Dateline Dayton — I am on a nostalgia kick. The ‘50s were a great time to be growing up in a small town.

The ice man! No, it’s not a musical group or a rock-n-roll band. The ice man actually delivered ice. Give me a break. He didn’t deliver ice on a wagon pulled by horses.

A few homes in our neighborhood used ice for refrigeration. When the ice man cameth, we were right there trying to get chips. Usually we were able to get our chips by reaching for them or, if necessary, climbing onto the back of his truck.

Let’s take a closer look: The ice was on the back of a flat bed truck, covered by a canvas. Who knows what the canvas might have been covering the day before? Most ice companies also sold coal. As for the ice man, what about the cleanliness of his hands? Even more importantly, ours? Guess what? None of these thoughts ever crossed our minds. All we wanted was a chip of ice. No one told us not to eat the ice, that it might be dirty or conditions could be unsanitary. Despite all these possible scenarios, somehow we survived.

Kids today would be told not to eat that dirty ice. For liability reasons, they wouldn’t be allowed to climb up on the truck.

Not Many Rules

I only remember being told not to do two things during the polio scare. Your parents warned you not to touch or play in the water in the street and your doctor encouraged you to buy your ice cream from a store, not the ice cream boy with his bicycle cart. I was a gutter person. Still am. I keep mine clean. Back then, one time I helped the street sweepers (they were sweep-by people, not machines). I got a dime for my efforts. Big money for a kid in those years.

Kids today are sanitized, and that’s probably good, although a little dirt never hurts. Hey, we played in the dirt. We had regular sand, not that stuff that has been cleaned and comes in a bag. We also drank from each other’s cups, got water from the garden hose, never giving it any thought, and – somehow we survived.

The other day I was watching Antique Pickers, one of my favorite shows on television, along with Pawn Stars. Mike picked up a board for a skateboard (no wheels) and said it was valuable because it was an early one. He went on to say how original skateboards were made from a board and roller skates. I can remember making my first scooter from a 2X6, which I had won in a nail-driving contest at a Boy Scout meeting. To the board I added a wooden orange crate (the one with two compartments) and a roller skate, half in front, the other half in back. After the orange crate broke, due to many crashes, then I had a skateboard.

The scooter had no brakes. Foot power was used for braking. We didn’t wear a helmet, or have any type of protective gear. Somehow we survived.

No, I’m not advocating that children shouldn’t use protective gear when biking, using a scooter or skateboarding, especially because today all these devices go much faster than any of mine ever did. Most skateboards today aren’t used for riding buy for performing feats. Some skateboarders, I believe, must have a death wish.

Putting the Cart Before Us

We also constructed go-carts. Starting with a couple boards and using the wheels off our red wagons, we were able to have ourselves a cart. We steered with our feet against the front wheels. Most of us had to settle for people-power or a hill to propel the cart. One of my buddies was able to come up with a gasoline motor for his cart. He and it were the envy of the neighborhood. We tried to rig a brake system on the back wheels, but found using our feet was again the best method for stopping. Another activity with no protective gear, and again – somehow we survived.

Most of today’s kids don’t use their creative talents for entertainment or enjoy the outdoors the way we did in the ‘50s. Today they are on the computer, playing video games, using some other type of new technology, or worse, sitting in front of the television.

Computers are great. My children and grandchildren know more about them than I do or ever will, and this is good. However, there needs to be a time for creativity and enjoying the outdoors. Take a look around your neighborhood – how many kids are playing outside?

Let’s go build a fort or a tree house?

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net