Butch Says Baby Boomers Grew Up Strong, Wild, and Free !!

Have you noticed how parenting has changed? The kids today are supervised and told what to do 24/7. Parenting now consists of the “Three S’s”…safety, security, and supervision. Fathers and mothers actually pay attention to their children. In our country today, I suppose this is a good thing. Well, let me tell you this…the only time we baby boomers got any attention is when we got in trouble. We had no supervision. It was great!

If a child has to travel in a car today…”Now stay in your safety seat, buckle up, lock the windows, lock the doors.” In the 1950s, the car’s back seat was a playground…kids all over the place…teasing each other, playing tag, sticking their heads and arms out the windows, making funny faces to other drivers…distracting Dad, but not enough for him to reach behind the seat and backhand you. Seat belts hadn’t even been invented. We rode in the back of pickups, and I even rode on TOP of the truck cab or hood a few times! Great way to cool off on a hot summer day!

Meals and snacks today are all planned for nutritional benefits…”Be sure to eat your veggies and fruit, but if you’re full, that’s OK…only one piece of candy…and be sure you stay hydrated.” In the 50s, “bottled water…what’s that?” Never heard the word “hydrate.” We drank well water, flakes of rust be damned. “That rust won’t hurt you. It has iron in it…builds red blood cells.” We were instructed to “eat everything on your plate or you’re not getting up from this table…I don’t care if you don’t like liver. You are going to eat every bite, including the spinach…and the fat on that meat is the best part.” Family cookouts always had hot dogs and hamburgers…the more fat and grease the better. In town we ate all kinds of candy, ice cream, popsicles, bubble gum…you name it, plus Cokes, Red Rivers, Nehi Orange pop, Choc-cola…A trip to Darlington was a guaranteed sugar high. At the drug store I consumed enough malted sundaes to kill a moose.

Parents today have teacher conferences to make sure their youngsters are progressing. ISTEP tests are given to evaluate the kids and the schools. If they can’t read or do math, pass ’em anyway. Back in the day, we received a report card every six weeks. I don’t think my folks ever looked at my grades…just signed it and handed it back. If a student failed, “Sorry, bud, looks like you get to repeat 5th grade.” If a child gets in trouble today…send little Johnny to the counselor or “time-out.” We were sent to the hallway…”Bend over. You are getting a whack!” And then we received another one when we arrived home. “And if you try any more stunts like that, you’re getting another one…do you understand, young man?” “Yes sir.”

Sports have changed, too. Parents want every child today to belong to the team, whether they have any skills or not. Trophies are passed out for participation. In the good ol’ days, if you didn’t make the cut…”too bad…work harder and try again next year…don’t be a crybaby!” The top athletes received the trophies. “You can’t win at everything…that’s life. Suck it up. Just try your best and display good sportsmanship. Maybe you’ll do better next year.” In dodgeball at recess or PE class, the goal was to hit others with those red rubber balls. A “VOIT” impression on a forehead was a sign of bravery. You had faced the enemy and survived. In most schools today, dodgeball is banned.

We baby boomers lived in plain old ordinary houses….no air conditioning in the summer…and sometimes very little heat in the winter. For the first few years, our family had no hot water, bathtub, shower, or indoor toilet. Walking out to the outhouse in the middle of the night when it’s ten below zero builds character. We didn’t go on vacations either. Heck, riding to Crawfordsville was the highlight of my travels…”Wow, look…a five-story building!” But there were other ways to venture out. When our legs were long enough, we rode our bikes, go-carts, and later…Cushman motor scooters. No helmets of course…and we went everywhere. Our parents had no idea where we were at. “Just be home in time for supper!” Out on the highway…looking for adventure…Baby-boomer “Easy Rider.”

Safety in the 50s…what’s that? I climbed on top of our barn and our house. I shot my Daisy BB gun and bow and arrow. I made things out of scrap wood with Dad’s electric saw and power tools. I chopped weeds with an axe and a big corn knife. I shot Dad’s 12ga shotgun and drove the old truck when I was 7 (got in trouble for those two things), plowed the field with the Farmall tractor when I was 13, went fishing at nearby gravel pits (and couldn’t even swim), rode my cousin’s pony (no saddle of course), swung on ropes in the haymow, and even played “strip basketball” outside in winter. By the way, it’s difficult to concentrate on your next shot when you are standing barefoot in snow, in only your underwear, and the temperature is 20 degrees.

Maybe that’s why today’s generation thinks we baby-boomers are crazy. Well, perhaps we are. But we sure had lots of fun growing up, didn’t we?

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 32 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.