The People History Home

Memories From Our Visitors 30s to Millenium

When we look back in time small things or words can jog our own memories, ensure that good manners are strictly adhered to. You can post a memory, ask others about something you sort of remember but would like others to add their perspective. Or even ask about old toys, TV shows, Events, Pop Music or to just talk about the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties.

Below we have included 1 memory from each decade as an example of the memories left by our visitors

1970s Memory

Fuel Crisis 1973 United States

Memory Posted By: Bob

In 1973, my wife, son and I left the Boston, MA area to move to Los Angeles, CA. It was during the gas shortage, and I equipped our 1960 Ford E300 Econoline 1-ton van with an 'accessory' electric fuel pump, where I could feed a long fuel line out through a small rusted-out hole in the rear panel and feed it into a parked car's gas tank. The feed line would reach our gas tank. I know it sounds nasty, and I do know it would have been stealing if I had actually used it, but I would have left some cash to pay for the gas. Fortunately, once we got away from the East Coast, the fuel lines were no-longer 2, 3 or even 4 hours long with limits of 10-gallons or less. It was for 'survival' purposes only. I think I still have that electric fuel pump around here somewhere, still never been used! I think gas was about $1.50/gallon at that time.

Comments Al said Hi, I was on the front lines at a gas station during this "gas crisis". We had 3 lines of cars, about 40 or more cars long each, going out of our station.

At one point we started running low on gas, and the boss told me "I have these magnetic signs here, I want you to take these and put them on the last car in each line". The sign said "Last car in line for gas". I remember being really surprised and shocked! I said where in heck did you get these? He said the Mobil Oil Co. Head Office had sent them to him two weeks before, and he was mystified when he got them. So they all knew it was coming!

1960s Memory

Stones Concert 1966 Canada

Memory Posted By: Stones Fan

I was 16 years old and visiting a friend in Toronto, when his mother announced that she'd bought two tickets for us to see the Rolling Stones in concert at the fabled Maple Leaf Gardens. We could hardly believe our good Fortune. Sure, the Beatles were everyone's favourite, but the Stones were bluesier and dirtier, and had been arrested for urinating on the wall of a British gas station. That had to mean something.

The concert itself was a matinee, and set up differently than what we'd expected. The first half of the programme was devoted entirely to local Toronto bands, none of which I'd heard of. After a lengthy intermission, the house lights came right up and a man in a suit warned us all to stay in our seats and behave, then all was dark again and the curtains opened to reveal our heroes who sang, I believe "Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown", barely beginning to rock before pandemonium broke out in the audience. We had been sitting at centre ice, but, in the excitement that the Stones ignited, we managed to push our way up to the blue line.

At that point, the house lights went up again and the same man issued a second warning. He called us "boys and girls", which did not help. The Stones, with Brian Jones and an almost absent Bill Wyman, who chose to play his bass far off to the side of stage, gave us all of 35 minutes of music. Jagger wore a brightly patterned sports jacket, which he eventually removed to cheers from the crowd. I remember "Lady Jane", which I'd never heard before.

My friend and I were having difficulty believing that it was actually them up on stage, until someone lent us their field glasses. Yup. That's them. The Rolling Stones! Eventually we boys and girls got too rambunctious for the man in the suit, and the concert was shut down. Still, we figured it was worth every penny that my friend's mother had spent!

1950s Memory

How did we survive 50 years ago?

Memory Posted By: Boomer Boy

We drank water from the tap not a bottle and nobody knew about the dangers of lead poisoning so even cribs were painted with brightly colored lead based paint. Medicine and Bottles with tablets did not have child proof lids

No seat belts or air bags in cars, nobody knew or if they did told our parents smoking and drinking was bad for the baby, kids shared coke from one bottle, soda had masses of sugar and we ate real white bread and butter and everything else including full fat milk that we are now told is bad for you

Parents couldn't reach us ( no mobiles ) and most of the day we would be out playing with friends and parents knew we would be safe with hardly any weirdos wandering the streets. If we got caught doing stuff we shouldn't the cops would take us home and we may well have a got a hiding for breaking the law ( but no do gooders saying mustn't smack children ). And if we played up in school the same applied.

While playing we got cuts and bruises and the occasional tear in jeans but it was just part of being a kid and no visit to the hospital.

We had no fancy games but could play for hours making a Go cart or a new tree swing and for other games most times we would find a ball and whatever we could use as a bat. or in the summer all jump into the nearest place we could find and if the water wasn't that clean we just didn't swallow it.

We rode our bikes with no helmets and doing whatever stunts we could ( bikes were so much heavier and hard waring ) and always had punctures to repair or get dad to help with.

