Remember those porch sitting days?

Question

Do you remember when people used to sit on their front porches during the 50's & 60's, & relax with family & neighbors? Our front porch often served as a second living room. It was a meeting place of sorts & my family & I enjoyed sitting on the porch, especially on those hot summer evenings, when it was too hot to stay inside.We'd sip cold sodas & watching the people/cars go by. That's when you knew your neighbors & got together to catch up on the latest. I am still a porch sitter & I love doing so.

Marvin R....What great memories indeed. :D

holey moley......A really great idea for sure!!!

Grand pa....We had a big swing on our porch, w/cushions on it & it was so comfy. I loved it when Friday's rolled around, when school was in session, because that meant I could stay up late & join my parents & neighbors out on the front porch. I miss those days.

pkvan56....Oh, my goodness. Were you my neighbor & I didn't know it? I loved catching light bugs too & putting them in a jar, but I had to let them go before I went in for the night. Porch sitters in my neighborhood used to talk back & forth across the street too, throughout the evening. It was a time when the neighbors got to catch up on the latest.

savannah...Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really enjoyed them. By all means, if you see me sitting on my porch, come on over. I'll get you a cold drink of your choice, & we'll sit & chat & get to know each other. :)

daisy mae.....I hope you didn't have to witness too many accidents.

William R.....Ask Santa for a Porsche. I'll take the good ole days of porch sitting over a fancy car anyday. My memories of those days are priceless. :)

gaillee....Thanks so much for sharing such great memories with us. I always enjoy reading what you have to say. Priceless memories of days gone by indeed. :)

Iritadragon....Good luck on that new front porch. Your sure to enjoy it!!!!

Pollyanna....I too have seen so many porches decorated with pretty wicker furniture & flowers, but the porch is crying for someone to sit on it & enjoy it. I'm glad your daughter is enjoying her porch. :)

Thank you everyone for sharing your porch memories!!! I really enjoyed reading each & every one of them.

Answer 1

I do remember porch sitting days back in the '40s especially during WWII. I was a little kid. I remember sitting on the porch during air raid black-outs when I was absolutely sure that ToJo was going to bomb us at any moment or Hitler was going to sneak up on us out of the dark.

I remember air raid wardens walking up and down the street blowing their whistles and telling people to turn out their lights or close their drapes.

People would walk up and down the street in the evenings and drop by to chat. Someone, somewhere in the neighborhood was always playing the piano, it seemed. You could here what radio programs people listened to. We would listen to President Roosevelt out there.

I remember sitting out there mostly with my mom as we waited for my dad to come home from working long hours during the war. My mom would grill me on my times tables and games where I would tell her the time when she described the position of the clock's hands.

We had a yellow porch glider with striped yellow cushions on it. I'd always sit next to my mom. I remember well those soft, warm summer nights and how protected and lucky I felt.

Answer 2

Wish it were still that simple and I am not a senior citizen, just like hanging out with them! We lose things like that because we don't recreate it for our children. We could have the good old days again, if we made it happen. People are just too busy, and too lazy to do it. It takes a bit of effort to make some lemonade and invite the nasty neighbor over, we have to disinfect after they leave anyway. (We are too paranoid, too...) Besides, they might get to know us, and boy, would that be horrible... Well, you get my drift??? Even still, nasty neighbors and all -- the world was a better place when we did know the neighbors, and that knowing held a lot of bad things at bay. I mean, back then, people actually cared about their reputation, and what the neighbors on the porch next door were saying about them...Kept people who were on the edge honest. (And no, I'm not into a "big brother" thing. Totally against it. But back then people helped each other get past problems, and stay on the up side.)
If I see you out on your porch, can I stop in for some lemonade?

Answer 3

Yes, I do and i miss that too! When out in the country, I remember my Mom and one of our family friends, sitting out on the front porch, in the darkness of night, just in their slips as it was sweltering hot! They would sit there and just chat for hours as the rocked and drank coffee or, juice.

There were times when we has singings on the porch too! I loved these moments!! Family members would bring their instruments and the men would sit under the shade tree while the women sat on the porch. Everyone joined in and sang, some danced and others played their saw, guitar, banjo, accordian, harmonica and maimy would play the piano from the front room with all windows opened.

Those nights, from the eyes of a child...priceless!

Now, they are all gone but, not so in my heart and memories!

Answer 4

I see so many beautiful front porches that never get used. They're just for show.
My daughter recently bought a house with a porch. The first thing we did was hang a porch swing. She calls me every night while sitting on her swing.
Front porch: It's a good thing. LOL

Answer 5

Enjoying a place around the porch with friends and family is a wonderful memory. Some of you might remember a song about that sung by Burl Ives, posted here: http://steadfastinc.com/front-porch-memories/

Answer 6

I still have that front porch, which we don't spend much time on because it's cracking and needs replacement. My plans are to replace it with a full sized wooden deck that will be used just as you describe it---sitting and relaxing on hot summer evenings, watching the kids playing on the street, talking to the neighbours as they wander by.

The back deck is presently used for sitting out and barbequing. It would be nice to have the added bonus of keeping watch on our neighbours, that a safe front porch would give us.

Answer 7

Yes we had a porch swing. Lemonade and children playing running back and forth across the yards.Block Parties where everyone would bring something on the spur of the moment. Great fun! No one ever locked their doors those days.

Answer 8

Wish I had a porch or better yet a Porche. I'd sit in it, you bet.
And I'd take the neighbors and family for rides too. But no soda sippin'. It's bad for the upholstery.

Answer 9

Yes. I loved sitting on the porch and talking with neighbors on both sides. Ours was a row house that my cousin let us rent. We could see all the car accidents from where we sat.

Answer 10

San Luis Obispo, CA has an ordinance that all newly constructed houses must have a front porch for the very reasons you mentioned. I think it's a great idea, don't you?