These are just some of my memories of the good old days:
When the ice man brought ice to place in your icebox.
When milkmen brought your milk to the house with cream at the top of the bottles.
When attic fans were the only way of getting any air in a house.
When we would walk on the Murray Street Bridge and see the Red River below, when there were missing slats.
When we were hot and didn’t think about it being hot because it was all we knew since nobody had air conditioners then.
When television shows didn’t come on till 3:30 PM. Howdy Doody and Pinky Lee started the telecast day on KALB-TV in Alexandria, Louisiana in the 50′s.
When we listened to old time radio shows like Dragnet and Breakfast Club on the radio, while my mom listened to her soap operas like Just Plain Bill, Stella Dallas, Lorenzo Jones and Guiding Light.
When people would go to local appliance store at night and watch television through the display window at Jimmie Walker’s Appliances on Main Street in Pineville.
When we would come home from school and watch our cowboy heroes in action.
When nativity scenes could be seen in public places before ACLU raised such a fuss, that you can’t find one in a mall today.
When stores like Penneys, Sears and Montgomery Ward were located in free standing stores, before the advent of the shopping centers and malls.
When kids would trick or treat until 10PM at night, filling grocery bags full of candy, with no special Halloween bags.
When families went to drive-in movies together, while teenagers would sneak a extra kid in the trunk, to avoid paying for them.
When theatergoers would throw tomatoes at the movie screen if they were upset with a bad movie.
When Larry McHale of KALB – TV was advertising cigarettes and started coughing, but regrouped and said “Just thinking of those other brands makes me cough.”
When eating TV dinners were more popular than fast food.
When McDonald’s had 15 cent hamburgers.
When you could get a haircut for less than a dollar.
When it cost a dime to see a movie.
When it cost a dime for a school lunch in 1950 at Pineville Elementary in Pineville, Louisiana.
When kids collected baseball cards and put them in bicycle spokes.
When families would go on picnics at the city park, letting the kids play on the playground equipment.
When going to stores we would see white and colored water fountains. One black man tried both kinds and said they tasted the same.
When we watched No Time For Sergeants three times in a row at the movie theater. (One of the funniest movies ever, with Don Knotts being a dexterity expert, that became discombobulated by Andy Griffith’s character.)
When we used to drink Hawaiian Punch and Delaware Punch.
When we used to pay a nickel for a 6 ounce coke out of a machine. Now they charge over a $1.50 for a 20 ounce coke, when in the old days a 24 ounce coke would cost 20 cents.
When we walked a mile to school everyday for the entire 12 years of elementary and high school.
When there was no middle school back in the 50′s.
When Gov. Earl K. Long of Louisiana gave free chickens to voters during a gubneratorial election.
When going fishing meant taking a cane pole and not a expensive rod and reel.
When I bought a $6.50 Nokona baseball glove for $6.00 when the hardware store owner found out I didn’t have enough money to pay the full price.
When we celebrated Christmas by running around with sparklers.
When we would see the miniature church on the city square in Alexandria every Christmas.
When Christmas music was played downtown during the Christmas season.
When we used to play marbles in school.
When playing with a yo-yo was cool.
When hula hoops were the hot fad.
When high school kids rode bikes to school instead of driving cars.
When familes went to church together.
When families actually ate dinner together at a table, instead of in front of the television.
When kids made money by delivering newspapers on bicycle.
When we drank grapefruit juice at breakfast even though we didn’t like it.
When we ate Wheat Chex at breakfast even though we didn’t like it.
When we used to get excited about another school year starting.
When we went to special Christmas Eve services on a cold night in December and watching Christmas movies on television when we got home.
When we had a train set over our bed as a kid.
When we took a trip in 1957 and saw the Howard Johnson restaurants with the orange roofs.
When we got together as a family to hear mother read from the Bible.
When we used to listen to records on the record player.
When homemade ice cream was better than any ice cream bought in a store.
When pizza was delivered to the house the first time.
When mom and pop stores went out of business because of Wal-Mart.
When there used to be neighborhood groceries scattered around in residential neighborhoods.
Yes, those truly were the good old days.
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