Memories of 40's Christmas Time

In the early 1940's I was 5-10. My brother was three years younger and our twin sisters were 6 years younger than me. Some memories have surfaced recently and I'd like to share how it was in those days.

Electric plastic Christmas candlesticks with blue light bulbs were placed on all the window sills. The naked tree sat on the front porch and never came into the house until late on Christmas eve after we kids went to bed. Some of the lower branches were cut off and tied with red ribbon as a front door spray. There was a cardboard brick fireplace set up in the living room and our stockings were pinned to the mantle. A cardboard fire with a light behind it was bright. 

We never saw the decorated tree when we were very young until we got the "OK" to come downstairs on Christmas morning. We sat on the steps peeking through the balusters waiting until permission was given. You see, after we all had gone to bed, I now realize that the tree was brought in, set up and decorated by our parents along with the Lionel train set made to circle around the bottom and ready to be activated. The presents were spread there. The lights were turned on. The OK was given. Santa was supposedly the one who did it all during the night.

Each child had a turn opening one gift and showing the others before opening another one. The wrapping paper was not torn or ruined, and the ribbons were saved. There was a special place in the room for them to be placed for imminent storage to be reused.  

We all received new hand-crocheted or knitted mittens and a box of animal crackers! My favorite gifts that remain in memory are new crayons and books. There was a craft to make flower petals and leaves with wire dipped into a transparent colorful substance and they were twisted together to make a flower. How I loved that one! A lovely 12" blond haired doll with jointed extremities, dressed in a yellow organdy frock was a favorite. She was from my mother's life-long friend who we called "Aunt Jeanette." The lady was never married and was always part of our family, though much wealthier and very caring and sweet. One year she gave me a 13" Kewpie doll and my mother and a neighbor made many outfits for her. I regret now that I didn't keep her and her hand-sewn clothing.

I only remember some of what was in our stockings — mine had a can of sweetened condensed milk - all my very own! My brother's had a package of Velveeta cheese. I don't remember our sister's special treat but do remember that we all got a potato in the toe!

During Christmas week I was allowed to run the train set, which was really my brother's. The twins didn't get this privilege. When a couple of weeks had passed, it was time to take the tree down and put the decorations in storage. A very important part of it was first removing the crinkly lead tinsel of the 40's, ONE strand at a time. Back then it was stored and then reused from year to year. Some of the hanging glass ornaments would be valued today as they had been passed on from my grandmother.

Christmas dinner was special. We kids all got a wineglass of watered-down wine. There was always a turkey. Dad claimed a leg. After dinner, a plum pudding, made by Mother was lit on fire before serving. Blue flames!  Brandy had been poured over the top and it smelled really good! The hard sauce was sparingly dolloped on top of each slice! No wonder I love sweet stuff!

Oh there is so much more starting to surface but the jist of this story is that we always felt loved and happy at this time of year. We never realized the sacrifices that were made for the celebration. We knew the real meaning of Christmas as well. A manger set up was on the dining room buffet. The story was read to us every year before we went to bed. 

Older Times...

I went to a school from kindergarten through fourth grade which left me with memories of good things. Well, mostly good things. I remember my very first day as my mother walked with me because I didn't want to go at all, but she promised me pea soup for lunch after my first half day. It worked. I had a purpose. From then on I walked with other neighborhood kids. We cut through a dirt path beside the firehouse and then over tree roots and weeds just to get to the road that we had to cross to enter the school. Rain, snow, heat - it didn't matter - we walked close to a mile two and from school for all five years. 

There were a couple of incidents where I was obstinate in kindergarten when the teacher asked me to pick up a piece of chalk she had dropped and I refused, telling her that she should pick it up - she dropped it! That was my reasoning.

I did enjoy knitting blocks in first grade, as we all did, so an adult could sew them all together and send the blankets to the soldiers during the war. I didn't like sitting on the cold basement floor with head down and arms wrapped around myself during fire drills though.

One time I caused a classmate to pass out during recess. Somehow I had learned to press the point just behind his ears when we were wrestling in the dirt to make this happen and it worked! I was a real terror tomboy during 2nd grade. I loved to wrestle and show off my strength. 

