles in the rolling plumes of pesticide)
- We called our Aunts and Uncles Aunt and Uncle, never their first names only
- Shiny black panther statues sat on top of TVs
- Plaster of Paris kissing fish with bubbles for the bathroom wall
- Tupperware parties
- Drive-in movies
- Local TV stations signed off at midnight with the National Anthem
- You only had 3-5 channels on the TV
- No TV remote
- No microwave
- No central heat and air. (My parents didn't buy a window A/C unit until I had married and left. This is a pretty big deal in Texas).
- Eating fastfood was a treat you got maybe once a month
- Sodas were a treat that you got maybe 2-3 times a month
- Shag carpet
- Harvest Gold and Avocado Green Appliances
- Glasses and towels inside boxes of washing detergent
- S&H Green Stamps
- Wooden box purses
- Peacock jeweled purses
- Wooden console TVs
- TV Dinners on TV Trays in front of the TV
- Clackers (until they were banned)
- Skip Ball (ankle slips through a ring that has a bit of cord with a ball on the end. As you sling the ball around one ankle, you jump over the cord and ball with the other foot. Great exercise!)
- Hoola-hoops
- Wearing a seatbelt in a car was not required
- Texas Blue Laws-many common items such as diapers and batteries could not be sold on Sundays
- Everything had a closing time, nothing stayed open 24 hours
- Most businesses, that could, were closed on Sundays
- Home phones were called landlines
- Mercurochrome (aka Monkey Blood)
- Camphophenique
- Gas came in "regular" or "ethel" and it was cheap (compared to today)
- There was no "pay at the pump"
- Most places didn't accept credit cards, if you even had a credit card.
- Getting homebaked treats for Halloween wasn't feared
- No video games
- No cable or satellite TV
- Rotary dial phones
- Played outside all day, no matter how hot or cold it was
- No bicycle helmets or knee pads
- No bottled water
- My Texas school didn't get air conditioning until I was in 5th grade
- Bayer chewable baby aspirin
- You only got to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings
- Joing The Monkees fan club
- Metal slinkies
- Suzy Bake oven & washing machine
- Baby Small Talk
- Banana seat bicycles
- Charms sweet and sour pops (candy suckers)
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I was an only child, but I had a cousin who was close in age and we often played together. She became more of a sister than a cousin. Pam and I were even dressed alike by our mothers.
I remember spending hours playing outside on the swingsets and teeter-totter my grandfather made me. We always had a tan and calluses on our hands. We never wore shoes while playing outside.
Pam and I each had a playhouse that was built by our fathers and grandfather. Hers was army green and mine was white. Both of them had a door and two windows with real glass. My windows were on the front and back, while her windows were on the front and one side. I was a bit jealous of that because she could play restaurant drive-thru with that window set-up.
My parents bought me a Suzy Homemaker Oven and Suzy Homemaker Washing Machine for my playhouse. I also had a plastic china hutch. The oven really baked little cakes with the use of a lightbulb, much like the EasyBake Ovens. But this really looked like an oven.
My parents owned a white wooden picnic table set that my grandfather built that we constantly used to make furnishings for our make-believe house. These pieces were too big for our playhouses so we would stack the benches on top of each other and turn the table on it's side to make things. It drove my mother nuts. Many a mud pie was made on that picnic table. We had Chinaberry trees behind the back fence and those made great garnishments for mud pies.
The front porch of my house was cracked down the middle. That provided a natural division for us to play house. The only problem was who would get the half that had a 'front door' AND a "side door"? Each half had a step from the front side, but only one half had a step to the side. Kids worry about that kind of stuff.
I remember one year when my Uncle Wendall was at our house. He was in our garage doing something and I accidently found out what it was. He was putting together Pam's new bicycle she would be getting for Christmas! I was so jealous! I cried so much about that information that my parents finally told me about my new bicycle just to shut me up. Mine was prettier than hers. Hers was a yellow and green with a sparkling green banana seat. Mine was white and pink with a white banana seat. I loved that bicycle.
We were only allowed to ride our bikes as far as mama could see or holler. If she stepped outside and couldn't see us, or we couldn't hear her if she hollered at us, then we were in trouble. As I grew a bit older, the boy down the street was just at the end of mama's sight and hollering distance. I remember sitting in front of his house on my bicycle keeping an eye out for mama while talking to him.
Baby Small Talk came out in 1967. Pam and I would have been five years old. We each got one for Christmas. We both loved that doll. She had a pull string that allowed her to say "mama", "I want a drink of water", "I'm sleepy", etc. She was only 10 inches tall, but she holds a lot of memories for Pam and I. This past year, I found one on eBay that luckily still talked when you pull her string (many don't anymore) and gave it to Pam for Christmas. I don't think I could have gotten her a better present. So many memories came flooding back that night for both of us and our mothers.
