 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2011-10-24 13:03:40
Remember...
Question: August memories?
Answer: Not sure I remember as many 100+ degree days in row as what we have had this year, as I submit this answer for the August issue, but I’m sure somewhere along the line there were.
We have reached the hottest part of the summer. I know these hot days are tough…but not as tough as they were many years ago when we did not have air conditioning.
Do you remember your clothes getting completely wet with sweat? Then the relief that came when you stood in front of a fan? In public places we did the fanning manually. Many funeral homes and businesses furnished the old hand fans with cardboard on top and a big wooden paddle at the bottom connected with a staple. It was held in your hand and powered by your wrist and arm, but it provided some immediate relief. Then the
air inside your home or business was provided by an open window or door or an electric fan. Your car had all windows open and some of the cars even had windshields and rear windows that would open and offer some ventilation.
Nights were very welcome because we would receive some dropping of temperature.
Sitting on the porch or out in the yard visiting were some of the great times we all enjoyed, all while getting relief rom the hot sun. Many of us rode our bikes and believe it or not…we wore baseball caps and no helmets. Another “cooling off” thing was riding in our cars to get aired out. The children did not have car seats, and we didn’t have seat belts. Picnics were very popular down by the rivers or lakes and in the park by the swimming pools. When we were kids we even enjoyed riding in back of a pick up truck on a warm day. Some of us built carts out of old wagon wheels and orange crate parts. To get refreshed we drank water with ice provided from a truck from blocks of ice that was chipped up. Or we would drink water from a garden hose and not from a bottle. Iced tea was very good. Lemonade and Kool Aid were always special. Sometimes we would share one soft drink with four friends. It may not have been sanitary all drinking from one bottle, but none one of us died as a result of our sharing. We would leave home in the morning and play all day. As long as we were back home when the streetlights came on and we were OKAY. Now it’s air conditioning, video games, cable TV, cell phone, personal computers, play stations, chat rooms and more. No, I would not trade our comforts of today for the harder times back then, but it is sure good to remember and think back about the summers past. Keep cool and safe.
