Memory Lane

I am on a roll lately on the blogs. I do not know why my mind works this way. I have periods of dull thinking and then suddenly, flashes of memories that I have to put down on paper, or in my case, computer screen.

Yesterday our washing machine took a turn for the worse. We declared it dead, considering the costs of repair would about equal what it initially cost to buy. Sad thing, this planned obsolescence. So, we trekked off to purchase a new one and ended up buying an LG high efficiency washer that does not have an agitator, nor is it a front loader. Since my darling nephew Dan has started working for LG as an engineer developing Lithium Ion batteries for cars, I thought I would support his company and insure another paycheck for him, perhaps? And also, I was intrigued by the rave reviews of this product. It reminded me of the action an old time washboard uses. Which started me down memory lane...

I remember when my mother had a washer with a wringer on it, and I imagine no dryer when I was small. The clothes were squeezed through the frightening rollers that looked like they could crush our little hands, and hung on lines - either outside or inside in the basement in inclement weather. Wow, our towels must have really been like loofahs. We had two gigantic stationary tubs made of cast concrete (with a lead pipe for a drain!) and water was re-used after one washing for a second load to conserve money. I swear, our clothes smelled great! Maybe that was from hanging in the sun or the high phosphate detergents.

Another early memory that I have is listening to the radio with my older sister Suzanne on Saturday mornings before we had a television. The two shows that I remember were The Lone Ranger and a show that had characters named Big John and Little Sparky. The theme song was the Teddy Bear's Picnic and although I had to be really young, I can remember the song lyrics - "If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise..." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fJlykpGjY) Big John would ask you to check your fingernails to see if they were clean and I remember doing so, thinking he could see through the radio! I also remember sitting in the corner of the living room where the radio lived and melting a Hershey bar near the furnace vent until it was so soft that it could be licked off the paper. Did this happen every Saturday morning like my memory tells me. Unlikely!! Probably once. Sodas, candy and the like were not regular parts of our diet - no wonder the memory stuck - it was so special.

The TV that took the radio's place was of course, black and white. My uncle Charles in Martins Ferry, Ohio was the first person I knew to have a color TV and I remember watching Bonanza. What a miracle to see the orange flames licking the corners of the introduction screen. Big Hoss had a rather greenish complexion as I recall, but who cared? I do not know when that invention was introduced to our wonderful little colonial in Youngstown, Ohio. I do remember my father being on an endless trek to Brown's Pharmacy nearby to use the tube tester machine. He would have to go into the back of the TV, and pull out tubes to be tested to figure out what the problem was. It really seemed like our first TV was in need of repair more than it worked. But, what a great invention. Saturday mornings with Fury (that horse could count!), and Sky King. And how about Howdy Doody? I am not sure if that was a local or national show. In my clouded childhood hazy memory, my older sister was actually on that show. Maybe since I thought she could do anything she would, of course, have been part of the audience.

Of course, there were many more amenities that today would seem obsolete. I was reminded recently that we had no air conditioning in our home when we were children. Summers meant open windows and with that, all the wonderful sounds of summer. Lawn mowers, cicadas, and even, if the wind was right, the rides at Idora Park Amusement park. The down side, of course, was lying in your bed on a hot night praying for the fan or an outside storm to create any little breeze. We also had our milk delivered to our house and put in an aluminum box outside on the breezeway. We had an egg man who delivered fresh eggs from his farm.

I could go on, but of course, anyone younger than me who might happen to read this, will by now be rolling their eyes at my old fogey memories. But I would give anything to have my father and mother reminding me of what life was like in their childhood. And how the heck did my grandmothers do the laundry for all those kids they had? Probably using a washing machine that had a washboard action - them!