Not enough for kids to do in city of 25,000!

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
Reading. Lots of Louis L'Amour.

Yep, pretty well read all his books, most of Zane Grey's and many of Max Brand's as well.

For many of my childhood and teenage years, paper routes kept me fairly busy and provided some pocket money.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
3
36
London, Ontario
I 'read' the lingerie section of the Sears catalog if that's any help.

If, if ya know what I mean.

What's that boy doing in there with the Sears catalog again?

Yeah, we know what ya mean. ;)

To see Little Rascals we had to go down to the YMCA to see them on 16mm. No cable TV in those days.

I didn't have cable growing up either. Being closer to the border though we were able to pick up grainy images from Detroit stations, lol, including whatever station showed the old Our Gang shows.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
109,722
11,569
113
Low Earth Orbit
Yep, pretty well read all his books, most of Zane Grey's and many of Max Brand's as well.

For many of my childhood and teenage years, paper routes kept me fairly busy and provided some pocket money.
And the Charlie Joyce hockey series. You'd have to reserve them at the library months ahead.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
3
36
London, Ontario
Parents raise their kids to have no creativity, and to only do activities that the parents have arranged.

That was my point. The oft heard phrase is "Kids these days". But kids these days are just like kids have always been, it's we the adults (individual parents and society as a whole, in my opinion) that are making them into something else.

What is the number one thing that young children play with on Christmas morning, 20 years ago, today and in 20 years time?

I'd bet real money the answer is: the box.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
That was my point. The oft heard phrase is "Kids these days". But kids these days are just like kids have always been, it's we the adults (individual parents and society as a whole, in my opinion) that are making them into something else.

What is the number one thing that young children play with on Christmas morning, 20 years ago, today and in 20 years time?

I'd bet real money the answer is: the box.

You took the word right out of my mouth! and second is the wrapping paper. :lol:
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
83
bliss
Are thy buying all the kids bicycles and sandboxes? I'm starting another thread for this, Petros. Just heard on C.B.C. news that Cranbrook is getting a $100000 injection so the kids aren't so bored. What is happening? When we were kids if we had some flat ground, some sloped ground and some water we were busy and content from dawn to dusk. What's happening? Doesn't anyone shoot marbles any more? build forts? fly kites?

Hysterical people read national news coverage and rant about how the world is going to hell in a handbasket, and the youth of today are to blame. Thus they equally fear for our youth, and fear our youth. The end result is that no one wants them 'free range' because they are SURE to either kill or be killed. Thus, parents get chastised if the kids are running free, vehicles feel justified in not watching for children playing, and neighbourhoods stop watching one another's children's safety. So, unless there is structured activity for them, kids can't do a damn thing.

You should see the sheer glee and amazement of a bunch of city kids set loose on 20 acres.

Yeah, it's called destructivity!

Case in point.
 

skookumchuck

Council Member
Jan 19, 2012
2,467
0
36
Van Isle
I 'read' the lingerie section of the Sears catalog if that's any help.

If, if ya know what I mean.

Nat Geo gave us our first view of the real thing. Then in my teens there were dark rumors of Swedish porn movies............
In the early 50's my old reprobate uncle gave me a pie plate and taught me to pan flour gold in the aptly named "Goldstream" just outside Victoria. Still enjoy it to this day.
Next stop was an uncle's ranch in east central Alberta where the threshing crews (thrashing) still reigned. Horse teams and binders, hay forks and high wagons among omnipresent clouds of dust.
Lots to do after the 12 hr days of milking, feeding calves and pigs, haying, milking and feeding again, etc were over or the very rare rain gave a day off.
Harness up the team, hook up the stoneboat, load a couple 45 gal drums, go to the slough, bucket the drums full then go drown gophers for 2 cents a tail. That year at Christmas, from Sears came a single shot 12 dollar Cooey .22 that had me hoarding every penny from there on for "shells". Most came from taking a saddle horse out south through the "blowouts" 3 miles to the nearest patches of Wolf Willow along the dry creek bed. Pick the largest straight ones, cut with a hatchet, bundle and drag them home behind the horse for a nickel a post.
Good times preparing for the annual Rodeo! Yep, bored as hell;-)
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
83
bliss
My mom sent me that e-mail that makes the rounds every so often about how much better 'they' had it as kids, all the things they could do, and how kids these days are such wusses. I e-mailed her back and said... "If one of your grandkids got hurt doing any one of these things, what's the first thing you would say to me?" Her reply was that she'd rip a strip off me because I should know better, and she hadn't even thought about that fact before sending the e-mail. Skookumchuck's post made me think the same thing. When it hits the news that some kid got hurt out in the bush, all alone, the first thing everyone would say is... "What were the parents thinking!?"
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
My mom sent me that e-mail that makes the rounds every so often about how much better 'they' had it as kids, all the things they could do, and how kids these days are such wusses. I e-mailed her back and said... "If one of your grandkids got hurt doing any one of these things, what's the first thing you would say to me?" Her reply was that she'd rip a strip off me because I should know better, and she hadn't even thought about that fact before sending the e-mail. Skookumchuck's post made me think the same thing. When it hits the news that some kid got hurt out in the bush, all alone, the first thing everyone would say is... "What were the parents thinking!?"

Yep, have to admit the idiot box and other media venues are making us paranoid. We quit licking envelopes for fear of rat feces in the glue. :lol::lol::lol:
 

Walter

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 28, 2007
34,845
93
48
This is making the rounds.

"Northland College (NZ) principal John Tapene has offered the following words from a judge who regularly deals with youth.

"Always we hear the cry from teenagers 'What can we do, where can we go?'
... My answer is, "Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you've finished, read a book."
"Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun. The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in poverty or sick and lonely again."
"In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It's too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you..."
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
That year at Christmas, from Sears came a single shot 12 dollar Cooey .22 that had me hoarding every penny from there on for "shells". Most came from taking a saddle horse out south through the "blowouts" 3 miles to the nearest patches of Wolf Willow along the dry creek bed. Pick the largest straight ones, cut with a hatchet, bundle and drag them home behind the horse for a nickel a post.
Good times preparing for the annual Rodeo! Yep, bored as hell;-)

I got one of those for Xmas when I was about 12. A box of shorts in those days was about 50 cents.

Shouldn't they be having snowball fights?

That's only good from September until late June!
 

L Gilbert

Winterized
Nov 30, 2006
23,738
107
63
70
50 acres in Kootenays BC
the-brights.net
lol I didn't need my parents to give me stuff to do. I was always into hiking, baseball, hockey, swimming, skiing and sledding, reading (um, things like books as opposed to things like TWITter, PS3 game instructions, etc.), and hell, I even liked helping my uncle duiring haying season.
 

skookumchuck

Council Member
Jan 19, 2012
2,467
0
36
Van Isle
I got one of those for Xmas when I was about 12. A box of shorts in those days was about 50 cents.



That's only good from September until late June!


For me a box of shorts (that i hated) were 18 cents, longs were 23 cents, and long rifle (which my old uncle called "extra longs") were 28-30 cents.
My mother always bought me shorts to save money. I protested that they were not powerful enough and i would just wound the Sharptails that we often hunted. Coming home from town with Mom one day there were a number of "Chickens" alongside the road, we stopped so i could harvest a couple and being a devious lil bastard i intentionally hit one big rooster in the wingbut and had to chase him down.....Mom bought me longs after that.
Wouldn't have worked with Dad or Uncle, they would have said........shoot it in the head like you were told! :lol: