Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2025 i Good Old Days

Fun at the County Fair Every summer growing up, many of us looked forward with anticipation to the county fair. Kids were often proud members of 4-H Clubs, whether they raised animals to show, cooked up incredible cakes and pies or grew outstanding vegetables. During fair week, whole families would explore the fairgrounds, enjoying all the sights, sounds and foods the event had to offer. There were buildings filled with handmade crafts and prizewinning vegetables, pens of large hogs and milky cows, exciting games of chance and yummy foods. Oncea-year fair treats like elephant's ears, lemon shake-ups and pork sandwiches were sold as fundraisers for local clubs. In this issue, we share our readers’ favorite memories of summertime festivals, family vacations and family-run businesses. Join our readers as they travel…

Have you ever wondered who the writers and photographers in Good Old Days magazine are? They're people just like you who enjoy reading and sharing sweet memories of the past. You can be part of this magazine too! Send us your heartfelt, true stories from yesteryear, and be sure to include a photo. Although we may not be able to include all the stories, we enjoy reading every one of them. For the best chance at publication, your story should be interesting and well-written, fit the seasonal or editorial themes noted (see page 4 for upcoming themes), and highlight a specific event or experience that will strike a chord with readers growing up between 1940 and 1975. Main stories should be 500–1,000 words in length; shorter Bits & Pieces stories…

Alan's father, Rex, and his mother, Helen. Keeping Beloved Issues My father thoroughly enjoyed his Good Old Days magazine. No matter the day. If it was when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon or some other important day. I still have in my house his very old collection of them. They date back many years. I am now 84 years old. Rev. Alan “Ross” Harold Chattanooga, Tenn. A Familiar Wedding Venue In the Bits & Pieces section of the September/ October 2024 issue of Good Old Days, Judi Carroll (“Never Say Never”) believed it was unusual that the same minister that married her and her husband also married her husband's parents. My situation has an additional layer. The same minister married my parents, my wife's parents, and then my…

Always give your best and follow your dream. My dad practiced this from an early age. As I catch a glimpse of the box cutter in my junk drawer, I think of my dad. My dad, William Neil Hill, owned a small-town grocery store from 1957 to 1999. Box cutters made his work easier. Boxes of fresh produce from the farmers market were delivered and opened, and the contents were put out in baskets or bins for display. Then all the boxes had to be broken down. Now I use my box cutter to open packages delivered to my house. It feels insignificant in comparison. Dad's box cutter symbolized a hardworking man who came from nothing, but through perseverance and a strong work ethic he excelled. In a family with…

It all began in January 1949, when my grandparents, Ranerio and Frances D'Antonio, and their daughter Dolores moved into their newly built two-story brick building on Main Street in Monongahela, Pa. The restaurant that previously occupied this lot had been destroyed by fire, and shortly thereafter, the owners put the property up for sale. Ranerio and Frances decided to establish their business on the first floor and live on the second floor. They dreamed of opening a bar and restaurant to take advantage of the bustling crowd of mill and factory workers traveling through the town. Ranerio was a cobbler and had established a small business near Monongahela. He also worked at the local factory only minutes away. They began planning the layout of the first floor. The space was…

As an independent newspaper carrier for the Baltimore NewsPost-American, I was always eager to enter the contests conducted by the circulation department to increase readership. Attractive prizes were awarded based upon the number of new subscriptions needed to win. The prize might be a Boy Scout flashlight, a slack suit, canvas shoes, an outdoor skillet or perhaps movie tickets. Carriers were awarded two points for each new customer, and the prizes varied from two-point items to 40-point items. Then, along came a new promotion: “Win an allexpense-paid round trip to the New York World's Fair.” The year was 1938 and the fair was to open in 1939, so we had to hustle to get the needed points. I believe we needed 100 to win the trip. I canvassed every apartment…

At county and state fairs all over the country, visitors can often check out 4-H Club members’ projects. Here are a few interesting things that you may not already know about 4-H. The name 4-H comes from the four words in the club's pledge: head, heart, hands and health. The 4-H motto, “To make the best better,” was proposed by Carrie Harrison and was adopted in 1927. There have been many famous 4-H'ers over the years, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Rosalynn Carter, Pat Nixon, Bob Evans, Donna Reed, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Alan Shepard and Johnny Bench.…

It was June 1949. Ken and I were newly married and on our honeymoon at Glacier Park, Mont. The use of my father-in-law's new Kaiser sedan had been his gift to us, making the trip possible. Ken was the only driver on our trek west as I hadn't yet learned to drive. When we reached Glacier Park, Ken, being a hiker, hunter and fisherman, was ready to explore every rock, mountain and stream. As a city girl, I was hesitant, but game. Our vacation home was a tiny log cabin adjacent to the park lodge. One evening, the ranger informed the group that that portion of Glacier Park and some of the surrounding country had been used during World War II by the U.S. Army as a training ground. This…

