Life as it was lived then

[shortbow]

One with dynamite-coke with ammonia! What in blazes? Is this what you served a lousy tipper? Wouldn't that get you arrested?

 

[MisterGrey]

Although the book "Billy Bathgate" was written in the 1980s, its author, E.L. Doctorow, has always been a period-detail-stickler. Something that always struck me in that book was a scene where the gangster Abbadabba tells the titular character to buy himself a pair of eyeglass frames from the pawn shop-- he assures him that they'll have pairs there, "plain glass" (what we would today call demo lenses). What kind of places were pawn shops in the 1930s?

 

[MisterGrey]

I read somewhere, or was told, that Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was the movie that definitely put an end to this. Makes sense, when I recall how shocked I was before the picture was even halfway over that first time I saw it in the 70s.

I can confirm the veracity of this, having just watched "The Making of Psycho" on the "Alfred Hitchcock Collection" DVD of "Psycho." There is period footage of Pinkertons standing outside of theaters showing Psycho to enforce Hitchcock's policy of no one entering the auditorium once the feature had begun. This was heavily publicized at the time, functioning as both a publicity campaign and to prevent people from coming in too late and not enjoying the full impact of the shower scene. Hitchcock even did voice work for radio ads in which he informed potential viewers that "NO ONE will be admitted," going on to list such individuals who would be barred from entering late, including the President of the United States and concluding with "not even the Queen of England!" after which there was a brief pause, followed by the addendum, "God bless her!"

 

[Esme]

I always put bread crumbs in my meatloaf, hamburgers, meat balls, etc. I use big crouton size pieces of bread, toasted and seasoned in my meat balls, actually and sometimes in meatloaf, too. That's just the recipe I learned. I thought everyone did it that way! I was born in the late 50's, my mom was almost exactly 18 years older than me, so.... Is that why everyone raves about my meatloaf? Dang, I always think, jeez, people, it' s JUST meatloaf, get over it!

 

[LizzieMaine]

One with dynamite-coke with ammonia! What in blazes? Is this what you served a lousy tipper? Wouldn't that get you arrested?

Coca-Cola with *aromatic spirits of ammonia,* which isn't the same thing as the stuff in the bottle under your kitchen sink. You'd put maybe three drops of the stuff in a six-ounce glass of Coke, and the result would be a highly-stimulating beverage that its users swore gave them energy they didn't even know they had. It was basically the Red Bull of the thirties.

 

[shortbow]

Thanks Lizzie. Had me scratching my head. Now I want to try one.

 

[Nathan Dodge]

Heh, my maternal grandfather wore his wedding ring, his Masonic ring, and I want to say maybe a class ring (not all at once on the same hand!) and this was not uncommon in Philadelphia, at least among the "ethnic" population of Jews and Italians. That's leaving aside wristwatches and necklaces with religious medallions and stuff on them as well.

Plenty of old, well-dressed men (the kind who are eighty and wear fedoras and suits to go to the corner store) still wear sometimes several pieces of jewelry at once, as in wedding ring, one extra pinky ring, watch, chain. More than that is considered gaudy. lol

I was especially fond, as a small child, of old men who'd sit out by the pool in summer wearing swim trunks, sandals, and a big honkin' gold chain with a pendent nestled in their white chest hair.

My great-grandfather--a farmer-- who died in 1946, wore a gold signet ring which was given to my grandfather, who wore it for sixty years. He died in 2007 and now I have wear the signet ring. When I got it, it hadn't been cleaned in...ever! It's color was like that of an old penny! I'd never seen gold get that way before. I replaced a missing diamond in it, had it cleaned, resized and have worn it for over a year now. It's my most prized posession, and a ring I admired as a child. The ring dates back to probably the twenties and wasn't even stamped to indicate that it was gold! A jeweler tested it and confirmed that the it was, in fact, 10 karat gold.

 

[jayem]

We've always, ever since I was little, have made hamburgers mixing in bread crumbs and Worcestershire sauce. Same with meatloaf.

I don't know if this is a vintage practice or maybe just thrifty, but my family will keep old glass containers from food, peel off the labels, and use them to store nails or other foods or anything really.

We still can fruits and veggies, or just freeze them to use them in soup during the winter months. I grew up shucking corn thanks to my mom being a supporter of local farmers markets and driving the 2 hours just to buy from them.

