Thoughts of Home: My Father’s PastLauren

4th Period Honors

Baltimore, Maryland, in the 1950s

My father, Richard, grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, in the 1950s.

Baltimore in 2010

Baltimore has changed tremendously since the 1950s, and is much more urbanized nowadays.

Home Life

My father was the second youngest out of 7 children. He was always picked on by his older siblings, but he learned to live with it.

Siblings

In this picture, you will see my dad to the right and his brother to left. They were and still are very close.

Sports

My dad loved sports, especially basketball and track and was extremely athletic. Everyday, he would go to school early to play basketball and stay after school to run track. They were significant hobbies during his childhood and meant the world to him.

After coming back to visit his old school, my dad was shocked. The school was actually in much better condition, and the field outside the school where he played sports had been refurbished.

The Most Decadent Dessert

On special occasions, my dad and his friends would go to their favorite restaurant to buy snowballs, their favorite dessert. Some were strawberry flavored while others were marshmallow or even coconut flavored. They were only twenty-five cents, and his favorite was covered in chocolate syrup with marshmallow topping.

My dad visited the old restaurant, which was surprisingly still there, and found that snowballs were still sold there. However the price had been raised from twenty-five cents to almost a dollar and fifty cents.

New Businesses and Technology

There were small businesses and not much use of technology around in Baltimore in the 1950s.

When my dad revisited, those small businesses had turned into companies, and computer chips were even being made. Therefore, more jobs were available.

Friendships

This is a picture of my dad and his friends sitting outside his house on a beautiful Baltimore afternoon. This was normally a typical day for my dad.

When returning to Baltimore in 2010, the house behind him was in a much worse condition. The paint was chipping, the wood had rotted, and the shutters were falling off.

Growing Older…

Moving to Georgia…

Starting a Family

My dad came to Georgia after graduating from high school and met my mom many years later. Together they created what we have today… a family.

My Life…

Baby Steps

Toddler Age

Differences in My Life and My Dad’s Life

We have come so far since the 1950s. However, some changes have been made for the better, while others have caused problems in our generation. Technology is the biggest change from my dad’s life to my life. It is an amazing tool that has changed the way people view everything, but it has also made the 50s seem like a better era. Because of technology, we do not exercise or go outside as much as my we should. Our generation is known for its laziness, and it is our job to change that. For we are the only ones who can truly remember the amazing memories that we have in our lives, but we have to start somewhere.