Small town Life

[mrs.oroblanco]

Great list!!

I have to add to #31 - in my town in Pa, by the time the back of your car passed the "you are entering", the front of your car was reaching the "you are leaving" sign!!!!!

#51 - We knew exactly what Mary Jane and coke was - Mary Jane's were the candy you put in your pockets when you took off from school to go hunting, (they lasted a long time) and we washed it down with a coke.

Kids in my school often smelled like cows - most had to do chores before school (milking), and even a shower didn't stop the smell once the classroom door was closed (in the winter, mostly).

And, one more to add - If you screwed up in school and your teacher punished you, you got it a second time from your parents when you got home.

B

 

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[stefen]

Remember the weekly head lice check in the cloakroom!

 

[Shortstack]

A couple of more items:

56. Air conditioning was "open the windows and door" for crosswind ventilation.
57. In the winter, the steam heaters made the varnish in the woodwork smell.
58. Lunches packed by Mama were a lot better than the macaroni & cheese and hominy that the lunchroom served.

 

[ClonedSIM]

59. The little furrow at the front of your school desk that kept your pencils from rolling off onto the floor.

60. Meeting up at the parking lot of the convenience store on a Friday night, all the cars side by side with the windows down so you could talk back and forth.

61. Shopping at the same stores that the mayor of the town shopped at.

62. Cars actually stopping on the side of the road for funeral precessions and waiting until it passed to continue driving.

 

[lucky1777]

Sorry Nick. Cape is a town of about 30,000 with a population swell of over 100,000 during the week day.

But I did grow up in a town called Esther, it was REALLY small.

I grew up in Dimmitt, TX and went to school there until the end of my sophmore year. Population: 5,000.

Then I moved to Olton, TX about 30 miles away for my junior and senior years. Population: 2,000.

Heck we considered towns that big, cities. The one I grew up in had population of 500. Now the one I live in has a population of 150 and that might be stretching the numbers a bit.

 

[ClonedSIM]

Sorry Nick. Cape is a town of about 30,000 with a population swell of over 100,000 during the week day.

But I did grow up in a town called Esther, it was REALLY small.

I grew up in Dimmitt, TX and went to school there until the end of my sophmore year. Population: 5,000.

Then I moved to Olton, TX about 30 miles away for my junior and senior years. Population: 2,000.

Heck we considered towns that big, cities. The one I grew up in had population of 500. Now the one I live in has a population of 150 and that might be stretching the numbers a bit.

That's definitely a small town!

My ex-wife's grandparents lived in a tiny, microscopic town. The only store there is a converted railroad car that opens whenever the mood strikes the owner. The town has one church and 2 grain elevators, no schools, one road in and one road out, and a population of about 70. The average age of the residents is about 65 or thereabouts.

 

[sniffer]

I grew up in a little town in MN, one road in, one out.
one elevator that covered 2 blocks along the tracks
one little tavern that sold tap beer for a quarter, cheese sandwich for 40 cents
can of pop was 20 cents, the bank closed and converted to a meat locker
the post office had about 40 boxes and 1 window, a dog on a rug by the woodstove and 2 old guys playing checkers by the window LOL

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Oh, the pencil holder was cool! Our desks had that, along with a hole in the upper right side that used to hold inkwells - and, when you left for the day, you had to fold up your seat!!!

B

I was talking to a friend about this particular thread - he also said he really missed the "dot" candy (the one where you ate more paper than you did candy) and black jack gum.

 

[MEinWV]

You could shoot your guns in your back yard without someone calling the cops!

 

[ClonedSIM]

Oh, the pencil holder was cool! Our desks had that, along with a hole in the upper right side that used to hold inkwells - and, when you left for the day, you had to fold up your seat!!!

B

I was talking to a friend about this particular thread - he also said he really missed the "dot" candy (the one where you ate more paper than you did candy) and black jack gum.

I found a roll of those for my daughter the other day. She had a blast!!

 

[Noodle]

Sniffer, what does this mean?

one elevator that covered 2 blocks along the tracks

Ah, when I envision an "elevator," it goes up and down, but your's covers 2 blocks along the tracks ...

some kind of railroad thing

-Noodle

 

[ClonedSIM]

Sniffer, what does this mean?

one elevator that covered 2 blocks along the tracks

Ah, when I envision an "elevator," it goes up and down, but your's covers 2 blocks along the tracks ...

some kind of railroad thing

-Noodle

He's actually referring to a grain elevator, a storage and delivery system for various products of the nearby farms. It's called an elevator because it removes the grain from trucks, carries it to the top of tall concrete cylinders, and dumps it in for later dispersal.

 

[trikikiwi]

19. A kid walking around wearing saggy jeans and a hat turned sideways with his shoes untied was thought of as a little slow.

MOST still are ...

sublime Nick,
Mike
(with reservations, having fathered kids)

 

[sniffer]

AF, nailed it on the head.
In 02, it suffered a dust explosion that killed 2 guys, one of them was a friend's dad.
they rebuilt it and added 3 more bins that each held 1 million bushel
we also had a water tower that serviced the old steam engines, we used to climb up and swim in it

 

[greydigger]

"water tower"
scenes from "Petticoat Junction" TV show jump into my head. LOL

 

[sniffer]

it looked about the same, sides were made out of wood that ran vertically, steel straps around it, a ladder on the track side, with a spout that still worked, the fire dept would use it from time to time when they had fire in town

 

[LadyDigger]

Oh, the pencil holder was cool! Our desks had that, along with a hole in the upper right side that used to hold inkwells - and, when you left for the day, you had to fold up your seat!!!

B

I was talking to a friend about this particular thread - he also said he really missed the "dot" candy (the one where you ate more paper than you did candy) and black jack gum.

The DOT CANDY...Yummy! Whenever I visited my grandparents in NYC...Nani would always take me to the CANDY STORE (it was all about the candy in this store!!! That's ALL they sold!) and I always got the DOT CANDY! You know ... you can still buy them now. But they are NOT the same and don't taste the same either...but NECCO's still taste the same..the chocolate is my favorite!!!

 

[ClonedSIM]

Oh, the pencil holder was cool! Our desks had that, along with a hole in the upper right side that used to hold inkwells - and, when you left for the day, you had to fold up your seat!!!

B

I was talking to a friend about this particular thread - he also said he really missed the "dot" candy (the one where you ate more paper than you did candy) and black jack gum.

The DOT CANDY...Yummy! Whenever I visited my grandparents in NYC...Nani would always take me to the CANDY STORE (it was all about the candy in this store!!! That's ALL they sold!) and I always got the DOT CANDY! You know ... you can still buy them now. But they are NOT the same and don't taste the same either...but NECCO's still taste the same..the chocolate is my favorite!!!

Mmmmmmm, Chocolate Necco Wafers.......
I liked to buy them at the old theater in Dimmitt that closed now....making Necco sandwiches with two wafers and a piece of buttered popcorn in the middle.

 

[katper]

I don't know what number this is but I think if is one of the most important.
When you need help the whole town pulls together to help you out, no matter what the tragedy!!!!!!!!!!
Katper

 

[bakergeol]

I do remember traveling the gravel roads with your folks and having everyone you passed wave at you.
Being in the High School marching band was "cool"
Having the Band organization throw "ice cream" socials to raise money.
The most serious infractions in High School were running in the hallways and chewing gum in class.
Saying the "Pledge of Allegiance" every morning
During recess the boys would play marbles(I had a bucket of them)
Having a basketball team instead of a football team because we didn't have enough students for a football team.

My High School graduating class had 32 people.

George