What It Was Like Growing Up In The Fifties

I have fond memories of my childhood and teenage years. Families were close and they spent lots of time together. Looking back I can see that it was a time of struggle, when men had just returned from war and women were working in factories and keeping the "home fires" lit. There was little money but so much hope for the future. It was a time of starting anew.

Of course, growing up I never saw that my mother was a great steward of the money my father made. Or, that my father worked long and hard to earn his paycheck. What I did see was that they worked hard for what they had and they were always eager to share whatever they had.

My parents were not exceptional. They were the norm. You worked to earn, you worked to provide for your family and most importantly,you worked because it gave you pride in yourself.

These were the days when you didn't lock your doors. The days when my parents didn't worry about me when I was gone all day long. We didn't have cell phones to call them and let them know where we were, but we didn't have to. I was able to get on the city bus and go downtown with my girlfriends without my parents worrying, or walking into our little town all alone or playing outside in the dark. The times have certainly changed.

These are the memories of my childhood in the 1950s. What I did for fun, what I wore and the music I listened to. We, the children growing up in the 50's, were living the good life. I'm hoping this will bring back fond memories for you.

Faith

God and our church were a very big part of growing up. Everyone I knew went to church EVERY Sunday morning, not just at Easter or Christmas. It was a part of our life.

In my little village there were several churches. One for each denomination. I attended a Congregational Church and learning about Jesus meant more than just going to church on Sunday. It meant singing in the children's choir, Sunday school and Vacation Bible School, it meant giving thanks for each meal and prayers before bed. It was not an option in my house. Unless I had a fever, I was going to church!

After church, each and every Sunday, we had dinner with my aunts, uncles and cousins. My mother and her sisters would take turns on who's house would host the dinner. The meat was always provided by the person whose house we were at and then the rest of the family brought food to compliment the meal.

My grandmother lived with us so grandma was with us all the time and could she bake. I'll never forget the taste of those home made biscuits warm from the oven. And gravy, no one could touch her gravy. I think I learned my love for baking from Grandma Rollins. She was a gem.

The Good Book with valuable life lessons. The answers to every single question a teenager could possibly have is in this book. Raise a child up in the ways of the Lord and he will not stray far from it.... Keeping kids grounded and making good choices is imperative in today's world.

Elvis Presley

I drove my parents crazy with Rock n' Roll. I had one of those record players that only played one record at a time and the records were called 45's.

Of course my favorite was Elvis. There was no other. I would play Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes and Love Me Tender over and over again. I knew all the words. If I didn't something would have been wrong with me. Honestly, I played them over and over again. I don't know why those records didn't wear out.

I can remember when Elvis made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. I couldn't get close enough to the TV set. My dad thought I was crazy and was laughing so hard, at me, that I could barely hear Elvis sing to me. Of course I thought he was singing to me and to me only. I had Elvis posters all over my walls until you couldn't tell what color my room was. As a side note I can tell you my room was painted a lovely shade of lavender and my furniture (hand me downs from all the family) was painted a light green. Quite the color combination back then.

There were other rock n' roll stars like Pat Boone, Paul Anka, Tommy Sands and another favorite, Buddy Holly. Dick Clark had put together a rock n' roll show that toured the United States and I was fortunate that it came to Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids was not too far from my little village and I was allowed to attend with several of my girlfriends. A very special night.

I would close the door to my bedroom and listen to Elvis for hours. My parents were ready to have me examined by a doctor because they thought I was crazy. I never saw him in person and have always regretted that. He must have been awesome to see live and in person but who knew he would die so young??

The fuller the better

Poodle Skirts. All the rage in the Fifties. Mine was pink with a black poodle and a little bling on the poodle's collar. To complete the esemble you wore a short sleeved sweater with a matching long sleeved cardigan sweater. Pearls, if you had them or a pin on your sweater. You wore about a hundred stiff, itchy petticoats under the skirt so it almost stood out straight. The petticoats were so stiff they could stand on their own. To complete the outfit you wore saddle shoes or a tennis shoe with white socks rolled down to form a huge roll at your ankle. Sweet huh?

Jewelry wasn't very popular back then and no one, and I mean no one had pierced ears. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was married and had children of my own. It took me two years before I would wear a pierced earring around my father. Times have certainly changed.

Fun leisure time

Back in the Fifties leisure time meant getting outside and doing something. We were never in the house unless it was raining. Part of my life was spent on ice skates or roller skates.

I lived near a fish hatchery (where they raised minnows) so in the winter these ponds froze over and we were allowed to ice skate. I was fortunate because I could put my skates on in a nice warm house, put on some blade guards and walk to the ponds. You didn't have to worry about being alone because there was always someone ice skating. There were 8 ponds all together and the fish hatchery owners would keep several of the ponds cleared of snow so the ice skating was excellent. Great exercise too. The best part after skating was walking home to a hot chocolate and some chocolate chip cookies.

In the Spring, Summer and Fall it was roller skating. I lived across the street from a working dairy and the dairy farm. One of the buildings that housed the delivery trucks had the perfect cement floor. The owners would allow us to skate in that building as long as the trucks were not there. What a blast!

Ice Skates are so much better now. It is still a great activity. Bring your children or grandchildren and don't forget the hot chocolate. I lived about a block from a fish hatchery with lots of ponds. In the winter those ponds froze over and we were allowed to ice skate on all the ponds. It was the gathering place every Saturday during the Winter. Such fond memories.

There are lots of different styles. The younger you are the more you will like the in-line skates but for us older folks I would suggest having 4 wheels under you at all times. Roller Skating parties are something we use to do thru the school. I can remember doing circles around that rink skating to the popular songs of the day. What fun. These days you can hardly find a skating rink.

