Playing Outside Until the Streetlights Came On
For many families, the streetlight marked the end of an outdoor game. Oral histories show how streets, games, traffic, and household rules shaped those long afternoons.
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The 1980s stories
112 stories · Page 10 of 10
The Backyard Tree House
A tree house might be a platform, a rough shelter, or a fully built playhouse. Its meaning came from the people who made and used it; surviving photographs and plans reveal more than a generic image of childhood freedom.
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Collecting Baseball Cards: The Pack and the Trade
A baseball card could be a player portrait, a miniature record of a season, or the missing piece in a trade. The history of the cards reaches much further back than the gum pack many children remember.
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The School Milk Carton at Lunch
A school milk carton belonged to the noise and timing of lunch. Federal meal and milk programmes explain its place at the table; each child remembers how it opened.
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