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    Home » Everything Amish » Plain Culture

    Friday Nostalgia: Pay Phones, Ice Cream Trucks, Glass Bottles, and More...

    Published: Jan 22, 2016 · Updated: Jan 22, 2016 by Kevin Williams | 5 Comments

    FRIDAY NOSTALGIA
    By Kevin Williams
    There are a lot of things that the passage of time makes me miss. Here are a few on my mind today, how many of these do you remember?
    cokeGLASS BOTTLES: I remember once a week or so loading up a shopping cart full of glass bottles to return to the grocery store for a deposit. There many things I can take away from this pleasant memory. One, gee, where did I get my current adult addiction to sodas? I think taking shopping carts full of empty soda bottles to the grocery store sort of point towards a culprit. The grandmother lived within an easy walk of the supermarket and I spent a lot of time at her house as a kid. There was always a grocery cart parked outside Grandma’s house for my Aunt’s frequent walks to the supermarket. Um, don’t think you were supposed to just help yourself to the carts and keep them at your house, but that was a different era….SIGH, gone are the glass bottles…I think the soda tasted the best in a cold, glass bottle. You can still get Coke in glass bottles at the Mexican grocery in town, but I’m trying to avoid Coke altogether these days…
    LONG DISTANCE: I don’t think anyone misses the long distance bills, but I’m sure most of you remember interrupting someone who is on the phone and they’d cup their hand over the receiver and say to you “just a second, I can’t be interrupted, this is long distance” And with those two magic words – “long distance” - the person would politely back off and let the person finish their call because everyone knew what those two words meant. It always meant the call was "important."  Kind of nostalgic for those code words that meant someone very important was on the other end.
    PAY PHONES: I kind of miss them. Yes, they were germy. But there was something somewhat satisfying about sticking a dime into the machine and being able to call anywhere. I remember the last time I ever used one. Not sure why I remember, but it was in Toledo from a rest stop on a cold, rainy night. I think my cell phone battery was dead so I was calling Rachel. That was probably around 2005.
    ICE CREAM TRUCK: I remember the joy at hearing the jingle of the ice cream truck. They’re still around, but – is it me? – they just seem sketchier than they used to be. Not sure if Aster will ever experience that same joy.
    CHECK WRITING: As soon as I turned 16 or 17 I got my first book of checks and I learned quickly that you always had a “couple of days” (this was back in the late 80s) before a check would clear so, well, yeah, there was a little bit of a built-in float. Now with hi-tech innovations the float is gone and, so, are checks, really. At least for me. I rarely write checks anymore. In fact, I rarely carry cash anymore. I miss cash.

    « Amish Molasses Brownies
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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jane

      January 22, 2016 at 2:54 pm

      Oh for the good ole days!! 16oz. bottles of soda!! As a young girl we would have hamburger fries, outdoors, with other families and the big bottles of RC Cola. Just a slower pace of life. I miss it.

      Reply
    2. Judy

      January 22, 2016 at 3:41 pm

      Agree that "soft drinks" always tasted better in glass bottles...but then, my treat for the week was a six ounce coke on a Saturday night! SIX OUNCES...imagine that in this day and age...We have an ice cream truck that whizzes by my house in the summer...there is no way anyone could get that truck stopped in time to buy an ice bar..Remember the first "ice cream truck" A man with a push cart ringing a bell, walking up the street. First time I ever tasted an orange Popsicle (only orange no other flavor). Only time I could buy one, just in the summer. Have to wonder if "anticipation" is a dead emotion in these United States. At least, for some of us because we now have homeless, hungry people..

      Reply
      • Kevin

        January 22, 2016 at 5:48 pm

        Ah six ounces, how nice that would be!

        Reply
    3. hmchelen

      January 22, 2016 at 5:38 pm

      Hi Kevin I remember all those things and more. Times sure have changed. You and your loved ones have a blessed weekend.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        January 22, 2016 at 5:48 pm

        Thanks Helen, you too!

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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