Things that will bring back memories your whole life.

[Pitchy]

We went for a walk today and stopped by the sawmill as we do often.
As i walk around it it brings back memories that i will remember until i die.
Something about old mills that just seem to be something special.
Another one is old fashion cook stoves, i can remember clear as a bell when i was about six years old and would stay at grandmas place.
Only convenience they had was electricity, no running water or bathroom.
Grandma would get up in the morning and go down stairs and get a fire going in the cook stove where she would make the same ole thing oatmeal with raisins in it.
I`ll never forget those days, had to fill the water pail every morning from the pump house which was a hand pump that you primmed.
The water pail sat just inside the door and had a dipper in it to drink from.
Of coarse there was the outhouse, dern cold out there in the winter so ya used the white porcelain bucket with the lid on it.
Funny how ya can remember things from long ago and can`t remember other things from days ago.
Oh yea, if ya asked grandma what was for dinner she would grab ya by the ear and say, Dry bread and ear slaps.
What`s some of your lasting memories.

[gundownunder]

Thanks Pitchy, this thread should lead to some interesting reading.

I remember drawing water with the old hand pump too, but I grew up in the north of West Germany and you had to pour water into the pump to melt the ice before you could pump.
I remember as a six year old, driving a tractor up and down the field while the adults forked sugar beets into the trailer for the stock to feed on through the winter. I remember them being quite a tasty snack as well.
When I was a kid, "being in the doghouse" had a very different meaning. My parents built next to my grandparents and my uncle had a German Shepard dog. If I did anything that would get me in trouble I would go and hide in the doghouse and often fell asleep in there too. Nobody was fool enough to try and take me out of there as that Shepard loved me and would take chunks out of anyone who came close to me

[Chuck 100 yd]

Your Grandma and mine must have been twins!!

[WCF3030]

All though I'm only at the tender age of 39 I remember not growing up with a lot of money in the house.
I remember the smell of fresh cut dill for canning pickles and pike and suckers.
Having beef/venison stew sometimes 3/4 times a week.
"Eggs in a nest" or oatmeal for breakfast most mornings.
Mom making the most of my socks and jeans with patches.
My mom making bread every other day and how that taste with real butter and homemade jam.
Getting my first bike (a girl’s bike) but it was mine and I rode it until it broke and then my father taught me how to fix it and it lasted for years.
Having a black and white TV and only having 3 channels but never knowing or caring that “it was not enough” and eating popcorn made on the stove.
Finally countless hours roaming the woods, lakes, streams and rivers and talking with the fisherman and bringing home small game, crawdads, frogs and pan fish.

[AJMD429]

I remember drawing water with the old hand pump too, but I grew up in the north of West Germany and you had to pour water into the pump to melt the ice before you could pump.
I remember as a six year old, driving a tractor up and down the field while the adults forked sugar beets into the trailer for the stock to feed on through the winter. I remember them being quite a tasty snack as well.

Gee, and some folks think we're being mean when we say how spoiled today's kids are. Most of them will never have ten per cent of the responsibility when they turn 21, as many of us had when we were six years old. . .

[John in MS]

"Nobody was fool enough to try and take me out of there as that [German] Shepherd loved me and would take chunks out of anyone who came close to me "

Gundownunder, that reminds me of one of my GSD's that I had while in the Army, stationed at {scenic } Ft. Polk, LA.
My wife baby-sat a 3-year-old boy 8 hours/day Mon-Fri for about a year. The Shepherd and boy became great friends, as you can guess. (BTW, his name was Ritter, Goetz von Berlichingen... ) He weighed a muscular 90+ lbs (good for little-kid "pony-rides") and while friendly, he was very striking in appearance, and well-trained.

One day my wife, Jeremy (the boy) and Ritter were at his house when his father, a Lt. Col., came home early. Ritter was not used to seeing him. Jeremy did something which displeased his Dad, and when Dad went to punish him, Jeremy ran and hid behind Ritter. Ritter planted himself firmly between the two and made it exquisitely clear that NOBODY was going to mess with HIS boy! The father got very pale and very quiet all of a sudden, and backed up in a hurry! Later, he and his wife mentioned to my wife how much they appreciated the fact that Jeremy had such a good "bodyguard!"

