Many things that our parents and grandparents consider "ordinary" or uninteresting about their lives are riveting to younger generations. The world that our children are growing up in is a dramatically different place from the one their grandparents knew as young people.

A Different World
Personally, I've always loved living-history museums. I enjoy seeing how earlier generations cooked, slept, worked, and played. In our culture, it's amazing how quickly we bury the past as new technologies and ways of life become available to us.

Most children today have never heard of a "party line" or could imagine a home without at least one or two televisions, a microwave, and a computer. My children think that it's rather commonplace to carry a phone around in your pocket and to be able to access a world of information with a few keystrokes. What ever happened to the traveling encyclopedia salesman? 

A Personal Account of Days Gone By
Day-to-day living has changed immensely over the past 100 years, and there are people in your life who can share firsthand experiences about growing up in the early 20th century. 

So the next time you're sitting around the dinner table with an older relative, throw out a few questions about life in "the good old days," and see what comes back to you. At the very least, I guarantee a big smile and a few hearty laughs.

Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Did you have any favorite radio shows when you were growing up?
• When did your family first get a television? Did you have a car? What kind? 
• Did you have a telephone in your home?
• What advertising jungles, brand-name products, and comics do you recall?
• How did you get to school? What other memories do you have of school days?
• What did you bring for lunch, or did you go home for lunch?
• What do you remember about your childhood games and toys?
• What were the typical meals served in your home?

Enjoy!