I picked up some interesting vintage living habits from cleaning out this one woman's house. She had the house built for her and her husband in 1938 and lived in it since. She was born in, I think, 1913. Anyways, I noticed she had arsenic in her basement. I think it was used to kill rats back then. Also, winter/summer clothing was hauled down to the basement at the end of the season to be stored and to make room for the next seasons clothing. She also kept all her old tins and glass bottles from like Saltines and Jiff peanut butter to store things in, as well. Magazines were kept like they were books. I think she owned every copy of National Geographic starting from 1940 downward. Another thing is they kept EVERY SINGLE Christmas/Birthday/Whatever card starting from their weddings cards in 1937. They strung the cards on a piece of ribbon to be, I think, hung up at the time of the event. I don't know if this was a common practice or not.

 

[Bill Taylor]

During the 1930s, many households did not have a telephone. I remember quite a few people who did not have a phone. And never, except in the direst of emergencies, did you make a long distance call. I kind of think it was sort of in bad taste to make a long distance telephone call. It just wasn't done. If you wanted to contact someone, a letter was written, or a telegram sent. I recall in the late 30s and especially during the war in the 40s, my mother took us to our grandfathers place about 50 miles away at least once a month, and she always wrote in advance when we would be coming. Never telephoned. Also, from 1942 and on during the war, you could not get a new telephone installed unless defense need could be proved. Sometimes, if there was a telephone in a vacated house, all sorts of things were done by those moving in to keep the phone already installed. Usually, if not always, unsucessfully. It was one of the prices paid for the war effort.

Also, during those days, most, if not all houses only had one telephone. We had a pretty large two story house with six bedrooms and one telephone, in the downstairs hall. It was often a race to get to the telephone before it stopped ringing. We had a somewhat weird situation, as we had a phone at the farm and one in town, but they were sort of on the same line. In town, our telephone number was 217J, on the farm 217W. (no dial, operator had to connect a call).







Bill Taylor

 

[H.Johnson]

Sal Ammoniac

In European chemistry this is a crystaline mineral called Sal Ammoniac and used to be a constituent of many drinks and confectioneries - as Lizzie points out, it was felt to have an invigorating effect. Although less used than it was in the 1930s, it is still used to make sweets in some countries.

Coca-Cola with *aromatic spirits of ammonia,* which isn't the same thing as the stuff in the bottle under your kitchen sink. You'd put maybe three drops of the stuff in a six-ounce glass of Coke, and the result would be a highly-stimulating beverage that its users swore gave them energy they didn't even know they had. It was basically the Red Bull of the thirties.

 

[H.Johnson]

Until 1960 my father's telephone was the only one in our village. There was a public phone box a half mile away, but people in our street use to knock on our door and ask to use our phone. They would pay him, of course, but he always insisted that they write down in advance the 'gist' of what they wanted to say, so that no words were wasted! The idea of gossiping on the telephone was complete anathema to my father's generation.

Letters and (in emergency) telegrams were the order of the day. People had much less to say and, dare I say it, thought more about what they were saying?

During the 1930s, many households did not have a telephone. I remember quite a few people who did not have a phone. And never, except in the direst of emergencies, did you make a long distance call. I kind of think it was sort of in bad taste to make a long distance telephone call. It just wasn't done. If you wanted to contact someone, a letter was written, or a telegram sent. I recall in the late 30s and especially during the war in the 40s, my mother took us to our grandfathers place about 50 miles away at least once a month, and she always wrote in advance when we would be coming. Never telephoned. Also, from 1942 and on during the war, you could not get a new telephone installed unless defense need could be proved. Sometimes, if there was a telephone in a vacated house, all sorts of things were done by those moving in to keep the phone already installed. Usually, if not always, unsucessfully. It was one of the prices paid for the war effort.

Also, during those days, most, if not all houses only had one telephone. We had a pretty large two story house with six bedrooms and one telephone, in the downstairs hall. It was often a race to get to the telephone before it stopped ringing. We had a somewhat weird situation, as we had a phone at the farm and one in town, but they were sort of on the same line. In town, our telephone number was 217J, on the farm 217W. (no dial, operator had to connect a call).







Bill Taylor

 

[BellyTank]

Salmiak over here.

In European chemistry this is a crystaline mineral called Sal Ammoniac and used to be a constituent of many drinks and confectioneries - as Lizzie points out, it was felt to have an invigorating effect. Although less used than it was in the 1930s, it is still used to make sweets in some countries.

