My parents when they were "Broke" that just tightened up their Belts....No Welfare...Now, there used to be commodities that some of the neighbors would get. My dad drove a Produce truck and he always had fresh produce so they would trade for the Butter...Peanut Butter and the Block Cheese....The parents we all had.....Made it work.....they didn't run to the corner and spend the last nickle on Marijuana so they could forget for a while....they took trouble by the horns.....Mine did..... did yours????

Those old folks who lived through the great depression are all tougher than us. They did have to make do and so did we when I was growing up. Did you ever buy canned goods that had no labels (bargain priced) so every once in a while you'd have "surprise supper"? If Dad was ever sick, we really had to make do because sick leave was scarcer than street-corner beggers.

I remember my dad standing in front of the window in his boxer shorts when the big 1960 Tornado came through Southside OKC....When it had gone he looked at me and said "Never be that stupid".....I could have gotten cut by glass....I said yeah and you could have been sucked away by the Tornado....."Oh yeah, that too". My dad was a guy's guy....True Redneck.....he wore white socks and drank blue ribbon beer....Coors, Stag, Progress, Budweiser....whatever....Only saw him tight once in my entire life though......

I remember my dad standing in front of the window in his boxer shorts when the big 1960 Tornado came through Southside OKC....When it had gone he looked at me and said "Never be that stupid".....I could have gotten cut by glass....I said yeah and you could have been sucked away by the Tornado....."Oh yeah, that too". My dad was a guy's guy....True Redneck.....he wore white socks and drank blue ribbon beer....Coors, Stag, Progress, Budweiser....whatever....Only saw him tight once in my entire life though......

Dad wore boxers. To get form the folks bedroom to the bathroom you had to go from through the front room and dinning-room. This was an older home that Dad, my brother, and I remolded. Plaster walls and ceiling.

Anyways. If dad had to go to the bathroom day or night and he was in his boxers, didn't matter who was in the living-room he was going....

I read this thread over and over as I miss my parents tremendously. It seems that all of our parents were about the same. Fall in Love work hard to give their kids what they didn't have...get old ....pass away.....Brad Paisley (country Western singer) has a song out "waiting on a woman"......My dad gave me that advice about two weeks before I got married.....find the song and listen to the words....you too Pennyquilts and Soonergirl26 and Southside Girl and all of the other women that read or participate in this thread......

I read this thread over and over as I miss my parents tremendously. It seems that all of our parents were about the same. Fall in Love work hard to give their kids what they didn't have...get old ....pass away.....Brad Paisley (country Western singer) has a song out "waiting on a woman"......My dad gave me that advice about two weeks before I got married.....find the song and listen to the words....you too Pennyquilts and Soonergirl26 and Southside Girl and all of the other women that read or participate in this thread......

My first pair of bell-bottoms were created by him......

That's right.........

It was a pair of paisley bell-bottoms.....:kicking:

Road trips with the folks. There were 3 boys and one girl in our family. The boys in the backseat acting up on a trip. My dad would always say, don't make me stop this car and come back there. I always want to say, stop the car and come on back. I was always the family clown as well in high school. I think my dad had a belt with my personal name on it. ha Moms eyes when she was mad, she would look at me , I would'nt move a muscle. Mom had a switch on the ice box just like my Grandmother. I called her Zorro the way she moved that switch.

How about memories of your parents?

Mom :boxing2: Dad over....well....everything. They split years ago. Didn't exactly make for a fun run during the teenage years.

Not many good memories there. Dad was, and to the best of my knowledge, still is, a pretty miserable human being. He's never even met his grandkids, nor expressed any desire to.

How pitiful is that?

His loss.

I remember my Daddy, ruling the roost. AND Momma, ruling the rooster!

