A Boy’s Entertainment
In the Late 1940’s and early 1950’s a boy did not have a lot of money to buy
toys so he would make his own. I will document the toys I played with during
this time frame as well as some of the activities that kept us entertained. I
was seven years old in 1949.
Whittling
I remember watching granddad use his pocketknife for many activities from
cleaning his finger nails to cutting up vegetables he pulled from the garden.
He would always clean his knife after each use. When I was seven years old I
got my first pocketknife for Christmas. I thought I was big ikey doodle. I
remember finding a branch that had blown out of a tree and whittling the bark
off it until it was white. I would then use that branch to make a spear. I
would tie a kitchen knife to the end of it and go on “safari”. I would also
make stick men by whittling limbs into the shape of men. I would use these to
play soldier. Yes sir, a boy felt big when he had his own pocketknife.
Spool Tanks
Now that I had my soldiers, I needed a tank. I would make these out of a wooden
thread spool. I would cut notches out of the ends so I could get traction. I
would then put a rubber band through the hole of the spool and attach a used
match to both ends of the rubber band. My grandparents had a kitchen match
holder hung up in the kitchen. When they would use a match, they would place it
in the tray at the bottom of the holder. When I needed a used match, I knew
where to look for one. I would then rub the ends of the spool with soap in
order for the matches could easily spin on the spool. To get it to run, I would
wind the rubber band as tight as I could and then place the tank on the ground
and watch it go.
Match Darts
Another favorite toy I made was match darts. I would take a used kitchen match
and cut the burnt portion off the end. I would then cut a small slit in one
end. This is where I would place a pin into the slit and wrap it as tight as I
could with string. On the other end, I would cut another slit and place thin
cardboard pieces in the slit to act as feathers. This way the dart would always
land on the pin side. I used these match darts to hunt grasshoppers. I would
also have a contest to see who could hit a target. Bobby Pin Gun When I went
to the bank with my granddad, the teller would give me a bunch of rubber bands.
Some of these rubber bands were real sturdy. Those are the ones that I would
use for my bobby pin gun. I would ask my mother or grandmother for some bobby
pins. I would then stretch them open a little bit and use the rubber band to
shoot them. I remember taking them to Lake Murray and hunt tarantulas.
Sling Shots
One of a kids favorite toys growing up during this time was a slingshot. My
granddad would find a small fork in a tree that would fit my small hands. He
would cut this limb out of the tree and shape it. He would then cut notches on
the two top ends. He would then cut strips of an old inner tube and attached
them to the notches. He cut small oblong pieces of leather and attached the
loose ends of the inner tubes to the leather. I was then set to go. It was fun
finding the right sized rocks to use with the slingshot. I was shoot tin cans
off a stump or go bird hunting with them.
“Motor” Bikes
If you wanted to make your bicycle sound like a motorbike, you would take a
playing card or trading card and attach it to the bike with the card between
your spokes. As you rode, the card would make the sound of a motor. No telling
how many valuable trading cards I used for this.
Horny Toads
Yeah, I know. Horny Toads are not toys. But, I have to tell you about them.
These little creatures were the tamest lizards I have ever known. Once you
caught them, you could play with them for hours on end and not have to worry
about them hurting you. They were not aggressive. But, you had to be fast to
catch them. They looked like creatures from prehistoric times with their
horns. You are lucky to see one in the wild today. The fire ant invasion has
all but eliminated these fun lizards.
The Family Garden
My grandparents had the best garden in the area. Granddad would cultivate the
soil and plant the seeds. It was grandmother’s job to weed, water and harvest.
I can still picture her wearing her bonnet and using that hoe to weed the
garden. They had green beans, peas, okra, potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, onions,
corn, cucumbers, and all kinds of herbs. My favorite herb was the dill because
it smelled so good. Like many ladies back in that period, grandmother sure
could can. She would can the vegetables and have row after row of canned
vegetables in her cupboard. But, my favorite was the turnips. Granddad would
teach me when the turnips were at their best. I would pull one and take it to
granddad to peel for me. I still love raw turnips. Every time I eat one I
think about granddad. They also had some plum and peach trees. Along the fence
they had some blackberry plants. Also on the other fence they had some mustang
grape vines.
Fishing
Boy, did my grandmother love to fish. She enjoyed it more so than my granddad.
