memories 1950s

6 Mum doing the washing that took all friggen day with the old agetator (sp), going blackberry picking and helping to make the jam, taking lunch down to the paddock for the men doing the silage or hay, hell I loved it back then, its all changed now.

7 My Mum used to do her own preserving i.e. bottled fruits, beetroot and tomatoes, jams, tomato relish, chutnies; salted beans into large crocks. Also fill large crocks with pickled onions and red cabbage.
Bread was bought at the store or made at home; milk was delivered.

Dad grew most of our veggies - he always had a couple of big compost bins going. If he was away or she needed something, a vendor came from memory once a week in much the way Mr Whippy comes around.

Chicken was a luxury and only bought for special occasions such as Christmas Day. Our refrigerator had just an icebox so it was up to the store when we wanted ice-cream for desert.

My Mom from time to time, did make homemade icecream and chocolate [no fancy machines to help her either].

Well when we moved to Hei Hei, the nearest grocery shopping was at Stills General Store over in Hornby which meant a long walk there and back if Dad was away which was quite often because of his job.
One car/Mum never learnt to drive.

There was a small rather expensive range available at Patel's Garage but we avoided buying there. Back in those days [the 50's], stores weren't allowed to sell certain items including toilet paper on a Sunday so Patel's had a smaller side store with a separate entrance for Sunday trading. From memory they were caught several times selling prohibited items!

At some stage, a fish and chip shop opened so that became a meal once in a blue moon.

At a later date, a strip 'mall' of stores was built locally in Hei Hei which included a grocery store and a 4 Square - both stores delivered!

There was a habadashery store and a radio store along with a Post Office and Chemist. Then a butcher and a newspaper/book store. Can still remember going to the book store to pick up my weekly comic! I still have my Mum's cane shopping basket.

Lunches were homemade but at least once a month, we were allowed to buy our lunch. This was either a pie or fish and chips [had to be ordered before class commenced]. My sister was one year, in an old classroom that was heated by a barrel type wood heater - they used to put spuds in it.

Biscuits - my Mum had been a cook so she baked everything. However now and again she would buy a box of Aulsebrooks broken biscuits. We'd all sit around the table sorting out the 'good' ones and putting them in cake tins; the rest went into other tins to be made into fudge.

Cake - a very special treat if one was bought!
Drinks: Tea [leaf no bags in those days]; bottled coffee with chicory, cocoa and I think Milo/Bournvita was around too.
Sodas - All I can remember was Ballins!
I still remember the day Pepsi first hit the stores.
We made our own ginger beer!

Breakfasts were usually toast, Weetbix or porridge.

We had supper before going to bed. In winter, we had this large blackened kettle that was filled and heated over the open fire in the lounge [which also was connected to the hot water tank].
Many a night we made toast over the fire using a long handled toasting fork!

In those days, there was no such thing as tv so we had our favourite radio programmes to listen to at night. Somewhere in my young school days, a thing called the Hit Parade started once a week on the radio!

The only cans I can remember were spagetti, baked beans and tomato sauce!
Other than sweets [candy], I can't remember any chips or the likes.

When I got married in the late 60's, I still continued with preserving and making relishes. In fact, I still today make my own tomato relish [and did so the whole 20 years I lived in the US!]. I gave up preserving in the 70's when canned fruit etc became more readily available.

When freezers became part of our lives, we switched to freezing veggies for the winter; and of course, supermarkets by then had changed our lives as we could buy meat in bulk to freeze.

I used to make my own bread during the time of bread strikes!

BTW I am in my 60's....and it's after 2am....