We Actually Had Tin Cans

When I was growing up, we actually had tin cans. I don’t remember plastic being the majority of anything to tell the truth. We didn’t have ice cream buckets that were made of plastic, we made the ice cream ourselves. Sodas, or pop as we called it in Iowa were always in glass bottles and so was ketchup and mustard.
The A&W served their root beer in glass mugs. The other day I posted an article of Mom baking for the store in Cherokee. On the shelf behind her, was a can or two of pork and beans. I am sure they were in a tin can or at least a tin coated steel can. I can remember if my brother and I had string and two clean tin cans we could make a wonderful telephone (we thought). Now days most of our cans are aluminum. I think the majority of people now recycle those. I am not sure if it is to protect our earth, or to get some money back from our original purchase.
The other day at the gym, I needed to rest, so I picked up a magazine. It gives you an idea of the age group at my gym, when the stack of magazines on the table, was “Reminisce.” As I was flipping pages, I found a box of Linit Starch and recognized almost everything in the pictures they were showing, right down to an article about aprons similar to the one I wrote the other day. I cannot imagine enjoying the “Reminisce” magazine. I used to read this to my residents in the nursing home.
The other day Fran and I were going to go to the grocery store after going to the gym. I said, “Don’t forget the minced ham.”. He’s only one year younger than I am. He said, “What’s that?” That one little question, inspired a half hour conversation between the two of us. He laughed and laughed, whether he really did know what minced ham was, or that he was able to get my dander up, I will never know. It’s kind of like a tin can, is it real or does it just look like the real thing.
Those of you that read this blog, I would love to have you post a comment telling me that you remember minced ham; that would make me feel so much better.