I think it would be neat to here how our members grew up and where. I will start. I grew up on a small farm of which my place now is a part of. I have 3 acres of what was the home place. The original farm was 152 acres. 20 acres of it was woods and about another 30 acres was pastureland. We raised mainly corn and soybeans. And also wheat and sometimes oats. We would plant winter wheat and in the spring we would also plant alfalfa. The wheat would come off in June and then the alfalfa would really grow and we would get 2 sometimes 3 cuttings of hay from it. Then taht field would rest as a hay field the next year. We raised dairy cows and hogs and some sheep. We normally had 20 cows milking almost all the time. Us kids did about 80% of the work on the farm. Dad also worked in a castings foundry 5 days a week. As a kid I used to be jealous of the kids in town as they had indoor plumbing. So I grew up having to use an outhouse. Oues was painted white, well actually it was whitewash. So us kids used to call it the white house! The irony in that didn't hit me until I was old enough to vote! The outhouse taught you 2 things, One you didn't spend anymore time in there than absolutely necessary in the winter. And you learned how to kill wasps with a flyswatter while setting in one spot! We had running water in the house, but cold water only. So water had to be heated on the gas stove in order to take your bath once a week. Everyone took a bath on a different evening of the week. The water was hard water and a lot of iron in it. Momused to have a huge kettle that she heated water in. She always kept 3 or 4 marbles in it to keep the rust broken up in the bottom of it. Us kids would get 2 new pairs of jeans when school started and they were expected to last until school was out in May. When we got home from school, we had to change into old clothes to do chores in. We always had lots of food as we had the beef and pork plus Mom always had a huge garden. But I never wore a store bought shirt until I joined the Navy. We drank raw milk as a kid, unless we had the money to buy milk at school. I never had a bought hamburger until I was away from home. Finally after us 3 boys and our sister had left home, our parents remodeled the house and put in a full bath with hot water. I guess the biggest lesson I learned from that lifestyle was that, Whatever you need you can get it yourself and not to rely on someone else to give it to you. A lot different from the kids today.
OKay then. I was born in Carshalton, Surrey, UK at St Helliers hospital, a hospital that was actually built around the wrong way as in back to front, in November 1970. Dad was a milkman for Express Dairies and mum was a housewife, formerly a hairdresser. In 1973 my sister was born, Katie Ann. Our house was in Sutton Common Road, Sutton and cost mum and dad in 1970 just £7,500. You can't buy a car for that these days. We had a small back garden which dad paved over when I was little as they weren't much gardeners, but he kept a few little beds for us kids to play with. It wasn't long before I was growing seeds and filling these beds with flowers and over the years more and more of the terrace was dug up and beds were created. I had a mini greenhouse, a little plastic one that dad cobbled togther, in which I used to grow melons and tomatoes. We both went to Glastonbury Primary school, a typical small school of the '70's. Really nothing to write home about. Mind you, the caretaker was sent to prison as he murdered a little girl from our school, in my sisters year, and hid her body in the school bin!! Dad being a milkman, worked different hours to other dads, as he used to go to work at 3am and be home by 2pm so he would be there when we got home from school, although often sleeping. It meant my sister and I were incredibly close to dad and he used to spoil us rotten, not so much financially, but with time and love. Money was never short, but we weren't wealthy as mum and dad had their mortgage and for young parents, a large 3 bedroom terrace house in an up and coming area to pay for. We couldn't afford to go abroad on holidays so we used to go on camping holidays around the UK with my parents best friends. I used to love it, although mum wasn't so keen. I used to like the rough and readyness of it, but then children do, I can now appreciate why mum wasn't so keen. When I was in my early teens I started a Saturday job in a hairdressing salon - it was so good to have my own money - I earnt £7 for the day plus tips. I used to be sooooooooo nice to customers to try and get good tips as they could really add up. I used to go on Sundays to my grandads and do gardening with him, growing veggies and fruit. He had amazing raspberry cages and it was a joy to be in picking the fruits on a balmy Sunday afternoon. So there you have it, me to my teens.
