Ask Grandpa NOV 09
Posted by South Mountain Villager on November 10, 2009
This month Sunland School was extra ambitious and sent me over 100 questions. I could easily see from the questions that Sunland has a great group of good youngsters with active minds. Somehow though, I guess the assignment wasn’t too clear and most of the questions were directed at a specific “Grandpa” and were of a personal nature. For example “Were you in a war?” “Where did you meet Grandma?” and “Did Dad behave himself?” Although I wish I’d have had the opportunity to have known all those other “Grandpas” and been able to answer the questions, I’ll just have to address some of the more generic ones and hope you don’t disinherit me.
“What were the movies like when you were a kid?”
There were several drive-ins, the Silver Dollar here in South Mountain, Cinema Park and the Phoenix and a few more. The whole familys would go and watch from the car. Lucky kids could be more comfy with pillows in the bed of a pickup truck. Downtown, we had the Paramount, Rialto and Vista. I like the Fox because they had the Lew King Ranger Show. You weren’t cool if you weren’t a Ranger. Wayne Newton and his brother Jerry got their start as Rangers. I think the admission was a dime.
“Did teachers hit you?”
Well, they didn’t hit everyone. After spanking me I think they were too tired to hit anyone else. Our Principal at Creighton was Mr. Machan. They named a school after him later. I think they did it because they feared his gigantic paddle with holes in it. I’d have named a city after him rather than get whacked with that thing again.
“How much did soda costs?”
I was surprised to see how many kids asked about that. I think it was a nickel. It only came in glass bottles and was a special treat, not an everyday necessity like today, which might explain why many of us still have good teeth.
Well I’m out of space and still have plenty of easy ones to respond to, so till next time, go easy on your other grandpas,—grandmas too; they might be Lew King Rangers. GP
