Memories Change With Our Age

I received one of those funny e-mails today asking if I remembered certain things in the past. Some of the things they mentioned were McDonald's hamburgers at 25 cents, ice trays with levers to release the ice cubes, gasoline at 35 cents a gallon, and ugly gym clothes for girls.

I had fun reading the lists and then realized that these were rather current memories. How many of you middle age plus readers remember back further than that? For example I remember when there were not ANY McDonald's at all. But I do remember having curb service on the Square at Wiggs' and Pokorny's and out at The White Grill. In many ways that was more fun than the drive-throughs at McDonald's because everyone stayed in their cars while they ate or drank their order and then beeped on the horn for the car hop to come get the tray from the window and take it back into the store. The only disposable thing on the tray (other than the food or drink) was a paper napkin. Everything else went back inside to be washed and used again. The bonus of this for the customers was that there usually was someone in one of the other cars that we knew and we could have fun calling back and forth between the cars. I think a boy could treat his date and have a treat himself for about a quarter. This was especially true if the girl was nice and didn't order expensive things.

I do remember the ice trays with levers on the top to release the ice cubes. In fact I think we still have some around here someplace. But I also remember when we didn't have ice trays at all, but got 100-pound blocks of ice every other day from the ice truck. The iceman delivered it right into our icebox and all we had to do was remember to empty the dishpan under the icebox where the melted ice was caught during those two days. It became a routine in our house to mop the kitchen floor with ice water because of our negligence. However in dry weather we never forgot to empty it because Mama cherished the water for her petunias.

I am not sure what was the earliest price for gas that I can remember. I am quite sure I remember reading a 10-cent sign on the side of the gasoline pump that was at our neighbor's house on Highway 54. That was before the little station was built at the corner of Highway 43 and 54. But it wasn't as important how much the gas cost because not everyone had cars to put gas in.

Earlier still there were no school buses to take students into high school so many students boarded in town with a family and worked for their room and board during the week and then went home for the weekend. I personally did not have this experience but heard my sister and others telling about doing this.

But I do remember the ugly gym clothes for girls. The ones I wore in junior high were blue, but when we got to high school they were green. They even had a zipper down the front and under the wide legs of the suits were bloomers with tight elastic. Perhaps these were the preview of the skorts that girls wear now, but they were not nearly as attractive.

In the school I attended, the girls were not allowed to participate in competitive sports except in intra-murals, we didn't have to expose ourselves in these gym clothes to the public. Now when I see the girls with their loose shorts that come to their knees I wonder what their memories will be about their uniforms.