What we did before TV and computers

Some reading and doing hobby stuff in electronics. Then went to sleep early.

We got a TV in our house in 1957, when I was aged 5, so my answer would probably be "Before TV I sucked my mom's teat and played around with toys", but after that I used to walk the dog, meet pals in the park to fish in the lake, climb trees, go to the cinema with my big sister, visit museums, go to see landmarks in London, ride on Thames riverboats, and a hundred and one other things. I especially loved reading. TV was rationed by my parents.

We got a television in 1956, and there was one channel, available from about ten in the morning until ten at night, six days a week. My grandmother, who had instigated the purchase, was very frustrated because we would all go into the bedroom with my grandfather to listen to our favorite radio programs. She only managed to get us into the living room to watch the television as those programs appeared on television, too. One I recall was The Lucky Strike Hit Parade, which apparently went to television in the early 50s, but which we could not tune in until another channel was available to us. (The joys of small town life in a rural area!)

In Fresno, CA, we got our first TV channel in 1954. By day it showed old Bob Steele and Roy Rogers movies for ten minutes to twenty minutes of used car commercials. Night - I think I recall I Love Lucy and Maybe Ozzie and Harriet. The national anthem and a test pattern were featured a lot.

Maybe it was later than '54. I first saw TV at age 12 but we were visiting near San Jose. The first face I saw on TV was Art Linkletter.

The first TV show I remember watching was an American Desilu series called "Whirlybirds". In each episode an adventure occurred involving Bell 47 helicopters. It was later retitled "Copter Patrol". Also from 1959 a space adventure series with William Lundigan called "Men into Space".

X-1

In the old days there were street games and talking with people out on the front stoop or a porch. Going for a walk either alone or with another or group. Card games, board games...

The earliest I can usually recall of television was Lawrence Welk. I watched with hopes that Myron Floren would be on to entertain.

I was a game addict for marbles and cowboys.

Never quite understood marbles, did have a large bag of them though.
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I was sort of a champ with marbles, until a big kid on a bike stopped me and robbed me of them. He made sure he got my best shooter, too.

The Bromo Seltzer commercial in this one used to cause me to hide under the sheet.

We wrote letters