Teenagers today do not need to be lectured about the difficulty that their elders encountered when they were teenagers. But as Roy Wilson eloquently explained, "an understanding of the differences that teenagers experienced in the mid 20th century will give us an appreciation of how far our society has come".
First of all, there were no washroom facilities in homes, schools or public buildings. Outhouses were everywhere, and the infamous honey wagon (which was used in a number of un-publishable pranks instigated by teens) was used to dispose the waste.
Radio was the most important form of entertainment, as television was not introduced to Dryden until 1952. Hockey night in Canada was listened to on Saturday evenings. Ray Cook and Roy Wilson both recall the radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly as being very popular amongst teenagers.
Fergus Brown recalls having a lot of fun growing up as a teenager in Dryden. Outdoor sports, such as baseball and canoeing were popular in the summertime. Curling and hockey were enjoyed in the wintertime.
Don Nicholson has a fond recollection of the games that teens played on school property during lunch hours. Using small pen knives, the boys drew a circle with a diameter of about three feet on the ground. The goal of the game was to stand with one's back to the circle, and then toss the knife over your shoulder so that the knife landed within the boundaries of the circle with the blade in the ground.
Roy Wilson, Fergus Brown, Gerrie Noble clearly remember the teen dances held at the Teen Canteen (Youth Center) every Friday night. Harry McMaster was often the teacher chaperone at those dances. Music was performed by a live band (or orchestra as it was called at the time) composed of local teenagers. Some of the instruments used by the bands were a banjo, saxophone, guitar, cornet, trombone, drums, piano and a piano-accordion. Roy Wilson was a member of a band and he played the piano-accordion.
Before the live music started at the dances, tradition dictated that the boys lined up on the left hand side of the gymnasium and the girls would line up on the right hand side. When the music started the boys rushed over to the girls' side to ask their favorite girl to dance. A few lucky girls had a number of boys waiting in line to ask her hand in a dance. The last dance of the evening was important. If a boy was lucky enough to be able to dance with his favorite girl on the last dance, he earned the honour of walking her home. Other groups of boys chose not to dance, but rather to socialize in groups with their male friends. The dances usually ended at midnight.
Along with Friday night dances at the teen center, were Saturday night dances held at the pulp mill hall (located at present location of Wilson's and the card shop). Saturday night dances were often called "Jitney dances". One did not pay an entrance fee, but had to pay a 5 cent fee to cross the floor (where a rope was placed) and ask a girl to dance. The money was went to a local charity. The earliest recollection of dances at the pulp mill hall were during the late 1930s before the war.
After the second world war, many dances were held in Waldof. Eddie Hatch, (the milk-man for Dryden, see note at bottom of the page)
would often drive teens out to Waldof to attend the dances. Others would rent a van or pay a friend to drive out to Waldof. Some of these
dances were known to become quite rowdy, especially when veterans of the war attended.
(more coming soon!!!)
From very early in the past century, up to the 1960s, one did not purchase milk from the local food store. Rather milk was delivered to homes by a milk man.