Reminiscing going back to the 1930s.

M

Maywalk

Maywalk
Location
Leicestershire UK
When looking back I realise what a full life I have had and when I finally got home after being in the so called Sisters-of-Mercy home I was allowed out with my brother in charge of me to play with other children. I was overawed with how the children were playing together because it had not been allowed in the home.
I learnt how to skip, play with two balls against a wall and even managing to play with three.
We played Marbles, Hopscotch, Snobs, Knocking down Ginger, Fagcards and many more outdoor games which not only kept us out of mischief but tired us out too.
It was Cats Cradle or making hats, ships and zeppelins out of newspapers if it was raining. We were only allowed one sheet of the newspaper BUT that was only after we had cut the rest up into fair sized squares to go on the string in the outside loos.
We had homemade scooters and trollies and if lucky a pair of skates.
Neighbours would be on the lookout in case any child hurt themselves but if we did it was our own fault and no talk then of making claims to councils or anywhere else.
One of the highlights of those days way back in the 1930s was when the Barrel Organ man came round playing his music for anyone to put a penny in his hat and it was great for the kids because they could dance to their hearts content.
All lovely memories that pop back in my mind every so often.The young ones of today dont know what they have missed.

Just before my 7th birthday I remember being given a flag like many more youngsters and waving it about as we sang because it was the coronation of George VI and his Elizabeth as king and queen of the United Kingdom on 12 May 1937.
This was the first year I went hop picking and I loved it.
 

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Gaer said:
@Maywalk, This writing was WONDERFUL!
@Lewkat, I would love to read more stories from YOU about your young years and teen years!
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I'll try to expound some later about my young years, Gaer. They were much like Maywalk's to a certain extent. She, grew up in a different country and different circumstances, but as kids, we more or less played similar games, went to school, listened to our elders with respect and tried to enjoy life. It was the Depression, so it was tougher on some and with war looming in Europe, as we became more aware, we became a tad wary on our side of the pond. England was downright frightened and rightfully so.
 
@Maywalk amazing story you've written there. Is it fictional or actually your childhood? If this is your real life story then you must be up there in years! When did you first get a computer and start writing, and what do you think of technology now. Do you use the internet much?

Thanks for a reply if you see this and choose to respond!
 
CigarSmoker57 said:
@Maywalk amazing story you've written there. Is it fictional or actually your childhood? If this is your real life story then you must be up there in years! When did you first get a computer and start writing, and what do you think of technology now. Do you use the internet much?

Thanks for a reply if you see this and choose to respond!
Click to expand...
Hey @CigarSmoker57, it appears you are new. Welcome!
 
Like some others here I wasn't born yet, but my parents married in the '30s. So what I know about those days was from stories they told me. My parents got married at 16yrs old in 1930. They had my older brother in 1932. My Dad's mother hated my Mom because my Grandmother depended on his pay since he was 13 yrs old and made him drop out of school to get a job. After many years they had my sister and then me in the late 1940's.
 
Going to the shore every summer. Going to the NY World's Fair in 1939. Listening to the radio playing big band music. Preparing for war even though no European planes could reach us then. Walking to school in all kinds of weather. No snow days for city kids. Playing stick ball in the middle of the street. Too few cars to worry about back then. Swinging on vines out to the middle of the river and never letting go. So many memories and we had a great time.
 
CigarSmoker57 said:
@Maywalk amazing story you've written there. Is it fictional or actually your childhood? If this is your real life story then you must be up there in years! When did you first get a computer and start writing, and what do you think of technology now. Do you use the internet much?

Thanks for a reply if you see this and choose to respond!
Click to expand...
In the event that Maywalk doesn't see this, since I know her, she did live this childhood. She is 92 years old and has a memory like no other. I'll tell her to have a look at your comment.
 