Bringing a dime to go into a savings book once a week was done by all who could get a dime. Some couldn't. The teacher then collected the books and I think she filled in the slots for the ones who didn't have dimes to save.

A scoundrel boy once kicked the third grade teacher in the leg, tearing her stocking and we all were very shocked. He was sent to the principal's office and his mother was brought in to help decide his punishment. We never understood why he kicked her.

I loved fourth grade. The pull-down US map and the pull-down world maps were my favorite parts of both history and geography lessons.

Also, in fourth grade everyone was treated equal. When it was Valentine's Day, a red, pink and white paper-covered box was placed in the room a week before and much time was spent creating cards while in school and also at home.

EVERYONE was expected to make a card for EVERYONE ELSE and put it in the box. WE DID THAT! NO one was left out. I do admit that my 'prettiest' cards were addressed to my best friends and a 'special' card was addressed to a boy I liked but no one knew I liked him - not even him! HA!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if school was really appreciated by both the students and teachers today as it was then? We did learn. Oh yes. We learned about respect, caring for each other, sharing and appreciating what we had. Learning was more than books and tests and scores and homework.

All graphics from internet

Nostalgia - Wheels for My Shoes

Back in the 1940's I have clear memories of sidewalk roller skating in the summertime. Of course it was ice skating in the winter. I saw on the news today that this is the National Rollerskating Month. OK, here's my story.  

The very rural neighborhood sidewalks from the end of my block to the beginning were concrete slabs with small spaces between each one. Some were cracked from weather upheavals as well. My dad was always killing off the grass that wanted to grow there. I remember sitting on the warm ones in the summertime poking at the anthills and watching the ants surface and scatter. Those were the days when kids amused themselves. The sidewalks were wonderful places to skate and chalk in hop scotch marks and play with the other neighborhood kids. We all had roller skates. Our mothers all had iodine and bandaids handy to patch up our scraped knees and elbows. Even though the skates were "primitive" in today's world, they were the latest in yesterday's. There were clamps that could be tightened or loosened at the sole edge of the toe of our shoes using our precious keys. The keys were strung with shoelaces or ropes and hung around our necks so we wouldn't lose them.

please note all images are from the internet

Leather straps were buckled around our ankles to hold the heels in place. I remember my dad put sheepskin pieces under mine to help diminish the rub of the buckles and friction of the straps. The length was adjustable by loosening the nut on the bottom and then being able to stretch out the entire skate to match the size of the shoe. When that was accomplished the nut was tightened. (I remember I had wing nuts, not plain ones so it was easier for me to adjust the skate length because they were shared with my brother.) I "think" (lost this part of memory) we oiled the bearings in the wheels with Singer's sewing machine oil. Anyway we had to keep the wheel bearings clean - maybe it was graphite powder.

As years went by, my block friends and I moved up to rink skating and parents would take turns delivering us to the nearby arena and then picking us up after closing time. That was in the early 1950's. The arena had a lady in the balcony actually playing a large organ for the music the entire time and she even took requests! We had "special" short skirts and underpants for spins and we had pom poms and "stops" on the toes of our rink skates. Girls had white skates. We carried them in a box with stickers pasted all over for decoration. 

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Sometimes it's good to look back. Sometimes it's not. This was a good time. 

Back when.....

I was a child of age 3 through 19 living at home in the 40's and 50's and still remember the SAME washing machine in the basement for doing laundry. This flashback memory came to me due to my complaining about how difficult it is now to complete this chore at age 83. I need to shut up. Here's how it went as my recollection remains strong.

The dirty clothes and bedding were carried to the basement from the 2nd floor bathroom hamper in a wicker basket. If there were too many for the basket, some were bundled into a bedsheet. They were sorted into piles on the cellar floor - whites, colors, darks, linens. The EASY washer tub was uncovered, the three belled plunger apparatus was removed and the copper-lined tub was then filled with hot water. The water taps were attached to the concrete double sink tubs. A rubber hose brought water into the washer from the taps. The first load of whites or linens (bedding, tablecloths, towels) was put in the tub and the plunger was reattached to the center post. A switch was activated and the washing began. I don't know if it had a timer, but I think it did. I clearly remember the sound it made. "Cluck! Squish! Squash! Squish! Clunk! Squish!"

