Do you remember when?

Fast food restaurants closed at 9 pm?

All of the employees wore a tie and a paper hat?

The lunch menu had at most 5 items?

All Gas Stations were full service and the Pump Jockey wore an Ike jacket or uniform shirt that was almost a dress shirt?

Grocery Stores baggers also wore a tie, and part of their job was to take your purchases out everytime.

There was no "Paper or Plastic" but Paper or Box?  And Do you want it delivered?

Green Stamps.

You signed a check for your groceries and the store sent you an invoice at the end of the month.

The corner newsboy.

Newsboys on bike or pulling wagons.

There were only 3 main TV Stations plus the local PBS station.

AM Radio played mostly music.

The local Ben Franklin or 5 and Dime where a dollar got you a huge bag of toys or candy.

The manager of almost very establishment wore a suit or sport coat at all times.

A nickle bought you 5 pieces of Bazooka Joe gum.

Ten cents would buy you almost a pound of horehound candy or 10 sticks of peppermint candy.

Soda came in 12 ounce bottles with a deposit on them.

Collecting soda and beer bottles and returning them for the deposit.

The milk man actually delivered to multiple houses on your street and he always had some gum or candy to give the little kids.

Mail was delivered twice a day.

In large cities buses, trams and trolleys ran until midnight.  In some places they ran 24 hours a day.

The main library was open until midnight.

TV Stations went off the air after playing the National Anthem and came back on the air playing America The Beautiful.

Mechanical adding machines with a crank handle and a journal tape were in almost every office.

Almost every business was closed on Sundays and everyone went to church.

Your local police or sheriffs office knew the name and address of almost every child in their jurisdiction.  Many also knew the parents full names and where they worked too.

Almost everyone in your neighborhood knew you, your family and what you had for dinner last night.

The old folks down the street were your blocks designated stand in grandparents.  If the school couldn't get in touch with your parents they were the ones who got called if you were sick or hurt.

If you got in trouble at school every neighbor on your way home knew about it.  And quite a few would swat your butt for pulling such a bone headed stunt.  Then when you got home your parents did the same thing.

At dinner time, everyone in your family was there and you were all expected to join the conversation.

You always looked forward to reading the funny pages in the sunday paper after your parent finished with the paper.

Comic books were a quarter.

Fifty cents a week for an allowance was a lot of money and could buy you a lot of candy.

Over summer break you could make over ten dollars a week cutting grass.  And that was enough to buy yourself a new bike after just a month.

In winter time you could make almost twenty dollars in a day by shoveling walks.  But you didn't charge the old folks for that or your father would beat your butt.  You did their walks for the cookies, brownies and hot chocolate.


How many more can you remember?