Visually Lamenting earlier times

[teflon6string]

Kids in my neighborhood walked to Piggly Wiggly at dawn. A bus came to get us. None of our parents had any flipping idea where we picked berries, or who took us. I was so young then, I don't recall today where we went either.

But I remember exactly where most of my earnings went every afternoon... A&W on the way home.

 

[Wayne]

I miss the days of going to Sears and playing with the hundreds of surplus military weapons, a full row worth, then getting on my bike and hitting Woolworths soda fountain for a 15 cent green river. That was about 1962

 

[thorborg]

Kids in my neighborhood walked to Piggly Wiggly at dawn. A bus came to get us. None of our parents had any flipping idea where we picked berries, or who took us. I was so young then, I don't recall today where we went either.

But I remember exactly where most of my earnings went every afternoon... A&W on the way home.

I spent a few bucks at A & W also. for a buck you could get five 15 cent baby burgers and a quart of root beer that came in a cone you could punch the bottom out and use as a megaphone to yell at our high school foot ball game.

 

[jbett98]

My parents took all of my berry picking money and spent it on next years school clothes.

 

[Silver Hand]

My parents took all of my berry picking money and spent it on next years school clothes.

Hard times! Can be some of the best memories.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Every imaginary game was either cowboys and Indians or star wars and fighting about who got to be hon solo lol.

Making hand guestures of guns shooting at school.

Ping pong ball guns at every supermarket.

Early versions of 'air soft' guns that could be ordered at the back of a guns n ammo or mad magazine.


Kids just aren't the same these days - and I just turned 40 so it's not like I'm ancient yet

Hummm! You seem so MUCH older!!!

 

[Joe13]

Hummm! You seem so MUCH older!!!

It's the beard.

People usually think I'm younger then I am when they meet me though.

I've always had friends a few years to decades older then myself.

My mom has said I have had an old soul since day 1.


Born in the wrong decade I guess.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Minimum wage was $4.25 and regular gas was something like 76¢ a gal...

800 round packs of .22lr were $4.99 on sale and you grabbed them off a pallet of them.

i was right behind ya, $6.95/hr and gas was $1.25


edit: and 22LR WAS $7.99/500!!!

 

[Flopsweat]

i was right behind ya, $6.95/hr and gas was $1.25


edit: and 22LR WAS $7.99/500!!!

So many guns and cars that I should have bought years ago. I probably put about half of my money into liquor and women back then. The rest I wasted.

 

[Ruger Rich]

I worked at a lumber mill in Northern California. I put myself through college. Worked nights and school in the day. I still have pay stubs from some of the pay checks. I showed them to my daughters. $1.35 per hour. Knocked them over. But I bought beer, steaks, gas, clothes and kept my car going. Loved it and miss it. Talkin' late 50's, early 60's.

 

[Pops1911]

I was born in 1950 guys. Far away days. Recall seeing my first 1957 Chevy. Made my knees quake. So many memories to hold and they are so far away from where we are now. My son cannot believe I lived the life I did. Grape Popsicles from the truck at curbside for a nickle. Philadelphia Punch cold from the cooler box. Nice. Never knew how much freedom I had back then. I miss it some days. A blanket a 30-30 and a knife and I would be gone for days by myself. Only guy in basic who actually gained weight during survival training. I grew up living off the land. Knew what to eat and when. Married with a family at 21 making $400/month. Always had enough. Today is different times. People are different. Less freedom and more work. Less laughter. Too serious. You all know what I'm talking about. Thanks for the outlet. Pops1911

 

[GGJohnson]

Could drive across two states and back during college on $20, with bill change left over. First $400 handgun now sells close to 2grand...ridiculous inflation just in the past 30 years.

 

[GGJohnson]

Made $50 a day (just a few hours) setting steel silhouette targets for big bore competitions for extra money in junior high and high school(when minimum wage was 2something an hour), loading trap and skeet machines...all stuff OSHA and labor boards would gasp at now. Saw some cool stuff in the unlimited competitions, and got the bug of course!

 

[Camelfilter]

I'm only in my 30's but even thinking back a few years to 60$ mosins and 99$ sks's gets me all bummed out. But when I really want to remind myself I was born about 60 years too late I look at the old surplus ad's from the 50's and 60's like this
View attachment 342887

Or this one with 50$ MP-40's http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/machinegun-ads-1960s-660x506.jpg

And now if you folks would excuse me, I believe I need to drain the tears out of my keyboard now, the Solothurn ad does it every time =*(

..."Unintended Consequences"...

I fear that had the current administration lost, something along the lines of that novel would have happened, yet uncontrollably far far worse.

 

[Silver Hand]

In the 1950s Our toy guns got better and better as time went by due to a good sharp knife in your pocket that dad gave you and a 2x4. You could cut from the barrel and then back to the trigger block.

After that the stock was easy.


I would find a baby carriage, remove its axles and wheels go to a site where they were tearing things down and grab a good plank. Then maybe after weeks of searching a few short 2x4s, a plank, one bolt for the steering swivel up front, everything else involved bent nails except the rope to pull the thing, I and my sister had a wagon. And it was fast - but had no brakes, just shoes.


Steel skate wheel milk box scooters. If you could just find one roller skate a short 2x4 and a wooden milk box.

Having every small nail collected through a bottle cap found in the street attached to the bottom of the crate and facing forward, using two sticks in a V to hold on and steer.


I would go to the sign factory and get a new sled about three times a month during winter, of course on Saturday or Sunday when school was out.

You know the ones; they say Coke a Cola and look like a big red dot. They were from three feet to six feet wide just had to pick one out and get it over the fence and haul it to the park to have fun in the snow.


Holy goodness, what times we had.

Silver Hand

 

[Certaindeaf]

 

[Mark W.]

First hourly job (I had been picking crops since I was 5) $1.25 an hour in 1971 farm work.

Don't remember what gas was at the time I started driving (with a license) but when I started pumping it in 1977 it was like .89.
in 1972 I could walk across from the grade school and with a Quarter buy an Ice Cream sandwich, a 16 oz coke, and a Snickers bar I had to drink the coke on site as the deposit was .10 did that many times after ball practice waiting for dad to swing by on his way home from work and pick me up or before walking the 20 min home down the hwy.

I bought a 1967 Chevelle Malibu for $500.00 in 1977 drove it home
I bought a 1940 Dodge 5 window coupe for $850 in 1978 drove it home

 

[Mark W.]

My parents took all of my berry picking money and spent it on next years school clothes.

The deal in our house was 1/2 to school clothes 1/2 into the Bank then later I got to keep about 1/4th and my spending money through the school year came in tiny units from my bank account. By the time I was 15 I had close to 2 grand in the bank. But then we started picking strawberries as soon as school was out then on to cane berries and pole beans. at age 12 I started doing real farm work from end of school to start of school didn't pay a lot but there were a lot of hours.

 

[PaulB47]

It's not that things were cheap back then, it's that the dollar was worth a lot more. Thank the Federal Reserve for the destruction of the currency.

 

[Silver Hand]

The deal in our house was 1/2 to school clothes 1/2 into the Bank then later I got to keep about 1/4th and my spending money through the school year came in tiny units from my bank account. By the time I was 15 I had close to 2 grand in the bank. But then we started picking strawberries as soon as school was out then on to cane berries and pole beans. at age 12 I started doing real farm work from end of school to start of school didn't pay a lot but there were a lot of hours.

It's not that things were cheap back then, it's that the dollar was worth a lot more. Thank the Federal Reserve for the destruction of the currency.

Just think for those reasons we will be the first to Mine Mars and I don't think there is anybody there to complain.
Silver Hand