Ogle County Newspapers / oglecountynews.com • Friday, September 4, 2020
OGLE COUNTY NEWS
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LOCAL HISTORY
Late Oregon resident reflects on days gone by Editor’s note: Otto Dick, Oregon has researched the people, places and events important in the Oregon area’s history for the Ogle County Historical Society. The following is one of a series of the articles he has written.
THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN IN 1991 BY THE LATE CAROL MOORE Do you remember going to town on Saturday night with your folks? You got to go to the movies. It cost 10 cents to get in and all the popcorn in the whole world for a nickel. Cheapest baby-sitting service in town. Nobody worried about dirty old men then. No self respecting dirty old man would be caught dead in a movie house with 200 screaming kids. Do you remember Tom Mix, the Lone Ranger, Gene Autry, Buck Rogers serials that went on forever? Then watch it kid, you’re middle aged. While you were doing your thing, your parents would have parked in their favorite place (if some pushy up-start hadn’t gotten there first) and were busy doing their thing. It was never called anything—but, if it had to have a name, it would have been called “people watching.” Everybody did it on Saturday night. Catch up on the local news, check out the new babies, sort of a clearing house for information. Crops, recipes, politics, some shopping, just plain gossip too.
ABOVE LEFT: The Liberty magazine cost a nickel. TOP RIGHT: Tom Mix, the Lone Ranger, Gene Autry, Buck Rogers, all had serials. Sure beat television—telewhat? In those days it was radio; the Inner Sanctum,” “Mr. District Attorney,” and on Saturday morning “Let Pretend! “Cream of Wheat, it’s so good to eat, yes we have it everyday.” You remember that!. After the show, a stop at the ice cream store and everyone got their turn to name the flavor of the week. The whole family watched as the man “hand packed” a quart to take home. Hey—everyone watched, if he didn’t really pack it in, he heard about it. One “he was John Sweeney. He had his own ice
cream making machine and was really proud of his whole operation, until the year a bunch of kids stole an outhouse and propped it up in front of his establishment near his handmade sign, “Proud of doing business in the same location for 40 years.” This was the era of highcuts with a pocketknife in the side. Corduroy knickers that whistled when you walked, 17 cent milkshakes, malts were 23 cents. If you were one of those rotten kids that smoked, Mavels and Wings were 10 cents a pack. All of the stores were open on Christmas Eve until midnight or until the last farmer left town, whichever came first. After the stores closed on Christmas Eve, Harold and Lew Moore used to take leftover toys and deliver them anonymously to needy families. What a time in which to grow up. In the Spring all the kids picked asparagus before school in the morning, working alongside the German P.O.W.s from Camp Grant. They earned a huge 35 cents for each 40 pound box. Liberty magazine cost a nickel, Collier and Life were a dime, heck, the Chicago Tribune was only three cents. Remember bank night at the movies? Free dishes, too. How about an orange crate and taking wheels off roller skates to make a scooter. What, a scooter? It was a good time to grow up, we believed in God, America and the capitalistic system.
READING MATTERS
Let’s look at the challenges of reading online In this year of the COVID-19 virus, back to school is filled with uncertainties and unknowns. Some will be using remote learning options again this fall. Many of you spent time with your children working online last spring as teachers worked hard to keep the learning going. This form of learning is not easy for all students no matter their age. Whether your child is back at school this fall or learning at home, chances are they will still be asked to read some materials online. For this month we will look at some of the challenges of reading online. In general, young people are very skilled at using technology. However, we should not assume that they know all about using technology to learn or that they have the skills required for online learning. Both online reading and online learning in general are guided more by the reader than by the teacher. This requires strong independent work habits and time management to make sure work is completed and done on time. Understanding that students, especially younger ones, will need support as they participate in online learning is a first step. I am sure the challenge for families is finding the time for someone to sit by each child to help them as they work through online assignments. I do not have answers to all of this, but perhaps the
COMMENTARY Mary Gardner Reading Specialist
following considerations will help in some way. Very often we read online to seek information. That makes it like reading nonfiction text. Reading nonfiction texts of any kind, online or offline, requires different skills than reading fiction. Nonfiction texts are generally packed with information and facts with specific content vocabulary. It may help to break down a reading into smaller sections. Some students may need to take written notes of the information read. Some may need support with difficult vocabulary. Some online articles do allow the reader to click on an unknown word for a definition and pronunciation that can help. A big difference between printed text and online reading is that online reading is non-linear. This means there is a series of hyperlinks through multiple windows rather than reading from beginning to end. I know I can get lost sometimes in a series of
links to other locations and have a difficult time getting back to where I need to be. Some students may need help with this at first with someone sitting beside them to talk through the best way to work with this kind of text. Perhaps there is an older sibling, or an older student who might be able to help. Finally, online reading requires the reader to do something with the information read. It very often means being able to ask appropriate questions about the text being read, and being able to evaluate, synthesize and communicate that information in some way. These are higher level thinking skills that students develop over time. They often need the support of someone to talk to about what was read to sort through and fine the most important information. Being safe on the internet is always a concern. Eventually we want our students to be able to determine for themselves if a source is reliable. These areas also require some supervision, especially for younger students. Remember that the many of the challenges presented by the coronavirus are things that no one has ever had to face before. We are all human and doing the best we can. Be sure to reach out to your child’s teacher or the school for help. Just because the learning is online does not mean it is easy.
