Thinking about screen doors brought back other visions of rooms from my childhood, like the bucket of water in the kitchen with an enamel or tin dipper down in it, the same dipper from which everybody drank... family, friends, visiting strangers; all sharing germs and saliva, and nobody giving it a second thought.
Then I recalled the wooden screen doors on small-town stores of my childhood, and how they had "Colonial Bread is Good Bread" metal signs on them. In a fit of Googling, I found an article describing country stores as I remember them. Further searching led to the best find of all...
Thanks for the memories, Guy.
That is one good thing over there. You can find almost anything on the net... people post them and actually still hold on to them, at least of photos.
ReplyDeleteIt makes the nostalgia come so vividly alive when you see pictures of things past.
Cannot say the same here... many things are gone and gone for good in the name of development.
All that are left are memories that will die when we do. Sigh.
Have a great spring and wonderful finds too.
I remember those slamming screen doors and the old aluminum buckets and aluminum dippers as well as the enamel ones. I don't think there were as many germs to spread back in those days or at least hardly anyone got sick as I can remember. Helen
ReplyDeleteYES, SCREEN DOORS MEANT MODERN HOUSE.
ReplyDeleteAS A TEENAGE OKIE DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN THE 1930S, MANY HOMES WERE 'BOX HOUSES'. DIFFERENT FROM 'FRAME HOUSES.
BOX HOUSES WERE USUALLY CONSTRUCTED WITH ROUGH CUT OAK LUMBER. NO 'STUDDING IN THE FRAMEWORK. THE VERTICLE ONE BY TWELVE INCH BOARDS WERE NAILED TO HORIZONTAL TWO BY FOURS. WINDOWS AND DOORS FITTED IN.
THE FIRST PART OF THE DEPRESSION HAD SOME RAINFALL AND WITH THAT CAME SUMMER 'FLY TIME'. SCREEN DOORS DID NOT MEAN NO FLIES IN THE HOUSE. SMELLING THOSE PORK CHOPS COOKING, THE FLIES GOT IN. LOTS OF FLIES.
JUST BEFORE MEALTIME ONE KID WAS ASSIGNED TO OPEN THE SCREEN DOOR AT THE RIGHT MOMENT.
ALL OTHERS WOULD WITH A TEATOWEL IN EACH HAND, DRIVE THE FLIES TOWARD THE SCREEN DOOR WHICH WOULD SWING OPEN ON COMMAND, ONCE IN A WHILE THE OPERATION WAS REPEATED.
HOWEVER, AN AMAZING THING HAPPENED WHICH I REMEMBER. THE DROUTH BECAME SO SEVERE THAT FLIES STOPPED HATCHING OUT. TRUE AND A PLEASANT SURPRISE.
THE WORST DROUTH YEARS WERE FROM 1934 TO 1937. THAT WAS THE TIMES OF THE WORST DUST STORMS.'
IF INTERESTED TYPE IN OKLAHOMA DUST STORMS IN THE KEYWORD. MANY DAYS THE SUN WAS NOT VISIBLE BECAUSE OF DUST IN THE AIR. sam
Thank YOU, Donna! We had a tin bucket with a tin dipper in it, but it was set outside so that we kids could stop to get a drink whenever we needed one without having to go back inside the house. And water tasted SO GOOD with that tinny flavor added to it. Our screen doors always went WHUMP, Whump, wump.
ReplyDeleteEvery place in Northeast had a screen door, wooden please, when I was growing up.. Mr. Smith's Pharmacy, Gene's Barber Shop, Higgin's Grocery... there was something about the sound when they swung shut that said "summer."
ReplyDeleteI often wonder why stores no longer have screen doors. I have noticed now that alot of newer homes don't have them either. The only think I can think is that because of air conditioning they don't leave the other doors open when it gets warm. Back then no one had it.
ReplyDeleteThe dipper brings back fond memories from my grand parents farm. The bucket always sat in the kitchen. Well they had no running water either.
Thanks for memories today
Donna, I'm happy to take you back to a different time. The next two days I will visit some other items of elder veneration.
ReplyDelete