I was born on an island off the coast, and lived there with mom, dad, mother's parents and a great-grandfather until I was eight. The place was a smallholding. My grandfather had his own fishing boat. He was away for months on end. My father was in the navy, so he wasn't home much either. The island was small enough for everybody to know everybody, and we children were welcome everywhere and looked after by anybody who were near by, so we led a very free life compared to today's children. Of course we helped to weed the veggies and taters, and helped harvest everything, picked berries and rose hips and went fishing in the row boat. The loo was in the barn, and the barn was a bit away from the house, and I never went there in the dark. I had my own potty. My bath was taken in a metal tub in the sitting room, in front of the stove. When I started school, I could use the bicycle, since it wasn't very far off. We moved when I was eight, and our new home had three bedrooms, a big living room with dining area, a nice kitchen and of course a bathroom with a big tub. The school had fewer children than the one I left. The neighbours were also new to the area, most of them, so us children found new friends quickly. When the house was all done inside, mother started to create her garden. She's never liked to grow veggies, but we grew potatoes for years. Mother used to sew my trousers and skirts, and I never asked for a store bought pair of trousers before I was ten or eleven. The cars were few and far between, and only every other house had a telephone. The way of life changed rapidly between 1975 and 1980, and life has never felt so safe and simple afterwards.
My parents lived in a house that had been a wedding present from my grandfather, who owned several rentals (I didn't know this relative very well, as my dad was raised by his grandpa). It was only a few blocks from the hospital where my two brothers and I were born. We had a 64- 1/2 Mustang convertable; my dad had been fixing old cars an trading up for a few years until he could afford this brand-new. My oldest brother was about 6, and they thought they wouldn't have any more kids, so a car like that was fine. Ooops. Dad was a heavy-equipment mechanic who worked from dark to dark, often in remote logging camps. Mom stayed home and was an excellent baker. I lived a block from my school, so I could come home for lunch every day. Both my parents had grown up in the country and missed it, so every spring we would buy a few chicks and raise them until they were too big, then give them away (often to the police officer who would spot us playing with them in the front yard, livestock was frowned upon in town) Whenever possible, I would go stay with my grandparents at the home my great-grand built when he came out west. Many acres of woods to roam in, and an attic full of Victorian-era magazines to peruse. And, thankfully, indoor plumbing (a fairly recent addition to the old place). Grandma helped me raise carrots, berries, corn, whatever I wanted to grow, and I spent many hours climbing apple & cherry trees, or peeling and pitting the harvest thereof. And discovered the truth of chickens running around with their heads cut off (ew) Grandma had ridden out the depression, and was careful to can up anything she grew. She also had lost most of her finger joints to arthritis, yet managed to knead and bake bread every week. She was my inspiration, and I'm very happy to be named after her.
Growing up I grew up in a small town in upstate NY, first generation Slovak-American. My parents were workers in the EJ Shoe industry which had several plants in our home town. It was a good place to live and we felt safe walking anywhere day and night. My girlfriend and I spent many happy hours at Our Home Library, an old converted home and at the city park where we swam and rode the carousel. Going to my grandparents farm was one of my favorite pastimes. We fed geese, hogs and chickens. Otherwise I loved just roaming in the country. In summer I'd watch my Mom take care of her roses and flowers and ride bike in the school yard. Happily, there was a Mom & Pop store across the street from us that sold "penny candies", ice pops, and comics for a nickel. i enjoyed music and took piano lessons faithfully for several years. Sometimes I think my parents were sorry they ever got me started. I had only one older sister who was married by the time I was 12 yrs. Visiting at the dairy farm she lived at was educational and fun too. We had a good education system and I did go on to Nursing School in the same town. All in all, we had a good growing up and there was very little I would have changed. In winter, we had several ice-skating ponds we'd go to and then have hot chocolate afterward.
Here goes !!! I was born in Houston,Texas in 1943.My dad was a welder on ships at the Houston ship channels.He made $18.OO a week.Then sent some to his mom and dad. We moved back to here when I was 9 months old and dad started share cropping.My clothes were made of feed sacks and flour sacks until the second grade by my mom.We then moved to Waller,Tx.where my dad was a foreman over a big ranch.we then was transfered to another rach the same man owned in Oklahoma.I was eleven when we came back to Texas.Where we had a house built for us to live in as my dad was a supervior over all the dairy .He then went to work for the prison system and we lived in Huntsville until my moms brothers health started failing and we moved in with him to take care of him .She loved to garden and her sister (Aunt Mary)also loved to garden and I helped them in the garden.My uncle got better and started farming peanuts, watermelons,corn,cotton ,alfafa for hay ,always a huge patch of peas plus a big veggie garden.We had an out house and had to draw water from the well and washed on an old wringer type washer and the water was from a cistern because the well was a shallow well.My uncle had a deep well drilled 674 foot deep then the house was piped and we had hot and cold water but still know indoor bathroom until I married in 1961 and they took my room and made it into a bathroom and hallway.Things were easier for my mom then. I think being raised on ranches and farms helped me be strong and made me love plants and to see them grow and produce.
