Remember When...

Those Were the Days

Black and White
You could hardly see for all the snow,
Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go.
Pull a chair up to the TV set,
'Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet.'

	I came across this phrase yesterday FENDER SKIRTS. It's a term I haven't heard in a long time.
It started me thinking about other words that have quietly disappeared from our language with hardly a notice; words like
CURB FEELERS
	and STEERING KNOBS

Now if you're a kid, you will probably have to find someone who is at least 50 to explain some of these things to you...

CONTINENTAL KITS Rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car look as cool as a Lincoln Continental.
	EMERGENCY BRAKE Presently known by the somewhat more mundane "Parking Brake"...Definitely missing that hint of drama
FOOT FEED Also known as the "Accelerator" or "Gas Pedal" Sadly enough there probably aren't many people left who call it by its original name

Did you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home so you could ride the running board up to the house? Do you remember the Crank to Crank engine? How about the Bumper Jack or Choke ?

	STORE BOUGHT A phrase which refers to anything that was not home-made. While almost everything is "store bought" today, back in the day it was a source of great pride to sport a "store bought" dress or share a bag of "store bought" candy with your friends.

COAST TO COAST Once a phrase that generated much excitement, now that "World Wide" has become a common phrase, it is about as thrilling as "next door"

	WALL TO WALL On a smaller scale, this was also once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s everyone covered their hardwood floors with (WOW!) luxurious wall-to-wall carpeting. Today most people have gotten rid of the carpeting to proudly display their hardwood floors

IN A FAMILY WAY or EXPECTING Although it is hard to imagine, there was a time when "pregnant" was considered a little too graphic/too clinical for polite conversation. These words/phrases, as well as inquiries as to when the "stork" would "make a delivery" provided acceptable ways of handling this delicate subject.

	BRASSIERE or UNMENTIONABLES Terms that are now obsolete because one has been abbreviated to "Bra" and the other because it seems that these days nothing is unmentionable

PERCOLATOR That was a fun word to say. Sadly enough it has been replaced by the rather dull "coffee maker". I think Mr Coffee is to blame for this!

	PICTURE SHOW These days people go to the movies.

Some words aren't gone but are definitely on the endangered list. Sadly one of the words on the endangered list is SUPPER, everyone says "dinner" now. Please do the world a favor: Invite someone over for SUPPER discuss FENDER SKIRTS .

Click Here for a Brief but Lovely Stroll Down Memory Lane

Remember When .............

	It took FIVE minutes for the television to warm up!

Most mothers were there when you got home from school and families ate dinner together

	A quarter was a decent allowance

It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to a restaurant for dinner with your parents

	Being sent to the Principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the wayward student at home

Teachers threatened to keep children back a grade if they failed, and were faithful to their word!

	All of your male teachers wore ties and your female teachers wore dresses

Having a "weapon" in school meant you were caught with a slingshot

	You could play baseball without any adults to "help" kids with the rules of the game

Lying on your back in the yard with your friends saying things like "That cloud looks like..."

	Saturday morning cartoons were not 30 minute advertisements for action figures and dolls
You would reach into a muddy gutter for a penny

	Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?

You got your windshield cleaned, your oil checked and your gas pumped without asking - for free EVERY TIME...You did not have to pay for air and you got trading stamps to boot!

	A '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car - to cruise, peel out, or watch submarine races...and everyone went steady...

And Remember When .............

All the girls had ugly gym uniforms!
Sneakers were only made of canvas and came in black or white?
Jeans were called dungarees
Moms were always home. Their job was being Mom
You respected your teachers
Cars had fins, but they didn't make them seaworthy
A computer was something you saw in a movie and it took up the whole room
Pierced ears were the rage, but your mom thought they were for girls who were "too fast"
Everybody had one phone, in one color (black), one phone number and there was one phone company
The definition of "slumber party" was a bunch of girls spending the night at another girlfriend's house, staying up all night talking about guys, doing each other's hair and listening to their favorite music
Your neighbor got a little box with a small fuzzy green screen called a television. You had to get up to change the channel
Drive-in movies were about $1.00 for a carload, which sometimes included a truckload. If this was the case the cars would park in the back rows until everyone got out of the trunk. The car would then move up front to be closer to the big screen and the best hamburgers and fries in the world!

There as also another type of drive-in: It was a place where you could go and get food without ever leaving your car. The girls would come out to the car (sometimes on skates) and take your order, then return with your food, hanging the tray on the car door

Leather was black and T-shirts were white

Guys felt ok about wearing pink shirts. Pink was a popular color then

No one questioned Uncle Miltie's sexual preference, even when he was in full drag

Last But Not Least

Remember...

Our Enthusiastic Cheerleaders!
Our Great Band!
Our Excellent Choir
All the Fun We Had!!

If not The Greatest Class That Ever Was, we were truly fortunate
to have grown up during these years !

Though we have all traveled down different roads to new lives, new friends, new families and diverse interests, our high school years and the friendships we built will forever be a part of us.

Many things change, but there is one constant ~ We are the Class of 1954!

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