Looking Back

Many of the things that were part of our lives back in the ‘‘‘50s are so different today. Let’s take a look at some of them. When you wanted to reach someone by phone you picked up the receiver of your desk-top or wall phone, dialed the number and if the line was busy you…

Summer is all about outdoor events! In Rutland we have had the opportunity to enjoy band concerts in Main Street Park for about 100 years. There is not much around today that existed before “my time” but this event did! When I was a child back in the ‘50s I remember sitting on our back…

Whether it’s 2024 or 1954 kids share the enthusiasm that comes from being on school vacation during the summer months. However, the way that their free time is spent has few similarities. As often happens when my weekly breakfast group gets together we take a “look back” at various things and recently we recalled what…

Rutland City back in the ‘50s had three stores that could be considered “variety stores.” They were well known “chain stores” namely F. W. Woolworth, M.H. Fishman and SS Kresge. They were located just doors away from one another on Merchants Row. Of the three variety stores F.W. Woolworth was my mother’s favorite. We often…

When I saw the obituary for Lucian Wiskoski back in March I realized that he was the last of Rutland’s downtown pharmacists whom I had the pleasure of knowing from childhood into adulthood. Back in the ‘50s five pharmacies were located in downtown Rutland. They were: Shangraw’s, Carpenter’s, Carroll Cut Rate, McClallen’s, and Beauchamp &…

Spring and summer are seasonal reminders to me of those who have contributed to my perennial gardens. As their gifts to me come into bloom I remember the person who gave the plants to me and their kindness in doing so. This year in particular I will be remembering our neighbor, Eleanor DiSabito, who sadly…

“Old age comes at a bad time!” – Sam Banducci I think retirees will agree with that statement. We work all our lives and once we retire we finally have time to do all the things we dreamed of doing. But after awhile bad knees, backs and feet may put some restrictions on activities such…

A common question that children are asked is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Odds are that their answer will not be the future profession they choose after graduation. I read a survey that was given to children in the U.S. whose ages ranged from 8-12. The child who said he…

Chatting with friends during our weekly breakfast often results in a few “looking back” thoughts for my column. After all, looking back is what our age group does best! One subject we reminisced about was old TV shows. Back in the 1950s, there were not a lot of channels available, which meant very limited viewing…

Where did Latin go??? If you went to high school up until the late ‘60s it was a subject that most schools required for college prep students. But by the ‘70s it gradually began to fade from school curricula. Latin was my favorite high school subject. It was like figuring out a puzzle. The structure…

If you are a gardener you are probably ready to put the snowy days behind you and spend some time “playing in the dirt.” I have already purchased my veggie and flower seeds and just looking at the pictures on the packets puts me in a happy place! Winter is an ideal time to purchase…

A column that I wrote awhile back compared growing up in the city to growing up in the country. Reading that column caused a friend of mine to take her own trip back in time and she shared her memories with me. As I was reading her email I realized that my early years in…

  Winter memories from the ‘50s and ‘60s My classmate from first grade through high school, Pat Maroney Embree, shared some wonderful winter memories with me from the ‘50s and ‘60s. As I read her email it prompted me to ask a couple of other old friends what they recalled from that era. It was…

If you were a kid in Rutland back in the 50s, how did you spend your winter? I will guarantee you that it wasn’t spent inside looking at a digital device! We were outside for the majority of the day even if was snowing. There is an expression that goes “There is no such thing…

By Mary Ellen Shaw It’s almost Christmas and as I look back I realize how the holiday is very different in today’s world. When I was a child in the ‘50s, downtown Rutland was bustling with shoppers who had numerous stores from which to select Christmas gifts. The windows were beautifully decorated for the season…