My Christmas Time Warp

[JJR512]

I've been scanning and enhancing old family photographs lately, and came across this one that I'd like to share. It is from 1953 or 1954, when my mother was six or seven years old. This is the family Christmas tree for my grandparents, mother, and aunt, at their house in Danbury, CT.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

Tinsel, the most evil of the Christmas decorations. So glad we stopped using it.

 

[lex]

It is pictures like this that actually make me miss what Christmas used to be.

Hope everyone stays safe and is able to enjoy some time with the family (be it your biological family or the work one) today!

 

[lightsandsirens5]

I just showed that picture to my mom. She got a tear in her eyes and said that could easily have been her living room years ago when her parents were alive and she was a kid. I guess I really could have been any living room in the US back then. Thanks for sharing JJ.

It is interesting to see how things change over the years, isn't it?

 

[Sassafras]

That's awesome looking. It looks like something out of the movie "A Christmas Story"

 

[Sandog]

Now I feel old, I was born in 61...:wacko:

 

[TransportJockey]

So did ya'll see everything in black and white back then?

 

[Sandog]

So did ya'll see everything in black and white back then?

In a way yes... We knew how we should treat a neighbor, we had expectations of what was what. Self serving, self indulgent behavior was not the norm. Neighbor helped neighbor unlike today where life seems so unimportant. I am afraid to say that something has been lost from the times of yore.

There was a time that even a non EMT would get out of their car to render assistance to those in need, This sentiment is long lost and I am afraid that it will not improve anytime soon. Perhaps when all is lost we will once again rely on the person next door.

Scene safety be damned, make a difference, the person you save may cure cancer...

 

[AustinNative]

Awesome pic. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[abckidsmom]

In a way yes... We knew how we should treat a neighbor, we had expectations of what was what. Self serving, self indulgent behavior was not the norm. Neighbor helped neighbor unlike today where life seems so unimportant. I am afraid to say that something has been lost from the times of yore.

There was a time that even a non EMT would get out of their car to render assistance to those in need, This sentiment is long lost and I am afraid that it will not improve anytime soon. Perhaps when all is lost we will once again rely on the person next door.

Scene safety be damned, make a difference, the person you save may cure cancer...

Best post I've read all day! Thanks.

 

[ClarkKent]

+100, great post and very true.

Best post I've read all day! Thanks.

 

[JJR512]

In a way yes... We knew how we should treat a neighbor, we had expectations of what was what. Self serving, self indulgent behavior was not the norm. Neighbor helped neighbor unlike today where life seems so unimportant. I am afraid to say that something has been lost from the times of yore.

There was a time that even a non EMT would get out of their car to render assistance to those in need, This sentiment is long lost and I am afraid that it will not improve anytime soon. Perhaps when all is lost we will once again rely on the person next door.

Scene safety be damned, make a difference, the person you save may cure cancer...

A lot of people would blame this phenomenon on lawyers. People don't help people because they're afraid of getting sued. I think there's some truth in that, but I think the real cause is something else entirely. I think the real cause of this phenomenon, this problem, is air conditioning.

I recently saw a photograph that was taken in the 1920s. It was a city street, residential area. Middle of July, and very hot. There was a table setup at the curb with a big block of ice on it. Some kids were licking it, and other kids appeared to be running around. There were some adults standing around, too, by their doors, or by the street talking to each other. I think back in those days, it was probably worse to be inside than outside, what with no air conditioning and ineffective ventilation. The stuffiness would build up to intolerable levels. People went outside to cool off, and while they happened to be outside, they'd talk to each other. Actually talk to their neighbors. Get to know them. But when in-home air conditioning became common, people didn't have to go outside anymore. As houses got more and more insulated from the weather, their occupants got more and more insulated from each other.

Well that's just my theory, anyway.

 

[Sandog]

Wow! That is good. You are a smart man!

 

[Outbac1]

Nice picture! That could be any tree in Canada at the time as well. Notice how there are actually branches to hang ornaments from. The "new" sheared lot trees are way too tight to hang ornaments and tinsel like that.

 

[CodyHolt83]

Thats awesome to see pictures like that! Being born in 1983 (December 28th, to be exact) I have never seen a Christmas like that! Awesome!