Surviving Childhood

Program from May 11, 2021
“Lesson Learned: Remember Surviving Our Childhood”
by Dorothy Cook

First of all, a big "thank you" to all the childhood survivors who shared their memories to make today's program possible.

There were a few commonalities that emerged, and the first one was staying out all day, or late in the evening UNSUPERVISED.  Judy remembers walking to her friend's house alone. Shirley walked home at night from the park. Marian rode her bike with friends to a creek, ending up very muddy. Sam went on all day bike rides with friends. Connie and her brother spent summer days at the pool and afternoons doing activities at the park. Nancy B. played outside and only went home when a whistle blew AND THEY ALL SURVIVED.

Another memory that many of us shared is doing things that today would be banned or regulated as being "too dangerous".  Gwen rode in the back of a pick-up truck with, no seat belts. Marilyn K. remembers raking leaves into a pile in the street and lighting a bonfire. Erica had archery class in gym using real arrows. Wendy enjoyed dancing in the spray from a mosquito fogging truck and pretended she was dancing in the clouds. Barb Cooley had a toy that required a child to pour liquid chemicals onto a metal plate heated to 390 degrees and produced plastic bugs (she also sold Girl Scout cookies, in a local bar). Shirley played a game called Mumblety Peg, using her Girl Scout knife . Marilyn B. drove a tractor on the family farm, before she was in the 5th grade.  AND THEY ALL SURVIVED.

And the third memory a lot of us shared were games and activities that would have most of today's kids scratching their heads in confusion. catching lightning bugs in a jar, eating candy cigarettes. playing with cap guns. drinking from the garden hose, balancing on a 55 gallon barrel for "barrel races".  AND THEY ALL SURVIVED.

Before Stacey Heimkes shares some photo slides from “the good old days”, I'd like to share one of my favorite memories from Marilyn B. It seems she was the victim of a vicious bovine attack at the age of 5 or 6. Her father asked her to accompany the milk cows into the barn for milking and she unknowingly came too close to a newborn calf. And that's when the attack occurred. She was head-butted and run over; but emerged unscathed. To this day, Marilyn remains on the constant lookout for newborn calves!  AND SHE SURVIVED.

So here we are, gathered today, all of us having survived our youth. And I wonder - were our childhoods filled with more freedom, more wonder, more self-reliance and more imagination than generations that followed? I like to think so! I want thank Stacey for sharing her screen and allowing us to remember some activities, games and toys from our childhood. While the photo’s play in silence, our minds can scream “I had that toy!” or “I played that game!” or “I participated in that activity!” and “I survived”!

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTO’S SHOWN, WHILE TEXT ABOVE WAS READ. Chapter EZ Sisters shared additional Memories, after slide show.

DID WE SURVIVE?! 🤔🙄🥴😵😲