By Gary Wamsley
Berthoud Recorder
Nostalgia is defined as a mixed feeling of happiness, sadness and longing when recalling the past. Thanks to John Hawley over at High Country Proco, I had some nostalgia this week. John sent me a Power Point file called “Close Your Eyes” which asked you to go back, way back as it described times before cell phones, the internet and even before television. It recalled when we, as kids, played outside with our friends and sat on the front porch on hot summer evenings because we didn’t have air conditioning. I think I go even further back because I remember jumping on the iceman’s truck to get a sliver of ice while he was delivering ice inside the house. He always yelled at us when he came out, but the temptation was always too great and we did it the next week too.
I also remember when there were only about ten kinds of breakfast cereal on the store shelf. None of them came in bright colors or chocolate flavor and I don’t remember any as being sugar coated. One of my favorites was shredded wheat. It came in a wide box with the big biscuits laid flat with a pasteboard divider between them. Usually the divider had a story or something to read and I always looked forward to finishing another layer so I could get to the reading material. I saw the big biscuits on the store shelf last week, but they were in a regular tall box and I assume they were not neatly arranged as in the days of my youth.
I had the opportunity this last week to see some new and some old in our schools. Ivy Stockwell Elementary School has acquired some new technology in the classrooms with some new “smart” white boards that use a projection system and position sensitive pen. Teachers have access to thousands of lesson plans and can create their own using the included software. It was amazing to watch and compare it to the technology of my day, the chalkboard.
Some things never change and reading is still important. This week marked the birthday of Dr. Seuss, whose books came after my childhood but which I read to my children. I visited a kindergarten classroom on Monday and watched and listened as Ivy Stockwell principal Rhonda Richer read “Green Eggs and Ham” to an attentive group of children. The library, too, had reading programs with Seuss’ books.
The library is also recognizing the 50th anniversary of Mattel’s statuesque Barbie doll. She appeared on the scene on March 9, 1959. It is probably not appropriate to call it a birthday because she came to us already grown. I was 18-years-old on that day and Barbie must have been about the same. That means that I, nostalgia again, grew up in a pre-Barbie world.
Enough of the looking back, this weekend our wonderful Bridge-Between Show Choir is putting on a great show of the music of George M. Cohan. I’ll see you there and around town.