old farmers memories 3

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Shall  we revisit The Old Farmer's memories of the old days?  

A story from his childhood.
People did not have a lot of treats in past generations.
Even when I was a child candy was not an everyday thing.
Potato chips were once a week...

One day in town The Old Farmer and his brothers
saw a box of candy fall off a delivery truck!
What a bounty! They scooped it up and hid it away
to allow themselves one piece a day, making it last
as long as possible. I think that was about as criminal
an act most would commit in those time too. It was very daring.
I think he even blushed in his later years at the memory.

Another...
While zippers were invented in the late vicotrian years
and introduced at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893
they were not in common use. 

 The Old Farmer remembered his first pair of pants with a zipper
when he was a young man preparing to go out on a double date in the early 1930s.
This was a big event. Unfortunately after excusing himself
to go to the bathroom the zipper became stuck at the bottom!
He and his friend spent some panic'ed time in the bathroom
trying to get it unstuck! 

Such are our memories. Fun and daring and embarrassing...

The Ice Storm

I remember the great ice storm...  

  Freezing rain came down and built up an inch on trees and power lines. 

No one was going anyplace. The power went out. For three days. 

That was unheard of in those days. Three days! 

Perhaps because there was less population? Things were fixed faster than they are now. Now a storm on that scale you could be out of electricity for 1-3 weeks.

 An electric wire came down by the corner of our woods on the road. 

It was early evening and the wire danced and bounced firey in the dark of night

 against the mirror of ice.

After a couple days we wanted a warm meal and The Old Farmer fired up the grill 

in the basement under an open basement window. He warmed a pot of soup.
And grilled some pork chops. So good!

The house did not freeze with the gravity fed hot water radiators
and the coal fired furnace. Many people took advantage of the offer
of a warm place at the town community center.
And so we survived!

Happy Valentines

Happy St. Valentines Day

We will resume out regular programing next week!

Spring Tonic and Haircuts

Every spring The Old Farmer's Wife 

gave The Old Farmer's Daughters
THE hair cut.

This was not anticipated with glee.
Which made it something of an ordeal.
Then to further torment us the Toni home permanent
became popular.
So we got short curly hair! 

After an hour

and a half of sitting

 getting end papers

and curlers put in,

 saturated with perm,

 timed, rinsed, and conditioned.

                          

                     

Then came the 60s 

and we wanted our hair 

 to be straight.

Big curlers or ironing 

were the solution.

Yes, we laid our heads on the ironing board and ironed away!   Or we used orange juice cans, or with really long hair even a coffee can! as a roller! 

 

I still have not recovered from the humiliation of
The Old Farmer's laughter and attempt
 to get a picture of me.

 Another old way was dosing with cod liver oil.
It was good for everything! (Probably hair too)
Then Dr. Spock came along and said vacinations were better, toss the cod liver oil. 

Now Cod Liver Oil is back. Full of vitamins,
good for the heart, etc. So the old ways are redeemed.
Then it was in a spoon and tasted yechtttt, now we have capsules.