[Dragsix]

Born early 60s and grew up urban so the late 60s and all through the 70s were my formative years. It was a decade of opposites, controversaries and confusion. Viet Nam was full blast. Protests against the war, the government were everywhere. The nightly news broadcast the daily war fatalities. The Philadelphia Inquirer published daily photos of the war and the infamous napalm photo. The roman catholic nuns that educated me read a classmate's brother's letters home from Viet Nam. There were a significant number of WWII and Korea vets around in those days and they did not understand the war, let alone the protests against the war. Hippies were for McGovern, real men were for Nixon.

On the other hand, we kids headed out the door by 9:30 am and did not arrive back home until dinner playing with whatever was around. Bikes, box hockey, baseball, basketball, playing in the street, hanging out in someones garage, refridgerator boxes as forts, music, Evil Knevel, Mario Andretti, hanging out, watching the Partridge family.

Then the oil embargo, Watergate, Nixon's resignation, dirty streets, dirty air, dirty water. Watch the opening credits of Welcome Back Cotter reruns and you will get a sense of it.

Cars, drag racing, shows at Atco Raceway, home made go carts and mini bikes (no one had any money), making a chopper bike by trashpicking other thrown away bike frames and cutting off the forks and stacking them up on your own bike, returnable soda bottles, Good Humor Trucks ringing the bells, real bells, water ballons, squirt guns, cap guns, boys softball league (you got a t-shirt and a hat, that was the entirety of your uniform), baseball cards, Dairy Queen Mr. Misty on a hot day.

Celebrations when one of the older boys got home from nam alive, then the realization that some of them were not the same and were never going to be the same. My father's panic that his oldest boy was growing up and headed to draft age, and despite serving twice himself, was absolutly determined not to allow him (me) to be drafted (the war ended before I tunred 18).

Drinking beer with your friends on a Friday night while working on a car, celebrating that you got your hands on a case of Genesee Cream Ale notwithstanding that you were only 17. Disco, roller disco, Donna Summer and the Cars as the big musical acts. Flicking a lighter at the end of a concert yelling freebird. Seeing and participating (lol) in a traditional late 70's ELP concert extravaganza. Seeing Jackson Brown play at the Robin Hood Dell (now the Mann Music Center) sitting on the lawn with a leather wine bag full of Boons Farm Apple Wine, lol.

Seeing Yes, Peter Framption, and Gary Wright play at Philadelphia's JFK stadium in a single all day concert without telling my parents I was going and then having to explain to them why I was so sunburned and why I was just walking in the door near midnight. Man did I get grounded for that one.

Two seperate wicked recessions that took years to recover from, drugs, inflation.

It was not exactly the most grounded decade, lol.

 

[Shadetree55]

Born early 60s and grew up urban so the late 60s and all through the 70s were my formative years. It was a decade of opposites, controversaries and confusion. Viet Nam was full blast. Protests against the war, the government were everywhere. The nightly news broadcast the daily war fatalities. The Philadelphia Inquirer published phots of the war and the infamous napalm photo. The nuns that educated me read a classmate's brother's letters home from Viet Nam. There were a significant number of WWII and Korea vets around in those days and they did not understand the war let alone the protests.

On the other hand, we kids headed out the door by 9:30 am and did not arrive back home until dinner playing with whatever was around. Bikes, box hockey, baseball, basketball, playing in the street, hanging out in someones garage, refridgerator boxes as forts, music, Evil Knevel, Mario Andretti, hanging out, watching the Partridge family.

Then the oil embargo, Nixon's resignation, dirty streets, dirty air, dirty water. Watch the opening credits of Welcome Back Cotter reruns and you will get a sense of it.

Cars, drag racing, shows at Atco Raceway, home made go carts and mini bikes (no one had any money), making a chopper bike by trashpicking other thrown away bike frames and cutting off the forks and stacking them up on your own bike, water ballons, baseball cards.

Celebrations when one of the older boys got home from nam alive, then the realization that some of them were not the same and were never going to be the same. My father's panic that his oldest boy was growong up headed to draft age and despite serving twice himself, was determined not to allow him to be drafted (war ended before I tunred 18).

Drinking beer with your friends on a Friday night while working on a car, celebrating that you got your hands on a case of Genesee Cream Ale notwithstanding that you were only 17. Disco, roller disco, Donna Summer and the Cars as the big musical acts. Seeing Jackson Brown play at the Robinhood Dell (now the Mann Music Center) center on the lawn with a leather wine bag full of Boons farm Apple Wine, lol.

