topic Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember? in Community Chat

Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

SandySparkles — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:47:14 GMT

I can relate to SO MANY of these!😁

I can especially recall getting dizzy on the merry-go-round, and LOVED❤️ Casey Kasem's countdown! My friends and I could not WAIT for it to come on!😀Back then, we had to make a paper list. 🥰

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

shoekitty — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:55:01 GMT

I remember all of these things! I never had anything to record off radio though, not til the 70's. I also remember phone party lines, busy signals. Waiting home all day for an important call. Dialing Operator to place long distance call. Boy, things have changed. Do they evpven have operators anymore? lol!

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

piperbay — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:10:41 GMT

I remember calling for the time and the weather

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

shoekitty — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:13:48 GMT

@piperbay wrote:
I remember calling for the time and the weather

@piperbay we used to call POPCORN here in NorCal for time and weather

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

SandySparkles — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:14:11 GMT

@shoekitty wrote:
I remember all of these things! I never had anything to record off radio though, not til the 70's. I also remember phone party lines, busy signals. Waiting home all day for an important call. Dialing Operator to place long distance call. Boy, things have changed. Do they evpven have operators anymore? lol!

@shoekitty Welcome!🥰 That is actually a comical, yet good question! I think operators went the way of the dinosaurs!😂 I would get SO frustrated whenever I heard a busy signal on the line; sort of like getting a voicemail when I have something to say NOW!!!😁

THANK you for sharing!🤗

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

shoekitty — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:22:37 GMT

I think it was the beginning of the 1980's when the Mr Coffee came out, it was the biggest thing since sliced bread, no kidding. other new innovations I remember just being so excited about, and were actually life changing in a way were

1)modern hair blow dryers

2)Call waiting, (at last being able to get through a phone line.

3)voice mail,

4) microwaves

5) cell phones

6)home computers and then iPads

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

Puppy Galore — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:39:18 GMT

@shoekitty wrote:
@piperbay wrote:
I remember calling for the time and the weather
@piperbay we used to call POPCORN here in NorCal for time and weather

@shoekitty

We did too . I was in Santa Clara County and we would call POPCORN , we had an old wind up clock and it was always off by 10-20 minutes.

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

lovesallanimals — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:39:45 GMT

I feel so old! (lol) - I remember ALL of them.

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

SandySparkles — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:41:29 GMT

@shoekitty wrote:
I think it was the beginning of the 1980's when the Mr Coffee came out, it was the biggest thing since sliced bread, no kidding. other new innovations I remember just being so excited about, and were actually life changing in a way were
1)modern hair blow dryers
2)Call waiting, (at last being able to get through a phone line.
3)voice mail,
4) microwaves
5) cell phones
6)home computers and then iPads

@shoekitty Being a self proclaimed coffee snob, I LOVED❤️the Mr. Coffee!☕I appreciate call waiting until you are on hold for a looooong time!😁

THANK you SO much for returning with additional innovations!🤗

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

shoekitty — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:47:41 GMT

@Puppy Galore wrote:
@shoekitty wrote:
@piperbay wrote:
I remember calling for the time and the weather
@piperbay we used to call POPCORN here in NorCal for time and weather
@shoekitty

We did too . I was in Santa Clara County and we would call POPCORN , we had an old wind up clock and it was always off by 10-20 minutes.

@Puppy Galore Hi puppy! I'm still in Santa Clara County. Out of curiosity I just dialed POPCORN. lol. Got Verison wireless. Now why woukd I even think there was. Time/ weather man anymore at popcorn. Lol

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

Puppy Galore — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:23:02 GMT

@shoekitty

I called the operator on my cell two years ago. I was calling a friend in

Wales, she answered and gave me the info I needed. They're still around!

Do you remember, I forget the number, however when we returned home after school we would dial a certain number and it was a party line with dozens of kids on it all talking at once. We would carry on a conversation and often meet up with boys! Fun times.

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

shoekitty — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:12:27 GMT

@Puppy Galore wrote:
@shoekitty

I called the operator on my cell two years ago. I was balling a friend in aw
Wales, she answered and gave me the info I needed. They're still around!

Do you remember, I forget the number, hisever when we returned home after school we would dial a certain number and it was a party line with dozens of kids on it all talking at once. We would carry on a conversation and often meet up with boys! Fun times.

@Puppy Galore Yes, I remember that! Omg, I wonder if anyone else had that. I heard it was fairly exclusive to our area, but IDK. The way we did it was dial our own number I believe. Dozens of kids woukd be in there. There was the busy signal beep...but in between each beep you coukd talk. We'd say a word, wait for beep, say another word. lol. My girlfriend actually met the man she woukd marry a few years later! I lived around Los Altos/Mt View area. I met people from there. We woukd say, meet soda shop certain day, etc. pretty innocent. I don't remember anyone from out of area. Maube another poster will read this and remember if they had it. I think it was sometime around 1963-1965?

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

Puppy Galore — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:21:42 GMT

@shoekitty

Yes early 63-64, I was in junior high. I lived in Sunnyvale, we were neighbors !

We did call our own number. Mom had that number until shortly after moved up north, 2001. I have it memorized.

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

beach-mom — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:39:55 GMT

Thanks @SandySparkles! I always enjoy things like this; they're so much fun!

I kind of remember the countdown. The only time I heard it was when we visited my grandmother in NY state. I would take the radio in "my" bedroom and listen to static trying to get it. Lots of times I would get a station from Canada in French interfering with the other one.

I remember black and white TV's, and of course we all watched the moon landing.

I never made prank calls, even when friends wanted to. I was afraid to!

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

Cakers3 — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 03:21:44 GMT

@SandySparkles

Fun thread!👍

Numbers
1 also with coat hangers wrapped in aluminum foil for better reception 😯
3 but never had one myself
5
6 😳 Ashamed to admit this one but I had older sisters to copy🤣
7 I don't remember a pen pal just fan clubs but I still hand write correspondence
10 Yes but also coins for emergency calls at pay phones
11🤮
13 Lol Everyone would sniff at the same time
14 Of course!
15 Yes
16: Candy cigarettes
17 No jellies but loved my Keds with the little stars
18 Saturday morning cartoons of course!
20 Yes

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

happilyretiredgirl — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 03:59:23 GMT

@SandySparkles I can relate to all of them except the street lights, I lived in the country only lights we had were our flashlights and the porch lights....loved growing up in the country we had so much fun playing in the woods and corn fields....we always knew what time to go home. In the summer after supper (yes we called in supper) we would go back outside play sometimes late in the night and our parents and the neighbors would gather on the porch each neighbor would all take turns where they gathered and would have coffee and dessert while all us kids played. It was the best of times.

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

tansy — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 04:05:46 GMT

I never played stickball in southern CA.

I would get a new pair of Keds Grasshoppers every summer.

i was my parents "remote control".

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

Desertdi — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:46:47 GMT

I learned to type on my dad's machine (when I was in grade school) and felt "pretty accomplished"...

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

willowbark — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 05:13:17 GMT

@shoekitty @Puppy Galore During that era and in Ca I was in elementary school and at a neighborhood pharmacy, maybe RiteAide I think but anyway a kid who walked by, told me to pick up the receiver on a nearby pay phone and it was a party line. No dialing necessary, you were automatcially connected to a bunch of screaming kids all trying to talk at the same time. Was that the idea of fun for the older kids, I have no idea. It felt like madness and i hung up and walked home never speaking of it to anyone. My first and only foray to a party line.

Re: Things That Made Growing Up Feel Like Its Own Era!! How Many Do You remember?

nrm — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:34:27 GMT

@SandySparkles Thank you for the fun memories. 😊