For those of you who are rudely reminded of traumatic childhood gym classes by the title of this post, I apologize. I’ve been having a good time the last week and half reading up on this previously forgotten song. And it comes the same week that I: 1) officially donated my remaining chickens to Louise’s Farm School and 2) consumed a fair amount of chicken broth while battling a stomach virus. So I got rid of some chicken fat while being nourished by some other chicken fat. I am a bit sad about the officialness of no longer being a chicken owner…those were some good chickens. I will have to visit them. But at least I have broth stocked up in the freezer and reliable local egg suppliers.
I have always been interested in my parents’ lifestyles while growing up in the fifties and sixties. My mom lived in rural north central Minnesota on a lake about six miles out of the nearest small town. She would tell me about her horses and all of the chickens they would get every year for laying and meat. She shared the music she listened to, games she and sisters played, foods they would eat and what school was like. I love these stories of days gone by, days that I could never really know.
Portrait of a Rooster
I do remember those gym classes and those one piece gym suits. I was tall and they seem to cut me in half. I would be told to stand straight, I couldn’t. In college I took gymnastics and on the trampoline in mid air…..my leotard seams let go right at the crouch, immediate sit down and scoot to the locker. (It was coed). I thought I would die…. Those days were the best… Thank you for your history lesson, I had no idea even though I do remember JFK Keep fit program. Take care…
That trampoline incident sounds truly humiliating! But you obviously made it through, and now you have a hilarious story. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my…we had a Miss Howe too, Miss Scheifelbein and Chicken Fat! Either she liked you or she didn’t. I was not athletic, but she did like me. I had no idea the record was distributed like that. Interesting. My husband, who was on the “other side” of the split gym, behind the curtain, never to see the girls….said the guys felt sorry for us whenever they heard it. A local facebook group discussed this song several months ago, and we were all laughing about it. The ad you mention made me pay attention to it right away.
The Presidential Fitness award was a prestigious patch to get. I struggled with the 600 yard “Dash” forever. The last year, when Miss S. timed me, I made it. I actually think she fudged it! She and I became friends after we took a stained glass class together. I now consider her “ahead of her time” for the healthy she tried to instill in us.
Thanks for sharing, Gail. I think the best thing about this song is that SO many children had to listen to it, yet most of them had no idea that millions of other kids had to listen to it, too. That Presidential Fitness award definitely was a prestigious award. I always struggled with the shuttle run…
Touch down every morning. Touch down every day…. The LP was easier than the regular exercise routine our drill sargent of a Phys. Ed. teacher put us through – so when we heard the music most of us were quite happy. We also the white romper gym suits – with our panty girdles underneath. God forbid anything should jiggle. I saw the ad on TV and the memories did come flooding back to the horror that was Phys Ed. The worst part though were the gang showers – and we had to shower before going to the next class. The instructor stood by the door and checked off our names as we left the shower area to make sure we were thoroughly wet – therefore clean and no longer smelling of sweat and exercise. I sincerely hope Phys Ed is better in this century.
I am SO happy I was never forced to shower after gym class! Thanks for reliving your Phys. Ed. experience for us.
I was fortunate to miss the terrible music and ugly rompers. We had white blouses with snaps, red shorts, white tennis shoes and socks. It was a Catholic high school and gym classes were separate from the guys (thank goodness). Our gym teacher, Mrs. Lefebvre, was terrific: her son Jim played for the Dodgers and we secretly had a huge crush on him. I played volleyball and tennis which was about as jock as a female could get. Not too bad an experience for me. Kudos to those who made it through the torturous years!
I was one of those weird girls who loved the song. I think I even got the 45 record, which had two versions…the dj version for the radio and the actual exercise version on the “flip side”. Now that’s an antiquated term! It has long since disappeared, but I would love to have the record again, even at my “advanced age” of almost 66. I might be able to do two of each, as it goes way faster than I do these days. And if I get down too loowww it takes a while to get back up. Sorry you had to get rid of the chickens. We had to give up our sole surviving chicken who was a pet, when we moved across the country (to a small town, unfortunately, always lived in the country before) and although we can have 4 or 5 chickens, my husband gets too attached so says, “No” every time I ask (and I keep asking!) Thanks for your news. I always wanted to go to Alaska, but never made it. Now I am too old for that kind of adventure. Enjoy your wonderful life and your baby. They both are fleeting. She’s a doll.