It was not exactly the most grounded decade, lol.

I still have the scars from finding out JUST how many forks you could attach to a bike (semi-safely)😂 . Of course we were invincible then. One of the kids in our neighborhood had a yamaha 100. The first versions of skateboards had just come about, called sidewalk surfers. about 2.5' long with steel skate wheels. He used to pull me down the street with a rope. No helmet, no elbow or knee pads, those weren't invented yet. We'd do it at night and could see the sparks from the steel wheels on the concrete. But we survived somehow

 

[yellowtr3]

you Americans say you had it bad.
growing up in the north of England in the 50/60/70 and even 80 was no easy.
while the USA came out of WW2 with a booming economy the UK was essentially bankrupt.
we were always about 5 to 10 years behind the US in things like TV, cars etc.
we still only had 3 TV channels when i left in 1982.
no bathroom. outside lavy.
baths were once a week. the washing machine was filled with water and heated. then emptied into the tub. a little cold water to get the temp where needed and in you got.

 

[Dragsix]

I think you misunderstand the string here. I am not suggesting that growing up in the 70s was bad or that I had it bad or that my experience was bad. I would not trade my youth for another era. It was an interesting time. This string is just about what it was like growing up in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. I grew up urban in the 70s. Others grew up rural in the 70s and absolutly had a different experience growing up then I did. Lots and lots of people all over the world had a different experiece during those years.

 

[Shadetree55]

I think you misunderstand the string here. I am not suggesting that growing up in the 70s was bad or that I had it bad or that my experience was bad. I would not trade my youth for another era. It was an interesting time. This string is just about what it was like growing up in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. I grew up urban in the 70s. Others grew up rural in the 70s and absolutly had a different experience growing up then I did. Lots and lots of people all over the world had a different experiece during those years.

I wouldn't trade my earlier days either. Hell I didn't even know we were poor because everyone else around me was also. The best part was that times were just so simple, not rushed from one day to the next.

 

[Granpa49!!]

you Americans say you had it bad.

One major difference was that our intrastructure was not only still intact following the war but it was actually enhanced due to the industrialization that took place due to the war. Most European countries had to tear down and rebuild on a massive scale. No doubt it was worse for you and others like in France, Italy, Poland, etc. Here, it depended upon what part of the country you were in. Some areas rebounded while other areas lagged behind for a couple of decades. For instance, some parts of the country were heavily industrialized in the war effort and prospered following the war while other areas were still dependent upon agricultural economies. Larger towns had the conveniences whereas rural areas were stuck back in the 40's for a couple of more decades. The area in the south where I grew up began to emerge from an agriculture based economy to industrialization in the mid 60's. Today there isn't as much difference from region to region but differences still exist. I've worked as an engineer since 1973 in the south and I can tell you that engineer's salaries are just now catching up with the rest of the country. There are still huge differences in economies and opportunities depending upon where in the USA you live. You say you left England in '82. Where are you now?

 

[57Bel-Air]

I remember the milkman and the glass bottles. We, too, didn't have a TV until I was ten and we got our first window unit air conditioner when I was about 12 or 13. Until then we used a large window fan and left our windows up at night so the fan could pull air in and thru our bedrooms. We never locked our doors back then.

Yeah, I too, was about 10 or so when we got our first TV. A 12" Packard Bell Combo! TV, Radio & Record player that also Recorded your own records! STEEL NEEDLE & all !!!!! lol!

 

[Granpa49!!]

Our TV was in a wooden case about two feet cube and had two steel wire legs on each corner in sort of a narrow deep VEE with a foot on the end. It had two knobs on the front, an off/on/volume knob and a channel selector that ran from 2 to 13. There were two pots in the rear, one was contrast and the other controled the screen roll. At times you couldn't stop it from rolling and at other times the bottom half of the picture was on top and there was a horizontal line between the two halves. Dad installed an antenna with guy wires that attached to the roof. We regularly got two stations and in some rare occasions could pick up the public service station. The stations went off of the air at midnight and had a test pattern display that looked like a bullseye target and they played the national anthem and then the screen went blank. Of course the TV was black and white.

 

[Churchkey]

Gramps had a very small TV it had maybe an 8-10" screen there was a large magnifying glass in front of the screen it mounted on an adjustable slide bar on top of the set, had to adjust the magnifying glass for picture clarity depending on how far away from the set you were seated.