It's good to take time to remember.
A Music Video That Says It All
Mood Rings-Colors Change with Your Mood
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- When I Was A Kid.....(by Fellow Hubber Elisabethkcmo)
My childhood was in the late 60's, early 70's Here are some of my memories, off the top of my head. When I was a kid: Our house had three bedrooms, one bathroom, six people- Dad, Mom, Grandpa, three kids,... - Saturday Morning Commercials - 1960s
- Flickr: Eye Candy- TRIPPY HIPPY kids books from the 60's and 70's
- Timeline Archive — Infoplease.com
Tons of information on one site. All sorts of timelines for world events, broken down by decade, by year, by type, etc. You can easily spend hours here looking at things. Great resource!
1960s and 1970s in the News
- DESIGN: Exhibits trace decades-old fashion, fabric trendsThe Washington Times18 hours ago
"Clothing the Rebellious Soul" at George Washington University's Luther W. Brady Art Gallery is a nostalgic look at counterculture fashions of the 1960s and early 1970s. Mannequins dressed in vintage bell-bottoms, peasant blouses and mini skirts reflect the hallmarks of hippie style from the Woodstock generation. Organized by vintage clothiers Nancy Gewirz and Mark Hooper, the exhibit takes baby ...
- ANGILLY: Fleerâs NFL team action filled a niche for 13 yearsThe Bristol Press38 minutes ago
Just as Upper Deck’s loss of the Major League Baseball Properties license for next season puts that company in a position similar to what Topps faced with its NFL cards for much of the 1970s through 1981, Topps’ reported loss of the NFL Players’ Association license for next year could put that company in a position that is also not unprecedented.
- Vail: What's next in resort real estate?Vail Daily16 minutes ago
VAIL, Colorado - Vail Valley resident Jim Brinkerhoff has been in the development business for 30 years. And, like everyone else in the business these days, times are tough. But Brinkerhoff thinks he's on track to help redefine the resort business. Brinkerhoff - who lives near Edwards - and several partners are working on a project in Baja Mexico, "Palm Orchard." Plans for the 20-acre property ...
- Civil War stakes were never rosierThe Oregonian1 second ago
The winner, whether from Eugene or Corvallis, has a long-awaited date in Pasadena on New Year's Day.
- Susan West Friedman; Tireless Activist was Passionate About Righting Social InjusticesCommonDreams.org12 hours ago
by Blanca Gonzalez Whether she was marching for civil rights in the 1960s, demonstrating against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or advocating for marriage equality, Susan West Friedman was never content to wait for others to make the changes that she believed necessary. Friends and fellow activists said she had a strong sense of righting social injustices while also imparting a positive ...
- Travis Grant was basketballâs greatest scoring machineThe Kansas City Star1 second ago
It’s just a small detail, but it’s not “Machine Gun.” “No, just ‘The Machine,’ ” Travis Grant said. “ ‘Machine Gun’ came later. I tried to correct it, but…”
- Cold War CasualtyKQCD-TV Dickinson2 days ago
During the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of nuclear warheads were buried deep beneath North Dakota`s fertile farm land.
- The Bond Houseâs most famous occupantWilmington Town Crier1 second ago
WILMINGTON - The recent open house at the Arthur Bond house, held this past weekend, would not be complete without a story about Philip Buzzell, who lived there for much of his adult life.
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Comments
Nice trip down that ol' lane my dear. Ahhh the memories. Take me home country road. gee thanks girl. nice hub and bless ya lassie
Thank you Jerilee and CC Riter! I really enjoyed writing this as well! I'm sure I'll think of other things as time goes on and add them. Things just weren't so complicated then. It was easier to be a kid and just have fun. We never worried about being an adult. Kids today seem to want to be adults right out of kindergarten!
Pretty cool hub...i was born in the mid 80's and remember the majority of your list! I don't miss most of them, but they were great when I was a kid!
C.Ferreira: Mid 80s! I graduated from highshool in '81! Ouch! LOL Glad you were able to relate to some of them though!
There's nothing wrong with being a little older....note how I did not say old! Just look at it this way...born some years apart, we still had many of the same experiences!
LOL....I love being in my forties! I do realize that some of those products can still be found. Luckily, the harvest gold and avocado green appliances are gone, as is the shag carpet. LOL
OMG - those black panthers! I'd totally forgotten them. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane!