I've not seen Jeremy since he was 4; by now, he'd be 30+, but I'll bet I can guess his favorite dog breed!

John

[C. Cash]

Had the privilege of being raised by my Grandparents (moms side) in California from about age 11. They were Dust bowl Okies who did the migration in the early 30's, and told the tales of Eastern Oklahoma when it was pretty wild. My GrandDad was born the year it became a state...1907 and had some pretty hair raising memories of the time. You've never lived until you've been loved by those people......best of the best. Boiling coffee and cornbread, biscuits and milk gravy made from bacon drippings, okra, single and double shotguns and old 22's with storied careers. The smell of a spit can full of tobacco juice...they all take me back. Ever year feels a little farther away from those happy times but with your kids you keep doing your best to make new ones, and doing your best like the old folks did, keeping the Faith.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Being raised a stones throw from the ocean by a seafaring New England Yankee dad I have a close bond with the ocean, and love ocean activities, and certain types of boats really make me nostalgic for my dad. I presently own 2 dories one strictly for rowing the other has an engine well for powering with an outboard motor if desired. My dad grew up with dories, and so did I even building one with him back in the early 80s. Whenever I see any dory I get a thrill and feel nostalgic. Another boat that gets my blood flowing is any doubled ended sailboat with gaff rig sails preferably a ketch but a gaff rig sloop or cutter will also do. The Scandinavian lines of Collin Archer type gaff rigged double enders also remind of my dad and the dreams we shared, and plans we made together in my youth of sailing the South Pacific.
I'm going octopus diving tomorrow with some old friends, I'll be thinking of my dad the whole time. Wish me luck.

[C. Cash]

Being raised a stones throw from the ocean by a seafaring New England Yankee dad I have a close bond with the ocean, and love ocean activities, and certain types of boats really make me nostalgic for my dad. I presently own 2 dories one strictly for rowing the other has an engine well for powering with an outboard motor if desired. My dad grew up with dories, and so did I even building one with him back in the early 80s. Whenever I see any dory I get a thrill and feel nostalgic. Another boat that gets my blood flowing is any doubled ended sailboat with gaff rig sails preferably a ketch but a gaff rig sloop or cutter will also do. The Scandinavian lines of Collin Archer type gaff rigged double enders also remind of my dad and the dreams we shared, and plans we made together in my youth of sailing the South Pacific.
I'm going octopus diving tomorrow with some old friends, I'll be thinking of my dad the whole time. Wish me luck.

Good stuff Ji! Greatest generation these men and women were.

[M. M. Wright]

When I started to school we still had outdoor toilets and a pump in the schoolyard. We took turns pumping for each other and all used the same dipper. This was '45 and I can still remember ration stamps. Had to have them for about everything but sugar and shoes were the hardest to get. Most kids in school just didn't have shoes so I went barefoot most of the time just to fit in. Lots of kids with white hair from protein deficiency. We lived across the road from the school but that road was US 66 so Mama didn't allow me to cross it alone.
Dad had a Model A coupe that had a little tank for gas and he used kerosene in the big tank as he could get that pretty easy. Start it on gas, (like a John Deere) and switch over to kerosene after warm-up. Dad was 4F but he worked at "the bomber plant" so we had lots of money 'cause he made 42 cents an hour at the end of the war. Tires were just impossible to get. Dad bought the Model A, which didn't run because it had really good tires on it. Sold both his and Mom's Auburns at the start of the war. Dad ran a garage when the plant was closed so he could fix anything. I started out handing him tools and Mom always said she had more trouble getting the grease out of my diapers than the poop.
VJ night Dad got drunk and slept all night in the yard. Big celebration. Someone came up with 2 cases of Olympia which was just not available in Oklahoma.
The Good Ole Days.

[Pitchy]

Very cool guys.
We sure take things for granted nowdays don`t we, i too remember black and white TV.
I remember the folks picked up this film that stuck to the screen and made it color or sort of.
My first road racing set was a figure eight and the cars were about five inch long.
We had a couple ponies when we were young and rode them alot, had one that would run away with ya and shy of everything so hitting the dirt was not uncommon.
Mumbly peg or stretch was the past time at school at age five or so, that or marbles.