 

[Granpa49!!]

The stations signed off at midnight and I think they came back on the air at 6 AM. The first show was a country music group who played the most awful music you ever heard. they sang off key and their instruments weren't even tuned to each other.

 

[Bitchin'57]

I remember back in the late 1960's, we used to get free sample packs of Tang in the mail. I loved drinking that stuff. It was a thing back then, because the astronauts used to drink it while in space.

Another thing I remember reading as a kid in the late '60's and early '70's was Boy's Life that I got through the mail.

Many things that you wanted to get through the mail back then, you were required to send a self addressed stamped envelope.

Remember the art school ads in the backs of certain magazines, where you were challenged to draw the Lumberjack or other figures?

 

[SeeTheUSA]

If you lived through the 60’s in the US, then you can probably recite the poem “High Flight” from memory.
TV stations signed off with it for years.

In the 70’s they might also sign off with this John Wayne gem.

 

[Granpa49!!]

What I remembered was something like this:

 

[George Zinger]

For me all it all sound right, born in 1947. Haven’t heard anyone mention Feep or Major Mudd, I B B Y?
George


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Bitchin'57]

When I was a kid in the 1960's, we were taught at school to duck and cover under our desks in case of an nuclear bomb attack. We also had drills to rush into the school basement for the same reason.

 

[Granpa49!!]

Feep or Major Mudd, I B B Y?

Haven't heard of any of those. I looked them up and I don't believe the networks we got on our antenna carried Feep or Major Mudd. IBBY was probably nationwide but I never heard of it. I was probably daydreaming at school whenever that was discussed.

 

[DUSTY 57]

I'm 48...so I don't have the depth of knowledge or experience many here do...

Could some of you indulge and give me life from your perspective in:

1950s:

1960s:

1970s:


IF anyone was around in the 1940s ....please also chime in...


Thanks!

TE

I'm the same age, but might have something to add. My dad is a Vietnam veteran, who had to get out of the big city when I was a baby. We moved to the mountain town of Republic WA. We lived like we were in the twenties, when i was young anyway. My dad purchased a sawmill with a Volkswagen motor and made the lumber to build our house. No electricity, Generator, Root sellers, Gardens and underground water sistern on the hill with Gravity feed. Life felt like the old days, pretty cool actually! As l got older, got electricity extra. Dad got back into cars, which sparked my interest, and the rest is history. What a time! Now when I get behind the wheel of a beautiful piece of historic machinery, i forget about the world's bolonie.

 

[George Zinger]

I had to do some digging but I guess both Feep, who was supposed to be an alien, and Major Mudd, who was supposed to be an astronaut, we’re most likely on just the Boston stations. It was a great time to grow up and I’m glad to have the memories. Really enjoyed this thread and all the shared memories.
George

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tjsdelivery]

Born in 59 I remember many of the above experiences. As a kid, with seven other siblings, I never thought of us as low income. My dad served in WW2 and became a truck driver who drove 12 hour days to sustain our living. We always ate well and had what we needed. Both parents had a car. We had two fuel oil burners to heat house and a big 250 (?) gallon tank in back of house that got filled as needed throughout MN winters. A friend of mine down the street lived in a bigger house and it was rundown looking. His dad worked in a foundry and every day after work, would come into house with a metal milk can and pour fuel oil into the back of their burner. I realized then how poor they really were. We had a four digit phone number on our dial phone that had a party line with neighbor down the street. With eight kids in the house, sometimes they would ask us if they could make a phone call we used it so much. I remember the chopper motorcycles around town we replicated on our stingray bikes, putting long tube forks on front to be a chopper. My mom had one of those wringer washing machines she would run the clothes through the rollers to get excess water out and hang clothes outside on clothesline. Even in winter. Everything came in stiff and rough feeling. I was once pulled over at 18 right before I was going in the Navy in 1977. I had been drinking more than I should've. I got pulled over for speeding and was asked if I was drinking. I said no. He said "your buddy's eyes are so bloodshot he can hardly see and your car smells like a brewery". Damn! I had been going 95 in a 35 and got a speeding ticket for going 45! Thank you, I'll take that. Now days you'd never have a chance in hell getting that. I also enjoyed the skitching behind cars and buses in winter time (crouched behind vehicle on feet to get pulled on slick surface). Lots of good, fun memories back then as a kid.

 

[Pops @ Tri-5.com]