Oh those "clackers" - the sore wrists (I was useless with them) and the indignation when they were banned at school.
LOL @ JamaGenee.....they were hideous weren't they?
Iphigenia: I loved the clackers! I got pretty good at it. I hated that they banned them. pfffffttt......so afraid someone would put an eye out with fragments flying off them. LOL All the ones they came out with after that are not as good.
Thanks for stopping by gals! Glad I brought back a few memories!
I was a kid in the 50's but my brother and sister were right there with you. Such a simpler time. The kids now don't know what they missed. Great hub! Pretty good memories, too.
Glad you enjoyed it Ron! Have you been over to the hub I posted yesterday? I think you'll recognize someone.
Thanks for stopping by!
I can't believe we all lived through everything????
I was raised in the Heights a small town that was swallowed by Houston. It was a different world! Thank you for this Hub!
I know, TexasChickiMama! It's amazing....we are a tough generation....LOL
I was a child of the late 50's and early 60's so remember some of these things but from an almost adult perspective. Well worth a read though, thanks :)
Thanks for stopping by Ethel! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Baseball and Football cards with a stick of gum in them...I still have the cards....Mom didn't throw them away.....but used a few of them in the spokes of the bike...what a fuss.
As a girl, with many girl cousins, we didn't have the baseball and football cards, but we used playing cards to put in our spokes. Much easier to get your hands on 52 of them. LOL
2 other classic candies from the 70's:
Zotz - they made you foam at the mouth.
Now and Laters - these might still be available.
Remember Earth shoes?
Wow, I don't remember Zotz, but I doubt my mom would have let me try it if I would end up looking like a rabid dog...LOL Now and Laters are very much still around. Pulling out fillings for kids everywhere! LOL Earth Shoes? I think so.
Hi KCC, Found my way over here from Christoph's hub about butt pimples. LOL -- I don't understand the connection between yours and his, either.
I'm sure every generation has their version of cultural nostalgia. My brother is the same age as you. I'm a coupla years older, but remember all of the products and behaviors you mention!
How about Fizzies? Remember putting them on your tongue instead of dissolving them in water. And candy necklaces (still around these days).
Did you play Chinese jumprope? Cat's cradle? Mystery Date?
Oh -- I could get into this in a big way. I'm going to stop, get back into the present, and go hubbing! MM
I love this....so many memories...I had forgotten...you have restored...thanks! :)
I don't remember FIzzies, but my mom was very particular about what candy I got. I was an only child, so there was no 'we' to gang up on them. I do remember candy necklaces. Just couldn't leave them alone until you'd eaten the whole thing.
Regarding Chinese jumprope, Mystery Date, etc. I didn't have anyone to play with. I missed out on the boardgames, although I am vaguely familiar with the names.
Glad you both enjoyed it, Mighty Mom and Tom!
My parents were strict on the candy and soda also. We were allowed to get candy -- one box or bar each -- every Sunday after church. We were allowed to have soda on Friday night only. My favorite was called Tahitian Treat!
You can still get Tahitian Treat here. Yeah, soda was once a week for me too.
KCC--Terrific hub--we must be close to the same age, because I remember all of these so well...
My mood ring was ALWAYS black, lol, I had cold hands, I guess...
We didn't have air conditioning, either, so we used to sleep in our basement on hot nights on sofas and cots!
Oh, and remember party lines???? You always had to share your telephone line with someone else--ugh...we had a old woman on ours who just loved to listen in on us all of the time, lol..
And cheap gas--yep, I can remember my dad swearing that he would NEVER pay 50 cents for a gallon of gas, hahaha...
Thanks for bringing back all of these memories for me--I loved it!
Pixie stix! Gosh, so many memories (I still have my Suzi Homebake Oven!). Thanks for the fun.
(Why isn't my hub on your hub. Grrrrr)
Thanks TamCor! A black mood ring is no fun! Yes, you definitely had cold hands! LOL I do remember the party lines, but we didn't have one, but my grandmother did. I remember my dad saying he'd refuse to drive if it EVER got to $1/gal.
Christoph, do you REALLY have a Suzy Homemaker oven???! Glad you enjoyed the hub and I have no idea what the correlation between your hub and this one is. I don't think we have any of the same keywords even. But, everyone....head over to read Christoph's hilarious hub about the Pimple from Hell! http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Pimple-From-Hell
I was laughing out loud reading your list, KCC!! I really enjoyed this trip down memory lane - thanks. Thank you for joining my fan club and your kind welcome to this crazy hubbing world. I know I'm going to like it here. Blessings..
I'm glad you got a got laugh at out my list, DoodleLyn! It's fun to remember the past, isn't it?
