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| Did this hardworking fellow ever have a 'title'? |
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| The crafty creators of yesteryear - do you remember your first machine? |
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| My first was a Remington - Touch-typists, what a breed! |
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| The local shopkeeper and his store were a favourite - those lollies for a penny! |
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| The butcher always had a spare snag or bone for the family pooch, now a bone costs $3 |
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| Did your Primary school classroom look like this? Mine did! I loved all of my Primary School teachers. |
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| I have NO idea as to why anyone would want to have had this career! (shudder) |
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| Hats off to our stay-at-home Mums of yesteryear! They had so many mod cons to get them through their day :/ |
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Sometime after mid-night the 'service' was provided, and I clearly remember the "Night-watchman's" arrival, the clang of the pans being changed and the thump of his footsteps as he made his way up the side of the house under his heavy load hoisted onto his shoulder. (in my time though, the vehicle had modernised to a motorised truck!)
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HAPPY BLOGGING & Christmas Greetings
Hahaha! I see you snuck a loo in there - FAAAABULOUS!!! I read somewhere that you know you're getting older when the stuff in the museum could have come from your childhood home ...
ReplyDeleteMerry Xmas!!!
So true Marion! It scares me at times how much I remember way back then!
DeleteHaha, yep got a dunny in, and isn't she a fancy one hey?!
Christmas wishes back at you and Pilchard!
In my area of the states, there is still a shoemaker/repairman. He will sew practically anything made out of leather since the call for repairing shoes aren't as demanding.
ReplyDeleteThe classroom made me smile, not because it reminds me of my childhood, but of my MOM's childhood. In fact I have a one seater school desk on my front porch.
As for the outhouse, hum, sanitation truck, can't say we had that here that I ever heard of. Yes there are outhouses, those have a hole in the ground and moved when the hole is full, and we have portalets, but those are at venues like street fairs, and not at homes. Hence that last photo had me learning something new!
Bonnie, now that I think of it the shoe repairman can still be found in country towns in particular and there's some key-cutting kiosks located in city shopping centres that still do the simple repair. It's mainly a throw-away things these days with shoes.
DeleteHow lovely that you have an old school desk!
Only out in the country areas (as far as I know) had the long-drop type loos, but we were very modernised having the pan and nightwatchman in the towns whilst we awaited the connected of sewerage lines and real toilets inside!
Ah now we do have Portaloos, which are your Portalets and theyre everywhere from fairs, events, building sites etc.
Our outside dunny (outhouse) was blown down and over in a cyclone once! So were most of the neighbours - phew.................
Great memories when looking at all of those careers.... I'm sure the 'night watchman' had a 'dirty' job ---but one which everyone appreciated... One vintage job which they don't do anymore in our country was the 'milkman'... When I was a little girl, we had our milk delivered to our door by the milkman... These days we have to go to the grocery store to buy our milk. Did you have milkmen in your country back then?
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
Haha, oh Betsy yes the poor chap did have a rather 'dirty' :)
DeleteOf course! the Milkman! I was after the milk-can times, but I do remember well the Milkie coming with the bottles - with cream still on top! and you placed you palm flat on the tin lid to give it a twist to get it off. I remember red shiny tin tops. Thanks for remembering the milkman!
You gathered up a whole heap of my childhood memories. Yes, I was a Remington touch typist. Our grocer, Mr Bowes, would often say' "I'll just slip in half a pound of cracked biscuits for you kids." (We were a large family with little money). My girlfriend's father was manager at Hunter Brothers and to have our collector, Shorty, shout our name in greeting from his truck was a badge of honour. Ahh, the innocence! (That's a very flash looking dunny seat you found!)
ReplyDeleteAha, sweet memories indeed Pauline! You a touch typist too?!