My mother used her own homemade lye soap that she shaved into flakes before switching over to Ivory Flakes or Duz Soap Powder in later years. When the washing ceased, the dripping wet clothes were put into the spinner tub mechanism on the side of the washer. They were spun with the water going down a tray into the right side concrete sink in front of the machine. When removed from the spinner they were then put into the left side of the double sink to wait for rinsing later, after all other loads were washed. All loads were usually washed in the same water which was hot at the start and then cooled down throughout the process, sometimes with more water added. After washing, the washer tub was drained and re-filled with clean water to rinse. The process started over again, except after being spun out, the large wicker basket was filled and carried up the cellar stairs and out the back door, down the driveway to finally reach the multiple tree-to-tree clotheslines in the backyard. This could be 4 or 5 trips! There were "special" long tree branch sticks with slotted ends kept nearby to be used as clothes poles which supported the lines when they were full and heavy. Of course a handy clothespin bag moved along the rope lines as items were pegged. In the winter months the laundry was hung on ropes strung around beam supports and fastened to the cellar wall and ceiling boards. We grew to be a family of six; seven when you counted Grandma who lived with us during the last years of her life.

All images below are from the internet

If you really think about it, the laundry process wasn't nearly finished. Our dining room table was used for folding and stacking. Our stairway to the upstairs was used for piles to be placed on the left side of several steps to be brought up and put in dressers or closets as necessary. If you went up, you brought a pile with you. Some things were sprinkled with water from a bottle with a sprinkler insert in the neck and then rolled up to rehydrate just enough for proper ironing.

In that home, the ironing board was in the kitchen in its own very special wall cabinet behind the table. The table had to be moved and the cupboard opened up with the board coming down into place! Can you visualize it? The image below is similar, showing how it looked when in use. 

Soooooo, I'm not complaining anymore because all we have to do is load two baskets into the back of the car, drive 5 miles to the laundromat, wash, dry (usually) fold, bring back home, unload from car and put away. Sometimes I can still hang on clothesline on sunny days. If you have never had the privilege of sleeping between sun dried sheets or worn clothing with the natural fresh air fragrances, you have really missed out. 

Now I wonder how the city and apartment dwelling folk in my young days got their laundry chores done! I KNOW it was more difficult before my time. This was hard enough for my mother and others back when... 

( Yes, I did have automatic washers and driers in my homes from 1955 to 1997. Laundry used to be one of my favorite homemaker chores! There is absolutely no room for any of those appliances in here. There are only two of us now and it isn't a major concern - yet.)

Looking Back at Christmas

Things I remember about Christmas when I was a very young child; things I don’t remember as well. It was the 1940’s.

The real tree stood out on the front porch until Christmas Eve. It was a Balsam with lots of space between the branches. Christmas music was played on the old phonograph. It was mostly heavy classical music and the records were hard 12 inch discs. They were called 78’s.  Mainly I remember that we, meaning my sisters, brother and I weren’t allowed downstairs from our bedrooms before our father turned on the Christmas tree lights. We were supposed to stay on the hall landing until called, but sometimes we sled down a stair or two and peeked through the railing supports until Dad said, “OK, READY!” He had even started up the electric Lionel train which circled around the base of the tree.  We never ever saw the tree decorated or any gift boxes before Christmas morning.

My brother and I remember few gifts but he remembers high quality plaid shirts and I remember a lovely doll with a yellow dress and leather shoes. These were from our mother’s dearest friend who we called Aunt Jeanette.  He remembers a green wagon and I remember my little pair of skis and his TinkerToys. We both loved the contents found in our stockings which hung on a cardboard imitation fireplace. Inside the bulging stockings he always found a block of Velveeta cheese and I always found a can of sweetened condensed milk! We could gorge ourselves on our individual favorite treats this one time of the year. There were water paints, crayons and embroidery kits in my stocking and small toys in his, plus a candy cane.

