# Remembering things with fondness from days gone by



## hollydolly (Jan 5, 2019)

*What do you remember fondly  from your younger days that are no longer in existence  or have changed beyond recognition?  ( people aside) 
*
Although these were largely phased out when I was a child, I remember these old cage Lifts( elevators) with great fondness. 

The fun of riding one of these in the department store with the lift man taking us for a ride up to what seemed to us kids as heaven or down to the deep dark basement was a joy to us on the odd occasion we got the chance.. .

I remember some were really luxurious, with seating inside too...


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## jujube (Jan 5, 2019)

I loved the glass-fronted elevators one of the downtown large department stores had.  You could see all the floors flashing by and the elevator mechanisms.  They were the first self-operated large elevators in town and for the first couple of years, the store had to keep an elevator operator in each car to reassure the older shoppers that they were safe.  It was probably the easiest job in town, because all they did was stand back in the corner until someone freaked out about the buttons.


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## Aunt Bea (Jan 5, 2019)

Growing up on my grandmother's small farm.

From my vantage point as a little kid, it was perfect.  I was too young to see all of the work and worry associated with the farm way of life.


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## hollydolly (Jan 5, 2019)

Another thing I miss is Steam  Trains with corridors and compartments....


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## Pappy (Jan 5, 2019)

I miss the old homestead. It was in the country, on a large hill that overlooked the valley where our small town was. On foggy mornings, we were in the sun and the valley was filled with fog. Fresh air and good cold spring water.


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## hollydolly (Jan 5, 2019)

Pappy said:


> I miss the old homestead. It was in the country, on a large hill that overlooked the valley where our small town was. On foggy mornings, we were in the sun and the valley was filled with fog. Fresh air and good cold spring water.



Sounds a lot like my daughter's place in Spain, Pappy.... A little piece of heaven


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jan 5, 2019)

I remember those elevators. We had one in a bank my mom used. I remember getting off and running to the window to look out over the town. I thought I was so high but in reality I was only about 4 floors up.
 I miss the sound the radiators made as the heat came up after my Dad shoveled in the coal. The sound comforted me.I felt warm and safe. When I came home from school in the winter my Mom would put my bunny slippers on top of the radiator so they would be nice and warm. Back then kids actually walked to school and those rubber boots weren't very warm.
Watching my Grandma make jelly and melting wax to pour over the jelly to seal them.


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## hollydolly (Jan 5, 2019)

Lovely memories for you Ruth 

...talking of jelly  ( jello to you)...   reminded me that my grandmother had no fridge, and she made jelly all the time, and to set it, she would run about 2 inches of  cold water in her bath, and sit the bowl in there. It always set like rubber..


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jan 5, 2019)

So funny Holly. I was talking about jelly made from fruit you use as a spread on bread but you reminded me of a funny thing my Grandma did with jello,the one you are referring to. She thought since jello tasted so good maybe it would make a nice cold drink on a hot summers day. She filled old soda bottles with it and stuck the bottles in the ice box. Of course when it came time for the nice cool drink it had jelled in the bottles and wouldn't come out. She never lived that one down.


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## ClassicRockr (Jan 5, 2019)

I remember my old farming days as well. I'm darn glad I stopped doing it when I joined the Navy, but it was interesting and definitely...……...WORK!


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## RadishRose (Jan 5, 2019)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> So funny Holly. I was talking about jelly made from fruit you use as a spread on bread but you reminded me of a funny thing my Grandma did with jello,the one you are referring to. She thought since jello tasted so good maybe it would make a nice cold drink on a hot summers day. She filled old soda bottles with it and stuck the bottles in the ice box. Of course when it came time for the nice cool drink it had jelled in the bottles and wouldn't come out. She never lived that one down.



Early Jell-o shot development.


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## RadishRose (Jan 5, 2019)

Clotheslines.


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## hollydolly (Jan 5, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> Clotheslines.



Most people here still have clothes lines RR... Mine is an extendible one that reels out from the wall when I need it . I use my dryer all the time, but the clothes line is a boon when I want to dry Duvet's and pillows, or rugs


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## Butterfly (Jan 6, 2019)

hollydolly said:


> Most people here still have clothes lines RR... Mine is an extendible one that reels out from the wall when I need it . I use my dryer all the time, but the clothes line is a boon when I want to dry Duvet's and pillows, or rugs



I still have a clothes line, too.  There are some things I don't want to put in the dryer.  Using the clothes line always reminds me of my mother.  There's something comforting about clothes flapping in the sun and breezes.


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## hollydolly (Jan 6, 2019)

Butterfly said:


> I still have a clothes line, too.  There are some things I don't want to put in the dryer.  Using the clothes line always reminds me of my mother.  There's something comforting about clothes flapping in the sun and breezes.



I agree with you Butterfly...on a sunny day there's something very comforting about seeing sheets drying on the line in the sun.


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## Capt Lightning (Jan 9, 2019)

I think every house here has a washing line.  Some older houses have communal 'drying greens' - an area with lines for common use. 

I miss (although some still exist) the good old hardware shops where you could buy things in the quantity you wanted - not boxed or 'bubble packed'.


