Here's a question for you: If you could instantly recover one lost item from your childhood, what would it be? I was thinking the other day that I really, really wish I still had my old set of Nancy Drew books! The only Nancy Drew book I currently own is this one, The Clue in the Jewel Box, which Alex bought for me as a gift some years ago. I finally pulled it out and started rereading it this week, and I don't remember much of the story at all, so it's like I'm discovering Nancy and friends all over again.
I was so excited when I read the words "department store" in the very first sentence. And then …
Lo and behold, I see "tearoom" on page 2! I think I'm going to enjoy looking for old Nancy Drew books and rereading them with adult eyes. Were any of you Nancy Drew fans? (And I'd seriously like to know what item from your childhood you wish you still had. I'm always collecting ideas for my books, and it dawned on me that it would be fun to know what other women wish they still had!)
I loved Nancy Drew! Most of those books I read were from the library, but I did get a few for birthdays and Christmas. I still have them 50 plus years later - I actually have all of my books, except the few that my nieces and nephews destroyed. I love books and hate to part with them. My toys have either been sold (Barbies) or passed down to my nieces. I do however still have my first baby doll and the one Barbie that my sister bought back for me.
ReplyDeleteWow, you are good at hanging on to these treasured things! Good for you! (I'm jealous.)
ReplyDeleteUsed to keep track of my list of those I read - had a wonderful collection of them. Loved those books, were big time favorites. I hope you have fun collecting them again. They molded us into the ladies we are today.
ReplyDeleteI have so many regrets purging things from childhood. I'd do anything to have my pink octopus my paternal grandfather's neighbor made for me. And my stuffer realistic tiger plushie he gave me - he used to call me Tiger due to my headstrong ways. : - )
I'd also REALLY love to have my huge box of seaglass I collected - real from the lake I grew up on - have you even seen the prices those real pieces go for now????
I still have my Barbies and Little Kittles though.
Little Kittles!!! I haven't thought of those in years. Loved the smell of those!
DeleteNancy Drew. Yes, I had read some of those books when I was a girl. The books were much better than the series they have on. It isn't fit to watch IMO. I found an old Trixie Beldon book here one day when we were purging. I was surprised I still had it. I think the one thing I wish I could bring back is the little tea set I had when I was seven. Alas, my mother had a habit of throwing things out whenever we moved, and she never asked me if I wanted it. She would simply dispose of these things.
ReplyDeleteOh, I had forgotten about Trixie! I read those too!
DeleteLoved Trixie Beldon too.
DeleteI wish I still had my little Steiff Wire Fox Terrier dog that I purchased in a Garage Sale for 10 cents. I'm sure that in today's world of collectables it would be monetarily valuable, but I simply loved it for it's charm.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet memory!
DeleteMy dollhouse and/or my Nancy Ann Storybook dolls. Gave away all my toys when I was 13 years old as I has decided I was too old for toys. I loved and read just about all of the Nancy Drew books.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any of my childhood dolls either. But I did find that the old Sears catalogs are online now, so at least I can still "see" them on there!
DeleteI had the entire set of 57 of the Nancy Drew books that were dated in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. A while back I gave them to one of my goddaughters as she has 3 little girls and I hoped the girls would enjoy reading them. I can remember reading them when I was 10, 11, etc and using a flashlight in bed to read them when I should have been sleeping. Such memories.
ReplyDeleteWow, a mega collector! Love that you're passing them along so that new little girls can get hooked too.
DeleteI read all of the Nancy Drew books and I still have them. I do regret giving my dollhouse to my younger cousin. She played with it a short whilre and wrecked teh dollhouse.
ReplyDeleteJoanEC128[at]aol[dot]com
Oh, how terrible that she wrecked the dollhouse! (But kudos to you for your generosity!)
DeleteI read the Nancy Drew books. They are my older sister'e books. I wish I had my little pink cradle my maternal grandmother gave me. When we moved it was lost.
ReplyDeleteMarionMPC[at]aol[dot]com
Never thought about getting them from an older sister. (I *am* the older sister, ha!) That's neat!
DeleteI have read the Nancy Drew books. I wish I had my baby doll. The rubber rotted and had to be thrown out.
