Saturday, March 12, 2016

Sepia Saturday #323 - March 26th : A washtub, revolver and deflated beachball.

While other kids played with marbles, my photos reveal that we had some peculiar distractions when we were children. I picked out three examples.

The first one was a big favorite: dipping in the wash tub. Nobody had a swimming pool in those days; my childhood predated the advent of the inflatable backyard pool. On hot days, we ran through the hose spray but the tub was preferred for cooling. I had clearly outgrown the vessel, but not the desire to dunk. Joycie, my little friend, looks a bit disgusted by the scene or she was anxious for her turn. Now I have a swimming pool that I rarely use. The cats drink out of it and probably the possums do too, at night.  

This second photo fell out of an album I've only partially reviewed. It was a bit of a shocker to see my sister at 3 1/2 years old holding a pistol. I asked my husband if he could identify it, hopefully as a cap gun, but he said, "It's your father's service revolver." Gulp, I think he's kidding me. We held different opinions about guns in those days than we do currently but I'm sure my parents wouldn't have put a real one in my tiny sister's hands. My sister looks quite pleased and content with her toy. Haven't times changed?
My final picture shows my sister and I captivated by a half inflated beach ball, another odd plaything. We look as if we're waiting for the ball to do something. My sister's steepled fingers indicate deep thought. She enjoyed making up stories to entertain me and I think that's what she was doing.


The fellow in the upper left hand corner striding by in his bathing suit caught my eye. I can't tell if his suit is knit or not. The scene reminded me of this photo of my family suited up for a dip in the river on a hot summer's day. They all wore knit suits - stretchy, itchy and clingy, they were horrible. I can remember running back and forth into the water, holding my suit up with both hands because as soon as it was wet it would stretch and be down around my knees.
Hector Fortier, Addie Fortier, Jeanne Fortier, Joe Killeen, Jill Killeen

In the end, my point is that our imaginations and childhood lack of inhibitions were the best playthings we had. I can never remember myself or other children in our neighborhood proclaiming boredom. It was a concept beyond us -  every minute of the day was spent exercising our imaginations. At least, that's how I remember it.






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14 comments:

  1. Interesting photos. I remember the tub. It sat in the middle of the kitchen on Saturday nights for our weekly baths. We lived on a farm with no running water or furnace (we had two coal-burning stoves, one of which blew up the first winter we lived there.)

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  2. The minute I met you I knew we had an undefinable connection. Now I know it was the childhood washtub experience.

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  3. I thought people might seize on games, as there are probably very few with photos of marbles, but we'll see I guess. Your expression 'steepled fingers' is interesting, haven't heard of that one before.

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  4. Wonderful photos. The one with the gun sure is scarey! It is amazing how different we are now. From the bathing suits to the wash tub to the gun. And more!
    Barbara

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  5. me too. That's how I remember it and what fun we had. Love your old photos.

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  6. Fun for all! What wonderful photos you've shared too!

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  7. Ah yes - imagination. Tis a powerful thing. I loved my bike and the ability to go exploring.

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  8. I love these snapshots, precious, just how it was. The same here never bored as a child, despite having the simplest of toys sometimes made by my sister and I. I remember the knitted bath costumes. I had a soft blue one with red dots,it was quite a thick knit and it took ages to dry. Quite uncomfortable.

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  9. Lovely photos - I suspect imagination needs constant exercising just like our limbs and our muscles. Sepia Saturday acts as a "treadmill of the imagination" - as you demonstrate so well.

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  10. An eclectic collection of pictures from cute washtub cool-down to pistol-totin' sister (!), to mysterious beach ball ("It Came From Outer Space!" to those old itchy bathing suits. Fun post.

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  11. Of course, all our childhoods were sunny in our imaginations - even when they weren't! These are wonderful memories to accompany the images.

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  12. And wasn't it great to just use our imaginations to come up with our own games? We didn't need a corporation telling us what we should be doing. A stick and a ball and a green lawn were perfection. Or a piece of cardboard and a steep hill covered with grass.

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  13. Children (under the age of 12) have a natural curiosity which inspires imagination. Like Alan says, it needs regular exercise to assuage boredom.

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  14. Oh I have a pistol story too but I am saving it for the A to Z April Challenge. We ran through lawn sprinklers in the summer before we got a kiddy pool. I remember the headache of constantly emptying and refilling because of all the grass we tracked in from our feet.

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