Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories from the 50’s & 60’s

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.

Old Photos from Yesteryear

A retiree friend sent me this link to a French website of all places that includes interesting USA photos from 1940-1969, many of which brought back memories of my childhood. The photos that peaked the most interest are shown below along with my recollections about the photo.

My Mom had this very same refrigerator made by Frigidaire in Dayton. She used to work there as did I a number of years later. She bought it on employee discount before the war. It never did conk out, so was eventually moved to the summer kitchen on the family farm when a newer frost free model was purchased. Dad drilled a hole in the door, removed the shelves and installed a pony keg of beer so he could have a cold draft beer after a hard day of work. His timing was terrible, as I had just left for college! There’s no doubt he waited patiently until i was gone to put the old fridge back to good use.

The above old photo of an amusement park ride sure brought back memories of the Shelby County fair. Here’s a previous blogpost about the fair.

Niagara Falls was a stopover on the way back from a trip several of my friends and I took in the summer of 1966 to the east coast returning via Canada after graduating from high school. Those infamous ventures were documented in this blogpost.

My Christmas list always included an electric train, but Santa unfortunately never delivered on this request. However, several of my cousins had model trains, so whenever visiting them, I would enjoy playing with their set and typically making suggestions about re-arranging the layout. They were always willing since the old route was somewhat boring to them, but never to me. Fun times!

Conversely, going to the dentist was anything but fun times. With no fluoride in the water on the farm, cavities were routine and a shot of novocaine almost as painful as the drilling itself, the dentist was my number one enemy. Still is to this day!

Mom would serve a family meal like shown above literally three times a day; for breakfast, dinner (noon meal) and supper (evening meal). Always had to say prayers before and after each meal. Supper was the best meal, with the leftovers generally served for lunch the next day, unless Mom made cornbread, in which case we’d have fried corn bread and lassie (molasses) for breakfast the next morning, a sweet treat. After supper, Dad and I would go out to milk the cows while Mom and my sisters would clean the dishes. Afterwards we’d reconvene in the living room to play cards or board games and watch TV as a family. Except during Lent, when we’d recite the rosary. Times have sure changed!

Check out the rest of the photographs at this link to recollect some of your own memories.