Things we did as kids for entertainment

[CFHunter]

My comment about porkies in the Fisher topic got me thinking of all the things we used to do as kids to stay entertained. For those of us who grew up prior to the tech generation, we had to make our own fun. I know my group of friends were always outside in the woods goofing around. I think I knew every lake, pond, stream and river in a ten mile radius. I would walk miles to be able to fish or hunt. Let's here some of the things you did growing up that molded your desire to be in the out of doors!!!!

[pt0217]

We use to make forts in the woods. Any piece of scrap wood we could find, no saws, just nail it together. Building it was half the fun.

[Merlot]

As a youngster, I would have the opportunity in the summer to stay at my uncles dairy farm and help out. We would always hunt woodchucks after the evening milking. That got me started.

[stoneam2006]

Paintball....catching crayfish in creek...working lol

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[grampy]

We used to play "army" or "Cowboys and Indians" all the time. I was always a German or an Indian, as my Grandmother was full blood Native American. Playing those games was the start of learning to "sneak" through the woods.

[EspressoBuzz]

one summer growing up in Red Hook Brooklyn my friends and i had just read Huckleberry Finn in school and that summer we started building a raft out of pallets and drums and whatever we could find along the docks. Then one day in late July we got it in the water and tried paddling it across the buttermilk channel to Governors iland but got barely half way there when we were stopped by a coast guard launch. They had a good laugh dropped un on shore and towed away our beautiful raft we had spent over a month building. Thus ended our adventure on New York's Mississippi.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Spent many a day building forts in the woods. Catching crayfish in the many creeks. fishing and when old enough small game hunting. I grew up on the outer boarder of a neighbor hood and there was always pick up baseball games in the spring and summer. The fall was pick up full tackle football pick up games with no pads or helmets. (might explain some things about me, huh?). night time was neighborhood wide games of manhunt. As far as toys, it seemed like hotwheels and GO Joes were the flavor of the times. 

[CFHunter]

one summer growing up in Red Hook Brooklyn my friends and i had just read Huckleberry Finn in school and that summer we started building a raft out of pallets and drums and whatever we could find along the docks. Then one day in late July we got it in the water and tried paddling it across the buttermilk channel to Governors iland but got barely half way there when we were stopped by a coast guard launch. They had a good laugh dropped un on shore and towed away our beautiful raft we had spent over a month building. Thus ended our adventure on New York's Mississippi.

We had a creek, called Butternut Creek, that ran thru our town. A friend and I did the same thing, we built a raft and started to float down the creek. The only thing we did not realize is how we were going to get home. With no cell phones back then, we had to walk 15 miles back home.

[CFHunter]

one summer growing up in Red Hook Brooklyn my friends and i had just read Huckleberry Finn in school and that summer we started building a raft out of pallets and drums and whatever we could find along the docks. Then one day in late July we got it in the water and tried paddling it across the buttermilk channel to Governors iland but got barely half way there when we were stopped by a coast guard launch. They had a good laugh dropped un on shore and towed away our beautiful raft we had spent over a month building. Thus ended our adventure on New York's Mississippi.

Oh, and I was stationed on GI right before the CG shut it down.

[G-Man]

Walking creeks, sword fights made out of snow fence stakes, burning ants with magnifying glasses, army men in the sand pit,camping back in the woods next to the pond, shooting frogs with bb guns, catching and painting shells on snapping turtles, shooting snapping turtles, fishing in the local farm ponds, fishing in the creek, trapping fox aND coon, football in the back yard, mud ball wars with the neighbors.. riding friends go karts, riding bikes everywhere, going to local arcade on a Sat and playing 1942, pacman, centipede, and other classic games. Building rafts out of old fence posts. Riding our horse. Playing on the farm equipment..

[Borngeechee]

I don't know the last time a saw kids playing tag, cops and robbers, or build club houses.

Geechee born and Geechee bred

[nycredneck]

Same here, grew up close to Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens. We got a HUGE block of foam the size of a car from a factory near by. We hollowed it out like a dugout canoe and it floated very well with 5 of us in it when we put it in a large construction pond so we decided to launch it in the East River between Manhattan and Queens across from the U N building. This river is notorious for its wicked currents. Well as we were putting in a Police boat pulled up at top speed and asked us what we were doing. Someone saw us and must have called. We said "oh nothing just hanging out". Then they asked if that boat was ours and course we said no. So they said then I guess you guys won't mind if we take it with us right? We all looked at each other and sheepishly said guess not and away it went.