DeleteIt is rather a flash seat! I know ours didn't look all polished and nice like that one!! :)
Wonderful pics and memories of the past. the shoemaker was called a "Cobbler" .I still have my first sewing machine from the seventies an Elna and it still works but I don't work it often only for mending. I could never type still can't. My first typewriter was a computer keyboard. I have always regretted not learning to type I remember the grocery shop and i used to buy an iceblock in a paper bag for a penny. I remember having to wait in rows of people crowding in the butcher shop of a Saturday morning. Yes I remember the double desks and kids dipping my plaits in the inkwell behind me. Ugh hated the dentist I used to throw up at the thought of going. Our first kitchen in Australia was a humpy built outside the tent we used to live in. My mum was a champion to cook out there in all weather. Sure do remember the dunny man, what a ghastly job. I was always worried he would come while I was sitting there. Do you remember ever driving behind a night cart...pooooh. My brother used to deliver huge ice blocks for the ice chests that we all had then. Ahhh a lovely trip down memory lane...a great post.
ReplyDeleteDiane - a Cobbler, of course!! Ah you have an oldie sewing machine too. Mine is 29 years old and still goes but is having problems - a Janome.
DeleteI loved all your memories but particularly the ICE MAN. Of course, I just remembered that and I'm remembering the little fridges and bottom section where he would put the big ice blocks! I'd completely forgotten about the ICE MAN - well done!!
I love living history museums. It is always so interesting. I always wonder how they managed without heat, A/C, ovens, bathrooms, etc. Stronger people than we are!
ReplyDeleteRose - for sure, I am weak, weak, weak. My admiration for the folk of the real olden yesteryear is HUGE!! :)
DeleteWow! Talk about a trip down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteI often think about how life was simpler back then, but when I see photos of those times, especially like that one with the baby in the fruit box cradle, I realise they were much harder times than we remember. The "good old days" weren't all that good. Yet people seemed happier than they do now they have all the time-saving conveniences.
I agree River, I believe life was simpler but certainly not easier!
DeleteI've always wanted to visit a shoe factory! Wonderful to hear that there are indeed still shoe repair shops.
Pleased you enjoyed the trip down memory lane!
We still have shoe repair shops here in Adelaide, I know of at least two and I used to work in shoe factories before they closed and moved operations offshore. Best job I ever had.
ReplyDeleteI love these photos - I find these incredibly fascinating. I especially love the typewriters. I have always loved the sound of a typewriter :)
ReplyDeleteKeith, the faster the clacking the better! Typing Pools, what a sound!
DeleteOH.MY.GOODNESS.SAKES! The memories! I loved the milk delivery, especially in the winter when it would freeze and rise above the glass bottle. We kids would argue over who got the frozen part.
ReplyDeleteI do not recall the Night-watchman here state side, but we did have "honey-dippers" who performed the same service and still do with septic tanks that need emptying on a rather regular basis (pun intended...).
Yes, life was harder then, but I don't think (or at least remember) depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD, OCD, etc. being an issue as it is today. I also haven't heard of it in the epidemic proportions we industrialized nations seem to have in the "third world nations." What a term - thrid world... lesser than... 'The term Third World was originally coined in times of the Cold War to distinguish those nations that are neither aligned with the West (NATO) nor with the East, the Communist bloc. Today the term is often used to describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania. Many poorer nations adopted the term to describe themselves." Today's lesson as shared from nationsonline.org!
Tamara, -chuckle- your lessons are always gratefully received as they're always interesting!
DeleteGosh, milk freezing here isn't even a thought! The poor sanitary services bloke really copped some extraordinary titles!! Septic tanks are the norm over here if one lives slightly outside any town or city limit and I've now lived with two and both were right royal pains and needed emptying [regularly] (he,he)
And you're right, perhaps some things did go undetected or ignored even way back then, but not the issue it is today.
Lovely to see you dear Tamara!
Yup I'm a Remington gal too Rose :) Funnily enough I saw one today in an antique shop in Guildford.. made me feel .....antique :)) You have to take your hat off to the 'night watchmen' .. a poo of a job!
ReplyDeleteHi Grace! I was a traitor though - switched to Olivettis during high school! One of those small, portable, dark green ones in their own zip up case. When I received it for my 14th birthday I thought I was just the bees knees and remember feeling like I was a reporter! I was an imaginative girl.......