[olyinaz]

When I got off the bus from school I had the choice of the long walk up our drive or the shorter walk up the drive to the farmer on the other side of the road. They were an old Swiss couple, the Schlappes, and they had electricity (Rural Electrification Program don't cha know) but no running water. They did have a hand pump right in the kitchen that Adolph installed for Julia many years ago though! I loved pumping it and listening to that pure, cool and delicious well water come up the pipe from the cistern over in the horse pasture.

Adolph and I would play checkers and dominoes and sometimes he'd take an emphysema treatment while doing so - he smoked his whole life and of course for many years no one thought that was a bad thing, but by the time I was a kid we all knew we'd been snookered by the tobacco companies. He would teach me whittling and knot tying skills and sometimes we'd ride his big Minneapolis Moline tractor up over the hill to some good gooseberry picking thickets and bring back baskets of gooseberries for Julia to make into delicious jam that she would give to us for the holidays.

They both passed away in the 1970s and I always think of them with great fondness.

This photo taken at the Bern Minnesota Swiss Fest, summer 1970:



Cheers,
Oly

[.45colt]

October......when I was 12 the Farm where I grew up next to had fifty acres of field corn.loaded with blackbirds. Old Walter looks at Me and says We need Your help. Those birds are wrecking that crop and We need You to chase them out. He hands Me a single shot .410 and a box of remington 2-1/2" shells and says go to work. shoot at one end and they would fly to the other.
I was walking on air every weekend. My Mom and Dad didn't know what to say,those Farmers put alot of Faith in a Young Kid.

[Nath]

One of my fondest memories was when we made the annual trip through the Austrian Alps to north Italy and stayed with old family friends. Sometimes in winter and sometimes in summer.

The old couples celler smelled divine with the home made salami's and unsalted butter from their cow. Had pigs too. The old chap was a carpenter and his workshop was beautiful! Stacks of small fire wood stacked as if it was art!

I remember the snow blowing under the door, the ole' lady firing the cook stove, she would cook beautiful meals on it regulating the heat with differing sizes of sticks.

The whole house panelled in pine boards and the main room having a huge brick wood burner in the middle.

I remember feeling frozen but so alive. One day I want to return to Glurns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glurns_Stadt_01.jpg

N.

[Birdman]

Give this a few days and it may be the longest post on record. Mom used to slice taters, (some call them potatos) in the sink next to the stairs leading up stairs where me, my brother, and sister slept. I would stand on the steps next to the sink and talk to Mom and she'd give me slices of raw taters. I'm 53 and I always carry raw taters with me and eat them like most folks eat an apple. She and my wife are the two finest ladies God ever created.

[Griff]

Tobacco drying, wet horses, cows and mules... leather tack, wet cotton in the field, wood smoke, fresh baked bread, pies coolin' in the window, gasoline from a flooded engine, burnt gunpowder, chlorine, and a host of other things, like the well at my aunt & uncle's place, the pump in the back porch of another uncle, dirt roads (luckily I live on one, and can experience the thrill of driving one every time I come home); but the list is long, and stories are just as, if not longer that are associated with 'em!

[Pitchy]

One time when a buddy and i were about 12 we used too drive a 48 Chevy truck around here on the dirt roads, think that was the year.
One day it quit far from home, the fuel pump gave out, so i sat on the top of one of those big round fenders with the hood folded up on that side and choked it as we drove it home.

Another time we were riding double on a honda 50 with a knobby tire and bigger rear sprocket in the winter .
We went to a lake nearby, the ice was clear and only about four inch thick.
We walked out on it in about five feet of water and came across a big snapping turtle laying on the bottom.
The crazy kids we were we cut a hole in the ice with our knives, then we tied a rope on a stick and lowered it down in front of its mouth.
The snapper grabbed it and wouldn`t let go and we hoisted him out and up on the ice.
We tied that rope on back of that bike hopped on and dragged that turtle home to my buddys house, he slid along on the snow covered road like a sled never letting go of that rope.
My buddys father dressed him out and ate it.