So far, I see a common thred amongst our members childhood. That is of growing up in small towns or in the country and gardening defining how they now lead their lives. Those were different times, but as I look back to my childhood, I would not change a thing. Well maybe to not have my 2 big brothers pick on me so much! But that probably made me a much stronger person!
I grew up and went to school in Toronto but spent summers at the cottage. Our cottage was on an island so Mom didn't have to worry about strangers or traffic. Mom had a big veggie garden and I remember helping her with it. We loved to explore and spent hours wandering the forest. We had cold running water there, but no tv or telephone. When I got a little older I had a paper route and Mom made me save most of my earnings but sometimes I was allowed to take the boat over to the store and buy some candy . Years later I met my DH there and we now live a short drive away.
I was born and grew up in North East India.Most of our families still live there and we go there every one and half years. We have been living here in the US since 1999. We had a huge garden growing up and I grew up watching and also participating in the gardening. But must say, almost everything grew in the warm weather there.
I am the youngest of 7 kids.I was born Jan.3,1970. I grew up in a small town also. We were really poor so we didn't have much. Mom and dad were not into gardening but my neighbors were. A little old man down my street had a large garden and used to give me a fresh tomato or bell pepper to snack on when I rode by his place. I always wanted a garden of my own but didn't have one. I tried once to have a small flower bed but with so many kids in the family it didn't last long. When I got married in 1992, my new husband and his family had always had vegetable gardens so I finally got to grow my own garden and has loved it ever since. My mother-in-law has given me so much information on flowers and different plants. It is my passion now and love it dearly. My mom says I take after her mom. Her mom loved gardening.
I was born in 1940, in Milwaukee. My memories of that time are just a flash here and a flash there. I was aware of WW2 but had no real idea what it all meant. In the early 50s, our family moved to the northern suburbs. I am basically a product of the 50s. That was the era of the birth of Rock and Roll, and from my point of view it's still the BEST rock. High School was very much like the movies portray, As a matter of fact, I've been told that the drive in, in Happy Days was patterned after our own "Milky Way". The guy that produced the TV series was a high school student at one of the schools that frequented it. Back then, pot was a kettle, and drugs were what you got at the drug store. The worst thing we smoked were cigarettes. The High School even had a place outside where students could smoke. We called it "Cancer Corner". The worst thing we kids could do was drink beer. The local counties controlled the drinking age, and the county just north of ours, was a 16 year old county, while ours was 18. There were a couple popular teen bars up there, and some nasty car accidents on the highway coming back down. I remember fondly my High School days. I wasn't a particularly good student, (I was much later in life, diagnosed with dyslexia) but I sure had some good times. My Dad worked in the heating and air conditioning business, which I later took up for myself. He also loved his vegetable garden. He spent hours out there working at it. We kids helped some, probably caused more trouble that good. I remember strawberries, raspberries and a multitude of wonderful vegetables. Both sides of my family were farmers in central Wisconsin. I worked at various jobs, as most kids do, Paper boy, pumped gas at the local filling station, repaired cars there too. Stock boy at Sears. Worked for a painter, served a stint in the service, and several other mostly meaningless jobs, until my Dad offered me work at his heating company. I stuck it out in that business for nearly 40 years.. When Mimi and I got our first house, I started a vegetable garden, and for many years we enjoyed the fruits there of. Our second house was on the hardest clay I have ever seen, best described as rubber, and after several years I gave up the garden. Our third home, and current one, is in the deep woods, and unless I clear a very large area, the sun doesn't get through, and the growing season is just too short. Therefore Vegetable gardening here is out. We do have some flower gardens, and we work at that, but my knees are about shot, once I'm down on them It's a real struggle to get up again. We have a rock wall across the front of the house where I can stand and work, and get my gardening fix. I guess I wandered some from the topic, but that's me. Tom
Tom, loved your post and your stories brought back fond memories. I was born in 1944 So I missed all of WWII. and barely remember Korea. But I grew up in the 50's also and I still listen to music of that era.
I did enjoy your post Tom.It brought back so many good memories.I too believe the 50's rock & roll is the best.I remember the day the report came in that the plane went down with Buddy Holly,Ritchie Valen and the Big Bopper went down in the corn field in Iowa with no survivers.I was in bed with the flu.I wonder if you remember the retake of Running Bear called Running Bare. Us teen agers loved both of them.
I too remember the plane crash, that was a sad day. I also remember Running Bear, but not Running Bare, but I bet I can guess a few things about that version. We have a fairly new car, and it came with Sirius radio, and we listen to channel 5 - 50s music. Tom
I was about 16 years old and cried like a baby as Buddy Holly and Richie Valen were my favorite singers at that time.
