Remember the milkman? Ours came early in the morning, and the glass bottles would be waiting in a box by the back door before we were up. If you needed something extra, you left a note tucked in an empty bottle. In the winter, when it got cold enough, the cream would freeze and push the little cap right up off the top. You could hear the bottles clinking when he set them down. I haven't heard that sound in a long time, but I'd know it anywhere.
Saturday mornings were the best part of the whole week. I'd be up before anybody else, sitting cross-legged in front of the television with a bowl of cereal, sometimes waiting for the test pattern to change over to the first show. Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner, whatever was on, we watched all of it. You couldn't record anything and there were no reruns on demand, so if you missed it, you missed it. By noon Mom would send us outside to play, and that was the end of it until next Saturday.
On October 3, 1955, two television shows premiered that a whole generation of American children would grow up with. ABC debuted "The Mickey Mouse Club," and CBS debuted "Captain Kangaroo." Both started on the very same day. "Captain Kangaroo" was a gentle weekday morning show. Bob Keeshan…
Remember when the telephone hung on the kitchen wall and you had to stand right there to talk? Ours had a long curly cord that got stretched out around the corner so we could have a little privacy. Out where we lived it was a party line, shared with a few other houses on the road. Each house had its own ring, so you listened for yours. If you picked up and heard a neighbor talking, you hung up quietly and tried again later. Most of the time, anyway. And dialing a long number on that rotary dial took forever.
On October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida. The first park there was the Magic Kingdom, with Cinderella Castle standing at its center. Walt Disney himself never got to see it. He died in December 1966, while the Florida project was still being planned. His brother,…
Does anyone else remember S&H Green Stamps? My mother collected them from the grocery store and the gas station, and it was my job to paste them into the little books at the kitchen table. Some she let us lick, and some we did with a damp sponge once our tongues gave out. When we had enough books filled, we'd go to the redemption center and pick something out of the catalog. It felt like getting a present for free. I can still taste that glue.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. It was a small metal ball with long antennas, and it sent out a steady beeping radio signal as it circled the planet. Here at home, the news came over the radio, on the evening…
Remember the drive-in? We'd pull into a spot, Dad would roll the window down partway and hang that heavy metal speaker on the glass. The sound was tinny, but nobody cared. We kids were already in our pajamas in the back seat with a blanket and a pillow. Mom packed popcorn from home, and if we were lucky we got one trip to the snack bar at intermission. I don't think I ever stayed awake for the second picture. I'd wake up the next morning in my own bed and never knew how I got there.