Lewkat said:
Going to the shore every summer. Going to the NY World's Fair in 1939. Listening to the radio playing big band music. Preparing for war even though no European planes could reach us then. Walking to school in all kinds of weather. No snow days for city kids. Playing stick ball in the middle of the street. Too few cars to worry about back then. Swinging on vines out to the middle of the river and never letting go. So many memories and we had a great time.
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I LOVE THIS! Please tell us MORE!
 
I'm a boomer, so when I think of the '30s as I am wont to do, the only references I have are what I've read in history books or seen in movies. I think of the Great Depression, fascism taking hold in Europe, and blues music being the "pop music" of the day here in the U.S. There was also the folk music revival.

Most people living in the U.S. during the '30s probably didn't give a second thought to what was going on in Europe at the time — especially people out of work or driven off their farms by the Dust Bowl. When someone has lost it all, they're primarily concerned with getting something to eat and finding a place to sleep.

After reading @Maywalk's post, people seemed to have found pleasure in the simpler things in life. While times were tough in many ways, since their options were so limited, they had to make the most of what they had. Perhaps today we have too many options, which is why we're never satisfied.
 
Lewkat said:
In the event that Maywalk doesn't see this, since I know her, she did live this childhood. She is 92 years old and has a memory like no other. I'll tell her to have a look at your comment.
Click to expand...
I spoke with Maywalk. It seems she can begin a thread but her computer will no allow her to reply to comments. Something wrong with the machine. At any rate, she thanks all for comments and responses and hopes to get back on board soon.

I guess you know how she feels about the internet right about now, CigarSmoker.
 
@Lewkat, If you don't mind answering, what were your favorite programs on the radio?
your favorite newscasters?
I know you were a child but how did you FEEL about Pearl Harbor?
How did the war affect you?
How did you FEEL about the bombing of Hiroshima? Did you feel sad for the people of Japan?
Do you think people now are more sad, as a whole?
Did you do the Lindy? Did you wear petticoats?

Sorry to keep asking questions. This is so fascinating. Thanks.
 
I had just gone out to play after Sunday dinner, when my father came out to call me inside at once. Of course I balked at that and asked why. He said we were at war. Well, we lived in NJ and I looked all around and asked what war? He told me the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. This 8 yr. old never heard of the place and when I asked him where that was, he told me. My response? "So what, that's a foreign country." I was about to get a lesson in Geography and territories that I never forgot. Family and friends were going off to war in droves, but by and large, it was only the propaganda that affected us kids. We had no idea what Maywalk and her peers were going through at first, but the news was always on and papers were delivered at least twice a day. It was discussed in our classrooms at great length and then the Gold Stars began appearing in neighbors windows. That was as the war progressed and we grew.
Pearl Harbor at first was just a nuisance as it took away my precious play time.

As for Hiroshima, I was relieved that the war was over and still too young to really feel anything about the Japanese people. The abomination of what the atomic bomb hath wrought never even entered my mind at that time.

We wore petticoats of course, we curtsied to our elders and grew up to do the Lindy or Jitterbug as we called it. We were dancing fools Gaer and had the pleasure of the swing of big bands evolving into the early rock years. My very early years were listening to classical music more than anything, but the big band era came shortly after.

We listened to Murrow, Collingswood, Severeid and Shirer, all reporting from the European Front.

I think today's people are less sad than angry. Easily offended and spoiling for a fight over the most juvenile things imaginable. It seems to be in our DNA, that humanity simply cannot exist without fighting and war mongering. Sad to say. There too, as in the past so much greed and corruption abound and we are very jaded.

One of my favorite poems by Shelley, is The Smile of Heaven and one of my sustaining lines from it is; The whispering waves were half asleep/the clouds gone to play/And on the woods and on the deep/the smile of Heaven lay. Those word have many meanings and I wish the world would ponder them closely.
 
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing with us. My mom is 94. My Dad would have been 97...and my step-father would have been 102. Love these stories!

My father and step-father both served in WWII. Heard a lot of stories. Those folks truly were the Greatest Generation.