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## Ken N Tx (Jan 9, 2019)

Butterfly said:


> I still have a clothes line, too.  There are some things I don't want to put in the dryer.  Using the clothes line always reminds me of my mother.  There's something comforting about clothes flapping in the sun and breezes.





hollydolly said:


> I agree with you Butterfly...on a sunny day there's something very comforting about seeing sheets drying on the line in the sun.


Ditto..We have one.


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## hollydolly (Jan 9, 2019)

Capt Lightning said:


> I think every house here has a washing line.  Some older houses have communal 'drying greens' - an area with lines for common use.
> 
> *I miss (although some still exist) the good old hardware shops where you could buy things in the quantity you wanted - not boxed or 'bubble packed'.*



We have 2 within 10 minutes drive of our house...  One is a family business been in the town for about 50 years..


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## Capt Lightning (Jan 11, 2019)

I notice that my local hardware store is up for sale (owner retiring).  This is a farming area and there are plenty of stores to support the farming and building industries.   I can buy most things at a good price, but usually in larger quantities than I want.  There are fewer shops that cater for the casual DIY person who only wants small quantities.


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## hollydolly (Jan 11, 2019)

Capt Lightning said:


> I notice that my local hardware store is up for sale (owner retiring).  This is a farming area and there are plenty of stores to support the farming and building industries.   I can buy most things at a good price, but usually in larger quantities than I want.  There are fewer shops that cater for the casual DIY person who only wants small quantities.



yes we also live in a farming area, but close enough to  a market  town to make things simple for shopping. although much of it is changing rapidly..


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## Lara (Jan 11, 2019)

My grandmother would hand-make everything she sent for Christmas. Cloth dolls, fudge, peanut brittle, afghans, knitted gloves and hats, embroidery on pillowcases, and Maple Syrup from her own trees. She lived in upstate NY. Everything would come delivered in a gigantic box every year. The anticipation was so exciting.


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## Butterfly (Jan 11, 2019)

Dime stores.


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## MeAgain (Jan 21, 2019)

Butterfly said:


> Dime stores.



Now dollar Stores, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, etc,etc etc,


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## RadishRose (Jan 21, 2019)

I miss the dime stores too, also called 5 & 10 cent stores. They had more, even pet fish. They had lunch counters, fresh baked goods, photo-booths, cosmetics  (Evening in Paris and Tangee, lol)-seems like everything was cleaner and neater, as well.


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## CeeCee (Jan 21, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> I miss the dime stores too, also called 5 & 10 cent stores. They had more, even pet fish. They had lunch counters, fresh baked goods, photo-booths, cosmetics  (Evening in Paris and Tangee, lol)-seems like everything was cleaner and neater, as well.




Did yours also have the dyed baby chicks at Easter?  I had a few of those...early 60’s I think.  Then it was banned because it was considered cruelty.


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## RadishRose (Jan 21, 2019)

CeeCee said:


> Did yours also have the dyed baby chicks at Easter?  I had a few of those...early 60’s I think.  Then it was banned because it was considered cruelty.



My goodness, I forgot about those! Yes.


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## Ken N Tx (Jan 21, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> I miss the dime stores too, also called 5 & 10 cent stores. They had more, even pet fish. They had lunch counters, fresh baked goods, photo-booths, cosmetics  (Evening in Paris and Tangee, lol)-seems like everything was cleaner and neater, as well.


I believe five and dime became Kmart..


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## RadishRose (Jan 21, 2019)

Kresge's dime store became KMart, yes.

But there was FW Woolworth and WT Grant and McCrory's. I'm sure more, but those were in my area. It seems they disappeared.


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## Capt Lightning (Jan 21, 2019)

We have a chain of shops called "Nickel and Dime" that sell household goods, greetings cards etc...  They sell cheap goods at expensive prices


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## C'est Moi (Jan 21, 2019)

Capt Lightning said:


> We have a chain of shops called "Nickel and Dime" that sell household goods, greetings cards etc...  They sell cheap goods at expensive prices



Are there actual "nickels and dimes" in Scotland?   (Just curious.  )


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## hollydolly (Jan 21, 2019)

c'est moi said:


> are there actual "nickels and dimes" in scotland?   (just curious.  :d)




no....


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## Furryanimal (Jan 22, 2019)

I miss the meat and potato pies my local butcher used to make.The butchers still exist but they stopped making those pies.Best pies I have ever eaten.


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## hollydolly (Jan 22, 2019)

Furryanimal said:


> I miss the meat and potato pies my local butcher used to make.The butchers still exist but they stopped making those pies.Best pies I have ever eaten.



We're lucky to still have a local butchers' shop. but as most of them have gone from the high streets, I miss them a lot!


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## Ronni (Jan 22, 2019)

hollydolly said:


> I agree with you Butterfly...on a sunny day there's something very comforting about seeing sheets drying on the line in the sun.



It's not just the visual for me...the smell omg the smell!!  Clothes dried in the sun and the breeze have an indefinable fragrance that is heavenly!  Perhaps it's just my recollection of days gone by, when my Mum would dry my sheets that way and I loved crawling into a freshly made bed.  I'd flip the top sheet over my head and just breathe in that scent!


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## RadishRose (Jan 22, 2019)




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