Friday, March 27, 2015

Thursday Teas at Two

Yesterday I returned to Troy Historic Village for March's Thursday Teas at Two.  I could definitely relate to this month's topic - 1950's Nostalgia.  The flier saying we'd "skip through the halls of 1950's memories with storyteller Lois Sprengnether Keel" sounded like a fun way to spend the afternoon.

As I was walking to the entrance of the historic village a license plate in the parking lot caught my attention.  How cute is that!


The church [below] where the teas are held.  As the sky indicates, it was a dreary, overcast day, but it was very cheerful inside.


The tea table.  I finally remembered to take my own teacup [as many attendees do] instead of using a Styrofoam cup.


Lois Sprengnether Keel [pictured below] was the presenter. She's a former children's librarian, and as you can see, she came dressed in a pink felt poodle skirt and sweater, and wore penny loafers and bobby socks.


She was very interesting and entertaining, and the hour flew by as she talked about toys of the day, school, playgrounds, television, and so much more.  


I well remember the reading books with Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot and Puff.  Lois reminded us that polio vaccine came out in 1955, which immediately mentally transported me to my elementary school's clinic where the health department gave us polio shots.  As a kid I had a HUGE fear of shots, and thought my mom was so cruel for subjecting me to such torture!


Lois talked about playground games - Red-rover, Red-Light/Green Light, Mother May I, Dodge Ball, Jump Rope, Hop-Scotch and others.


And toys... remember roller skates that attached to shoes? ...Pick-up Sticks, Hula-Hoops, YoYo's, Old Maid cards, Paper Dolls, and the list goes on.

The sale of televisions began in the late 40's and peaked in the 50's, so she talked about 50's TV programs such as Mickey Mouse Club, the Western/Cowboy shows, and Howdy-Doody. Many others came to mind as she talked.  Jukeboxes and 45 rpm records were big forms of entertainment in 50's, as were drive-in theaters, and "picture shows" [now called movies or cinemas], and transistor radios.

I was writing fast and furious as she spoke, but I won't take the time to share everything she talked about in this post.  Suffice it to say, it was a fun and nostalgic program, and I enjoyed it very much.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, but you do have fun! Love the license plate. Sadly, in CA they charge nearly as much to renew the plates each year as they charge to create them -_-
    I love you took your own cup. I have done that before. I have also been known to take my own local raw honey, and my own homemade creme fraiche. It's over the top, but makes for wonderful conversation and we all enjoy it.
    Take care,
    Heather Elizabeth

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  2. Did you meet the owner of that cute license plate? I might have staked out the car so I could meet her. LOL! Anyway, it sounds like a fun program and a lovely afternoon.

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  3. That does sound like a fun program! I especially loved learning to read (you won't be surprised to hear), and those Dick and Jane books still bring such happy memories to mind. It was so exciting to finally get to go to school and learn!

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