Living in the Past Trivia Quiz

Answer: Blackout

A blackout was mandated every time the air raid siren went off. The idea was to prevent enemy planes from having a lighted target to bomb. When the alarm sounded, my father would put on a white helmet and go to his station as an Air Raid Warden. Another siren signaled the end of the blackout.

As a small boy, all of this was frightening, as it must have been for adults, because each drill could have been for real.

Answer: Soap operas

Between 1929 and 1940, over 45 soaps made their debut on US radio, many of which lasted until the 1950s when television became the entertainment medium of choice. Many of those programs were sponsored by companies that had soap products to sell (even in 1950, Proctor and Gamble financed 13 such programs). Among my favorites was "Ma Perkins" (1933-1960), sponsored by Oxydol, about a lumberyard owner in the South who specialized in helping those in need and in dealing with the problems of her three children.

Answer: The house was quarantined

Because Scarlet Fever was considered not only a possibly fatal disease but one easily transmitted to others, The Board Of Health slapped "QUARANTINE" signs in several places outside the house, legally banning anyone from entering. For what to me seemed months, Nana took full care of me, including inventing games to play. (The one I most remember was the "puddle jumper" game.

A window in my room overlooked an intersection where snow melt/rain created puddles. The game was to choose whether someone coming to the intersection would be a "puddle jumper" leaping over the water or avoid the water.)

Answer: Rabbit Ears

The "Rabbit Ears" consisted of two vertical metal poles with knobs on top anchored in a base. To tune in the signal, the "Rabbit Ears" were twisted, turned, moved up/down/sideways, and the base was turned in several directions. Once the picture was received, then it had to be adjusted with the other knobs.

Answer: Go Fish

"Go Fish" is a card game played indoors. The other three are outdoor games, all of which involve running and exercise. For example, in Red Rover, two teams line up about 10 yards apart and the players link arms. The teams take turns in naming a player from the opposing team to run at the chain and try to break through. If the player fails to break through, s/he must join the team. If the player does break through, s/he takes one of the players broken through back to his/her team.

The game ends when all players are on one side.

Answer: False

We almost always started out with friends. But, depending on our age, if the friends went home we were allowed to continue on our own. No adults ever went with us. We were able to accept whatever was offered: penny candy in a napkin, a candy bar in its wrapper, a candied or regular apple, caramel corn, and popcorn balls, for instance. We were also allowed to eat donuts and drink cider! When we got to junior high, Halloween became a holiday for boy-girl parties with traditional Halloween games such as bobbing for apples or eating a donut suspended on a string.

Answer: Most teams were for boys

Girls had very few interscholastic sports. (I remember only softball, although field hockey and/or tennis may have been offered). Girls' basketball restricted the players to one half of the court or the other, with one or two allowed to cross the center within a confined space. Girls did not compete in track. It was a time when girls were not supposed to sweat! Boys generally did not specialize in one sport "year round," but played two, three, or even four sports. (Boys were not preparing for athletic scholarships to college or for careers in professional sports. They were having fun.)

Answer: Emphasis on English, History, and Foreign Languages

To graduate from high school in 1958, I had to complete these major academic requirements: Four years of English, four years of one foreign language and at least two years of another, three and a half or four years of math, at least three years of history, and one year of lab science.

Answer: The school gym

The school gym was the place. A Senior Prom Committee selected the orchestra, decorated the gym, decided on refreshments (always non-alcoholic), and invited the chaperones from the faculty (the faculty considered it an honor to be asked). No limos. No fund raising for all night parties.

Answer: A nearby community college

Community colleges, although around since the early 1900s, did not have any significant impact on education nationally until the 1960s. During that decade, they became institutions that offered many two-year degrees in specialized areas as well as in programs that allow students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities. By end of the 20th century, over half of the US students in higher education were attending community colleges.