In Oct. 25 Issue
Russell County News
By Ron Cowell, Columnist
Summer has come to an end and there are very few Car Shows and Cruise Ins or Block Parties left in the area till next year. All summer long we have talked about cars, cruisin' and shows. I thought it might be fun to take a trip back in time once again and remember the good old days.

I sat with a few friends and we were thinking of things we remembered and thought it would be fun to list them and see who else remembers these things.

We started with the cars and things on them that we remembered as kids. How many of these do you remember?

1) Head Light Dimmer Switch on the floor of the car.

2) Ignition switch on the dash board.

3) The heaters were mounted on the inside of the firewall.

4) Curb feelers on cars.

5) Vent Windows

6) Using hand signals to turn because there were no turn signals on the cars.

7) Cars had no radio and if it did it just an AM radio with tubes that had to warm up to work.

Then there were all the other things we grew up with. Things we remembered were;

1) Pant leg clips for riding a bike with no chain guard

2) Black Jack or Clove Chewing gum

3) Wax Coke bottles with colored sugar water in them

4) Candy Cigarettes

5) Pop machines that dispensed glass bottles 6 oz. Size

6) Home milk delivery with glass bottles and cardboard stoppers

7) Party telephone lines

8) Newsreels before a movie started

9) Butch Hair Wax

10) Telephone numbers with word perfix, like Oxford 3 1739

11) Howdy Doody

12) S & H Green Stamps

13) Roller Skate Keys

14) A Real ICE Box and the list can go on and on.

As I look back at my life I am so thankful my parents let me be a kid. We had fun playing outside all day long and hardly ever ran out of things to do. We just knew after our chores were finished we could go play but we better be home by suppertime. We played Cowboys and Indians, Army, Tag, baseball, football all day long. To the kids today that sounds dull but really, wasn't it a lot of fun?

Now I have to laugh when I see an ad on TV to tell you where to go on the internet so kids can find something to do outside. Or, grandparents can go there to learn how to play with their Grandkids.. Now that is just funny!!!!!!!

According to what we learn today none of us that grew up in that era should be alive today. Our cribs were painted with led base paint, there were no childproof lids on medicine bottles or on the cabinet doors. We rode our bikes (if we were lucky enough to have one) all over the place and actually never wore a helmet or kneepads. There were no seat belts in cars. Don't get me wrong, a lot of these things are good but the point is we survived.

I've heard young people say things are different today then when you were a kid. I could not agree more!  Back in the 50's and 60's how many times did you hear of a child shooting up a high school?

Remember when you were playing outside and a kid fell and hurt himself. 10 mothers ran outside to see what happened because they all heard the child crying. There was no air conditioning, so every Mom heard the crying and ran out to see if it was their child.

In little league you either made the team or you didn't. You learned to deal with the disappointment and if you didn't make the team try again next year.

The generation of 50 and 60 and 70 year olds produced some of the best risk takers, problem solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned to deal with it all. They truly were the good old days.

It's fun to set and remember and be thankful I grew up when I did. I really believe we grew up in the best of times. I could go on and on but I think those of you who remember those days will agree… and know just what I'm saying.

If your Car Club is having an event and you would like us to tell everyone about or someone who you would like to see featured in this article send all information to, djron47@yahoo.com . All information on upcoming events needs to be in at least two weeks before the event.

If your Club or church or group is having an event and you would like to display some classic cars at that event let me know at least two weeks before the event. I will put you in contact with one of the clubs that will gladly bring their cars out for display.

Until next time, Keep Cruisin !