Old Drive-In theaters

There are some things in life that should never become a thing of the past as so many unique things have. I am talking about the old drive-in movie theaters...if you are one of the lucky ones to have experienced a night at the outdoor theater, then you probably share my sentiments.
In our neck of the woods there wasn't much to do at all for entertainment so the Drive in theater was the " in place" to be. We would always get there before the sun went down, to get a good parking place, and make a trip or two to the snack bar, not only for popcorn & coke but to check the joint out and see who was there..
At the very front of the theater, just below the screen there was a little play ground for small children, swings, slide etc. there was always a crowd there. Being a teenager, we really didn't want to be up there pushing our siblings in the swing--Not cool at all..
By the time the sun disappeared and the twilight evening arrived we were settled in our car, the movie speaker clipped onto the car door or window, can you recall all of the crackling noise the speakers made? Hey, it was the best that we had ever known and we never thought a thing about it. At times you would loose the sound for some reason and that caused people to start honking their car horns---the same honking would occur when the movie film would break or run off of the reel.
Every Wednesday night was "Buck Night", a carload of people could get into the movie for one dollar. We could really 'pack'em in" all of my friends and sometimes people that I didn't even know, they would hear us talking of going to the theater and ask to ride with us--we usually put them in the trunk of the car! We weren't the only ones stashing people in the trunk on dollar night--you could look around after you parked and most all trunks were opened with people falling out of them like mexican jumping beans!
There are so few of the old drive-in's left but the one that I have my memories of is still operating--granted they had to re-do the screen because of a tornado hitting the old screen, and they no longer use the speakers for the movie sound, now it comes through your car radio... that would have sure been tough on us back then because half the time the radio's were broke.
The one movie that I recall that was such a "Blast" for all of us was "Jailhouse Rock" with none other than Elvis Presley--the place was so packed we were sharing speakers !! Not very exciting for the teens of today but we had lots of fun.. I wonder if all of my old friends ever think back to the good ole days and the fun we shared at the old drive-in theater--it was great! If you had to get there squashed up inside the car or packed into the trunk it was well worth it...

Peanut Butter Cookies

Thinking about school, teachers, shopping for school etc.etc. reminded me of what I have not reflected back on--the lunchroom. I suppose in the cities they were probably referred to as the school cafeteria, but our country school had a lunchroom!
There was no pre-mixes or instant food prepared there, only fresh and home baked goodies. I remember the hot rolls were delicious, running a close second was the fried chicken--remember that I'm the gal not fond of chicken but it was great!
As the students went through the serving line the little ladies serving would ask if we wanted this or that, you didn't have to have everything put on your plate--you could request 2 rolls etc.in other words you got to eat exactly what you wanted. All of the students loved Fridays because they normally served Peanut Butter Cookies for dessert, they were soooooo good! The lady that was in charge of the lunchroom shared the recipe with Mom many years ago, I hope that you will enjoy them as we have through the years. I have baked them many,many times for my hubby,they are his favorite cookie.
Peanut Butter Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 white sugar
1/2 baking soda
1 1/4 cup of peanut butter
5/8 cup margarine
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine ingredients together and mix completely. Take a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into ball's. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. With the tines of a fork flatten the cookie slightly--dip the fork tines into some white sugar each time you flatten. I criss-cross my cookies with the fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 7--8 minutes or until set and turning light brown.
Every time I smell these baking it reminds me once again of the small things in everyday life that makes a lasting impression upon us. These little lunchroom ladies have been gone for many years now but I still remember their smiles and the pretty aprons they always wore and of course their delicious food.