I remember granddad taking grandmother and me to Lake Murray to fish for a
couple of hours. We wouldn’t fish in the lake proper. We would fish in the
feeder creeks. Grandmother had her chair and she would throw the line in and
sing while waiting for a bite. We usually caught a mess of fish and had them
for dinner that night. Our favorite was catfish. Granddad taught me how to
skin them with a pair of pliers. He warned me not to get too close to the fin.
He said it had poison in it. I don’t get to fish as much today as I would like
to. But when I do, I think about grandmother.
Picture Shows
One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday afternoon was go to the picture
show. Ardmore had two theaters, The Tivoli and Park. My favorite was the
Tivoli because it was larger and had more first run shows. On Saturday
afternoon they had the serials. This was a short movie that came out in
chapters. They showed one chapter each Saturday. They also showed the news
reels. I liked the westerns. My cousins and I would take turns being the good
guys in the white hats. We would reenact the latest picture show we saw.
Roller Skating
When I was a young boy, my grandparents ran the skating rink in Ardmore,
Oklahoma. My Uncle Jack owned the rink. It was located across the street from
Whittington Park and above the dressing room for the swimming pool. When I was
old enough, I was one of skate boys. The skate boys would help the skater
attach the skates to their street shoes using built in clamps. Since my
grandparents ran the rink I got to skate free. I learned to skate almost the
same time I learned to walk. I had many fun hours at that rink.
Radio
Since we did not have a television, we spent a lot of time listening to the
radio. Some of my favorite radio shows were, Red Ryder and Little Beaver, The
Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, and Gunsmoke. My parents liked the variety shows
like Jack Benny. I recall gathering around the radio as a family and listening
to these old radio shows.
Climbing Trees
My grandparents had 3 large elm trees in their front yard. My cousins and I
would climb these trees until we were above the roofline of their house. We
would feel we were the king of the universe. Below these trees was the front
sidewalk. These trees had some kind of nuts that we would pick and drop on
people walking by. With all the leaves, they didn’t suspect a kid dropping
them. My grandparents wouldn’t let us build a tree house, but we did have one
in the neighborhood that we could play in. Yep, climbing trees was a favorite
pastime for us kids.
Marbles
Marbles was one of the most fun things to play and collect. My favorite was an
Agate shooter I had when I was a kid. It was brown with some lighter shades of
tan running through it. It was my “shooter” or the marble that a kid used to
hit the other marbles out of the ring. A couple of kids would draw a circle in
the dirt and each one would put 5 of their marbles inside the circle. We would
each take turns to hit the marbles out of the circle. The ones we hit out of
the circle we would get to keep. To play you aim from the arc of the circle and
if you hit a marble, you would get to shoot again from where your marble
landed. You would continue to shoot until you missed. Each kid had their bag
of marbles that they would tie to their belt loop on their pants.
Washers
This was another game that didn’t cost anything to play. All you had to find
were 6 good size washers. We would dig two holes about 3 inches in diameter and
about twenty feet apart. The object was to toss your washers and try to get
them to land in the hole. If no one made it into the hole, the closest one to
the hole would get a point. We would play that game hours on end.
Mumbly Peg
A Summer’s day, a shady nook, a close-cropped green sod, two or three boys, and
a jack-knife are the things necessary for a quiet game of Mumbly Peg. We
enjoyed playing this game in my grandparent’s front yard. We would have about
twenty to twenty-five trick throws of the knife planned. For instance, one
would be to balance the knife on your finger and let it then fall to the
ground. The object was for the knife to stick in the ground. If you could
place 2 fingers between the blade and the ground, then it was an official
stick. The first player takes the knife and goes through as much of the game as
he can without a blunder. The second follows in turn, doing the same. The last
one to perform all of the difficult feats is beaten, and must pull a peg, two
inches long, from the ground with his teeth. The winner drives the peg with the
knife handle for a hammer, being allowed, by the rules of the game, three blows
with his eyes open and three with his eyes closed. This usually drives the peg
out of sight in the sod, and in that case we would cry: “Root Root” as the
defeated player, using only his teeth, literally roots, until, with a dirty face
and a broad grin, he lifts his head, showing the peg between his teeth.
So, there you have it. You see, a boy could have fun without having a
television to watch or video games to play and a lot less expensive.