Growing Up a Baby Boomer

For each person classified a Baby Boomer, I suppose growing up memories will be vastly different according to the part of the US you were born and raised. As a Massachusetts Baby Boomer, some of my recollections of growing up include penny candy and penny loafers, drag racing in my brother's 55' Chevy, the assignation of President Kennedy, fifty-cent movies, hippies and the Vietnam Era.

Penny Candy and Polish Dill Pickles

When I was a kid, the local corner market sold penny candy, but I could load up a bag full of goodies "if" I managed to scrounge up a dime. For example, with one shiny penny I could get 20 sour cherry peach-stones or 15 licorice sticks. Bubble gum was not only PC back then it was very cool as well. I could buy 10 pieces of bubble gum for a penny, but it cost my dad a lot more in dentist's bills unfortunately.

In summer, right behind the market, the owners (who were Polish, as we all were) grew the vegetables they sold in the store. Every kid in town anxiously waited for the wooden pickle barrel to appear in front of the market each summer, after the family picked and pickled the fresh cucumbers.

Pickles cost a nickel and no one cared if you stuck your dirty hands in the barrel and dug around to locate the biggest, juiciest pickle. I recall being up to my elbows in dill pickle juice many times. I just wiped it on my shorts and enjoyed my cherished pickle; life was good for this young Polish girl.

Drag Racing and Big Brother Secrets

I am lucky to have two older brothers. My oldest brother (7 years older than me) loved fast cars and certainly qualified as a rebel in his day. He had many cars, but I fondly remember his 1955 Chevy. It was deafeningly loud! He constantly modified the car because every Sunday he went to the municipal airport the next town over for the weekly drag racing event.

The deal between my brother and me was simple; I held the drop light at night while he worked on the engine and he took me for the ride of my life when my mom was at work! I also had to swear never to tell my mother I was in the car because, my brother was "forbidden" to take his "little" sisters joyriding...ever!

I would hop right in the front seat (no seat belts) and once we were past the couple of neighbors down the road, my brother stopped the car and then proceeded to "lay rubber" for my enjoyment. The car would be fishtailing all over the road and I loved every second of the thrill. It is something we talk about often and a fabulous memory we share!

President Kennedy's Death and Utter Sadness

I was home from elementary school that November in 1963 because I had pneumonia. My mother had the day off and took me with her to pick up her paycheck at work. We were riding up the long hill to her place of employment when the shocking news about President Kennedy came on the car radio. I will never forget my mother pulling to the side of the road and while we listened to the stunning news, we both started to cry.

When my mother gained her composure, she turned the radio off, pulled back onto the road and we rode the rest of the way in silence. I did not ask any questions and my mother did not offer anything to comfort me...that's just how it was growing up a Baby Boomer.

To be continued....