Memories from the '50's

Originally Written in 2014                          

Ah – let’s roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy, days of summer!  Picnics --  sleepovers – swimming – water skiing – camping – sleeping until noon – summer romances – floating down the Apple River – A&W drive-ins (where you’d get a huge frosty mug of rootbeer for only a nickel) -- running through the sprinkler – no air conditioning – lemonade stands – parades – carnivals – doing nothing but lying on the grass and looking at the clouds.  These are just some of the memories I have from the ‘50’s.  I started out the ‘50’s as a first grader and ended the ‘50’s in 10^th grade.  A lot transpired during that timeframe but most of my memories are from Junior High and Senior High.

I remember my best childhood friend, Phyllis, and I spreading out a blanket on the grass in our side yard.  We’d have a picnic packed (usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and pickles. Maybe some fruit of some kind and, of course, a popsicle was always waiting for us in our freezer.)  We’d have our little portable radio tuned to WDGY.  And, of course, we’d bring the latest issues of several teen magazines such as Photoplay, Seventeen, and Movie Screen to read over and over again.  Because we just had to know what Elvis, Tommy Sands, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Ricky Nelson and all of the Mouseketeers (especially Spin and Marty) were doing.

Anyway, after eating our wonderful picnic and going through the magazines, we’d lie down and listen to the Top 40 hits and watch the clouds go by.  Beautiful fluffy white clouds.  We’d try to figure out the shapes of the clouds; such as, a bird or an airplane, an animal or a snake.  It sure wouldn’t take us long before the warm sun, the music, a little breeze, and full stomachs made us very tired and we’d fall asleep.  

Now, this was before sunscreen was invented (we only had Coppertone and, of course, we never thought about putting it on.  We were only going to go on a backyard picnic, after all!)  Poor Phyllis.  She’d wake up with the worse sunburn – probably because she was a blond and had fair skin.  I, on the other hand, woke up with a tan that was the envy of our gang.  

I also have memories about the drive-in movie theater.  The first drive-in my parents took us to was in 1953 in Roseville on Snelling and County Road C, I believe.  It was naturally called the “Rose Drive In.”  We saw “The Robe”starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons.  It was one of the first movies to be filmed in CinemaScope.  I, of course, don’t remember anything about the movie except my brother, sister, playing in the playground prior to the start of the movie and mom popped a lot of popcorn (with butter) for us to eat.  

The speaker hung on the inside of the window and as much as my dad tried to squeeze the window nice and tight, those darn mosquitoes always found their way into our car.  I think mom and dad took us to a few more drive-ins after that; however, the only one I truly remember was The Hub Drive-In in Wyoming, Minnesota where Phyllis and I would double date with our boyfriends, Jack and Don from North St. Paul.  We first met them at the roller rink and for two years, we’d start our summer romance in June and end when school started.  And then, start over the following summer.  We saw quite a few movies about Gidget, Tammy, and Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.   I remember we’d pay $1 a carload on Wednesday nights – what a deal! 

Summer was filled with either roller skating, celebrating the 4^th together, eating at the A&W or going to the drive-in movie or “parking” by the lake watching all the submarines. Ah, the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…… I’ll never forget them.