Back in the 1950’s when I attended parochial school we had a morning milk break. Every day, around eight am, the guy from Twin Oaks Dairy delivered a cargo of half-pint bottles of milk to the school. And, every day, those little bottles of milk rested in their cases until around ten am, before the nun would allow us to drink them. This was not a good idea in the winter when the cases stood alongside the radiator near the back of the room.
It never was a good idea for those kids who stayed at school for lunch because they had to wait until noon before they could drink the milk and it was always warm no matter what month it was, although during the winter you could claim hot chocolate as a benefit.
The cost was two cents for plain white milk and three cents for chocolate per day. Money was collected every Friday and if you forgot the money, you went without the next week. No one would spot you the cash, ten or fifteen cents, so you went thirsty.
The bottles had a foil type lid and I would puncture the top with a sharp pencil to make a small opening and then use the pencil to make a small hole in the straw, keeping it above the milk line, thus mixing the milk with air so it would last longer as I sipped it. Unfortunately, this action would shortly produce a follow-up series of burps which amuse my fellow classmates and netted me an occasional rap on the knuckles by Sister Mary Yardstick.
Since I lived a short distance, I went home for lunch every day and mom would have a sandwich ready according to her menu of the week which consisted basically of either baloney and cheese or peanut butter and jelly on Wonder bread. Except for Friday when it was grilled cheese. In the winter months the sandwich was accompanied by a bowl of Campbell’s Chicken noodle or chicken rice soup. And there was always the tall glass of chocolate milk made with Bosco syrup. By eighth grade I was a choco-junkie.
We got an hour for lunch so I ran home, which took less than five minutes, so I could hurriedly eat and then go into the living room to watch the lunchtime frolics on TV. Mom would not allow eating in front of the set worried about crumbs on the carpet or, perhaps, that I might laugh at the cartoon and choke. There may have been a stronger chance of that happening as I wolfed down my pre-show food.
There were four channels available in those days and three of them had lunchtime kids shows. I would watch Lunchtime Little Theater, Two Ton Baker the Music Maker or Uncle Johnny Coons. So, after a morning of science, religion and arithmetic, I spent the noon hour watching Uncle Bucky, Uncle Ned (Ned Locke of Bozo’s Circus fame) and Aunt Dodie (later replaced by Aunt Jeannie) in their striped outfits and straw hats as they sung ditties on the piano and showed dancing bug cartoons.
Uncle Johnny Coons also would eat a sandwich with us kids, tell us not to sit to close to the TV and, dressed in his pith helmet and explorer garb, relate stories and, ultimately, show outdated film shorts and, occasionally, a dancing bug cartoon.
Two Ton Baker, a large man dressed in pirate clothes, sat at the piano playing ditties about life such as “I Like Stinky Cheese,” “Poor Little Petunia,” Fuzzy Wuzzie was a Bear,” and other educational songs. He was supported by a talking parrot and Bubbles, the porpoise and he had a side-kick pirate pal who brought out Two Ton’s lunch for him and ,while he ate, we watched more dancing bug cartoons.
Since I could only watch one show at a time, there was no remote control back then, I sat close to the TV so I could manually switch channels when the bug cartoons came on (which I had seen numerous times before) catching portions of each show’s live action performances.
When the show was just about over, I kissed my mom goodbye and raced back to school to continue the day’s studies in history, more religion and geography. This was a bit difficult at times to concentrate as images of a 300 pound pirate, dancing bugs or corny vaudevillian type acts were still fresh in my mind and conflicted with learning about the origins of the universe (which, of course, was created).
I dont know if any kids still come home for lunch any more and watch TV. With all the channels now open and with the computer and internet, things are certainly different. Some days, when I make myself lunch and sit down at the TV set, all I get are commercials and swear I finish eating before any show comes back on.
I miss the fat pirate and the folks in strange garb, playing a honky-tonk piano and showing dancing bug cartoons. I do, however, still eat baloney and cheese sandwiches but with a beer instead of chocolate milk, which is no longer available for three cents.