If we didn't get in the team we were not good enough and that was that.

But most of all we were allowed to be kids

To dream, to invent and to play.

It's no wonder that the generation that grew up then created some of the most innovative and exciting technology we have today

Thanks for those years and all those "BAD THINGS" that is why we are who we are today

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1930s Memory

Remember the Dust Bowl Nebraska 30s U.S.A.

Memory Posted By: Making Ice Cream


During the mid-30s my family lived in the hills above the platte River in central Nebraska.

We had a farm of 320 acres, no irrigation. In the spring ,after the the crops were in and before harvest of our crops my father worked on the railroad, Union Pacific, to supplemment our income. Mom and we three children tended the livestock, while dad worked and was away with the car a week at a time. In this period of time known as the dust bowl the wind blewin our area from the North.

On one afternoon Mom gathered the three children together telling us to get a shovel and allthe tubs and buckets together and go with her. We went across the road on the South of our place down into a draw or gulley. Mom had us clear off a spot where the dust had blown the previous months covering the snow. After filling all of the tubs and buckets we hurried back to the house and Mom put the Ice cream mixture into the hand turned freezer, putting the snow and salt in its place,all the while one of us turning the crank. It didn't make very firm ice, I'm sure that we injoyed it.

The time frame had to have been April-June. This was written to tell how the dust blew and settled in places thick enough to isulate the unmeleted snow

1940s Memory

Norma Recalling the Second World War Canada

Memory Posted By: Norma

My recollection for the first half of the 1940’s when I was a child in Saint John, New Brunswick centre around the fact that my Dad left for service in the Canadian Army in September 1941. I didn’t see him again until late in 1945. Both sets of grandparents and many friends lived near us in Saint John. No one could escape the effects of the war --not even the children.

We heard stories of German U-boats entering the Bay of Fundy and we knew that the Saint John Drydock where warships were built and repaired could be a target for sabotage. The house where we lived in the North End of the city had a supply of sand to be used in case of incendiary bombing. We had regular black-outs when dark curtains kept any interior light from showing.

We were told we could help in the war effort by bringing in certain materials that could be used such as metal, rubber, glass, fat, paper, and other things were brought to school on Friday afternoons. Mother also had to go to the school at intervals to collect our ration books. Everyone, had to have a ration book – even babies and young children.

Items such as sugar, butter, eggs, tea, coffee, and gasoline were in short supply and had to be rationed.

We also felt we could help the war effort by buying war saving stamps.

For 25 cents we could buy a war savings stamp to stick in a small booklet. For birthdays and Christmas we might get a few war savings stamps from friends or relatives instead of the usual toys and games. At the end of the war the government reimbursed us for our stamps and I had saved enough for my first bicycle.

Young though we were, my school friends and I realized that fathers and uncles might be killed in the war and we understood that our mothers dreaded the arrival of a telegram stating that a loved on had been killed or injured. In our family we received letters from Dad quite regularly.

Reading these old letters now I realize that Dad was careful not to mention anything any thing that might cause us to worry. He wrote about the lovely scenery in England, the farmland and wonderful cites in Italy, and the kind people he met in Holland. It was only when he returned home in 1945 that his thin and worn face told the real story of what he had been through.


Childrens Toys From The 1990's

As the economy grew even further and many more families had both parents working, many toys in the 1990's became bigger, more expensive, and more interactive, as some parents bought their children toys to make up for time missed at home. Video games and gaming systems continued to advance and handheld devices gained popularity with the Nintendo Gameboy. The decade saw many toy fads in which parents rushed to the stores to pick up the latest item often getting news coverage for scuffles breaking out in stores and midnight rushers competing for the last toy (Tickle-Me Elmo, Furby, Beanie Babies, and others). Marketing towards children continued to grow as children's cartoon and television networks expanded and commercials increasingly focused on the new toys that "everyone had to have!". As parents became more aware of changing gender roles and women's rights further advanced, a lot more gender neutral toys started to appear in the market as well. Reflecting the increase in diversity among the population, manufacturers also began creating more ethnically diverse toys, especially dolls that featured a variety of skin tones, during the decade. Picking only a few was a hard task as I could easily have included 100 +

Part of our Collection of Toys from The 1990's

Vintage Nintendo Game Boy Compact Video Game System

Vintage Nintendo Game Boy Compact Video Game System

Vintage Nintendo Game Boy Compact Video Game System
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Price: $89.99

A hand-held version of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Features Tetris Game Pack, LCD dot-matrix game screen, and digital stereo sound with earphones for private play. Video Link cable hook-up allows two Game Boy systems to go head-to-head.