Scandinavian and N. European salt liquorice.
Very salty, very salmiak-y.

Some kids just eat the salmiak, without the confection.
Maybe they smoke it too...


B
T

 

[Medvssa]

Until 1960 my father's telephone was the only one in our village. There was a public phone box a half mile away, but people in our street use to knock on our door and ask to use our phone. They would pay him, of course, but he always insisted that they write down in advance the 'gist' of what they wanted to say, so that no words were wasted! The idea of gossiping on the telephone was complete anathema to my father's generation.

Letters and (in emergency) telegrams were the order of the day. People had much less to say and, dare I say it, thought more about what they were saying?

I didn't have a telephone until I was age 12, and I was born in 1977. It was still considered a luxury for many worker class families in Spain, at the time.
I still keep my calls quite short.

 

[H.Johnson]

Medvssa,

That's interesting - I still can't break the habits my father instilled into me. In a way, I'm glad these things continue. I don't use a mobile 'phone or computer at home, I write down a list of points I want to make before using a 'phone and I cringe when I see people with 'phones stuck to their ears.

Apart from the fact that they seem not to notice what is happening around them (in clear breach of Boy Scout training and completely against what we were taught by the I-Spy books) I keep hearing my mother's voice. 'Stop wasting money, there are starving children in ....'!

 

[H.Johnson]

Yes, a typically Scandinavian taste.

Scandinavian and N. European salt liquorice.
Very salty, very salmiak-y.

Some kids just eat the salmiak, without the confection.
Maybe they smoke it too...


B
T

 

[LizzieMaine]

I keep hearing my mother's voice. 'Stop wasting money, there are starving children in ....'!

And that also explains the parental yell "SHUT UP, I'M ON LONG DISTANCE!" In other words, this call is costing me money, and I don't need you kids yapping in the background."

 

[Hal]

...I still can't break the habits my father instilled into me. In a way, I'm glad these things continue. I don't use a mobile 'phone or computer at home, I write down a list of points I want to make before using a 'phone and I cringe when I see people with 'phones stuck to their ears. Apart from the fact that they seem not to notice what is happening around them (in clear breach of Boy Scout training and completely against what we were taught by the I-Spy books) I keep hearing my mother's voice. 'Stop wasting money, there are starving children in ...'!

These are basically my thoughts too; I feel that a telephone conversation should usually be short.
With respect to your last sentence - the strongest telling-off that I received from my parents in my childhood (during the 2nd World War) was when I threw a crust of bread on the fire. That was a dreadful thing to do, and I find the amount of food wasted in the contemporary western world also dreadful.

 

[cookie]

As a child our mother used to let us go to movies on Sat. We would sit all day watching the movie over and over. A chicostick and maybe some iced pickle juice and we were good to go. lol We could not even see when we came out as sitting in the dark all day we had to adjust our eyes. lol
As far as the gasoline I remember this also. My mom would wash my dads khakis with this as spotclean and/or cocacola. Got the grease out.
One thing I sort of wish was still used but not as not good is creosote around houses to kill termites.

A bit off topic as the OP asked for things in movies. I will be watching and report back.

some good stuff there. Down Under all the bottoms up to 2 feet on the telegraph poles were painted with that stuff. I think it is banned now as one of those toxic nasties....

 

[H.Johnson]

Oh! I'm trembling just reading that! Like it was yesterday (it was 1951-ish) I recall my grandmother - a gentle, mild mannered and kind old woman, immediately flying into a purple rage when I did just that one day. Such an instant transformation is terrifying to a kid. I never, ever did it again.

With respect to your last sentence - the strongest telling-off that I received from my parents in my childhood (during the 2nd World War) was when I threw a crust of bread on the fire. That was a dreadful thing to do, and I find the amount of food wasted in the contemporary western world also dreadful.

 

[Tiller]

Great stuff. My grandfather wore a wedding ring, but most of the other men I knew from his generation did not. Jewelry on blue-collar men was considered both effete and potentially dangerous if it got hooked on moving machinery.

That is interesting, was your Grandfather Catholic? Both of my Grandfather's wore their wedding bands their entire lives (one was working class his entire life, well the other started out as working class, and was during the Golden Age), one was a Catholic, well the other was married to a Catholic. As far as my Great-Grandfathers I only know for a fact that one wore a wedding band (he was Catholic). I simply don't know about the other three. So I'm wondering if it is part of the Catholic culture?