Daddy was from a very old American family, English descent with a lot of Scotch Irish thrown in, your tipical macho man, had a handle on everything, if he didn't know how to, he knew someone who did. Had bees in the backyard, fresh honey straight out of the beehive to the jar. $3 a quart. He had a good work ethic. Lee Way as a diesel mechanic, Friday and Saturday nights at the Diamond Ballroom as a bouncer, part-time for Sheriff Gene Wells, then after retiring from Lee Way, full time for Gene Wells, then for Sheriff J.D. Sharp.

Momma was a devout Catholic and raised us that way. All her grandparents were German immigrants. She could COOK. My Dad's sister Alice used to say, "Mary is the only woman I know who can take a green pepper and cook up a meal fit for a holiday". I call that resourceful.

I remember my Daddy, ruling the roost. AND Momma, ruling the rooster!

Daddy was from a very old American family, English descent with a lot of Scotch Irish thrown in, your tipical macho man, had a handle on everything, if he didn't know how to, he knew someone who did. Had bees in the backyard, fresh honey straight out of the beehive to the jar. $3 a quart. He had a good work ethic. Lee Way as a diesel mechanic, Friday and Saturday nights at the Diamond Ballroom as a bouncer, part-time for Sheriff Gene Wells, then after retiring from Lee Way, full time for Gene Wells, then for Sheriff J.D. Sharp.

Momma was a devout Catholic and raised us that way. All her grandparents were German immigrants. She could COOK. My Dad's sister Alice used to say, "Mary is the only woman I know who can take a green pepper and cook up a meal fit for a holiday". I call that resourceful.

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My dad was driver for Lee Way. But, when you start talking about Mama's cooking...man....even my wife (who is one of the BEST cooks around) would go to the kitchen not to just help but to watch. Coconut Creme Pie.....Oh my Gosh.....My mother and the other ladies on our block used to have coffee every morning.....If anyone was running short on groceries towards the end of the week, they would ALL open their cupboards and combine everything so everyone still had a meal on the table by Friday Night. then on Saturday look out Airline/Reding Shopping Center....Those were memories I hope I NEVER forget......A Yeast from my mom's kitchen was to die for....Lasagna....Not even Nicolosis could hold a candle to her....Love ya MOM...

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Those were memories I hope I NEVER forget......A Yeast from my mom's kitchen was to die for....Lasagna....Not even Nicolosis could hold a candle to her....Love ya MOM...

That's why I don't eat at places that advertise "home cooking". Nothing is better than home cooking so if that's what I am looking for I'll eat at home!!

One of my Dad's passion was Deer Hunting in Colorado. My wife and some friends of ours made a four-wheeler trip where he hunted a year or so ago....Made it a point to sit down in their OLD camp site and made a cup of Coffee and drank it there.....Anyway, I was going through the closet....sheesh....and found his old Hunting rifle.....brings back many, many memories....My mother bought it for him for Christmas one year without him knowing. But, she gave it to him during Deer Season. He never showed any expression but boy that evening he was like a little boy getting his first Red Wagon....then when he got home she made him clean the gun and HE had to re-wrap it for Christmas....Winchester Model 88 Lever Action...15 rounds is all it has ever had shot through it....pre 1960....Gun enthusiasts know what that means....Miss my dad......You got any thoughts to share????

Dad was a mechanic for Fleming Foods for over 30 years then retired then hired back on as part time. He loved that place although he never said it. Taught me to work with my hands but never wanted me to be a mechanic. He'd come home with busted knuckles and maybe a barked place on his bald head, but he never complained. He went to work in the wee hours of the morning - about 4 am - and got off when many folks were eating lunch. He'd be sad that Fleming is gone now.

I remember when I was pretty young (grade school) my Dad was building a patio at our home at S.W. 50th and almost Penn.. Well..he took me to the Dolese cement place on Exchange and had them fill up the bed of his 49 Ford truck to the top of the bed, then we drove home and wheelbarrowed it load by load to the back yard and laid it. What a day! What a memory!

I remember when I was pretty young (grade school) my Dad was building a patio at our home at S.W. 50th and almost Penn.. Well..he took me to the Dolese cement place on Exchange and had them fill up the bed of his 49 Ford truck to the top of the bed, then we drove home and wheelbarrowed it load by load to the back yard and laid it. What a day! What a memory!