DeleteMy grandmother told me and heaven forbid if she said so it must be true - that the N.W. were very well paid, and had 'the job' finished before daylight as they didn't wish to be recognised and endeavoured to keep their calling a secret! :/
Very nice! I love this kind of museums. It is good to keep 'in touch' with your ancestors ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings! ;-)
dzjiedzjee.blogspot.com
Some of mine are still alive Gert!
DeleteReally cool Rose! Great pics! Is all that in one place? If so, What a great place to visit! There was some familiar things there, but, I never had to deal with the night watchman. I think I'm glad for that! Lol
ReplyDeleteLucky you Kevin - I think you're too young for much of it! And yes it is all in one place - I took hundreds of photos - its a full day visiting the Historic Village and is in a beautiful Australian Bush setting (with a great cafe overlooking the river!)
DeleteI love places like this that show life in the "old days". Although I'm perfectly happy to live in the "new days" with our modern conveniences! :)
ReplyDeleteLooking back reminds me how grateful I am to be in the here and now E!
DeleteHi Rose, yep, lots of those items brought back memories. Touch typist, that's me. Learnt on a manual, started work using them and thought the first electric typewriter that entered the typing pool was totally amazing. I remember mum using the old wringer washing machine. You know, round body, two rollers at the top to squeeze the water out and then into the cement trough with the little bag of blue, to make the clothes whiter! Oh thanks for the memories. I had a great childhood. No worries, and love, Carol (and Stella and Rory)
ReplyDeleteOMGosh! of course!! the ol' Simpson wringer! and the bluo in little cotton bags! I still buy Bluo would you belive?? in a plastic blue bottle now - still love it for the whites! I remember, we were supposed to rub the moistened blue bags on bee stings. :)
DeleteI was still using a Simpson wringer machine when I was 20 years old and the thing I disliked about it the most was they were (of course) underneath our high houses here in Qld and you could bet your sweeties that a darn big frog would be hanging out somewhere in those bits around the two rollers!! Careful inspections were a must before turning on. My mother had a petrol driven one! - (she was on a station)
Thanks Carol for the reminders about washing machines!!
So many memories flew back when I looked at these beautiful pictures. I remember we always took our shoes to be mended by the bootmaker until dad began to do it himself. I am not sure whether we had a night cart call at the farm as I left there just before turning 6 and by then the metro area had septic tanks or deep sewerage but mum did had an old dunny down by the back fence with a little hole through to the back lane. She used it to store bits and pieces. I well remember the times before I had a washing machine and oh, those manual typewriters. I suffer with bad arthritis in my right hand now which was I think caused by pounding away day after day until (sigh) the electric machines arrived in my life, but till I was in my 40s at least.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us down memory lane.
Hello Mimsie, so pleased you enjoyed this little trip, and I trust most of the memories brought back to you were happy ones.
DeleteI'm sure you have lots of stories you could tell of 'way back then'. :)
A lovely post down memory lane Rose. I enjoyed your photos a lot and scoured every one of them. I remember the rag-and-bone man who came calling with his horse and cart. Mum would always give me an old something to exchange for a balloon ;) I loved the horse who seemed a huge beast but he had beautiful eyes. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your sweet comments and if I don't get to you before, Merry Christmas and A Very Happy new Year.
DeleteA lot in your pictures brings back memories to me Rose, My coal mining uncles were constantly at the cobblers. My Auntie May had an old Singer sewing machine. My eldest daughter learned to type on an old Imperial we got from an auction. Qwerty apparently goes back to 1873. I remember Lux and Rinso and Sunlight Soap (which is still on the go).
ReplyDeleteThe classrooms looks just like Mrs Garlands and I remember that dentist who started the ruination of my teeth.
We never had anyone to empty our 'pans' though, we had to dig a hole way down the garden. It was a great day when we got a brand new 'chemical' toilet that used Elsan ([from the initials of E. L. Jackson, the manufacturer + san(itation)]). That was back around 1950, I've just looked and they still call them 'chemical' toilets down at Elsan.
http://www.elsan.co.uk/organic-toilet-fluid.aspx
Now that seems to be an enduring product, it's a flush looking company.
Sorry for sinking to toilet humour