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[Nomad]

Sure building forts in the woods, damning a creek and stocking it with trout we breed in our own spring feed hatchery we made.

Sucker spearing !!!

Lots of baseball , football and bb. Here'show it worked , say baseball we picked our own teams and weren't shy about saying who was good or who sucked . When there was only 4 or 5 per team we figured it out , right field was out of bounds, batters supplied there own catcher and had an all time pitcher .

I feel this made us stronger people than the , everyone gets a trophy and don't keep score method of today. No Dads or coaches involved , just a bunch of kids who made it work

Oh and a couple of the older ones who were really good had to bat lefty ....

How could I forget? Apple wars in the orchard , basically a snowball fight with apples....

We also had " destrucko wheel" a large heavy steel wheel thing, that we rolled down hills in the woods to see what it would destroy in its path. Getting it back up the hill was the orignal crossfit work out 45 years ago!

Edited April 7, 2016 by Larry302

[pt0217]

As a youngster, I would have the opportunity in the summer to stay at my uncles dairy farm and help out. We would always hunt woodchucks after the evening milking. That got me started.

I spent my summer vacation with my cousins on the dairy farm. It was heaven for a kid. Too many good times to list. Just listen to country music. It will tell all the stories.

[Borngeechee]

I'm 38 so my generation was the original video gaming generation but we didn't let it consume us. We played them but we also understood the joy you can have from being outside with friends. Kids now will stay inside all day playing video games and talking to their "friends" through the game console.

Geechee born and Geechee bred

[blackradio]

Ride bikes. We used to build ramps out of scrap wood and jump them with our bikes. Used to build forts out of scrap wood we found. Just kept adding on and on higher up the free until a few years went by and the tree died. My next door neighbor and best friend lived on a far and we used to get the roosters and turkeys riled up until they would chase us, then we'd run and hide from them. We used to play fight a lot, shoot out bows, have fights with horsepoop (pretending they were bombs and throw them at each other), play paintball. Then in my early teens we all started playing interments and formed rock bands. Childhood was great.

Edited April 7, 2016 by blackradio

[pt0217]

I remember fighting with my brother over a full sheet of plywood. He wanted to take it to his buddy's fort and I wanted to take it to mine. It was like gold in the fort world.

[diplomat019]

My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets.

[ApexerER]

When we weren't shooting bb guns or catching frogs and crawfish out of the creek, we were playing Army. We would run around the woods from sun up to sundown setting up ambushes on each other etc. I had the coolest M16....I wish I still had it....It took a 9v battery and had a selector switch for single shot, burst and full auto and it would make the noise for you what ever you had it on. That was probably my favorite toy growing up. It didn't have an orange barrel either....It was a scary looking black rifle.

[Jeremy K]

We basically did anything except sit still , always on the move and could switch objectives in no time flat.

[Steuben Jerry]

Potato guns and combat Jarts!

[EspressoBuzz]

Potato guns and combat Jarts!

 

OMG you just reminded me of how much us kids looked forward to the few weeks before the Fourth Of July when small bottle rockets became available and i'd look for the perfect piece of pipe. Then we would have bazooka wars one side of the street against the other. Man were we stupid! But oh what fun!

[Jeremy K]

We were just talking about this subject at work , out of the 4 of us ,no one could remember the last time they had a snowball thrown at their car while driving in the winter . Where have all the youth gone

[Elmo]

I'm 38 so my generation was the original video gaming generation but we didn't let it consume us. We played them but we also understood the joy you can have from being outside with friends..

 

The invention of home video games was just the first snow ball.  The invention of online gaming was the avalanche.  When it was still just a stand alone console, you had to go over to one persons house and take turns if there were more than 2 of you and that wasn't quite as fun.  Now, everyone can play against or with each other from their own homes.

[Elmo]

We ran around local parks in playing cops and robbers, army, etc.  We had toy guns that look like real guns and didn't get shot by the police because of it.  We even ran into construction sites and get yelled at by the security guard.  I would lay pennies on the train tracks and come back later to find thin copper plates.  We would turn over rocks and catch what we can find.  Worms, snakes, snails, slugs.  We burned ants with magnifying glass and blew up slugs with firecrackers because, yes, it was legal for an 10 year old boy to buy firecrackers back then.  Tons of stickball and baseball.  Ride our bikes over to other counties.  We gathered PVC pipes and attached a balloon to the end of it and shoot beans at each other with it.