About 20 years ago, I was going to a Jersey diner. Someone had left their car trunk open. I went over to the manager to ask him to announce it, but a WWII vet beat me. Those guys met at that diner regularly. Just a different breed. Conscience, morality, goodness, always trying to help and do the right thing. Never complaining, never asking for recognition. You just do right, because that is what you are supposed to do. Period.
 
Lewkat said:
I had just gone out to play after Sunday dinner, when my father came out to call me inside at once. Of course I balked at that and asked why. He said we were at war. Well, we lived in NJ and I looked all around and asked what war? He told me the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. This 8 yr. old never heard of the place and when I asked him where that was, he told me. My response? "So what, that's a foreign country." I was about to get a lesson in Geography and territories that I never forgot. Family and friends were going off to war in droves, but by and large, it was only the propaganda that affected us kids. We had no idea what Maywalk and her peers were going through at first, but the news was always on and papers were delivered at least twice a day. It was discussed in our classrooms at great length and then the Gold Stars began appearing in neighbors windows. That was as the war progressed and we grew.
Pearl Harbor at first was just a nuisance as it took away my precious play time.

As for Hiroshima, I was relieved that the war was over and still too young to really feel anything about the Japanese people. The abomination of what the atomic bomb hath wrought never even entered my mind at that time.

We wore petticoats of course, we curtsied to our elders and grew up to do the Lindy or Jitterbug as we called it. We were dancing fools Gaer and had the pleasure of the swing of big bands evolving into the early rock years. My very early years were listening to classical music more than anything, but the big band era came shortly after.

We listened to Murrow, Collingswood, Severeid and Shirer, all reporting from the European Front.

I think today's people are less sad than angry. Easily offended and spoiling for a fight over the most juvenile things imaginable. It seems to be in our DNA, that humanity simply cannot exist without fighting and war mongering. Sad to say. There too, as in the past so much greed and corruption abound and we are very jaded.

One of my favorite poems by Shelley, is The Smile of Heaven and one of my sustaining lines from it is; The whispering waves were half asleep/the clouds gone to play/And on the woods and on the deep/the smile of Heaven lay. Those word have many meanings and I wish the world would ponder them closely.
Click to expand...

This is really an insight, Thank you for sharing this information. I appreciate it. What can you tell us about seeing technology changing, When did you first see a TV for example, or a phone, I remember growing up we only had the old rotary phones. Then came the dialers ones and then the cell phones. Did you get a computer recently, or start writing on typewriters? What do you think of the technology now, do you use a cell phone or use a computer? Thanks for these replies if you chose to reply
-CigarSmoker57
 
Lewkat said:
I had just gone out to play after Sunday dinner, when my father came out to call me inside at once. Of course I balked at that and asked why. He said we were at war. Well, we lived in NJ and I looked all around and asked what war? He told me the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. This 8 yr. old never heard of the place and when I asked him where that was, he told me. My response? "So what, that's a foreign country." I was about to get a lesson in Geography and territories that I never forgot. Family and friends were going off to war in droves, but by and large, it was only the propaganda that affected us kids. We had no idea what Maywalk and her peers were going through at first, but the news was always on and papers were delivered at least twice a day. It was discussed in our classrooms at great length and then the Gold Stars began appearing in neighbors windows. That was as the war progressed and we grew.
Pearl Harbor at first was just a nuisance as it took away my precious play time.

As for Hiroshima, I was relieved that the war was over and still too young to really feel anything about the Japanese people. The abomination of what the atomic bomb hath wrought never even entered my mind at that time.

We wore petticoats of course, we curtsied to our elders and grew up to do the Lindy or Jitterbug as we called it. We were dancing fools Gaer and had the pleasure of the swing of big bands evolving into the early rock years. My very early years were listening to classical music more than anything, but the big band era came shortly after.