The bulbs on the light string were old and the paint was peeling off. These bulbs had tips on their ends and the wire was a double one with cloth covering. There were also some bulbs on another string that were animals and birds. In later years there were some that looked like candles and started bubbling when turned on. 

I have very little recollection of any tree decorations except for the tinsel which was always either falling off or the cat pulled off. If a ball fell, it shattered into hundreds of sharp shards. All paper wrapping was carefully folded and saved to be reused the next year; ribbons too if they were fabric. 

What else do we remember? Not much. New handmade mittens, and hair barrettes. Before Christmas we attended a party at the firehouse and were given a mesh red stocking with a paper cuff stapled to the top edge that was filled with candy. Church music was sung with joy and robust vocals. 

I don’t remember baking or decorating cookies, but do remember the plum pudding that was placed on the dinner table and then lit with a match. It must have had brandy poured over it and when the fire went out, it was served with “hard sauce” a sugary spread. When it was brought out the feeling was that it was a ceremony. 

Later in the week, it was always enjoyable for me to visit a girlfriend who lived down the street to see what she received. Her grandmother was German and the gifts were very special. In fact I was a little envious but happy at the same time to know someone who received different and interesting presents. She shared nicely. 

There are more memories but they are deeply buried and I just can't get them to the surface today. After I post this they will probably be recalled. Oh well..... 

Home Free Part 1

My young life was one of exploration and freedom. Can you remember some of the things you did when you were between the age of 9 and 13?  I was free as a breeze during those years. As I look back, many kids today are so overprotected, over scheduled, over structured and tied up with things that are very different from my young years that I often think that they are deprived of just being a kid. My generation turned out just fine as did the one before. 

I’m a very critical person and keep most of this kind of thought to myself, but also feel a need to share my childhood activeness and life before I reached the full fieriness of  adolescence. (I’m also opinionated.) I really think that kids today are all caught up in the electronic age and don’t know how to play.

First, cleanliness wasn’t a social issue with my group. Attire wasn’t considered to be of interest to any of us. Sizes, shapes, religions, races didn’t matter either. Wealth and financial assets had no impact on relationships. We were JUST FRIENDS. There were five boys in one family, 9 in another. There were 4 girls in the family of 13. Three were my age. The family down the street had 3 girls, only one was my age. Most of my memories are what we did during times when there was no school, all seasons. 

We traded and collected single playing cards with assorted backs. They were often dog-eared and worn. We collected and traded comic books. Condition didn’t matter then. They made good reading. We rang doorbells and ran away. We had bike races and roller skated on the sidewalks. We walked on home-made stilts, taking off from the third step on the front porch. We "camped" out in backyards in tents made from old blankets clothes-pinned to the clothesline and held down with rocks.  We went ice skating and sledding no matter how cold it was. Finding a pollywog pond and bringing home a jarful to watch them develop into little frogs was done to see how many would survive. It was an aggressive competition and something to boast about. We gathered worms as bait to go fishing. All of us! We picked huckleberries, strawberries, blackberries - all growing wild. We hiked through the woods and fields, venturing far from home.  

Playing in the street was accepted because we were entertaining ourselves and that was commendable. If a tossed ball went into someone’s yard, we just ran and retrieved it. Hide and seek was a free for all. There were NO fences between the houses. Some games we played on the sidewalks, such as marbles, hopscotch, tops. Others were played in the street; skip rope, red light-green light, Johnny drilled a hole, stick ball, kick the can, capture the flag, red rover, hot potato, statues, simon says. 

When it rained during summer we stomped in the puddles, popped the tar bubbles, GOT WET! Fully dressed! We played  in the grass, spraying each other with the old green rubber hose that was always ready for our use. 

When the firehouse whistle blew at noon we scattered to homes for lunch. When it blew in the evening at 5PM the playtime was over until after supper. Then out we went again until darkness. After dark, lightning bugs were caught in our jars with holes punched in the lids, and we played flashlight tag. 

More to come...