Another thing i`ll always remember, we would tie a car hood on a long roap and pull it behind a car down the back roads.
We would really get to going and on the corners we could fly way up on the plowed banks.

[walks with gun]

Bringing a cased shotgun on the bus and leaving in the office at school so you could go hunting with your buddies after school or over the the weekend, and I remember the days when everyone over the age of 6 carried a pocket knife, all day, everyday, and it wasn't considerd a weapon, or maybe you had issues cause you carried a two or three bladed Barlow or old timer assault knife. Your grandmas house sound just like mine.

[Sixgun]

Old memories are just that...old memories. Yes, it was a more simple and honest time, but the old saying still works, "These trying times will be the good 'ole days in the future".

The human mind forgets the bad and remembers the happy and good. If it was not for the Military History Channel, history books and the Jews, Hitler and Stalin would be great people. (my mother, born and raised in Nazi Germany told us the German people thought Hitler the the greatest thing........ever)...yea, I know we all know better now.

I was somewhat privileged for being the son of a factory worker. Always warm in the winter, cool in the summer, a belly full of food, and the coolest bike amongst my friends. We had about anything we needed and most of what we wanted. I was taught that hard work will get you whatever you wanted and to that I will lay claim to the fact I have been employed for 48 years or since I was 10. My mom and dad were great people, so great that I, being the youngest, was spoiled with gifts even on my brother and sister's birthdays.

The memories of scouting were my greatest---camping, shooting and learning the ways of the woods. Watching Westerns and learning the old guns of which I HAD to have. (and shoot, and take apart, and compete, and wheel and deal with ) Hunting in the camp upstate with my dad and his buddies, most of which were WW 1 and 2 vets. Being in the "2:30 club" at school got me lots more time in the local hunting fields and later, playing with the girls and muscle cars.

Then I turned 18, got a real job and got married. Can't remember nothin' since the summer of '72. ------------------------Sixgun

[C. Cash]

Griff hit a big common denominator among all us.....the smell of burned gunpowder. The smell of Winchester hulls coming out of a single or double shotgun......

[Ironwood]

As I read the post y'all made I was flooded with memories of my childhood. Thanks for bringing back some memories I haven't thought of in a long time.

[walks with gun]

I miss being able to carry a rifle every where I went, Locals didn't care if a kid crossed through there property on the way to a friends house and there parents didn't freak out if you unloaded your 22 and left it there while you were visiting. I suppose a 12 or 13 year old would be in a heck of alot of trouble walking down a county road with a .22 now-days. And if I were'nt getting this larger middrift I would miss the piles of homemade cookies my grandma never seemed to run out of,guess what gramma, I'm not skinny as a rail anymore.

[Lastmohecken]

I remember the first time I took my dad's old 12ga singlebarrel shotgun rabbit hunting. I had been hunting with a .22 singleshot bolt action for a couple of years and decided I wanted to be able to kill a rabbit on the run if needed, but I didn't much like the idea of getting kicked by that old Hoptkin and Allen singlebarrel breakaction, but I wanted give it a try. I headed down an old brushy log road, and sure enough up jumps a rabbit and I let go with a round just as the rabbit straightened out his run. I rolled him over and broke the old singlebarrel open and pulled out the old paper hull and smelt the smoke of burnt powder as it rolled out of the chamber. It smelt like__________ well you know VICTORY!

And I was hooked.

[hightime]

Aah it takes me back when I would wake and run to the high deff. My little brother beat me to the Play Station. We'd spent the whole day there just me and my brother while mom and dad went to work.

Owen

I could cry.

[Old Time Hunter]

Too many things have passed under the bridge for me to list all the items that trigger "good" memories, but one always seems to come back in a rush as powerful as a river running over a cliff.

The sounds of a morning dove cooing and the rustling of the leaves on the forest trees through the screened windows while the first light of the early sun, flittering from the movement of the foliage, through the open cracks of the shades on the windows. Then the slap of the spring loaded door on the outhouse as Grandpa did his morning constitutional that would make me roll over with my nose to the bedroom door to ingest the smells of Grandma cooking breakfast on the wood stove.

Just one of thousands, I guess.