what about the Qupie doll with movable arms but straight legs. was made of pressed wood. had a pixtie top hair do an painted face . mine had a sunsuit on . that was over 55yrs ago that I got her. I still have her , a little worse for wear an tear , played with her a long time [years] before putting in keepsake trunk.
I just found this place & it awoke memories that I didn’t know that I had. I think I only played stickball less than a handfull of times. I lived in the Bronx ’til I was 6 & moved to Queens. The street games, OK the ball games didn’t exist in the new surroundings. There were pre made playgrounds & basketball hoops — never could get into that. After looking this site over, I remembered playing & I wanted to play again. I told my 13 & 16 year old daughters about stickball & they were exicted & wanted to play. They invited a friend over each and after going to the dollar store, got a broom (& promptly removed the stick) & a can of tennis balls (sorry, no spauldeens here in Central Connecticut). We played for a couple of hours and everybody, including this overweight 40+ kid, had a blast. Now, my kids want to teach me to play suicide. It sure as hell beats watching TV or watching someone else play video games. Thanks for waking up this kid! Scott Fisher
Remember this one? You all sat or stood in a circle and placed your hands by the person next to you so on your right your hand was above their hand (horizontal, palms up) and on the left below the person on the left, below their hand. Then you’d sing this song and the person who started would take their right hand and slap the henad of the person to their left, and it would be a chain reaction around the circle..whoever the song stopped on would be out until 2 people were left, then the winner: Down on the banks of the Hanky Panky Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky Said eeps ipes opes umps Listen to the ker…PLOP! ——– Whoever was hit last was kicked out and the game started again.
Does anyone remember the rules for Knucks? I recall that it involved trying to run out of cards before the other person did. If you were left with cards, you got rapped on the knuckles with the flat of the deck once for each card left. There were substitutes, where hitting with different parts of the deck (e.g., the edge) counted for more than one hit with the flat of the deck.
I spent endless hours jumping double dutch in the 60’s outside of Phila. Germantown area. I recently went back there , found my old girlfriends and pulled them into Daniel St. We coughed and laughed alot and we could remember how to turn and jump but only half remembered the rhymes. I have begun to form a group here in Charlottesville Va. so that my daughter will hopefully have this memory too!It’s ashame that kids just don’t do this anymore. I aim to change that. Remember Lover boy love him so can’t let him go no,no,no! Or Winston tastes good like an eeny meany disalleeny oo aah aah malleeny, hotchy cotchy liberace i love you, take a peach take a plum take a stick of chewing gum don’t like it don’t take it do the Alabama shake it, hotdog baby chicken in the gravy here comes mama with the balled headed baby. wrap it up in tissue paper throw it down the elevator first floor stop chicken baby, second floor stop chicken baby etc..
I played what we called bottlecaps outside Philly Germantown area . We used corked bottlecaps and we had a skull and crossbones in the center referred to as the poison box. I have yet to hear anyone in the archives refer to the Handspam werein you spread your hand out as wide as possible and undercertain cicumstances you could move your bottlecap from thumb to pinky to advance towards a certain box. Any pointers on this? I plain forget.. Carol
Who remembers Washington Baths at Coney, and Bay 15 and 16? I had a friend whose mother nursed the mother of George Tilyou who owned Steeplechase. As a result we would get passes to the park often that entitled us to 12 rides. I was about 11 years old when my friend coaxed me onto the parachute ride one summer night. After the first couple of rides up and down, I got over my fear and rode all night until the park closed.
Sittin on stoop was a fine pasttime. Living in a northern Virginia suburban townhouse today, I occasionaly sit outside on the front stairs (stoop) and take in the view. My wife, who grew up in the South, often remarks that I am the only person in the entire townhouse development who sits out front. Old habits die hard.
Jerry or Zach —I just bought a doze “pink balls and have a game of halfball with my son convincing him that I was not crazy talking about fullmoons–halfmoons –and sidearm sliders –I used to play at 13th and Wolf against a building belonging to Methodist Hosptal—Let me know if you ever feel like playing some halfball