Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

99% if those born between 1930 and 1946 (worldwide) are now dead. If you were born in this time span, you are one of the rare surviving 1%ers of this special group. Their ages range is between 77 and 93 years old, a 16-year age span.

Interesting Facts about the 1% ers:

You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900’s.

You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war that rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.

You are the last to remember ration books for everything from gas to sugar to shoes and stoves.

You saved tin foil and poured fried meat fat into tin cans.

You can remember milk being delivered to your house early in the morning and placed in the ‘milk box’ on the porch.

Discipline was enforced by parents and teachers.

You are the last generation who spent childhood without television; instead, you ‘imagined’ what you heard on the radio.

With no TV, you spent your childhood ‘playing outside’.

There was no Little League.

There was no city playground for kids (except in Anniston, Al where Dottie lived)!

The lack of television in your early years meant that you had little real understanding of what the world was like. We got black and white T.V. in the early 1950’s and that had 3 stations and no remote.

Telephones were one to a house, often shared (party lines), and hung on the wall in the kitchen (no cares about privacy). Our phone number was 235 red.

Computers were called calculators; they were hand-cranked.

Typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon.

INTERNET and GOOGLE were words that did not exist.

Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and the news was broadcast on your radio in the evening. (your dad would give you the comic pages when he read the news)

New highways would bring jobs and mobility. Most highways were 2 lanes (no interstates).

You went downtown to shop. If you lived in town, you walked to school.

The radio network expanded to 3 stations to thousands.

Your parents were suddenly free from the confines of the depression and the war, and they threw themselves into working hard to make a living for their families.

You weren’t neglected, but you weren’t today’s all-consuming family focus.

They were glad you played by yourselves.

They were busy discovering the postwar world.

You entered a world of overflowing plenty and opportunity; a world where you were welcomed, enjoyed yourselves.

You felt secure in your future, although depression and poverty were deeply remembered.
Polio was still a crippler. Everyone knew someone who had it.

You came of age in the ‘50s and ‘60s

You are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our homeland.

Only your generation can remember a time after WW II and Korea when our world was secure and full of bright promise and plenty.

You grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better.

More than 99% of you are retired now, and you should feel privileged to have ‘lived in the best of times.”

If you have reached the age of 77 years old, you have outlived 99% if the other people in the world who were born in this special 16-year time span.

You are a 1 %’er! Congratulations! Just Sayin…RJS

RIVERBOTTOM Loc: south east texas

You hit the jackpot with this post. I was born in september of 1932 and ALL you stated was true, I fell so blessed to still be up and running . Without a doubt I remember all of your post and thank you for it. RB
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USAF Major Loc: Sea Bright, NJ

Those were different days! Only difference is the NYC area had 7 tv stations when we got one in October of '51.

Chuckay Loc: Central Florida

Hope you and Miss Jean are doing well, 🙏
Well Mr. Robert, I can remember most of the things you're talking about, saving tin foil when we had any. Pouring fat in cans, and we didn't
have milk delivered I milked the cow before school, discipline YES we knew what that meant 🥴, and the TV you could only get about 4 channels and all the movies was made up north because they always had snow in all the channels...we did listened to a lot of radio..and we had a phone with six others on a party line.. as for the milk I had to milk the cow (Betsy) before school.. didn't have calculators.. remember the old typewriters..got my polio vaccine.. we had a outhouse.. and we grew most of our vegetables and raised our meat (beef, chicken,hogs and goat's)..but Mr. Robert I'm only 65 years old, guess I was a little behind time.. 😂🙏🙏

Bcmech1 Loc: Clinton Wisconsin

While I'm only 64 and don't personally recall these. I remember my dad telling us kids how it was during those times and even before the great depression. He was born in 1909.

Possum2 Loc: South Mississippi

77 on the nose, never thought about the statistics, but experienced nearly all of the activities, except for the milk delivery. We went to the barn with my grandma and carried the milk back to the house in buckets.

GlsJr40 Loc: Dallas, Tx.

I didn't already know I am a 1%'er! I was born in 1940 and remember most all of those facts. I often recall those times and wish today was still like then; i.e., discipline, respect, patriotism, simplicity and accountability. But, at the same time, I am happy to have a lot of the conveniences today that weren't available then.

alwjohnson Loc: Lorman, MS

Can I use this in our local paper?

GlsJr40 Loc: Dallas, Tx.

Absolutely "yes"! I feel there are a lot of people who feel the same way, and there are probably a lot more still who would feel the same after being reminded.

alwjohnson Loc: Lorman, MS

Tks.