While cleaning out some files, I found something I'd written in the early 1980's about living in St. Louis before air conditioning:
When I first think of St. Louis summers, I think of sleeping on "pallets" on the back screened porch of 4616 Arsenal. (I think they even called these "sleeping porches") My parents would be listening to the Cardinals baseball game on the radio while we children would try to sleep. I'd fall asleep listening to Harry Carey: "It must be. . .it could be. . .it is---it's a Home Run." When the nights were part of a heat wave, we sometimes slept with a wet sheet on top of us to cool us down.
Top: Me, Doris, Wayne; Bottom: Wanda and Jane
Often, we'd pack a picnic basket and go to Tower Grove Park where it was cooler. We'd eat supper and play until bed time. Sometimes we went just across the street, but sometimes we'd go to the fish pond or the playground/swimming pool area. St. Louis houses were made of brick and the heat stayed in the bricks all night. We were lucky that we lived across from the park, but some who lived with brick houses all around would even take quilts and sleep in the parks at night.
Sometimes after supper, Grandpa Wes Wicker would take us to the "delicatessen" (a convenience store) for ice cream bars---I liked Dreamsicles (click here for a recipe), Rocketpops (icecream in a cardboard sleeve that you pushed out and ate) and Fudgesicles but a lot of the kids liked "drumsticks"---ice cream cones with nuts on top. Sometimes, we even walked to Velvet Freeze on the corner of Morganford and Arsenal.
L-R: ???, Me, Jane, Marilyn
Weekends were often spent at the movie theaters which were air conditioned or "taking a drive". Riding in the car created a cooling breeze so we often didn't go anywhere, but just drove around. Sometimes, we'd go to the "country" where it was cooler than the city.
1 comment:
I remember sleeping on the screened in back porch hearing the cicada bugs lullaby us to sleep.
We loved the public pool at Tower Grove park, but it was a place where impetigo could be picked up easily.
In the evenings, I remember Grandma and Freida sitting in the back by the garage, and watering the lawn with the hose. It was a time when neighbors visited in the evenings while sitting outside.
I remember there were watermelon gardens where you would sit on long picnic benches eating watermelon.
When we moved to the county things changed. Attic fans helped bring in cooler night air. But, we still had the big window box fan on the floor to stay cool. The evening treats were snowcones! I loved grape and cherry. Sometimes mom would just cut ice cold watermelon, but it wasn't like eating at the watermelon garden.
Days were spent in the basement to stay cool. A truck would comb the neighborhood selling soda. We bought our share of root beer and cream soda. We would make ice cream sodas as an afternoon treat and played canasta.
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