One year my Dad rototilled our front yard and both sides of the house. We then went to the sewage treatment plant (more than once) and loaded the bed with that treated sludge. Once all three areas were covered we leveled the yard out. Anytime it rained, snowed or the humidity went sky high you could smell that yard from blocks away. It did the trick. Lush, green lawn.

never needed, or even wanted, a lush green lawn that badly.
:LolLolLol

One year my Dad rototilled our front yard and both sides of the house. We then went to the sewage treatment plant (more than once) and loaded the bed with that treated sludge. Once all three areas were covered we leveled the yard out. Anytime it rained, snowed or the humidity went sky high you could smell that yard from blocks away. It did the trick. Lush, green lawn.

That's a good story but I wouldn't care if I ever mowed another lawn.

That's a good story but I wouldn't care if I ever mowed another lawn.

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One time when I was ten years old....I was very quietly watching television...My grandfather came over to the house said "You don't look too busy".....Me:..."Yeah I know".....Well, I've got you a neat present....excitedly I got up and he showed me a dump truck full of Sand being unloaded.....Gotta be leveled today Son......Boy was I upset.....I did the job leveling and spreading....thought that was that....Next afternoon same scenario except it was a dump truck (actually 2) of Cattle Manure....Gotta be spread Son....reluctantly I got up and worked my backside off.....Next day I was no where to be found....And yes, our yard could be smelled for days...But, we had a pretty yard....He was a tough old man......But that's O.K.....

I don't remember what it was for, but 2 or 3 times we drove down to the bank of the N. Canadian and loaded a pickup with as much sand as it could take. Loaded by hand and unloaded by hand.................

One year my Dad rototilled our front yard and both sides of the house. We then went to the sewage treatment plant (more than once) and loaded the bed with that treated sludge. Once all three areas were covered we leveled the yard out. Anytime it rained, snowed or the humidity went sky high you could smell that yard from blocks away. It did the trick. Lush, green lawn.

A family friend was a chemist for the Oklahoma City Wastewater facility. I'll never forget one year we were bragging about the tomatoes in our garden. He said "never plant tomatoes, you can always come out to the treatment plant and get all you want. Those seeds never digest completely and so tomatoes come up thick as bermuda grass every spring". As much as I love home-grown tomatoes, that made me lose my taste for tomatoes for the rest of that year.

A family friend was a chemist for the Oklahoma City Wastewater facility. I'll never forget one year we were bragging about the tomatoes in our garden. He said "never plant tomatoes, you can always come out to the treatment plant and get all you want. Those seeds never digest completely and so tomatoes come up thick as bermuda grass every spring". As much as I love home-grown tomatoes, that made me lose my taste for tomatoes for the rest of that year.

Caused my granddaughter to swear off them forever!!

Can't get the sludge anymore. Government says the stuff is full of lead.

I remember my mother was our cub scout den mother, and my father was very involved in the boy scouts with my brother and I. I never see any cub or boy scouts anymore.

I remember my mother was our cub scout den mother, and my father was very involved in the boy scouts with my brother and I. I never see any cub or boy scouts anymore.

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Weird you posted this one....I was coming down south Penn and 29th st. the other day and began to remember that was where our parents (Brock Park) dropped us off to earn our "Hiking" Badge....We walked ten miles (to the river) to get that badge.....about 104th st. I asked to be excused from this Merit Badge...didn't work....the Scout leader said we had to finish as our parents were at the river waiting on us.... and it was only 3 more miles....He told us two lies that day.....our parents weren't there and it must have been 20 more miles.....We reminded him that Good Scouts never lied to their friends.....

