Imagine if you can, a five- or six-year-old boy, clutching a nickel in his hand, running alone to a corner grocery store to buy candy.

He'll get a whole brown paper bag full of sweets for his five cents.

There'll be jaw breakers, candy kisses, jelly beans, two small or one large honeymoon, a stick of gum, a licorice plug (which he'll treat the same as Grampa treats his plug of chewing tobacco, complete with spitting).

All this could and did occur 70 or 80 years ago and no one worried about the youngster's safety back then.

If such a youngster appeared alone in a store today, security would be called, the police probably, the Children's Aid Society and maybe even the Mounties would come on horseback.

The same youngster of long ago would be allowed to stay up on a Saturday night with Gramma and Grampa, Mom and Dad and brothers.

With Dad at the old upright piano, we'd sing together the golden oldies of 80 years ago.

Sheesh, that many years ago would make them platinum oldies or even diamond ones.

The words to the songs would be printed between the lines of sheet music and if you couldn't read, just hum along.

My long-term memory recalls one of the favourites ...

"In the shade of the old apple tree,

Where the love in your eyes I could see.

And the voice that I heard,

Like the song of a bird,

Seemed to whisper sweet music to me.

I could hear the dull buzz of a bee,

In the blossoms as you said to me:

With a heart that is true,

I'll be waiting for you,

In the shade of the old apple tree."

P.S. The kid with the bag of candy would have to run the gauntlet of young friends who were "in dibs" with him.

Ted Wilcox is a lifetime Hamiltonian with a passion for sports, community and, most of all, family.