HubPages is a great community. You'll make lots of friends here!
Thanks, KCC. What a flood of memories this brings. such fun to remember "when"...great hub!
Glad you enjoyed it RedElf! Taking strolls down memory lane can be fun!
I remember so much of this! You must be my age....
If the 61 in your hub name is an indication of your birth year, then yes, we're pretty close ljrc1961. I was born Nov 1962.
Hey, KCC - Thanks for the great compilation. I was born in 1959 and usually don't like to be reminded of that but this was a nice exception.
Hey Bryan! Glad you enjoyed it! Stop by anytime!
ah, what memories
7-11 was open from 7 to 11
If you had a quarter, you could get yourself a pretty good sack of candy
and your parents could send you to the store for milk and bread, give you a dollar, and say "bring back my change!"
oh, now I'm gonna have to write a new Hub about my memories.....
Elisabethkcmo...thanks for thinking of more! If you write a similar hub, email me the link and I'll post the link here on my hub! Thanks for stopping by!
Hey folks, Elisabeth just published the hub she promised and the link is now added above! Thanks for sharing Elisabeth!
I really enjoyed your hub - all those memories. No cel phones, vinyl records, and best of all - being a child. (Or perhaps just the memory of being a child).
Thanks Philuc! It's fun to look back at how things were. I think it makes us appreciate how far we've come as well.
Great hub. Wow. I grew up in the 1970s. However, the particular European country I grew up then was really just catchng up (both socially as well as economical). Even so I can remember and relate to lot of the things you have included in your list. Made me smile and at the same time feeling a little nostalgic. As the saying goes: In the old days everything was better, even the future :). Thank you very much for this hub.
Thanks Euro-pen! I'm glad you enjoyed it and found things you too could relate to. :)
Oh the memories this brings back. Sometimes we tend to forget about all the small things that made life so great back then. The rotary phone; my best friends daughter was at my house a few years back and I actually had one of those hooked up. She asked if she could use my phone and I told her to use the phone in the bedroom. In a matter of moments she came out of the room to ask me how to use it.
That's too funny SunShineSnow. My daughter is intrigued by one of the harvest gold wall rotary phones that my mother still has up in her house. Those phones were hell on fingernails. Remember everyone using a pencil to dial with? LOL
I love these. Remember when thinking people our age were OLD? I remember being at a concert a few years back. This guy had a t-shirt that said "I can't be 50. I still like Rock and roll."
You are right. No video games. So we went outside to play. Did you ever play "Kick the Can" or "Capture the flag?" As far as the board games go, there was "Hands down." (don't be the last one down, or you'll lose a card.) And there was "Ker PLunk." Because of the commecial, you expected it to actually make the kerplunk sound, but it was just metal balls hitting plastic. And last but not least, a game I still have in my house with everything intact - tip it.
I know what you mean, Marty. I remember very vividly when my cousin and I made cardboard signs to wear while we rode our bicycles up and down my street announcing my daddy's 44th birthday. Here I sit at almost 47. I remember all those games.
I know I've already posted on here, but couldn't resist a comment about rotary phones!
You mentioned using a pencil to dial with--I can remember seeing so many phones with pencil lines underneath the holes of the dial, lol...I guess people should've used the eraser end!!! :D
Do kids still put playing cards on their bike wheels to make that noise they used to make--I can't even begin to try to explain, or type, that sound out, haha!
LOL....I can always count on TamCor to reminsce with me. :) I remember at some point in the 70s I guess that they made things to put in your spokes, but my dad refused to buy them and said the cards worked just fine. I taught my kids the card trick too. :) Kids today, probably no clue....depends whether or not their parents are cool like us. :)
LOL! Memories, for sure. Remember the dangly things on the handlebars of your bicycles? Are you too young to remember saddle shoes and penny-loafers? Or how about those stirrup-pants? Gosh, I will really be telling my age, if I tell you I can still remember the day they walked on the moon... Great hub! :)
LOL....MagicStarER, I do remember the dangly things from the handlebars of your bicycle. I don't really remember saddle shoes and penny loafers though. I do remember stirrup-pants though. I remember them walking on the moon vaguely on TV. I was 7 yrs old. Thanks for stopping by.
Great HUB!!! Of course things cannot be as they were in ourchildhood. Enjoyed it very much
Franki
Glad you enjoyed it, Frank! Thanks for stopping by.
Jerilee Wei says:
7 months ago
Claiming the 1960s (ages 11 thru 19) and enjoying your reminder of all the things we loved. Nice afternoon stroll through a kinder and simpler time.