I was stuck for what to write (again) so I turned to one of my idea books, 642 Things to Write About. I picked "Write a letter to your grandchild about the world you grew up in." I could go on at great length about that world, but I'll keep it shorter for today.
I was born in 1953. I am a baby boomer - it's not my fault. I think there were about 40 kids in my kindergarten class. I feel sorry in retrospect for the teacher.
I grew up with television, black and white in my house until I was about 16 - we didn't rush to get new technology in my family. The Mickey Mouse Club, Lassie, RinTinTin - I could list a lot more.
When I was 6, we moved from Seattle to Neenah, Wisconsin, a small paper mill town on the shores of Lake Winnebago (which means "dirty water"). I walked to school. Girls were required to wear dresses to school. (Public school!)
My dad worked for the Marathon Paper Company, which made Northern tissues and other products. My parents carefully taught my brother, sister and I to stop using the word kleenex, which was made by the competitor in town. We had framed prints of the Northern girls, what we would call today a branding identification, on our bedroom walls.
I had no clue as a kid, but it was both an idyllic place to grow up and a suffocating atmosphere. We ran free in the neighborhood, rode our bikes everywhere, and stayed out until our mothers called us in for dinner by yelling from the front door. There were lots of kids to play with. There was also no diversity except protestant and Catholic.
When I was turning 12, Marathon Paper was purchased by American Can Company, and we moved to Connecticut. My dad commuted into NYC. It was a different world, a very exciting world. It changed all of us, for the better, I think.
Oh - it sounds so familiar! I was born in 1952 in a medium sized town in Iowa. Almost every things was the same in my neck of the woods expect we did not move into a larger area. I did that once I left college and went out into the big world. Thanks for all the childhood memories.
ReplyDeleteI was born in 1951 so much of this applies to me as well. We lived in a "patch". We would play badminton in the street. We would walk the railroad tracks. Doors were never locked until we went to bed. A whole different life back then. arjeha
ReplyDeleteI was born in 1952 in Pittsburgh, Pa, and we moved every few months because my Dad worked for American Water Works for many years until we finally settled down in one of those NYC suburbs where there were LOTS of kids in every class and new schools popping up every year!
ReplyDelete