ancestors

  • Slang of the 1930s

    Jun 25

    If you or your ancestors grew up in the 1930s – the era of the Great Depression, some of the following slang words will be well known. The word 'Bingo' was introducted in the mid-1930s. The game of Bingo was invented in 1929, but Bingo halls didn’t become popular until the 1930s after the Great Depression hit. The word Crooner refers to ...

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  • The Fun Hula Hoop

    Jun 23

    The Wham-O company did invent the hula hoop, but they adapted it from a manner of play popular on another continent. Hoops twirled around the waist by swiveling the hips and were popular toys for centuries in other locations and cultures. In Native American rituals, they were used for symbolic purposes to tell a story. In Europe, their use was doc...

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  • Ice Cream

    Jun 21

    The consumption of ice cream in America dates back to the mid-1700s. The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen. The first advertisement for ice cream in this country appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777, when confectioner Philip Lenzi anno...

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  • Roller-Rinks Over the Decades

    Jun 19

    This popular indoor activity started in the 1880s. People had fun skating on wooden floors and meeting up with friends. Buildings or skating rinks were found in small towns, and large cities, a great place to enjoy one's self. Roller skating became an appropriate activity for men and women to do together, allowing young Victorian couples to meet w...

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  • Gone – NYC Phone Booths

    Jun 15

    Payphones – those public phones once found on every corner and store in any town or city. It was inventor William Gray and developer George A. Long who were both responsible for the very first payphone installation at a Hartford, Connecticut bank in 1889. This great new convenience would increase to 81,000 payphones across the United States by 1...

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  • Entertaining Military Troops

    Jun 13

    Just about all of us have a family member who served in some form during World War 2 (1941-1945). One item many of our ancestors remember was when entertainment came to where they were stationed to help brighten their day. It did help bolster their morale while so far from home. It was during World War 2 that the Federal government and other or...

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  • Inventions that Benefited Your Ancestors in the 1930s

    Jun 11

    Yes, the 1930s were defined because the United States and the world had to deal with the Great Depression of the 1930s. Life was hard for many but there were many events and items that existed in the 1930s that gave pleasure to your ancestors. Include some in your family history. During the 1930s, it was an era of inventions and innovation. Thi...

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  • Lucite Jewelry Styles

    Jun 7

    A very popular material for fashion jewelry starting in the 1930s was 'Lucite'. So you may have examples of such jewelry handed down or know which ancestors loved wearing this style. Lucite is an acrylic resin created by DuPont in 1937. It is a very lightweight material and inexpensive to make compared to other plastic material such as Bakelite...

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  • Life in U.S. in the 1970s

    Jun 5

    From the early 1970s to now in 2022, it has been half a century. You or many of your relatives and ancestors lived during those years. Some of the common items people used or had included: free-standing pay phones with rotary dials in stores, gasoline stations, and street corners. There was no 911 emergency service either. Instead, you called the ...

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  • Things Your Great Grandparents Had You Don’t

    Jun 3

    Today we think of our ancestors as not having the modern advantages such as hot water, electricity, central heating and instant messaging with a computer. Rather they did have their own advantages not seen today. One common advantage was that many generations lived in the same house or next to each other. This provided additional help, emotiona...

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