As a child of the 1950s and 1960s, you may hear a parent, or more commonly, a grandparent, reminisce about how different life was when they were growing up during the Baby Boom era. This term refers to the period when children were born as soldiers returned home and started families after World War II and the Korean War.
Back in those days, most businesses closed at 6 o’clock on Saturday evenings. The only places open on Sundays, usually until noon, were bakeries and pharmacies. Our parents and relatives would often play cards, usually poker, on Saturday nights. Each of the four couples took turns hosting one Saturday a month.
We loved these gatherings because, before breaking for coffee and dessert, they would drop their change—rarely any bills—onto the kitchen floor. The next morning, we kids would scramble like a pack of ravenous dogs, hunting for the dropped coins. We eagerly searched for the silver: nickels, dimes, quarters, and occasionally we would find a rare half dollar, also known as a fifty-cent piece.
Before 1966, we had limited technology, with only four television stations available. That changed with the introduction of UHF, which added three more channels. Our phones were rotary dial with party lines, and we often encountered busy signals. We had a telephone table that held the phone book, along with a pad and pencil for taking messages. Most television shows would go off the air at 11:30 PM, signaled by the playing of “Taps” as the flag was lowered. After that, a test screen remained until 6 AM the next morning.
It was important for us to attend Mass as a family during the summer, and during the school year, you would sit with your teacher and classmates at the 9:00 a.m. Mass. Not only was attendance taken, but on the first Monday back, your name would be called using the $0.10 envelopes provided. If you were left standing, you’d better have an excuse that would satisfy even God Himself. Sundays were family days filled with activities like visiting parks, taking rides in the countryside, exploring downtown, or spending time with relatives who would come to visit us.
Kids rode their bikes everywhere, played every sport that involved a ball, and sometimes even made up their own games and rules. We had daily house chores, and before we could go out on Saturdays, we had to complete our weekly cleaning tasks. In our household, the allowance for doing daily chores was just for living there, but we received a small allowance of $0.10 for completing our weekly chores. This encouraged entrepreneurship; we mowed lawns, delivered newspapers, helped neighbors with chores, shoveled snow in the winter, and raked leaves in the autumn. I enjoyed every minute of it and often feel sorry for kids today who miss out on these priceless life lessons.
Point to Ponder: In both work and school settings, you are evaluated based on your performance, commonly referred to as LOE, or Level of Effort. Equally important are your social skills, which are highly valued in today’s business environment for hiring, promotions, and opportunities.
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