Did you have a big family? What was your favorite activity? Tell me something you remember about growing up. Or just say hi!

You won't hear this anymore!

Go to any PTA meeting or church supper and these are some of the conversations people had:

1. I think the Postal Service is thinking about raising the price of postage to 7 cents a stamp.

2. If the minimum wage increase to $1.00 nobody will be able to hire outside help.

3. I'm afraid to let my kids go to the movies since they let Clark Gable get away with saying "damn".

4. Did you see where some baseball players just signed a contract worth $50,000?

5. If things keep going the way they are it will be impossible to buy a weeks worth of groceries for $10.00.

6. If cigarettes keep going up, I'll have to quit. 20 cents a pack is ridiculous.

7. Never thought I would see the day when my kitchen appliances would be electric. They even make an electric typewriter.

8. Things are so tough a few married women have to work to make ends meet.

Too many to write about

I guess I thought growing up in the fifties was the best but I suppose each generation would think that. So much of the past is lost but at least we have our memories. Here are a few that I remember:

The soda fountain. All drug stores had one. A place to order a black cow or cherry coke. Where they made real malted milks and sodas and the best hot fudge sundaes. The counter had stationary bar stools and you had your own little juke box with all the latest hits, Elvis Presley was played a lot.

The Five and Dime. A store to find anything you needed, from a needle and thread to bubbles to little green army men. It was where I always bought my mom's birthday and Christmas gifts. They had a whole section of glass figurines. Mom always seemed happy with what I gave her, now I wonder how much of an act that was. It was also the store you bought your material from or your yarn. Believe me, they had everything. If you couldn't find it at the Five and Dime, they didn't make it.

Milk Delivery. Yes, they delivered your milk right to the door. Most homes had a little insulated box next to their back door and the milkman would deliver exactly how many quarts of milk or cream that you wanted. The milkman's days started very early in the morning while most of us were sleeping.

The Local Movie House. The little village next to ours had their own movie theatre. Saturday afternoons were always for the children and the evenings for the teens. The show would consist of 2 feature movies with a cartoon in between the features and there was always a serial movie. One that you had to come see every week to find out how it ended. My folks could give us 50 cents a piece which would get us into the show and buy us all the candy or popcorn we needed. Can you even imagine that?

Television. I was 10 before we got our first television set. Black and white, of course. No color back then and you were really fortunate if you had a television. I can remember rushing home to watch the Mickey Mouse Club. That was really a big deal. All of the television shows were family oriented with lots of variety shows. Ed Sullivan, Red Skelton and Dinah Shore. There was Perry Como and Mr. Television, Milton Berle (Uncle Miltie). But, for comedy my very favorite was the I Love Lucy Show.And, on Sunday afternoons you could see Big Time Wrestling.

You might not remember these things for yourself but maybe your parents or grandparents or an Aunt and Uncle told you stories about when they were growing up and raising their families. Here are some more memories:

Gas Stations that served you. If you needed gas you pulled into the gas station and an attendant came out and pumped your gas, checked the air in your tires, checked the water in your radiator and then washed your windshield. The only food that was in the gas station was a pop machine (maybe) but you'd hardly know that because you never left your car. And by the way, the cost per gallon of gas was around 17 cents.

Dairies, yes real working dairies. They usually delivered milk, cream and butter but if you ran out you could stop in at the dairy and get what you needed. No need to go to the grocery store. Some even had ice cream where you could get a gallon or even an ice cream cone.

Drive-In Movies. What a blast. I guess there are still some around but not many. However, back in the day this was a very special treat. Mom would make a big batch of popcorn and dad would load the cooler with pop or lemonade. We would be fresh out of the bathtub with pajama's on and into the car and off to the movies we went. The movies couldn't start until it got dark so it was always a late night. I guess they figured we would fall asleep during the 2nd feature but I don't think we ever did. Dad would pull up to the speakers, roll the window down just a little and hang that speaker on the window and we would get comfy in the back seat with our popcorn and the movie playing loudly. During intermission the movie screen would advertise for the concession stand and we would always make dad get out of the car and go get hot dogs or candy bars. He'd put up a fuss but we always won out in the end.

Sock Hops, dances in the school gym. Since it was the gym you couldn't wear shoes so we danced in our socks. Always with a dj spinning the latest top 40 hits. Dancing the Stroll, the jitterbug, the twist and of course a few slow songs.

These are just a few of my favorite memories. I hope you have some too.

The "Older Than Dirt Quiz" done by Michael R. Leming, Ph.D. This brought back a lot of memories for me but I won't tell you what my score was. Do the test and see where you stand on the "Older Than Dirt Quiz".

How many of these do you remember?

1. Blackjack chewing gum

2. Wax coke shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside

3. Candy cigarettes

4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles

5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes

6. Home milk deliver

7. Party lines on the telephone

8. Newsreels before the movies

9. P.F. Flyers

10. Butch wax

11. TV test pattern that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning

12. Pea shooters

13. Howdy Doody

14. 45 RPM records

15. S&H Green stamps

16. Hi-fi's

17. Metal ice cube tray with lever

18. Mimeograph paper

19. Blue flashbulb

20. Packards

21. Roller Skate keys

22. Cork popguns

23. Drive-ins

24. Studebakers

25. Washtub wringer

If you remembered 0 - 5 You're still young

If you remembered 6 - 10 You're getting older

If you remembered 11 - 15 Don't tell your age

If you remembered 1 6 - 25 You're Older Than Dirt!

Just a side note to television back in the day. First of all, you were lucky if you got 3 channels (at my house we only got 2). And, the TV station went off air at midnight after playing the National Anthem and reciting a short prayer about God. Ahh, the good ole' days.

I'd love some feedback on how you did on the Older Than Dirt Quiz. Did you ace it?