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This should probably be on the Caregivers behaving badly thread, but it pertains to the Coca-Cola deposits on glass bottles that they used to charge, back when we were kids. Well my husband tells of when he was a kid (about 7 or 8), he and his little friends would distract the corner store owner, while tge other ones used to load up a wagon of empty (already recycled) Coke bottles from behind the store, anf take them back into the store for the recycling credit! Little thieves! Lol! Boy's behaving Badly!
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Does Canada still have their recycling centers?
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Remember Dime Stores?Like Ben Franklin's and WoolWorth's?And the smell of popcorn when you walked in the door and the cotton candy machine and the esculators and mechanical,moving Christmas decorations in the windows?
And how about when you could take clothes home on "approval",try em' on at home and if they didn't fit you could bring them back.
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Luckylu - we still have one in our small town. It's called a "variety store" now, but it was always called the "five and dime" when I was little. We could go in there and get fresh, hot roasted peanuts, fresh popcorn, bulk Brach's candies from the glass-front bins at the counter and a rainbow of penny candy from the candy aisle. They're still open, and when you walk in, it's like stepping back in time, physically. The creaky old wooden floors are still there, and the smells of popcorn, chocolate, mixed with various cleaning supplies, stationary, yarn and fabric all mingle to take you back about 40 years. They still sell all the things I mentioned, plus things you can't find in any big box store these days - like nice ladies' handkerchiefs.

Sadly, the folks that own it want to retire next summer, and if they don't find someone to buy the store, it will close. :-(
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Susan, your description brings back memories of my favorite store in my home town. When I was small our little town of about 400 souls supported two general stores (one which also sold fabric and some clothing items), a bakery, butcher shop, furniture store, barber shop (where the men also could play pool), and a shoe store. Oh, I forgot the store with the frozen food locker. All gone now.
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Had 2 of those old-fashioned stores in my hometown. They both had a bell that jingled when you opened the door.....and ancient wooden floors.

The smaller store was long and skinny. Had penny candy. Wax lips! Wax soda bottles filled with sugary liquid! Styrofoam-ish UFOs filled candy dots! And a pinball machine that was in constant use. Ping-ping-bling-bling.

The bigger store -- which was still small -- was an old-fashioned grocery. Literally a mom-and-pop operation. Some items were on high shelves behind the counter. "Pop" was up and down the sliding ladder all day. And you could run a tab!

Ahhhh. Ancient history. The skinny store closed in the 1970s. The little grocery limped into the early 1980s before it expired.
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Blackhole...I remember being able to charge things at certain stores and then they'd send the bill in the mail and it was no big deal...atleast to me.Mom and Dad ended up paying my tabs......Ahhh,the good ole days.
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BlackHole, I remember those old shorthand books - we used them to record court hearings. I remember also learning how to position my left hand so that I could flip them in a second or so w/o losing momentum as the hearing was taking place. Even a few seconds could put a court reporter behind, and it was often hard to catch up.

LuckyLu, we too used to read the comic pages together. I remember sitting next to Dad as we read them on Sunday morning. I had forgotten all about those times until reading your post. It really brought back memories.

Sharyn, I had also forgotten about cokes sitting in buckets of chilled water.

Anyone remember changing into those one piece gym suits we had to wear for gym activities? We barely had time to get out of them though and change back into school clothes.

When I was in grade school, either once a week or once a month (so long ago I don't remember) we had treats: ice cream in little cups, eaten with a small wooden spoon. It was accompanied by a hot dog and potato chips. Thinking back, it was certainly an unhealthy meal.

But it was a treat as we otherwise had to bring lunches from home every day. Which reminds me....what kind of lunch box did you carry? I remember holding my little lunch box as I walked to school. I wonder now how we managed to do w/o refrigeration - must have had sandwiches that didn't need to be refrigerated.

Remember the horses at Texaco (?) gas stations? There's one in a small community far west of me. It always reminds me of those old gas stations when "fill 'er up!" was the common request.

Susan and LuckyLu, I remember the old Woolworth and Kresge stores in the downtown area of one of the "big" cities back in the old days. I especially remember the card section, but primarily the Valentine assortment. For some reason the Valentine cards were very special.

I also remember the squeaky wooden floors.
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GA, oh the metal lunch box featured popular cartoons or Tv shows!!! I often wondered as I git older about spoilage since our lunches were kept at room temperature. I would have a sandwich, tuna, bologna, ham,etc. All had Mayo involved, and soup in my thermos. Remember the fruit pies??? Where the made by hostess or some other company, I always had the chocolate cream or hostess ho-ho's, lol!!! I loved tether ball, 4-square, monkey bars!!
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Yes good old Gregg Shorthand. I took 3 years of it in HS to get certified at 120wpm. Never used it on any office job I had, dicaphone was replacing it except for the legal field.
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Squeaky wooden floors in Woolworth's and Kresge's, in my g'mother's house, and now in my daughter's home -- I love them.
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I'm not missing the squeaky floors and stairs in my parent's old house, they made it very hard to sneak in at 4 or 5 in the morning ;)

I had an ugly plain blue plastic lunchbox with tape on the corner from the time I threw it at my brother, the kind with the thermos in the lid (nope, never got a replacement). And I never heard of anybody getting sick from their unrefrigerated school lunches either SharynMM.
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As I recall we left those metallic lunch boxes outside along the wall so we could grab them heading out to lunch !