Starting to school

With all of the talk on the news and in the press about how much the sales of school clothing and supplies will be "off" this year--I have to confess my thought is "Big Deal!" Now I realize that the merchants depend on parents--grandparents buying little Johnny & Suzie all of the cutesy trendy things they have weighted their shelves down with and I don't wish them a loss of income BUT whatever happened to making do with what you have??
Growing up most people felt very fortunate to get a new pair of shoes to start to school in --for many of us if a relative or older sister had outgrown a pair then they would polished them up and you were the proud owner of a second hand pair of shoes. Mom would often go to the fabric store and buy STACKS of fabric to sew our new clothes from. She was so creative and could make a calico dress look like a designer creation---at least I thought she could. She would sew new shirts for Mick and Mike--adding pearl snaps and all--
She gave the girls a hair permanent--usually a Toni Or LILT--do you remember those? Oh, my they stunk to high heaven but you had these pretty curls by the time it was over. One time my Aunt gave my cousin a home permanent and got sidetracked by something else and forgot to "time it" correctly, she had some curling rods to just fall off--hair attached! Looked like she had the mange!! I always thought of that and would perch myself right in front of the clock--taking no chances..
Our school supplies were not at all complicated--notebook theme paper, a couple of composition books--pencils and later on ink fountain pins along with the bottle of ink, ruler and crayons and if you needed it a note book to carry it all in or maybe a book satchel. Think they use back packs today.
Stating ALL of this to make my case--some things were just simpler in the old days- no hassle having to dress in the latest fad--a lot less expensive and we were just as happy with what we had as the children of today are. Yea, I confess some new shoes every year would have been a nice touch BUT that would have made us different from the other kids ---not a good thing!!

What all the hog provided

The hog killing and curing out the meat for the winter was only the beginning for the those doing the "hog work". The women would have a big cast iron wash pot heating over a open fire outside and the fat from the hog was placed inside it to melt down and this would be the lard (we now use shortening). I have used lard to make pie crust and they are MUCH better--flakier. I remember Momma had a real big tin can with a lid that she would put the lard in, it was kept sitting by the old kitchen cabinet--made it handy for her to use . In those days the kitchens weren't decorated as they are today--they were totally functional--no frills just serviceable.
The women would use some of that melted fat to fry the cracklings in (the pork skin); when they floated to the top --out they came and were salted and ready to snack on. Sometime you put some of the cracklings in your cornbread batter --made it rather crunchy. A lot of people think the meat in the hog head makes the best tamales ever---WELL, I'll take their word for it---Mom never tried it ...
The old lard that the women would save from frying food in, was put to good use in making the lye soap--that was a all day job. You would skim off as much of the "Food bits" from the melted lard before adding your lye etc. I won't bother to tell all they put into the soap as I REALLY doubt that anyone is biting at the bit to make a batch of soap. After it had cooled in the big pans that Mom poured the soap into, she would cut it into bars. She usually had me,Mickey and Mike to shred some of the bars with a grater to be used for washing clothes and for washing dishes. The other bars would be used for bathing---you sure didn't want to scrub very hard using this soap--it would remove skin and all! It was a luxury when people started buying bought soap...My Aunt would put some crushed lavender in her soap--smelled good but would still take the hide off!
Now, I'll just bet that a lot of you really didn't realize how much the hogs helped out people in the good ole days, HUH?? Fed us, provided fat to cook other foods with and kept us clean to boot!!

Hog Killin

There was some things about the the "good ole days" that did not appeal to me--although it was necessary, I am speaking of the time of year that it was "Hog killing" time. Getting meat for the winter...
When the first blast of frigid cold would sweep across the plains and settle in on our part of the country, the men would get together bring their hogs with them and they would help one another clean,scrape, and process the hog. Daddy wouldn't allow me or my sisters to come out to the area where they worked.
Since one of my chores had been to "slop" the hog I really felt like I should know what the men were doing out around her pen---not aware that it was THAT time of year!! Well, I was in for a shock when I peeped through cracks of the barn--there hanging from a hook was my old hog--naked as a jaybird--no hair at all --just naked and waiting to be processed...My brother saw me and tells Daddy (that boy did love to get me in trouble) as though I couldn't find it on my own!! After Dad chewed me out and tells me to go to the house-- I vowed that I would NEVER slop a hog again and I never did.. It was just way, way too much to ask of this gal to fatten them up so we could kill them and eat them..Don't get me wrong I love pork and there is NOTHING better then the sugared cured pork that Dad made. He would go into the little room we had out back for curing meat and rub the sugar cure mix all over the hanging meat everyday.
If you haven't ever experienced going into the kitchen on a cold-cold morning and smelling some good sausage or sugar cured bacon or ham cooking along with hot buttered biscuits with homemade jam , I promise you one thing there is nothing and I do mean nothing that makes your mouth water and the morning a whole lot brighter...
Heck' that ole naked hog never crossed my mind after entering the kitchen!!!