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While in the supermarket shopping for pre-game tailgating supplies Saturday, a man walked by and said, “When have you seen hotdogs for $7.99 a pack”?  It really made me start to think.  It made me remember when my mother use to give me $1.25 to run to the filling station behind Paul Funeral Home to get five gallons of gas and a pack of Black Draught.

Bill’s Hot Dogs were not but 25 cents and on a good day, Dave Tayloe and I could pick up enough pecans to buy several hotdogs and swing into Ammons Bakery and have dessert. A drink of your favorite cola at Mrs. Jolley’s was only six cents and you could carry the bottle back and get five cents in return.  She sold paper kites for only 25 cents.  On the way to John Small School, you could pick up a bag of cat eye marbles for only 10 cents and glob knockers were only 15 cents.

Mom and dad left Rose Ann and me 36 cents each day.  Six cents for a drink and five cents for a pack of square nabs made by Lance. 25 cents went for lunch at school.  When we got to high school it increased to 50 cents for everyone.  I can remember Mrs. Hill use to make me take up 50 cents from anyone who planned to eat lunch and she always took care of Harold Jr for working in the lunchroom for her.

People my age can remember Mrs. Carver serving chili dogs for 10 cents and 15 cents for the large famous glazed ice colas in town.  Hardee’s came along in the 1960’s and sold charcoal hamburgers for only 10 cents and French Fries for a whopping 15 cents and student could surprise his date before carrying her home for $2.00 unless you were Lee Drake.  He could eat hamburgers all night (and thus his name Burger).

A young boy could buy a fly back paddle from Woolworths Dime Store for only 15 cents and wooden yo-yo for 25 cents.  If he wanted, he could by a Duncan yoyo for a dollar and make it sleep and throw it around the world and rock a by baby all over town. Yes, we all enjoyed these times and life was simple and easy.  My friend Eleanor summed it up best when she said, “It was a capsule of time that will never be replaced”.  Jamie Weatherly also said, “It was the times of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer”.  You were both correct and I am proud to call you classmates!

 They were the best of times with best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.! The Original Washington!

Harold Jr.