Butch’s Cures for Colds and Sickness Back in the Day

  Well, unfortunately the cold and flu season has arrived. Many of you received your flu shot, but still managed to catch the bug anyway. I have never had a flu shot, but for some unknown reason, and even though I am around people every day at work, I never seem to get the flu. I turned 77 years old last year, and during my life there were very few times that I was sick. However, like almost every kid back in the day, I did have chicken pox, mumps, and an occasional cold. My parents never took me to the doctor because my Mom, along with the other mothers back then, had their own special treatments and “cures” for their children.

   If a child was sick and had a fever, a cold wet cloth was placed on their forehead, and they were given 7-Up (or ginger ale), Jello, and of course . . . chicken noodle soup. Mothers also fed them such things as poached eggs, oatmeal, white rice, cream of tomato soup, buttered toast, hot tea or hot chocolate, grilled cheese sandwiches, soda crackers, and ice cream. My neighbor, who owned several beehives, always suggested toast with lots of honey, and I loved that! If I had a cold, Mom grabbed a jar of Vicks Vapo-Rub, which was rubbed on my chest and stuck up my nose…and then she placed some on my tongue and told me to let it melt down my throat! When I was older, my folks purchased a small vaporizer and made my siblings and me inhale the medicated steam.

  I sat on the sofa, covered up with Grandma Dale’s quilt, placed a pillow behind my back, and used a little food tray for eating. To occupy my time, I read books from the library, drew cartoons, worked on my scrapbook, sorted through my baseball card collection, put puzzles together, made balsa wood airplanes, and played a fun game called Bas-Ket, which had little metal flippers that shot a ping pong ball into the tiny baskets. In the evenings I watched TV westerns and family type shows, and there were many of those in the 1950s.

   During my 4th grade year in 1958, I missed ten days of school with the chicken pox. I couldn’t wait to get back and see my friends and my favorite teacher of all time, Mrs. Audrey Cox. Many of the kids today are not that eager to return to school after an illness. And I would bet that when they are at home, the majority of them are either playing a video game or are on their cell phones! I don’t think today’s children are as creative as we baby boomers were.

   I honestly don’t know if all of the “sick day” foods and drinks ended my cold or sickness any sooner, but it was certainly nice to have Mom treat me special and be pampered for a few days. How about you?

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 37 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.