Howdy folks!
Marilyn and I were both born in 1950, but we didn’t grow up watching the milkman clink bottles on a paved driveway. We were farm kids—Marilyn in the Maritimes and me out on the Prairies. For us, the “milk delivery” was a walk to the barn with a galvanized pail, and the only “sound on the doorstep” was the farm dog letting us know someone was coming up the lane.
Before you watch today’s video, let’s talk about the real 1950s routines for those of us who grew up with dirt under our fingernails and a list of chores longer than a summer day.
The Original “Home Delivery”
In town, they had the milkman. On the farm, we had the Cream Separator. Do you remember that high-pitched whine as it got up to speed? It sounded like a jet engine taking off as we cranked faster and faster! My job was often turning that handle until my arm felt like it was going to fall off, watching the cream come out one spout and the skim milk out the other. We didn’t buy our butter in a foil wrapper; we made it, or we traded our cream for groceries at the general store.
The “Chore List” Before the School Bus
For a farm kid in the 1950s, “getting ready for school” involved more than just brushing your teeth. There were wood boxes to fill for the kitchen stove, eggs to gather (and hoping the hens weren’t feeling peckish that morning), and maybe a bucket of slop for the pigs and holding the nipple bucket for some rambunctious calves. By the time we climbed onto that bus, we’d already done a half-day’s work.
The Party Line: Rural Social Media
While we lived miles apart, we weren’t isolated. We had the Party Line. On the farm, that telephone was a lifeline. You’d hear that long-short-long ring and know it was for you—but you also knew that Mrs. Big Ears down the road probably had her ear to the receiver, listening in to see if the neighbor’s tractor was finally fixed. It was the original “social media,” and it kept the farming community connected through every blizzard and harvest.
The 1950s Transition
The 1950s was the decade the farm really changed. We went from the last of the horse-drawn equipment to the roar of the diesel tractor. We saw the “hydro” finally reach the back roads, turning those kerosene lamps into antiques almost overnight.
A Trip Down Memory Lane The video below captures the spirit of Canada in the 1950s. While some of it shows the “city life,” you’ll recognize the same cars, the same grit, and that same sense of a country that was just starting to find its footing after the war.
Warmly,
Bill & Marilyn
Founders of Canadian Senior Moment
20 Forgotten Things About Canada In The 1950s That We Will NEVER Get Back
This video is a great companion for a talk about our childhoods, showing the fashions, the technology, and the simpler times we still talk about today.
