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- rodger on Carnivals and Fish Frys 50s neighborhood memories
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Compulsive swimming behavior is part of the culture part 1
Swimming was a recreational activity but was also an escape from the heat. We swam in almost every mud puddle that was at least 6 feet deep. People engaged in compulsive swimming as a common adaptation. The culture for the … Continue reading
Children’s habitats are discovered and invented in a 50s small town
Before the development of the recreation movement, which did not start to accelerate until the late 50s, children adapted their environment for playful purposes. Cities did not allocate facilities for children’s programs. Cities did not budget and train staff to … Continue reading
There are too many trees for a dairy farm
Hardwood forest covered much of an 1885 dairy farm The Eastern edge of Deck’s Prairie, in Madison County, Illinois, was not well suited to a dairy farm. The dairy farm was located about 2 miles from the small town of … Continue reading
Posted in Agricultural Roots, American History Connections
Tagged crossroads, living rural
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There is a chicken in the pot and two buggies in the barn
Steel, steam, and agriculture paved the road to prosperity in the Gilded Age for late 19th century American families. Illinois farmers near St Louis connected to growing markets for crops and dairy products via the Eads Bridge, the developing railroads … Continue reading
The war is over and the economy is improving time to buy a new house
The house we lived in on 3rd street between 1947 and 1954 was only 400 square feet. My bedroom was a converted garage. The growing economy created a huge demand for housing and new tracts were sprouting up all over … Continue reading
Posted in Family Economic Values
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Sports we loved but never saw on TV
Children’s sports common in the Alton, Illinois area were unknown in many parts of the country. Games invented there spread to other parts of the country. The game players or their parents constructed the required equipment in the basement workshop … Continue reading
Mosquitos and summer heat created vivid 50s childhood memories
Macoupin Creek, in Woodville Township, Illinois, ends at the Illinois River near Hardin. The Illinois River ends, about 20 miles from Hardin, at the Mississippi River near Grafton, Illinois. The fishing cabin my uncle rented at the Illinois River levee … Continue reading