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Weird you posted this one....I was coming down south Penn and 29th st. the other day and began to remember that was where our parents (Brock Park) dropped us off to earn our "Hiking" Badge....We walked ten miles (to the river) to get that badge.....about 104th st. I asked to be excused from this Merit Badge...didn't work....the Scout leader said we had to finish as our parents were at the river waiting on us.... and it was only 3 more miles....He told us two lies that day.....our parents weren't there and it must have been 20 more miles.....We reminded him that Good Scouts never lied to their friends.....

Geeeee!

You had no friends as a child as well...............

One year the Money situation around my home was Pretty Tight...Real Tight...My Mom was distraught about it and couldn't figure out what to do and she said something about it in front of me and my older sister..... Brilliant as I always thought I was I said "Hey let's go and pick up Pop Bottles on the side of the road".....For the younger crowd...they (Pop Bottles) brought 2 cents each...My Mom was willing to try whatever.....away we went the two yoounger siblings were stowed in the back seat and Mom, My sister and I picked up bottles.....Now, this is going to blow your mind....We gather a little over $20.00 in bottles and bottle cases ...That knocked a major chunk out of their Christmas expenses....I know $20.00 isn't much but, a Barbie doll was only $1.99 and Mom had enough Green Stamps to finish it.....Gosh I miss those days and I miss my Mom......

How many of you guys and gals received one of the 5 pound Peppermint sticks for Christmas???? Always as a kid either me or my sister would get one of those things....Later on in years come to find out my dad was a Peppermint and my mom thought she was killing two birds with one stone...However, I can still see him breaking that big peppermint stick with a hammer for weeks after Christmas....Wish I could buy him another one....

My dad listening to Joe Cocker on our magnavox console radio....The big album on the record player of course!

When I was around 10--11, my parents decided to buy a bigger house, I remember listening to them discuss how they were going to pay the higher mortgage. Present house was $74.00 a month, new house would be $107.00 a month.

When I was around 10--11, my parents decided to buy a bigger house, I remember listening to them discuss how they were going to pay the higher mortgage. Present house was $74.00 a month, new house would be $107.00 a month.
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this post struck a NERVE>>>>>my wife and I bought our first house on S.W. 85th street. The payments were $84.00 per month....My mother-in-law (loved her to death) proceeded to tell me just how stupid I was for attempting to make payments like that.....OMG that house was brand new and would have been paid for a long time ago.....

I recall my dad telling me he paid $3,000 dollars for our first home, it was brand new and located just down the street from U.S. Grant highschool on S.W. 50th st..

I recall my dad telling me he paid $3,000 dollars for our first home, it was brand new and located just down the street from U.S. Grant highschool on S.W. 50th st..
My Dad told me he had a house built back in the 40's for $2500.00 in the 1000 block of S. Binkley; still looks pretty decent!! He said back then that Lumber Yards built most of the houses for people!! Kind of interesting......

My Dad told me he had a house built back in the 40's for $2500.00 in the 1000 block of S. Binkley; still looks pretty decent!! He said back then that Lumber Yards built most of the houses for people!! Kind of interesting......

Sears and Roebuck had house kits through mail order. Wonder if they put it together........

Sears and Roebuck had house kits through mail order. Wonder if they put it together........
The Mailman did die from multiple Hernia attacks!!!! LOL

Come to think of it, the house had all leather Truss's instead of wood!!!!!

Sears and Roebuck had house kits through mail order. Wonder if they put it together........

No they did not install them. More than 75,000 Sears kit homes were built in the U.S. between 1908 and 1940. You can see a bunch of them north of the AMC flea market in that area.

No they did not install them. More than 75,000 Sears kit homes were built in the U.S. between 1908 and 1940. You can see a bunch of them north of the AMC flea market in that area.

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The house I am tearing down in Norman was a Sears Kit house.....On topic....Can you imagine what your parents would say if you had been locked out of school and your excuse was you didn't know what time school started....In the second semester.......

I remember not long after Woodstock talking to my dad one day and "out of the blue" my dad tells me he really liked Richie Havens. Well, that just took me back because he was a kinda John Wayne type guy who liked people like Slim Whitman and the like. Freedom