Memories of my Childhood

Reading a recent message from my daughter brought back many memories of what it was like

to be a child in the 1930's and 1940's. Well, in my case, anyway.

My parents didn't have money for fancy clothes or toys. Heck, there wasn't much money to pay rent, bills, or even to buy food . but, nonetheless, we had fun, my siblings and I. We made our own fun, using our imaginations.

We played outside in the summertime, and to get cool, we would go to the local clinic, where they had a big, chain-link fenced area, and they had this pipe that ran across the top part of the building, that served as a sprinkler for us neighborhood kids. They would turn it on for a few hours, and our Moms would sit around the perimeter and visit, while we kids ran under the sprinkler . It wasn't much, but it sure felt good to cool off there, even tho' there was no grass, only cement.

If there was any spare money, we'd get to go to one of the beaches, Revere Beach being our favorite ! There they had a roller coaster, and a tilt-a-whirl, both of which I was scared of and didn't ride, even if Mamma had the nickel to do so. Yes, most everything cost a nickel in those days, even public transportation. Revere Beach had the best ice-cream cones, one was frozen custard, and my favorite, after strawberry, They had Tutti-frutti flavor, also. It was a welcome treat. Didn't get to buy anything else to eat, b/c of the lack of money, and the fact that Mamma would pack some sandwiches for our lunch. I used to see adults at some of the concession stands buying pepper-steak sandwiches, and that sounded so appetizing to me. I always wanted to try one, but there was never enough money to do so, and I think we were told that kids couldn't eat that stuff, that it was only for adults .

We had a great time, anyway, walking around, some of us swimming ( not me, tho'), and sometimes sitting on a blanket on the sand.

Other beaches were Carson Beach, but I don't recall me going there, just my sibs, Betty and Phyllis, and they walked. It was pretty far, but they didn't mind, Walking almost everywhere is what we did.

Another beach was City Point, where Mamma, if she had any money, would buy fried clams there. They were the best anywhere !! Sometimes we even got French Fries ! The clams were heavenly , to us, anyway !

Another place we walked to, there in our hometown of Roxbury, Massachusetts, was a park that is still there today...Franklin Park . We loved going there with a picnic lunch of egg-salad sandwiches, or bologna, or cheese sandwiches. Probably had Kool-Aid to drink. We had no money for concession stands, and I didn't care, b/c I loved (and still love ) sandwiches. They seemed especially good, b/c my Mamma made them .

Anyway, my big sister, Anne, would walk us over to the zoo area. Think they still have that, too.

Loved watching the monkeys, tigers, lions, elephants and all the animals. Think they had some exotic birds, too, and we would spend a little while there. Altogether, we spent several happy hours at the park.

Another, smaller park there in my hometown was Warren Park. We'd had a famous man named Warren, and the park and one of the main streets there was named Warren St. after him.

My Daddy would take my brother, Paul, and I to that park, sometimes, on his daily walk. First our mother would dress us in the appropriate clothing for the season, then, in summertime, daddy would pull a wagon with both my brother and I in it to the park and other places. and in the winter, Mamma would bundle us both up in our snowsuits, the kind like the little boy wore in that movie, A Christmas Story, where the little kid wanted a BB rifle, I think, and was constantly being told no, b/c he might shoot his eye out. those snowsuits that felt like you couldn't move in them. Then, Daddy would pull us in a sled, through the snow. Don't recall where he took us in the winter, maybe to Warren Park, to play while he smoked his pipe, sitting on a bench there.

During the winter, I had to wear long, brown stockings. They went all the way up my legs. Had to wear them, b/c we girls had to wear dresses...girls didn't wear pants, and I don't think there were any jeans made for girls, anyway. And the snowshoes, OMG, the kids today would laugh and laugh if they saw what we had to wear in the snow ! Ugly black boots, not cute boots the girls wear today. these had an extra piece of material that folded and then we pulled the sides of the boots together over that flap of material and fastened the boots with big, metal clasps.

Talk about ugly !!

Daddy kept our flat warm with both the furnace in the cellar, that warmed all 3 flats on our side of a 6-flat building, sort of an apartment building. and in our kitchen, there was a big, black, old-fashioned stove, where Mamma cooked the most wonderful meals ! Daddy would gather wood, or if my brother had any papers left from his paper route, Daddy would put them in the stove, too. When there was enough money for oil, Daddy would heft that great big bottle of it and turn it upside-down onto this little opening of pipe that led to inside the stove, so Mamma could cook our meals. sometimes Daddy would go to the store and buy a big bag of 'coke' which was like coal, but cheaper, and not as good. Mamma was a great cook. We had breakfast early, B4 school, maybe early during summer, too. Dinner was the heaviest meal of the day, at 12:00 noon, supper was at 5:00 p.m., and we had scrumptious food that Mamma cooked. For dinner, we would have a roast sometimes, when they could afford it, roast beef, roast pork, ham, and once in a while, roast leg of lamb ! We would have some vegetables, which were good, especially when she made mashed squash, the yellow kind, but not Butternut, Whatever kind, it was delicious ! The only veggies I didn't care for were peas, and those awful creamed carrots. Yuck !! Sometimes Daddy would make meatloaf, the best ever !! Mamma never owned a mixer, so for mashed potatoes, she wielded a masher, and made great, seldom lumpy mashed potatoes. Her gravy was out of this world ! She had a really big spoon, that she would put sugar in, and hold it sort of inside the burner, after lifting the burner lid off, and let that sugar melt and turn brown, then she'd stir it into the pan with meat juices still in it, after the meat was taken out of it, and mix it with the meat juices, the add flour to thicken the gravy . I've never had gravy as good as Mamma's !

On many Saturday nights we had Boston baked beans, with hot dogs and brown bread that came in a can...still does, I think . B&M brand, who also made the beans we ate. We all loved the chunk of salt pork that was in the beans, and when we got some, would spread it on a piece of white bread, Wonder bread, spread the fat on the bread which already had butter on it, sprinkle it with salt and a little bit of pepper, and chow down !! Yum, yum, yummy !!

Sometimes, on Sunday evening, if I'd had any money for the show, I'd get home, and it, of course , would be after suppertime, so the pork roast, if we'd had that for dinner, would be sitting there on the table, and I'd make myself a sandwich with it, using butter, mustard, salt and pepper, and savor that sandwich... it

was one of the best !

For breakfasts, if we were having fried eggs, or poached, Daddy would place slices of bread on the stovetop, and after just minutes, turn it over to toast the other side, and we kids would gobble that toast up, with butter melting on it...Mmmm, never have had toast that good since.

I even wrote a poem about Daddy's toast years ago, entitled, 'Oh, the Toast my Daddy Made' .

If I can ever find it, will post it here.

Sometimes Mamma would make pancakes, using Aunt Jemima's mix. think that's the only pancake mix there was in those days. Anyway, she added stuff to it, not oil, b/c don't recall there being cooking oil back then, but eggs and maybe milk. Whatever she did to it, they were the most wonderful pancakes that ever existed !! We had margarine, never butter. Earlier references to butter were also margarine. then we had pure Vermont maple syrup on them .

Mmmmm, good !! We used Log Cabin syrup, which came in a tin shaped and painted to look like a log cabin, and there was an indentation on the roof of it, so that when the syrup was all gone, and the can washed out and dried, we kids would have a bank for whatever pennies we might receive. There was a hole and plug in the bottom of the can, for easy access to the coins.

Well, these are just some of the happenings of my childhood, but this is enough for one day. I'll write more, each day, if possible. I know my kids and grandkids will enjoy reading this. Hope anyone else who reads it will see what life was like for some of us way back then.

Until next time...

D