Tuesday, July 04, 2017

21 Pictures of a White and Happy Country

Also titled: 21 Pictures Only Baby Boomers Will Understand

Forwarded by An Old Friend, who wrote:

I'll add to what my Poland-born friend (whose parents lived, just barely, through WWII, one being Jewish and caught up in the Holocaust) wrote below: In most ways, it was a much better country than it is now.


Original sender: Alternatively, I'd call that: "21 pictures of a white and happy country"



21 Pictures Only Baby Boomers Will Understand

N.S.: Before my legions of black supremacist readers can pull their race cards, let me add that segregation was the best thing that ever happened to American blacks.

 

1. Cars were colorful! Most cars these days look fairly bland, but in the 50's, our cars were big, bright, and fun!
 

2. We got dressed up for birthday parties. And sometimes there was even a pony and a rifle there!
 

3. We played in the streets: We didn't have to text our friends - we'd all just come outside and get to playing!
 

4. Gas was very cheap: On some days, it was only $0.20 a gallon, and beyond that, the people at the station could also fix just about anything!
 

5. Ben Franklin 5&10 was everything: We loved going to these stores. They had just about anything and everything you could think of.
 

6. If it wasn't the Ben Franklin, it was the A&P!
 

7. Our skates got "locked" with a key. They were also made almost entirely of metal and very hard to skate on!
 

8. The drive-in was the place to be: This 1950s' photo from South Bend, Indiana shows how popular they were!
 

9. Car seats were more like couches: That’s right - they were big, long, and you could slide all the way across!
 

10. The freezer actually had to be defrosted! That's right, every now and then you'd have to manually defrost the freezer - sometimes took all day with a lot of scraping!
 

11. Grandma let us do everything. Well, maybe that hasn't changed so much, but we LOVED eating off the beaters!
 

12. Sometimes your food came on roller skates! That's right - certain restaurants had "roller girls" who would zoom your food out to you!
 

13. We got DOWN at the Sock Hop!
 

14. Sunday drives were a thing: That's right - on Sunday, many of us would load up the family car and just go cruising over to the neighbors or just around town!
 

15. There was one TV. And, surprise, we didn't argue all night about who should get to watch their favorite show. Most of the time, we all liked the same shows!
 

16. The playgrounds were VERY different. At recess, we'd swing from the monkey bars with wild abandon and often even stand on the swings and go as high as possible. And still, we survived!
 

17. TV had "sign-off" messages. Remember these? TV would go off at midnight and sometimes even go as far as playing the National Anthem all night. [Not exactly. A station would play the national anthem before signing off at night, and when it came back on the air in the morning. In-between, you'd see the sign-off image above, and a loud, dull noise.]
 

18. Just one Hula Hoop wasn't enough: Some of us could do multiple at a time!
 

19. We didn't text, but we did pass notes! And we were experts at not getting caught!
 

20. We had xylophones that we kept on a pull string. That's right - there was nothing like the Pull a Tune!
 

21. We got bottled Cokes and loved them: That’s right - no cans or plastic bottles back then. We were 100% excited when we'd find a cooler like this to get that ice cold bottle!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those were the days my friend!

Swamp Dog said...

Ah, the good old days. America will never be such a safe and happy place again.

David In TN said...

That is the country I lived in as a child.

jeigheff said...

Recently, my Dad showed me an old photo published in the Corpus Christi Caller Times. It pictured a lot of people enjoying themselves at the beach in Corpus Christi in the 1940s, maybe the 50s. Dad asked me what was different about folks back then. We both noticed three things: most people were slim; no-one had tattoos; the crowd was white.

countenance said...

I'm just old enough to remember both Ben Franklin stores (next to the old Sears on South Grand in St. Louis), and I loved going there just for the eclectic mystery of what I'd find, and also over-the-air TV stations signing off.

Anonymous said...

My aunt sent me a whole bundle of pictures of Rockford, IL., as it was in the period immediately after WW2. Known as a Swedish area and almost all white. Pictures tell you a far different story from what the city is today! West side of Rockford very bad, mostly negro, lots of crime. Same story all over the nation.

Anonymous said...

This type of scene lasted in my area up to around the late 90s and early 2000s.The blacks were segregated on the southeast side of Grand Rapids.While that was happening,in about 10% of the city,the rest of GR thrived.Now in the last 10 years,a massive blitzkrieg of blacks(and Mex)has ruined 60% of the area.
I used to walk a few blocks home from school everyday.That school was closed years ago,due to white flight.These days,I would have to walk through an area that has had drivebys,shootings in the street,blacks hanging out--selling drugs etc.When we wanted to,before going home from school,a group of us would stop at a nearby city playground(with no fear of being attacked or kidnapped!!!)That area became so dilapidated after the blacks moved in,it became an eyesore.I believe I read however,the city decided to refurbish it (and waste more money)for the negro kids.
I'd like to take some pictures and show how far these areas have fallen,but for now,a description will suffice.
--GR Anonymous

D J said...

Oddly enough, you can still buy cars with bright colors. But, you have to go to a foreign make to get them.

Anonymous said...

Gotta love those 'Bullet Bras': 'Out and Proud' - oops, can't use that expression anymore!

Anonymous said...

DID BLACKS CAUSE BRAWL ON GRAND HAVEN BEACH?
http://fox17online.com/2017/07/04/tweets-spelled-trouble-for-grand-haven-ahead-of-july-4th/
I'm posting this under the "good old days" story.To summarize,Grand Haven,Michigan USED to be one of the most gorgeous beaches and towns in the world.Never saw blacks there EVER--and I spent plenty of time there in the 70s(as a kid) through the 2000s.
Welcome to 2017 and "the black invader era".
A fight broke out among 300 people over the holiday on the beach late Monday.Media is not giving any race involved.However some of the tweets and tweeters names,shown on WOODTV (but blurred here)had names,that would easily be thought of by most,as to be created by blacks.Also,last year a monsterous riot broke out in South Haven,with blacks being ID'ed as the cause of the riots.
This year,Grand Haven police think some of the same "troublemakers"(blacks),are said to be "potentially involved in both South Haven AND Grand Haven."
Police say video,posted on social media,is being used to arrest lawbreakers from Monday's fight.I will keep posted if arrests are made public by media.Another reminder about the "Good Ol' Days being loooong gone.
--GR Anonymous