The Rutland Recreation Department offered skating in the city as early as the 1940s. My time on skates began in the 1950s. It was a popular activity and one that didn’t come with a high price tag. For awhile Rotary […]
Category: Looking Back
Column, Looking Back
Looking Back: Skiing, small style
By Mary Ellen Shaw Many young people growing up in my era … the ’50s and ’60s … got their first taste of skiing right here in the city of Rutland. The place to do that was at the Rutland […]
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Looking Back: College life in the 1960s
By Mary Ellen Shaw Most of you reading this probably did not go to college in the 1960s. And if you did you were probably not at an all-girls Catholic college. It would probably seem like being in the convent […]
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Looking Back: Children’s Christmas gifts from the 1950s
By Mary Ellen Shaw It’s fun to take a look back at Christmas in the ’50s when we lived in simpler times. I don’t think the world was as materialistic back then. Christmas lists that were compiled by me and […]
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Looking Back: Remembering past Thanksgivings
Well, it’s almost here…Thanksgiving time! For most of us it’s all about the food. Family recipes are used to prepare many of the dishes that will be served. In some cases these recipes are on index cards and are handwritten. […]
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The-child-to-adult transition
Looking Back by Mary Ellen Shaw There is a transition period for all of us when we stop being considered a “child” by the older people in our lives. We become “adults”, just like them. Our relationship changes with these […]
Looking Back
Lost arts
By Mary Ellen Shaw Not only do I qualify as an “oldie” but apparently my favorite hobby is classified by some as a “lost art.” I am told that numerous times as customers take a look at my items when […]
Looking Back
Gathering information the old-school way
By Mary Ellen Shaw The method for obtaining information on any subject has certainly changed since my school days in the ’50s and ’60s. I remember my mother getting a set of encyclopedias earned with her grocery store purchases. The […]
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Days of formal attire
During my teenage years in the 50s and 60s there were a couple of opportunities in Rutland to get dressed up in a gown and attend a formal event open to the public. One of these was the Cotillion. It […]
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Decorations and memories
Some of us (and that includes me) have had our Christmas decorations up since the day after Thanksgiving. But by mid-December “the spirit moves” just about everyone. As you bring out your boxes of decorations you will find them filled […]