- What were telephones like when you were 8-10 years old?
o
1 telephone, hung on the wall. Rectangle, black,
#’s on rotary, sometimes 2 people shared a line (called a party line) because
it was cheaper, we would stretch the cord out of shape to get privacy, our phone
# was made of 2 letters + 5 numbers instead of the way numbers are now.
- · What was school like back then?
o
30 kids per class, we sat in wooden desks and
chairs, rows in order by last name, chalk boards, 1 teacher, went to PE/music/art
once each week, classes were grouped by ability.
- · What kind of things did you do outside of school? What was it like? Equipment?
o
Read books, jumped rope, rode a bike, collected
charms, played jacks, dodge ball, kick ball, went to movie theater, watched TV
(3 TV channels), went bowling. Didn’t have many toys.
- · What was your house like when you were growing up?
o
2 story house, we shared our house with other
generations (grandfather and aunt), I shared a bedroom with my sister, 1
bathroom each level, we had a basement, elevator for aunt’s wheelchair to back
porch.
- · How would doctors take care of injuries back then?
o
I didn’t get hurt very often. We didn’t go to
the doctor unless it was really needed, Broken bones would get big heavy
cumbersome casts (couldn’t get wet).
- · How did you do your laundry when you were growing up?
o
We had a washing machine and dryer in the
basement, but my mother would usually hang
clothes on a line outside, clothes pins had no metal spring, had to iron
clothing.
- · What were fashions like then?
o
Girls wore dresses or jumpers to school (no
pants), high or ankle socks, saddle shoes or loafers, no holes, blouses with round
collars. Boys wore dress shirts and pants, black or brown dress lace shoes.
o
Boys had short hair (“clean cut”), girl’s had
long hair or “turned under”, curly hair would get ironed to be straight, if you
wanted curly hair you would go and get it permed at salon.
- · What was the common mode of transportation when you were young?
o
Walked, rode a bike, roller skated, took a bus
downtown. We had one car for our family. Would take a train or bus for long
distance trips. Planes were used for war, some passenger planes were rarely
used & expensive. Cars were big and long, didn’t worry about gas because it
was cheap.
- · Did you have Legos when you were a child?
o
NO!!!!!!! L
- · What kinds of foods did you enjoy when you were a child?
o
Chicken, beef, lamb, corn, green beans, fruit,
pepsi, peas, cereal, eggs, pb&j, hot dogs. We did not eat out a lot, no
frozen or fresh vegies (all canned), no microwave foods, no pizza, Jiffy Pop
popcorn on stove, did not eat a big variety, we ate what Dad liked.
- · What one electronic device that you have today do you wish you had when you were younger?
o
A computer because now you can do so much with
them – get information, buy things, play games. When you wanted info when I was
young, you had to go to a library or look it up in an encyclopedia. If you wanted
to buy things, you had to go to the store. Don’t remember getting catalogs like
we do now.
- · What one item do you wish you had today to help in your every day life?
o
I have trouble with my knees and my back. I wish
there was a button I could push to move more easily.
- · What one item do you miss most from when you were younger?
o
I miss time with family, like we had when I was
younger.
- · Did you have a favorite toy when you were growing up?
o
We didn’t really play with toys. We did things
outside.
- There has been a big change in cameras too. The way they looked, the way they were used, the film (now digital).
- · To listen to music, we had record players, a large record with a needle. Now you use mp3 players, ipods, cds.
Thinking about the project, the team is thinking of building something related to the differences in cooking. Next meeting, hopefully we can develop a plan!