We listened to Murrow, Collingswood, Severeid and Shirer, all reporting from the European Front.

I think today's people are less sad than angry. Easily offended and spoiling for a fight over the most juvenile things imaginable. It seems to be in our DNA, that humanity simply cannot exist without fighting and war mongering. Sad to say. There too, as in the past so much greed and corruption abound and we are very jaded.

One of my favorite poems by Shelley, is The Smile of Heaven and one of my sustaining lines from it is; The whispering waves were half asleep/the clouds gone to play/And on the woods and on the deep/the smile of Heaven lay. Those word have many meanings and I wish the world would ponder them closely.
Click to expand...
Oh, THANK YOU! This is tremendous! This was so kind of you to answer!
 
I also remember when I was 4 yrs. old watching the Hindenburg fly over our part of NJ as it left NY en route that fateful day in 1937. It sticks in my mind as it was low and huge and I'd not seen one that close earlier.

The following year we had the mother of all hurricanes and while we did not bear the brunt of it, we had winds about 60 to 70mph which were gale force. But, it made landfall at Bellport, L.I. and barreled up into New Haven and all the way to Montreal at an unheard of 69mph. It packed winds up to 187mph and caused such mass destruction the likes we'd never seen. Napatree Point in R.I. which had about 40 very sturdy houses on it was completely wiped out. R.I. and Connecticut suffered so much devastation and no one had seen this thing coming. As a matter of fact, everyone was paying attention to the Nazis marching into Czechoslovakia at that time, so everyone was totally unprepared. They weren't named in those days. Death rate was tremendous.

When the NY World's Fair opened in 1939, there was a more festive air about all of us and we were to see what our industrial future held for us throughout the world. I saw TV for the first time there and couldn't figure out how that worked. I still can't.
 
CigarSmoker57 said:
This is really an insight, Thank you for sharing this information. I appreciate it. What can you tell us about seeing technology changing, When did you first see a TV for example, or a phone, I remember growing up we only had the old rotary phones. Then came the dialers ones and then the cell phones. Did you get a computer recently, or start writing on typewriters? What do you think of the technology now, do you use a cell phone or use a computer? Thanks for these replies if you chose to reply
-CigarSmoker57
Click to expand...
I just stated on my response to Gaer's questions as well, that I first saw T.V. at the 1939 NY World's Fair. FDR was addressing the audience about the medium and it was done live. Now, I was all of 6 yrs of age and I drove my father nuts asking how this worked. I still cannot figure it out, but I remember the quality of the picture compared to today's TV was very poor. Of course I watched all these develop over the years and more or less have taken it in my stride. When I was a child, I could pick up the phone's receive and a voice (the operator) would come on and ask, "Number please." You'd tell her and next thing you knew the phone at the other end was ringing. Long distance calls were not so hot back then, but came along rapidly once the transatlantic cable had been completed. My son was born in 1966 and today is an IT expert. He has his own business, so mom here has benefited greatly from seeing he was educated. I use a smart phone exclusively these days, have desk top pc, tablet and lap top. I do not have a smart watch as they are too huge for my thin wrists. A friend of mine even has a keyboard she can call up on her desk, arm or wherever when she wishes. I refuse to have an Alexa or the like as I feel I have to whisper in someone's house where there is one. Bad enough Google follows us wherever we go with our many devices. Technology in my field of nursing and all of medicine has been a God send though, CS, and we've made great strides as a result. My take on it all, is, for the most part, I have so many conveniences with remotes and apps, that I've become downright lazy. For some technology can be your best friend or worst enemy.
 
Maywalk, thanks for your post. I was not born until 1950, but many of the things you wrote about were still true then. I vaguely remember the coronation of our present queen and all the children were given a presentation box of sweets.
 
It’s all true Cigar Smoker 57. If you go to the Diaries section you will see the chapters of the book I wrote about the first 20 years of my life that takes in the 1930/40s years including being machine gunned and bombed out twice.
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