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS! We invite you to share the pictures that reflect your happiest memories. Please include a brief, but detailed description. Include an SASE if you would like your photo returned. Send to: Good Old Days, Picture This, 306 E. Parr Road, Berne, IN 46711, or email Editor@GoodOldDaysMagazine.com.…

We asked our followers if they have a “couples song” that is their special tune. Here are some of those noted. “The Righteous Brothers’ You've Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” —Donna A. “I Will Always Love You.” —Garry N. “The Twelfth of Never by Johnny Mathis.” —Shirley S. Tuba toter? Flute fan? Banjo buff? We asked people if they played an instrument growing up. We had a lot of musicians! “I played trumpet in seventh and eighth grade in junior band—long enough to straighten my front teeth. No need for braces; trumpetplaying worked!” —June C. “A flute. Not a huge fan but had no choice if I wanted to be in band. My sister and I shared one.” —Kimberly M. “I took several accordion lessons. I wanted to learn the song…

Thinking back on my childhood in the 1940s, there is one day that stands out from all the rest. It was not only my 5th birthday but also an important day in world history. As I recall, it was a hot August evening in Queens, N.Y., and I had escaped the heat of my family's dining room, which was cooled only by a fan as we had no air conditioning back then. My parents and an aunt and uncle who had driven from Philadelphia to join us for the occasion of my birthday were still sitting around the table, enjoying their after-dinner adult conversation and beverages. Outside, I joined Mr. Emerson, the kindly middleage man who lived in the row house next to ours, who was sitting on his stoop…

My dad ran the Scanlan Company from the end of our dining room table. In a home located on Greist Road near Stoutsville, Ohio, he operated a heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration business that ruled south central Ohio in the 1970s. But the company's humble beginnings make a very touching story seem funny. Dad started the company on June 5, 1970, which happened to also be my only sister's 5th birthday. And it was no accident that Dad took her to work with him in Columbus that morning. For the occasion, Mom had dressed Kathy in her prettiest pink dress, and then Dad and Kathy were out the door. They drove to Dad's soon-to-be-former employer, where Dad walked into his boss's office with Kathy and gave him the news—he was quitting…

1. Where is the Gateway Arch located? 2. Which U.S. national park is the oldest? 3. Which American shaving cream company was known for its creative roadside signs? 4. When did President Eisenhower sign the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which created the Interstate Highway System? 5. What well-known gas station brand featured a green dinosaur as its mascot? 6. What famous road connected Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif.? 7. How many places are mentioned in the Johnny Cash version of the song I've Been Everywhere? 8. Which U.S. cave is considered the world's longest known cave system? 9. Can you name the state where the city Truth or Consequences is located? Answers: 1. St. Louis; 2. Yellowstone; 3. Burma-Shave; 4. 1956; 5. Sinclair Oil; 6. Route 66; 7. 92; 8. Mammoth Cave, Ky.; 9. New Mexico…

Actress Eve Arden often played the archetype of the smart, quick-witted woman, never ruffled and always on top of any situation. Arden proved how versatile she could be in front of the camera by accepting dramatic offerings as well as comedy. Today, fans of Eve Arden know her best as sassy Connie Brooks, the lovesick schoolteacher of Madison High, in the weekly sitcom Our Miss Brooks, which started as a radio show in 1948 before being adapted for television in 1952. Miss Brooks taught English to 10th-graders and was loved by real schoolteachers and students who listened in each week and could relate. Miss Brooks found herself trying to resolve comical situations at Madison High, usually clashing with Principal Osgood Conklin, played by character actor Gale Gordon. In an era…

Every summer in the mid-to-late 1950s, my family attended the annual Shriners Picnic at Doling Park in Springfield, Mo. Doling Park had a skating rink, a cave, a large lake and, most thrilling of all, an amusement park. What made the Shriners Picnic so exciting? We got to ride the rides over and over again for free! At dusk, the Shriners handed out tags that we hung on a string around our necks. We didn't have to worry about sharing or running out of tickets like at the Ozark Empire Fair. Such freedom! After getting our tags, my two sisters (Sherry, the oldest, and Sunday, the youngest) and our aunt Joan and I raced up the hill toward the rides. Aunt Joan told us we had better ride The Whip…

Do you remember any interesting home furnishings or other decorative items in your home in the past? What was a favorite item from that era? Did your family have a business that they lived above or that they worked out of their home? Being the mother of five sons, I wanted to be home for them, so I had an in-home seamstress business. I sewed for businesses and individuals, and it afforded our family the “extras” the boys needed! I retired on my 80th birthday after a successful 60-year career. Sandra Bell As young girls in the 1950s, my cousin Virginia and I were very close. Her parents, Ruth and Medford, owned Trailer Sales in our town. It was a big attraction to us girls, as we loved exploring every…