Was There Life Before Air Conditioning?

What did we do in all those years before air conditioning became the norm for every house?

I thought about that today because the summer rain shower suddenly stopped and the sun popped out. Steam rose from the street and the humidity felt like a wet warm fog in the air.

We used to sit outside much more, hoping to catch a breeze in the shade. Inside, the whir of the big green fan was a constant drone. My Mom made pallets from quilts and we'd lay down in front of the fan and she read to me. Was I the only four-year-old to have heard Gone With The Wind in its entirety?

Iced tea was our main beverage. Pre-air conditioning my parents drank coffee until about 10 a.m. After air conditioning they drank coffee all day.

Our tiny movie theater had excellent air conditioning. Just spending two hours almost shivering was worth the admission price of 35 cents, no matter what was playing. But what was playing? My first time there I saw "Darby O'Gill and the Little People." Through the years ... GI Blues, Dance Macabre, Blue Hawaii and many more flickered across the old screen while I sat in refrigerated air, my arms wrapped around my summer tan legs to keep warm.

The Rexall Drug store had a great air conditioning system, too. The fountain was the hang out for teens before and after "the show." At other times, teens were discouraged, albeit in a friendly way, from congregating in the narrow aisle around the counter. A small cold Coke was 5 cents. A small cherry Coke was 7 cents. That sort of astounds me to write, but I was there!

We take air conditioning for granted, now. Many of my neighbors never open a window, even on cool spring and autumn days.

I still enjoy a hot sun beating down on me from time to time. I love the electric feeling outside just before a summer thunderstorm. But I'd never go back to a time without air conditioning.