Growing up in the 1950s was the best of times, the halcyon days after World War II. Then, drugs were something you purchased at the local pharmacy, civil unrest happened elsewhere in the world and if you wanted to work, a job was to be had. No one locked their doors at night and the standard was to leave keys in a car’s ignition so you knew where they were.
Last Sunday night I was reminded of a fact of life from the 1950s that wasn’t so good. We spent the night in Humboldt tending to our grandchildren, and, horrors of horrors, the air-conditioning went on the fritz.
A fan rescued me somewhat. Wife Beverly, a magnet for two little dogs, also had a restless — and hot — night.
In 1954, when temperatures in this part of Kansas soared into triple digits practically every day of summer, such a night would have been expected. After all, you don’t miss what you’ve never had, and air-conditioning was seldom found then in homes.
At home we had a fan on wheels that was strong enough to launch a sailing vessel. It thundered away day and night to keep air circulating through our six-room house on the east side of Humboldt.
We tried putting pots of ice cubes in front of the fan, but I don’t remember that helping much. For one thing, our old Frigidaire’s tiny freezer couldn’t keep up with the demand for that and iced drinks.
Several of my friends and I spent many a night sleeping outdoors, thinking that would be some relief.
We’d spread out an old quilt only to awake clammy on the side next to the ground and pestered on the other by who knows what kind of bugs meandering across exposed skin.
During the hottest weather, we’d beg our parents to drive us to Chanute or Iola for a dip in their swimming pools, or we’d walk across town and wallow in a Neosho River riffle.
Humboldt finally built a municipal pool in 1957. My buddies and I didn’t miss too many days in the pool the next few years, often after a sweltering game of baseball or a long day in the hay fields.
There’s much to miss about the good old days, but the lack of AC isn’t one of them.
Hot nights not a fond memory
