Cricket’s Expeditions

Outdoor and Indoor Activities

By Kathleen Leverich and the Editors of Cricket Magazine

Illustrations by Bob Totten

Copyright 1977

What child doesn’t like the idea of an expedition? Imaging oneself to be an explorer, finding treasure and adventure along the way, is a pastime of many children (and adults too!) 

According to this book, an explorer is someone who searches for things that are strange, exciting, or new. Explorers take trips called expeditions. Because an expedition does not have to be costly or even take up very much time, any one of any age can take part. It’s all about having new experiences and gaining new knowledge. 

The book gives some examples. How about bird detecting, treasure map making, star gazing, a backyard dig, or learning a secret code? 

My favorite, though, is the chapter on a library scavenger hunt. “Libraries are filled with books, magazines, newspapers, records, films, and even microfilms…” Make sure you learn how to find books at the library. You know, the card catalog. “It is a kind of file cabinet, full of cards. In fact, there is at least one card in the catalog for every book in the library!” Oh, I remember those days!

So yes, anyone can be an explorer. What do you want to find? What do you want to learn? Make some plans. Do you need any supplies? Don’t forget to bring a snack! Start preparing for your next expedition today! It’s all about having new experiences and gaining new knowledge.

The Fire Cat

By Esther Averill

Copyright 1960

Revisiting favorite old books from childhood is always fun. Upon opening up The Fire Cat, memories came flooding back of sitting in an armchair next to my mother while she read this books to me over and over again. I clearly remembered the illustrations of Pickles the cat and his escapades. 

When the story opens, Pickles is living in a barrel near an apartment house, bullying all the other neighborhood cats. Mrs. Goodkind lives in the house. She believes that Pickles is not all bad. He just needs a loving home. Unfortunately, Pickles had a hard time adjusting to his easy new life with Mrs. Goodkind and ended up escaping back to his barrel, chasing and teasing all the little cats. One day, he chased a cat up a tree and would not let her down. When a storm blew in, Mrs. Goodkind ended up calling the fire department when she noticed Pickles was stuck. The fireman that climbed the ladder to get to Pickles not only saved his life, but also gave him a new purpose. 

Pickles should not be a house cat – he should be a fire cat! His great big paws are meant for big things.

Pickles rode back to the fire house and began training with the fire fighters. He worked hard day after day, and learned to slide down the pole, ride the fire truck, help with the hose, and even save a little cat that became stuck in a tree. Brave Pickles not only learned the job, but he also learned how to be kind.

 

It turns out that a lack of purpose in life made Pickles into a grumpy bully. He found no satisfaction in being a pet and so, due to boredom, he teased the other cats. Once he found his passion and had a goal, his energy was directed towards fulfilling that goal. 

Everyone – and every cat – needs a purpose in life!

Life Magazine

February 28, 1949 

Several weeks ago, I wrote about a Saturday Evening Post magazine from 1944. Glancing through that magazine, I noticed the overall sense of war time frugality permeating the articles and advertisements.

Looking through this Life magazine from 1949, I can see how much the attitudes had changed in just 5 years. Now, instead of encouraging people to make their cars last longer, advertisements are telling the reader that bigger and newer is better. The Dodge ad states, “When Army physical exams revealed that our wartime generation was far bigger, taller, and more active, Dodge engineers started planning this great new car!” While you’re at it, you may as well get a new Kelvinator refrigerator. “You never saw such room. It’s cold clear to the floor.” You can now shop ahead – buy more – all that excess food will stay fresh!

One article in this magazine really emphasized the new feeling of abundance and wealth. Potato Chippers Have a Convention details the Chicago meeting of leaders in the fast-growing business which had grown to $300 million a year. Home economist Florence La Ganke Harris gave dramatic rebuttals against the slander that potato chips are fattening, while also giving new ideas for adding chips to your diet. Crumble them into meat loves and cookies – all for better health, apparently. From the photos, we can see that the convention was definitely not all work! The convention queen sported a bra made from potato chips, for which she was paid $30 a day. 

From extreme frugality to frivolous excess in five years.  I wonder what people 50 years from now, when looking at a 2017 magazine, will be thinking about the American culture of today.