Growing up in Springfield, Missouri during the 1950’s and 1960’s
Growing up in the 1960s was different from today. There were no smartphones, no streaming, and no instant everything. In Springfield, we had several special things to occupy our time. On Saturday mornings, we would go to the Star Roller Rink on South Glenstone and take skating lessons. We skated forward and backward and learned how to Shoot-The-Duck. Little Miss 9-year-old Brenda Lee was in the class before my class. She sang on the Ozarks Jubilee show, which was filmed in Springfield.
Kids rode their bikes until dark. You’d race down your street with clip-on baseball cards to the spokes to make it sound like a motorcycle. No riding helmet, just like no seatbelts in the car you were riding. We didn’t worry about getting dirty because we saw on our black-and-white TV that New Blue Cheer would remove the stain.
Two newspapers were printed here in Springfield. The Springfield News-Leader was delivered to a designated location in the neighborhood. The paperboys would throw a fresh newspaper into each subscriber’s yard. My brother had a paper route, which included the president of the Missouri State House. The paper boys also had to collect the subscription money for the newspaper.
Let’s all go to A&W. We’ll have a mug of root beer. Maybe we’ll have two or three mugs. We’ll choose the perfect size from the burger family. We loved collecting the A&W root beer jungle lip animals that came with the frosty mug. We placed the animals along our car visor for a grand exhibition. They are made of clear colored plastic figurines of jungle animals. The Burger Family — Papa, Mama, and Baby Burger.
We would always attend the Shrine Circus every April in the Shrine Mosque. The Shrine Circus: 3 rings of clowns & animals, high wire acts, the Ringmaster’s voice are memories from my childhood. Mom would let us buy a small golden sword and usually a chameleon. We would take the chameleon home and find bugs to feed it. He would live for a few weeks and then meet his maker. They sold candy bars with big prizes in some of the wrappers, but we were never lucky enough to win.
One of my most cherished memories in high school was being chosen to be a part of the Glendale Scotties. We marched in the summer and before school, perfecting our marching maneuvers. Some played the snare drum while others learned the bagpipes, tenor drums, bass drums, or cymbals. I can still play some of the cadences we used while marching. We wore our Glengarry Scots tartan outfits. My best friend was the majorette. The other four high schools in Springfield had drum and bugle corps. The Kilties, Lassies, Highlanders, and later the Bonnie Buchanans. Oh, a Glengarry Scot I will first and always be…
Most of my fondest memories took place on the Jame River. We would load up the car with our old shoes, towels, picnic basket, ice cooler, and fishing poles. After stopping at the corner of Fremont and M highway, we bought some black night-crawlers. Someone had already started the roaring campfire. Hot dogs, marshmallows, and black coffee were put on the fire. The smell of the fire was almost as good as Mom’s blackberry cobbler. We would grab an inner tube and head for the riverbank. I would try an underground handstand on the river rocks. After swimming, we would ride on the Cub tractor with the sickle bar down and cut the grass. We also had caves to explore at the edge of the cliff. Our troubles would drift away as we paddled the Jon boat upstream. Our river property was purchased at the close of World War II, and we have had several generations of fun.
A dress code was required during my years in the public schools. Girls were prohibited from wearing pants or slacks. Even in cold weather, girls were often expected to brave the elements rather than wear slacks. The ban on pants remained in place in Springfield schools until the 1970s, when dress codes began to relax in response to changing social attitudes. The first thing after school was to put on slacks. I wore Bass Weejuns shoes with a shiny penny in them.
The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show influenced what we wore and our hairstyles. The
Dance was the twist, and we excelled on the hula hoops. Growing up in Springfield was a good city to learn the ropes of being an adult. Rivers to swim in, woods to explore, and Steak and Shake to cruise our Mustangs around the parking lot. Springfield is the third-largest city in Missouri. I’m glad I grew up in the “Queen City of the Ozarks” and the “Birthplace of Route 66.”
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