Way back when I was in elementary school, 80’s, on snow days the school would set up two lines of orange cones and kids would line up on opposite sides to have snowball fights. I can’t tell you the number of kids who got blown up by a flying ball of ice! All of this was set up by the school! 
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Walking places, some a few miles, and giving no thought about the fact that no one could contact me and I couldn’t contact them.
Also bringing my cassette walkman (and later CD) and some select choices on walks. What I brought was what I had–or the radio.
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I had a job delivering rental furniture over half of Ohio, I lived and died by those atlases.
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Pulling the house phone wire upstairs to my room so i could chat to my boyfriend in private…hang up…no you hang up first…no you…
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Every couple of years someone would get the bright idea to drag everybody to the department store for one of those ridiculous family portraits.
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We would collect Coke bottles and take them to the little liquor store for quarters to buy another Coke and a candy bar.
My Dad used to send me to the liquor store with a note to get his Lucky Strike cigarettes.
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A Picture People just opened up in our mall here. I couldn’t believe when I saw it.
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I can’t believe that either, I never thought anything like that would come back. And yeah I used to carry a note down to the corner store to get my dad his merit smokes. 
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I remember…
Answering machines that used cassette tapes.
Having to check the newspaper for movie listings and times.
Job hunting by also checking the “want ads” in the newspaper and circling prospects.
IBM Selectric typewriters.
Floppy discs.
Saturday morning cartoons.
Pee Chee folders.
Trapper Keeper binders.
Library cards.
Heck, even libraries.
Stopping at a video rental place on a Friday night after work to rent movies for the weekend.
Buying my first VHS player.
Making “mix tapes” for friends.
Drive-in movies.
New Coke (changed formula).
Actually having to go to a store to buy anything.
Having to wait “6 to 8 weeks” for something to be delivered.
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Transistor Radio.
Had one taped, with black electrical tape, to the handle bars of my red 3 speed Schwinn. I got one 3 speed bike that lasted forever. Probably still working. Heavy thing too. Sturdy.
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We had sets of encyclopedias at home, but they were published during the Eisenhower Administration. Had to utilize the library’s as well.
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Crossing the Canada/ USA border using a high school id for
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Yup…Thomas Guidebooks.
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My older brother worked at Radio Shack, so we had a Tandy computer, no hard drive that could save anything, and worked on DOS (pre windows). But could play games or programs you purchased on disk. They came with smaller (no longer floppy) discs.
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Your whole reply is a walk down memory lane.
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Calling the radio station to request songs to be played.
Smoking everywhere. Dr. office with the Dr. smoking, too.
Department stores trying on clothes, grocery stores, planes.
In the hospital. Women would get a cigarette after childbirth while the Dads handed out cigars.
Party lines on the phone ( in my 20’s in a rural area).
That means that the phone would ring at several people’s houses at the same time and everybody else would hopefully get off so the person who the call was for could have a private phone call.
I remember the children would call the telephone ‘operator’ to ask valid questions.
Could call a number for the time and temperature.
We had 1911 Britannica’s so would go across the street where there were five kids and use their World Books and also watch their TV.
We didn’t have a TV most of the time.
I send cards. Have sent four or five in the last few weeks.
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Recording songs from the radio (evening top30 list) on cassette and be utterly pissed if dj cutted song to early or started talking in the middle.
Having walkman or later this ridiculous discman which was not only huge but also stop playing every few seconds if you move.
Stealing and eating fruits from neighbours gardens.
In the '80 and early '90 we didn’t even have a phone so when my parents had some important call they had to go to the neighbour.
I remember it was almost nothing in the shops (post communist country). There were special shops (Baltona and Pewex) where you could buy stuff from west if you had dollars. I remember ChupaChupps lollis were like ultimate treat. Barbie doll. Mandarines only on Christmas time (till now for me they smell like Christmas).
Use Encyclopedia for homework.
No binge-watching, have to wait a week for new episode of your favourite TV show (X- Files in my case).
Knocking to the door and asking friends parents if they can go out and play (and that one always angry scary mother).
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Listen to my Walkman while rollerskating
Having penpalls and write to them on special writing paper.
Having a “Poesie album”, a little book where friends can write a little poem in it especially for you so you would never forget your friend.
Seeing a schooldentist who came in a bus with all the dental care in it.
Having teachers who are smoking pipe ore cigarettes while teaching.
Walk a mile to get to a phone booth to talk to my grandma.
Learning to write with a dip pen and ink.
Having knie pads on my pants in hearts ore apple shapes so they coverd the holes in it and I could wear it a little bit longer.
Saving up all the leftovers potatopeels for the “schillenboer” (peel farmer
) to collect them with horse and carriage. They used it for feeding the livestock.Wearing different (better) clothes at sunday. We called it “zondagse kleren” (sunday dress) and are only alowed to wear it on sunday ore at a party.
My mom had a special housewives enceclopedia with all kind of tips, information and rules how to be a good housewive. It even has a sexuality part in it where was noted you always has to please your husband. So no headache allowed
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This! The rage and disappointment!
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This thread is hillarious!!! 
Back in my childhood and youth in the 70s and 80s, very pre-digital whatever:
we had to wait hours to cross borders going to Italy or Yugoslavia
TV had 2 channels broadcasting from 9 am to midnight
we recorded songs from the radio
we showed up on time at the meeting point otherwise our pals would head off to the bar/disco/billiard cafe without us
passing folded notes through the classroom to communicate
4 households shared 1 landline, so you kept it short and calling long distance or oversea was really expensive 
we had to be home with sunset. until then nobody cared
stealing cherries and apples from the neighbour’s big trees was a sport and we were welcome
if you missed an episode of a series on TV you missed it forever
usually a bunch of 4 to 9 children showed up in summer to play together spontaneously and there was always enough hot chocolate and bread with butter to feed us, no matter which house was invaded
the neighbour’s dogs took care of us, no adults
making money by mowing or doing grocery shopping for elderly neighbours
shops were open from 8 to 12 am and 2 to 6 pm, saturday from 8 to12 only.
amazon was the Universal Versand catalogue! they had everything!!! delivery time 4 - 10 weeks.
smoking was allowed everywhere. I remember the smoking section on my first transatlantic flight!
when public transport was stuck in snow we walked to school and our parents to work. and we were on time because we knew we had to walk and left early enough.
nobody picked up dog poop 
all children saw the same children program on TV - we still can sing along the intro songs 
you waited so hard for postcards from your friends on vaccation. I still write!
no food delivery service. you cooked at home or you went out eating.
a taxi had to be ordered by phone in advance or you waited sometimes 1+ hour
you better not loose your annual public transport ticket, it was hell complicated to get a replacement.
when you needed something from a public authority you just walked to the office and waited. for hours. first come first serve. no appointments. you never reached them on the phone. unless you knew somebody. then it was quick & easy. and you had to get all information offline before! fuck it was complicated. nope, this are NOT the good old days …
and here some things that didn’t change:
calling friends
calling the mechanic
chatting on the streets
happy IRL times with beloved people beats everything 
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