ReplyDeleteMarilynDKC[at]aol[dot]com
Funny how many sweet memories we have of our dolls!
DeleteI wish I still had a bank made of porcelain in the shape of a pink purse with flowers with petals and leaves in porcelain on the top. It was precious.
ReplyDeleteThat's intriguing, and I can kind of picture it in my mind! (Maybe you'll come across another one day!)
DeleteI loved the Nancy Drew books as a child, and read all of them, although I don't own any now. As you suggested, I really should go back and read them again--I think that would be fun. I'll order some from Better World Books, an excellent website for buying used books. I highly recommend them--the company does a lot of good (hence the name) by donating books around the world to people who need them, and by contributing to many literacy programs. If I could have one thing back from my childhood, it would probably be my baseball cards. I kept them in old cigar boxes, and those would be fun to have back, too.
ReplyDeleteVernona, I wonder if you were one of the few little *girls* collecting baseball cards. (I wish you still had them too!)
ReplyDeleteNavy Drew books are the best. I have one that was my mother’s. We’ve been reading The Hardy Boys lately at my house.
ReplyDeleteThis is such fun to see. I have many of my old Nancy Drew books and Bobbsey Twins too. I had my husband build a shelf over a doorway to hold them. This makes me want to go back and read one-maybe this one. Loved them. I think I wanted to be a twin after reading the Bobbsey Twins and when I obviously was not one, I wanted to have them when I grew up and sure enough, two of our four children are a set of boy and girl twins. No, I did not name them Nan and Burt or Freddie and Flossie. LOl. They are 39 now.
ReplyDeleteI still love Nancy Drew books! My aunt had a large collection and loaned them to me when I turned 12. That was a wonderful summer of sitting under the pine trees reading! I still check them out from the library and one day hope to have my own collection to share with young people :)
ReplyDeleteI still have some of my Nancy Drew books, as well as Hardy Boys, Dana Girls, Cherry Ames, etc. I seem to have hung on to books! I have some of my mother's books, too, some Nancy Drew, Little Women and others by Alcott - she passed her love of reading, and of mysteries, along to me. I wish I still had my Barbie clothes - I hung onto a few pieces but my mother gave most of them to a younger friend when I stopped playing with them.
ReplyDeleteI meant to add - I sent 4 Nancy Drew books home with my granddaughter yesterday, passing the love of reading mysteries along to a new generation!
DeleteI think I still have the whole series. But I remember when department stores had clerks who actually helped you. Such bygone era. I remember the coffee counter at Strawbridge's in Jenkintown Pa.
ReplyDeleteI still have my Nancy Drew books from the 1960's. They were so fun to read and I could imagine myself solving mystries like Nancy. Last summer, I decided to read some of them and the Jewel Box was one of them. I saw in one of our old home movies that I got a Blue Willow teaset for Christmas one year. It probably ended up all broken. So I found one just like it and was thrilled! I also did the same thing with a little red & white sewing box I used to have. Makes me so happy to have these even though they're replacements!
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of toys I wish I had kept. The one that stands out in my mind is the metal merry-go-round. I remember the day my mom asked me if I wanted to keep it. There was something in her expression and tone of voice that made me think that I would be considered immature if I said yes. So I said no. I wish I had kept it. I do have several favorite dolls, some with clothes made by Aunts, Marie and Martha. Also a baby doll by Ideals, which is held together only by it's pink snow suit. It has the sweetest face, and makes me smile when I open the guest room closet door. Some years back, I found a favorite childhood book at an antique mall. Titled "Donna Parker on Her Own", It had been given away. When I saw it at the mall, I bought it. It cost me $12 to reclaim a book, that I had enjoyed as a pre-teen girl.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have my high school class ring back. I left it in a suitcase that I let some friends borrow when we lived in Chattanooga. I got the suitcase back but not the ring. That was in 1984 I think, so I'm sure it's been pawned and melted down by now. Guess I shouldn't have been so trusting.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to see tearoom in a Nancy Drew book.
ReplyDeleteNot something I had thought of. I had a necklace with a heart and key charm that got stolen many years ago. Wishing I had that.