About this blog

It’s not that I don’t like the 21st century – I do. I appreciate computers, digital photography, and air conditioning. I am thankful for the advances in medicine and technology. But I am also unapologetic in my sometimes rose colored memories of my growing up years in the 20th century.

It’s sometimes hard to realize that I was born before the midpoint of the last century. Life was different then and I have some very happy memories of that time. Are those memories distorted by time and distance? Perhaps, but they are my memories none-the-less. I think it is more important to remember the good times than to dwell on the not so good times.

And so it is that I want to preserve some of these memories of a simpler time and a different way of living. I am not attempting to make any political statement here, just trying to tell real stories about real people in a real time in the last century. Perhaps you, the reader, might find something that brings back a memory or two for you as well. I wish I had some first-hand knowledge of how my grandmother lived in her time. Maybe someday my grandchildren will enjoy reading about how it was in my time.

These stories are not linear, but random as they come to mind. I am in the process of scanning old slides and photos, and as something triggers my memory, I will attempt to write it down. Therefore, expect to jump from 1949 to 1963 and back to 1950. Some stories might be ones that have been passed down in family lore, which occurred before I was born. I will have to trust my siblings to correct any flaws in my memories!

So let’s get to it, shall we. Jump aboard my time machine and let’s take a trip back to the 20th century.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Making Music the Old Fashioned Way

The year was 1949 and I was just a new born baby.  Talk about the “olden days!”  We didn't have a television – only a very few, very wealthy families actually had them in their homes.  We didn’t have a movie camera – UNTHINKABLE!!  We didn’t have digital cameras, cell phones, CD players, or MP3 players…we did have a radio!

Back in the olden days we made our own entertainment.  Very often that entertainment revolved around the family singing together.  Daddy would get out his guitar and all would gather around and the music would flow.  As I got older, I can remember most times we had company (remember that concept?) we would also gather around and sing together.  We certainly didn’t sit around and watch TV together!  

Back in 1949, we didn’t have any way to record most of these moments.  We wouldn’t even own a reel-to-reel tape recorder for another four or five years.  BUT, we had a friend (Porter by name – first or last name I don’t know) who had a marvelous machine that made records right in the comfort of your own home.  I have these original records and they are in remarkably good shape for something 65 years old.  I wonder if today’s digital sounds will be as remarkable 65 years from now?  

Now back in the day, the recording quality was not advanced but we did the best we could when Porter let us borrow his machine.  What fun to listen now to things we recorded so long ago.  Hearing my daddy quietly accompany his kids on his guitar is a memory that I treasure.  Hearing my big brother and sister singing when they were just little kids is beyond fun.  Hearing myself squeal a baby noise is just amazing – remember this all happened more than half a century ago!

I put together a video for my family.  I have been scanning old slides and negatives and was looking for music to go with some of them.  Inspiration struck!!  Why not use our own music?  So I used some of the music from that long ago 1949 recording that we made on Porter’s wonderful magical machine and put some old photos with it.  Not all the photos were taken in 1949, but I got as close as I could.

David and Laila – this is for you.  You were amazing.

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3 comments:

  1. Carol KJune 23, 2014 at 9:30 PM

    Those are precious memories and sounds, Donna. I may not always comment, but I'll be reading your new blog!

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  2. BobJune 24, 2014 at 6:17 AM

    This is so cool that you're doing this. Speaking of technology of the time, I vividly recall receiving recorded messages (as a kid in rural Nova Scotia) that we'd then put on a reel to reel tape recorder to hear my oldest sister, who lived in far off Hamilton, Ontario. It was almost surreal.

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  3. Russ KrecklowJune 24, 2014 at 7:16 AM

    Looks like you've always been "Donna Two Dogs".

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