Come join me for a very special edition of If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! We'll be taking time out to share some memories. We'll Blog Back Time with possible ways to right past wrongs or about how times have changed. We'll share childhood memories, school/work memories, family and friend memories.Today's topic is: Favorite Annual Events
There were 3 things that were awesome about this picnic. One was the big, old fashioned red water pump (similar to the one in the photo) that we always passed as we walked from the parking lot to the picnic area. My sister and I could not walk past it without stopping to give it a good 20 quick action pumps to get the water to start gushing out. We would drive our parents crazy with excuses that we HAD to wash our hands, just so we could go back and play with the pump.
The 2nd great thing about this picnic was the loot bag. Everyone got a bag based on age. Younger kids got bubbles and Chinese finger torture toys and other cheap stuff that one can now find at dollar stores. Older kids got paddle balls, jump ropes, kites, or foam airplanes. All the kids would open their loot bags and immediately begin playing.
The 3rd great thing was the group games. There were kid games like running and holding a peanut on a spoon, 3 legged races, wheelbarrow races and potato sack races. For the adults there were also the 3 legged races, wheelbarrow races and potato sack races, but the best was the egg toss. Husbands on one end of the game area, wives at the other and they kept increasing the distance between them as each round finished. They had to toss a real, raw, in the shell egg. You lost if your egg broke. It was hilarious fun watching the different techniques. Some husbands did the soft underhand toss, others did the wind up and the overhand fast pitch. Some of the wives couldn’t quite gauge the speed of the throw and ended up with smashed eggs in their hands. Others were Chicken Littles and wouldn’t go near the tossed egg, letting it smash to the ground. Family entertainment at it’s finest to be sure.
The 1 thing that was not awesome about this picnic were the outhouses. Yup, they had outhouses and they STANK! OMG. After the first couple of years I learned to limit my beverages in an effort to limit the number of trips. The last couple of years there was a building added that had restrooms, but they still had the outhouses. I don’t know if it was for the ‘country charm’ or because of the crowds the number of bathrooms in the building weren’t adequate.
I as a little sad the year that I moved to Chicago and cashed out my policy because it meant an end to those picnics. I wonder if they still do them? Or if any other insurance companies did this sort of an annual event for policyholders. I bet not.
Please post your "Favorite Annual Event Memory" on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.
Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!
It's kind of weird, but my father’s life insurer, Maccabees Mutual had an annual picnic. I believe they were held on a picnic grounds in Two Rivers, WI. There was a pavilion for the beer and soda that had picnic tables and then there were picnic tables throughout the grounds. They also had grills that you could use to bbq your own food. The first years we went, my parents did the whole grilling out thing, the last couple of years we’d stop at KFC, which was extra special because we never went there.
There were 3 things that were awesome about this picnic. One was the big, old fashioned red water pump (similar to the one in the photo) that we always passed as we walked from the parking lot to the picnic area. My sister and I could not walk past it without stopping to give it a good 20 quick action pumps to get the water to start gushing out. We would drive our parents crazy with excuses that we HAD to wash our hands, just so we could go back and play with the pump.The 2nd great thing about this picnic was the loot bag. Everyone got a bag based on age. Younger kids got bubbles and Chinese finger torture toys and other cheap stuff that one can now find at dollar stores. Older kids got paddle balls, jump ropes, kites, or foam airplanes. All the kids would open their loot bags and immediately begin playing.
The 3rd great thing was the group games. There were kid games like running and holding a peanut on a spoon, 3 legged races, wheelbarrow races and potato sack races. For the adults there were also the 3 legged races, wheelbarrow races and potato sack races, but the best was the egg toss. Husbands on one end of the game area, wives at the other and they kept increasing the distance between them as each round finished. They had to toss a real, raw, in the shell egg. You lost if your egg broke. It was hilarious fun watching the different techniques. Some husbands did the soft underhand toss, others did the wind up and the overhand fast pitch. Some of the wives couldn’t quite gauge the speed of the throw and ended up with smashed eggs in their hands. Others were Chicken Littles and wouldn’t go near the tossed egg, letting it smash to the ground. Family entertainment at it’s finest to be sure.
The 1 thing that was not awesome about this picnic were the outhouses. Yup, they had outhouses and they STANK! OMG. After the first couple of years I learned to limit my beverages in an effort to limit the number of trips. The last couple of years there was a building added that had restrooms, but they still had the outhouses. I don’t know if it was for the ‘country charm’ or because of the crowds the number of bathrooms in the building weren’t adequate.
I as a little sad the year that I moved to Chicago and cashed out my policy because it meant an end to those picnics. I wonder if they still do them? Or if any other insurance companies did this sort of an annual event for policyholders. I bet not.
Please post your "Favorite Annual Event Memory" on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.
Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!
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©2008-2009
4 comments:
I do not recall an annual event in my family. I always liked fourth of July picnics I saw them on TV and wished we would go to one. Never did. Dad's TV station had yearly Picnic but I was not living with them during that time. Glad you have those memories:-)
Thank you for helping me to remember such a wonderful event in my life. I am back on track with my blogging next hoping to get back in with my dropping in
Yuck on the outhouses!! I never did like them. Use to call them outdoor biffies when I was smaller. The picinics sound fun. Sounds like you grew up in Two Rivers. I grew up in Milwaukee. Hope you have a great day.
@ Shauni - Thanks again for participating. I always enjoy your posts.
@ Stacie - Actually I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee. That annual picnic was the rare occasion that we went out of town.
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