Teacher Barbie

Teacher Barbie

Teacher Barbie
Manufacturer: Mattel
Price: $27.99

The Teacher Barbie set comes with two students, a chalkboard, two desks, and Teacher Barbie herself.
From Our 1995 Toys Page


From Our Car Memories Page

Love of Nash Cars From The 40s Nash 1948

Memory Posted By: Ralph Marontate



I first fell in love with Nash cars when I was seven. My grandfather bought a new 1939 Lafayette sedan. I remember going on trips up North and to the dealers with my grandfather. When I was in High School the 1948 Nash was my favorite car. I have owned scores of Nash cars across the years. I now have restored low millage 1948 Nash 600 and a 1940 Lafayette.

1990s Memory

College Days U.S.A.

Memory Posted By: Chad

I started college right after high school. In my day – the mid-1990s – that’s what everybody did. I got a full scholarship to go to the local community college for two years. That was great because most of my friends planned on staying around Flint, too. Besides, that meant I would get my basic classes out of the way for free. Mott Community College was the one I chose because it was accredited and their credits transferred anywhere. This was ideal because I planned on moving to South Carolina to get my four-year degree.

After two years at Mott, I did move to USC – the home of Hootie and the Blowfish and the place where the band was formed. My major was psychology and my roommates were pretty cool. But two weeks into the semester, my dad got sick. He started falling down and my mom was already in bad health. I counted on my dad to take care of her, but with his new illness, I was forced to move back home.

It worked out for the best, though. I began attending the University of Michigan – Flint. I was never a party guy or a drinker, but I was glad to be home around my friends. I also met the girl that would be my wife in a chat room while using one of the school’s computers. I continued my psychology major, but I didn’t do very well. I had my impending wedding and my terminally ill parents on my mind. It was hard to concentrate and I eventually dropped out.

In the next couple years, my parents lost their battle with their respective illnesses. At the age of 28, I returned to the University of Michigan – Flint to continue my degree. I changed my major to English – my first love. After doing that, I got A’s in all of my classes except one. I enjoyed school much more and made some awesome friends, even if they were almost a decade younger than me. I graduated in May 2006 and my wife, the one who has stood by me through everything the past few years, encouraged me to do the traditional graduation walk across the stage. It ended up being one of the best experiences of my life.

1980s Memory

Looking Back On The Challenger Crash USA

Memory Posted By: Julie

It was 1986, and I was sitting in my sixth grade classroom. Our teacher had pulled out the television and VCR stand and showed us the breaking news of the crash of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

One of the persons aboard that ship was a teacher at Concord High School named Christa McAuliffe (full name Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe. She would have been the first teacher to arrive in space.

I did not live at the school where this teacher taught. However, was a child in America who loved my country (and still do) with a large amount childhood naivety.

In fact, I still feel the way I did about America as I did when I was a child, despite its imperfections. This is my home.

Anything that happened in America while I was a child also happened to me. I am not sure why I felt that way. Perhaps it was because at the time I had a great teacher (Mrs. Miller) who made us aware of what was happening in the world at that time.

It could have been another reason as well. Perhaps when Mrs. Miller spoke of Mrs. McAuliffe’s death I subconsciously thought…what if it would have been Mrs. Miller (my teacher)?

How the Challenger Crash Affected Me

I remember thinking about how brave that Kristen McAuliffe was. She was the first teacher to ever fly to space. If I would have had the opportunity I would have wanted to fly to space too.

Looking back now, I wished that she would have been alive to come back and tell her students about it. I wish that even though she was not my teacher, because I imagine she was most likely as good as most of my teachers were growing up.

Her students would have been so proud. They would have been in awe hearing about the entire experience. Unfortunately, no one will really ever know what her experience was specifically.

They will never know what the experience was of the seven others who had stepped aboard the Challenger before its first attempt at takeoff, either. We could all only imagine what they would have came back and reported to the classroom.

From our Millenium Memories Page

Losing Your Home

Posted By William

I have posted this as a memory to highlight the problems my family and many other families are facing because we made bad decisions.

3 Years ago we bought a new home which we could not really afford but decided that as house prices were rising quicker than wages " We Could Not Lose "

We borrowed additional loans against the house each time we got deeper in debt , but this year it all caught up with us as our house is now worth less than our loans and it is being foreclosed, and we are looking for somewhere to rent.

I do not blame anybody for my mistakes or greed or stupidity, I am just posting this as a reminder that buying your home is a great memory but losing it will act as a reminder of my own greed.

So do not make the same mistakes I did!!!



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