Remembering What it was Like to be a Kid Again

Games and Toys and Treats and Good Fun

Fannie had a chance to read a new book on the AncestorStuff.com website. It's entitled, Now, When I Was A Kid..." by Dan McGuire.

Dan McGuire grew up in Chicago, in the "good old days".  Cook County had many neighborhoods.  But, most of the kids played the same games, sang the same songs, watched the same television shows and ate the same candy, no matter what neighborhood they lived in.

Cops and Robbers, Kick the Can, Statue Maker, etc. are just some of the games played in the areas where families lived on tree-lined streets.  Comic Books were bought with earned allowance money, and traded between friends.  Some kids had roller skates, others had bikes and some even had scooters. Nothing seemed to stop anyone from trading their favorite ride for a chance to try the wares of the other kids.  That's how things were back then, in the good old days.

Mr. McGuire lists all the great things that kids and families did way back before the technology of today took over our lives.  People talked to each other.  They used land line telephones.  They walked over to each other's home to have a chat.  Nothing like today.  And, Fannie loved reading about it all.

What life was like back then seemed to be so much fun, and much less stressful than what life is like today.  Riding trolley cars, driving to the Drive-In outdoor movies, Movie matinees with free gifts...it all sounds wonderful.  In the winter, there were snow angels to make and people brought their used real Christmas trees to an area where they were burned in a bonfire, complete with parents carefully watching the children, and serving hot cocoa.

Paperboys rode their bicycles to deliver newspapers...what a great job to have!  Graduating from a tricycle to a bicycle was big news in the family.

And then there were the Kiddie Parks.  Oh, yes, all the rides were so exciting.

Now, When I Was A Kid, by Dan McGuire, 2008, Back When Books

The time between the 1930s and the 1950s was the era of streetcars rides, porch sitting and long play days.  The country came out of a Great Depression and embraced the Baby Boom.  Housing starts outside of big cities escalated. Tree-lined streets with pretty little houses, each with a garden of flowers and or vegetables seemed to dot the land just outside of the bustling city limits.  Starry night gazing from the backyard was safe and fun.  And kids were sheltered from any bad stuff, enabling them to enjoy just being kids.

Fannie so loved this book.  She plans to make a list of all the neat things that Dan McGuire mentioned in his book.  This year, when school lets out, she plans to check each activity off her list as she experiences each and every fun activity.  If you read Dan's book, I bet you will too.

AncestorStuff.com heartily recommends this book for anyone of any age.  What a great book for a grandparent to share with their grandchildren.  It will start conversations that may never end.  And, isn't that exactly what we need right now?  Fannie thinks so. She awards this book with Three Paws Up and Three Woofs