Things you remember but that most young folks never heard of. Pre 1980

[oldrooster]

In 1999 my Dad had a heart attack and bypass surgery. While he was in the hospital, we removed the rotary phone from the wall in my parents' kitchen and installed a cordless - so he could have the phone with him no matter where he was.
He had a fit because we hadn't called the phone company to cancel the rent (yes.. RENT) on the phone. They had been paying rent on a wall mounted rotary phone for something like 30 years.....
We used to have neighborhood parties where we'd all gather in and around the yards at the end of the street and all the Dads would be grilling, the Moms would be laying out a spread of dishes that we didn't have a prayer of actually finishing and us kids would be in someones back yard rehearsing what ever we had decided would be the entertainment (a play or a concert or whatever). Does anyone do that sort of stuff anymore??
And how about trick or treating? Leaving the house (unsupervised) just before dark in some sort of homemade costume (probably flammable and with almost zero vision) and wandering around causing trouble and collecting candy till you either got cold, sick from eating too much candy or the streets started to clear out and it got just a little creepy being out 'so late'.

I think renting a phone was a regional thing, heard a talk show host talking about it and it was still popular in his area and apparently in some parts of the country (at least at one time) was required. both my parents where from different parts of Indiana and neither had heard of renting a phone.

All of the above. Plus the Fuller Brush man that would come to the door.

I never had one come to my door but I do know Billy Graham was a fuller brush man at one time

Service stations (garage that sold gas) and gas only stations (most had a building with vending machines pop, candy bar/chip, perhaps cigarets depending on laws of the time (local state or fed) and a stand somewhere with different engine fluids including wiper fluid and anti freeze, sometimes even a rack with a small display of wipers and bulbs for turn signals and hose clamps and hose tape). leaded gas.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
We rented for many years. It cost about $10 or $12 a year. If anything went wrong we would call an they would bring out a new phone an rewire inside the house as needed. When we changed over to touch tone an started buying our own phone, it has cost me about the same per year average but now I have to fix any wiring issue I have that are inside the house. Renting was a good deal... I think you can still rent.

I can also point out which houses around me were on the same party line as us when the phones were first put in. Then we stepped up to a 4 digit dial system. My last 4 are still those 4 digits. Eventally they added more community codes cause the population for the county had got to big an eventually we had to dial the 6 digit number to call local. At the time all of north GA had a 404 area code. Then they gave that to just Atlanta an gave us the 706 code.

There is a county in Alabama that borders us an part of there county has the same 657 community code as us. It is not a local dial for us or them to call each other but the part of there county where my dad lives is local to both places. If they dial 657-XXXX it will ring in somewhere in there county but if they dial 8-657-XXXX it will ring here on my side of the state line.

 

[StupidBird]

Getting an actual paddling in school. Which was nothing compared to the wrath at home afterwards. Would take a paddling if it meant you didn't call my mom, never an option though.

Being able to get home made (there wasn't any other kind) of popcorn balls in your Halloween treat bag.

Putting the dial on the tv to UFH 13 (is that right?) to see the white flashes from lightening, and if there was a tornado coming, it'd turn white and stay white instead of the black with static. Yes, I also saw that it works, first hand. Yikes!

Dad having a ranting fit over gas going up to 43 cents a gallon.
A person really could fix their own car in the shade of the tree.

Getting to go up in the observation tower to watch the flights at the airport.

Getting my finger pinched in the rollers of a really old tub washer with the side wringer rollers. that was in use. Well, she did tell me not to touch it. Served my little smart allecky self right.

 

[oldrooster]

Getting an actual paddling in school. Which was nothing compared to the wrath at home afterwards. Would take a paddling if it meant you didn't call my mom, never an option though.

Being able to get home made (there wasn't any other kind) of popcorn balls in your Halloween treat bag.

Putting the dial on the tv to UFH 13 (is that right?) to see the white flashes from lightening, and if there was a tornado coming, it'd turn white and stay white instead of the black with static. Yes, I also saw that it works, first hand. Yikes!

Dad having a ranting fit over gas going up to 43 cents a gallon.
A person really could fix their own car in the shade of the tree.

Getting to go up in the observation tower to watch the flights at the airport.

Getting my finger pinched in the rollers of a really old tub washer with the side wringer rollers. that was in use. Well, she did tell me not to touch it. Served my little smart allecky self right.

13 is VHF but on a stormy night we used to look for tv stations from other areas also called "skip" from the signal skipping along the atmosphere.

 

[StupidBird]

Skipping signals is how I got to listen to Russian? radio late at night, under the covers when I was supposed to be sleeping, slowly spinning the dial on the old radio.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I use to talk to people all over the world threw my home CB radio an skip. Still have the equipment but aint used it in years. My moonrakers need work anyway.

 

[buckabucka]

I use to talk to people all over the world threw my home CB radio an skip. Still have the equipment but aint used it in years. My moonrakers need work anyway.

My dad loved his Ham radio. I remember him communicating sometimes with Morse code.

 

[galanie]

Skipping signals is how I got to listen to Russian? radio late at night, under the covers when I was supposed to be sleeping, slowly spinning the dial on the old radio.

 

I still prefer a dial on a radio. I hate the digital stuff lol you can't get a good signal on those sometimes when you can get a perfect one with a dial.

 

[canesisters]

Just the opposite here. I've been listening to static all morning!! Every time I go over there to tune it better, it clears up

I get within reach, it's fine - I head back to my desk 'buzz, buzz, buzz'. Is it on the station or not??? I can't tell. I really wish I had a button to push that would tune it perfectly.

 

[galanie]

Yeah they can wander around depending on location. When this happens to me I play this game where I keep moving the thing around till that quits happening lol.