I remember it being an honor to be the milk monitor in the 3rd grade

My favorite was the Helm's bakery man who drove a yellow delivery wagon around town and sold pastries - applesauce cake was great and on Fridays I was allowed a jelly donut around the same time as the air raid sirens would go off - remember those signs for fallout shelters ?
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Haah!! I was a hall monitor in 5th grade for 1st and 2nd graders while they ate their lunch. I walked the hall checking on the kids of about 4 classrooms. Can you imagine that!!! Not in today's schools could a 5th grader monitor 4 classrooms for 30 minutes. Lol!! Great memories!!
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SharynMMarie....I would have loved playing with you as a child and I loved tetherball too and I always loved the cherry fruit pies from Hostess.And I also remember when it was an honor being milk monitor too.Do you remember when milk was 3 cents?
And GardenArtist...you really brought up more good memories.Oh,How I hated those awful gymsuits(1 piece) ours were navy on the bottom and striped blue on top,and I wouldn't change my clothes in front of the other girls and changed in the toilet and got marked off points because of it every year.And I remember that Sinclair gas station had dinasour soap and there was a toy in the middle of it and I remember getting Ethel in my '69 T Bird on the side of the gas station.Do you remember when we only had a choice to take Home ec. or Shop class?And driving simulators?So many memories of way back when...Thanks everyone.
Sorry MsMadge,You were the one who talked about it being an honor to be milk monitor.Do you (or anyone) remember hamburger gravy or dream cookies the cafeteria served at school?And my Mom wouldn't let me Bring lunch so I didn't have a lunchbox.I always had to "Buy".And even though we lived close to school,I was never allowed to walk or ride my bike to school.:( :)
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Lu
I loved tether ball
I remember having a tv brought into the classroom to watch the astronauts launch into space
You clearly were deprived not allowed to walk or ride your bike to school - we got to go over a freeway overpass

I only got to buy lunch on special days like Salisbury steak day

On rainy days we sat inside and played thumbs up 7 up
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Lucky, we would have made a great pair on the blacktop with the tether balls, LOL!!
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luckylu, thanks for bringing such good memories. Plain milk ws 3 cents and chocolate was 5 cents. Favorite sandwich was baloney and mayo on Wonderbread. Favorite lunch to buy was pizza made with English muffins, tomato sauce and a slice of American cheese. A quarter spent at the little family corner store near my grandparents got me a whole little bag of candies...Bit o Honey and Tootsie rolls, candy buttons on paper and candy necklaces.
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You,and I AND MsMadge woulda made the Best team!I remember the TV being brought in for the astronauts too and other big history making stuff it seems and staying in on rainy days at recess and playing 7-upThumbs Up and Board games too.Do you remember getting Weekly Readers and being able to order books at school?I Loved that but I sure didn't Love having to eat my lunch on the stage in Front of everyone because a group of us got in trouble for shooting peas at lunchtime.That was SO embarrassing!
Did you ever have a teacher read to you from a certain book?I Loved it when my 4th grade teacher read to us from "Little House On The Prairie" after lunch and we'd have to lay our heads on our desk....
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Yes MsMasdge too!! Candy necklaces oh my!!! Yes I remember playing 7-upsuch innocent times thumbs up on rainy days. I loved the music period....the teacher played piano and we learned folk songs like the boll weevil in the cotton fields and seasonal songs, thanksgiving and Christmas. Such innocent times, playing hide n seek with the neighbor kids. At one time we had about 35 kids on our block which was amazing for a small rural town back then with a population of about 8,500. My bike was my transportation, it was also a horse when younger, lol!!!
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Sharyn....We played Hide N Seek in the neighborhood all the time growing up and we had ALOT of kids too in our neighborhood THEN but not now and I really Loved the Music room and singing all those silly songs and sometimes we even got to play the triangle.I really loved playing kickball with the boys at recess but back then,we weren't allowed to wear pants to school,so I had to bring pants to put under my dress at recess.Finally,in 6th grade,we could wear pants.Do you remember Kulots?and Gouchos?And making clothes for trolls?
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OMG, not being allowed to wear pants, we're going back to the dark ages now! Girls used to wear pants under their skirts/dresses when the weather was freezing and take them off once we got to school. One day a girl pulled off her pants and oops! she had forgotten her skirt so she had to keep her pants on. Clever girl. Seems to me we all started to wear pants shortly after that.
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Of my gosh!!! I would wear shorts under my dress! Lol!!! We were allowed to wear pants to school in7th grade. I was such a tomboy and I have never looked backed to wearing a dress unless I absolutely have to such as a family wedding! LOL!! I wad a latch key kid, came home after school to my parents at work. I did my homework, some chores.

We stayed out until 10 pm in the neighborhood block with the other kids during summer. When you heard your parent yell your name, you came home. I remember when astronaunts landed on the moon, it was in June, I think, in our I bicentennial, we laid on the lawn with binoculars looking at the mo
on to see if we could see the astronaunts, lol!! There a day when an earthquake was predicted and California would drop off in the ocean, we all hung out with neighbors who had boats!!!!
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Suppose to be astronauts ^
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Despite all my moaning and groaning about Thanksgiving, I love pumpkin pie! LOVE.

Just made the filling in a giant Pyrex measuring cup that was my mother's. One of the few valuable (to me) things I salvaged from her impossible hoard.

RIP, mom. Just like you, I can pass on storebought and (most) bakery sweets.....but get of my way if it's homemade! I'll have a 2nd piece of pumpkin pie for you.
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It's coming on Christmas,
and I wish I had a river to skate away on.
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River
by Joni Mitchell
It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
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Send, Sarah McLaughlin does a good version of that song too. It always makes me a little melancholy but strangely happy at the same time.
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Anyone remember wearing leggings to school?

SendMe, interesting... I've been thinking about how much we enjoyed ice skating when we were growing up. Last week I passed by the Rolladium, an indoor rollr skating rink that's been remodeled recently - brought back such memories. I could remember the sound or organ music that played as we skated round and round the rink.
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Sarah and the bare naked ladies do the most amazing version of God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen - it has become my favorite Xmas tune
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