Posted: April 24, 2019
101 Sounds of Childhood
by Rita Renee Lange Weatherbee
Something got me thinking about the sounds of my childhood. Even though I suffered from hearing loss, I experienced these sounds, and now when I hear them, I am brought back. What are the sounds you remember from your childhood? Please comment.
1. The ripping and crinkling sound of wrapping paper as it is torn off a gift
2. The sound of water gurgling down the storm drains in the street after a heavy rain
3. The buzzing of hair clippers in my grandfather’s liquor store where Lester operated a barber shop
4. The tinkling of the bells hanging in the door of the liquor store announcing a customer
5. The vibrational humming of the diving board as kids jumped up and down on it
6. The hum of bees as they swarmed past your head
7. The loud pop of firecrackers thrown near your feet by your ornery cousins
8. The horrible bellowing and bawling of calves as they are getting branded and castrated
9. The high-pitched whistles of the cowboys herding cattle into the corrals
10. The swooshing sound of a jump rope as it is being twirled
11. The smacking sound of marbles bumping together
12. The high shrill of the whippoorwill
13. The haunting sound of a dove calling (it was such a mysterious sound to me as a child)
14. The screech of an owl
15. The frenzied flapping sound of chickens flopping around with their heads cut off
16. The sudden chopping sound of an ax coming down hacking off a chicken’s head
17. The twirling sound of someone wringing the neck of a chicken
18. The sound of wind whipping through the window and making the curtains sway
19. The sharp sound of metal clicking together as Dad cut his toenails
20. The clacking sound from taking a card and a clothespin and attaching them to your bike wheels
21. The blast of a bike horn
22. The tinkle of the bell indicating the ice cream truck was coming down the street
23. The swooshing sound that Dad’s belt made when he whipped it off to warn us
24. The loud, intimidating snapping noise Dad made with his belt to send a second warning
25. The deep, loud bark of Grandpa Lange’s hound dogs when you were pulling up to the place
26. The clackety sounds of Starlight’s hooves hitting the road when he was running away with me
27. The grinding noise of the water pump at the Hill’s house – they always had to pump water inside the house
28. The roaring sound of the motor on Grandpa’s digger – especially when he was digging a water hole for us kids to swim in
29. The loud clapping and cheering for the cowgirls as they rounded the third barrel and brought their horses home barrel racing at the Interior rodeos
30. The thundering sound of the numerous pounding hooves of the horses as they rounded the last curve and raced up the final stretch to the finish line at the Fort Pierre horse races
31. The squeak of the gates that swung open to let out a cowboy riding a bucking bronco at the Interior rodeo
32. The crackle of the fire in the fireplace at Grandpa Lange’s ranch as I laid with my feet up on the hearth
33. The gentle purring of one of our kittens
34. The irritating sound of my sister cracking her knuckles
35. The loud snapping noises when my friend Lulu chewed gum
36. The cracking sound of the ice on the Bad River just before I fell in
37. The rumbling sound of Grandpa’s old pickup as we rode around the pastures caking the cows
38. The twanging sound of the ropes thudding against the bucking barrel Grandpa made for the kids to play on as my brother worked to buck us off, which didn’t require much work
39. The slurping sound of horses drinking from the watering tanks
40. The crack that came from my brother’s bb gun
41. The snack, crackle, and pop of my Rice Krispies cereal in the morning
42. The smacking sounds of my brother chewing with his mouth open – oh wait, that was probably me
43. The high-pitched grinding sound of metal on metal when swinging on the swings at the school ground in Interior
44. The chirping of the many crickets, especially the ones that somehow got in the house, they were the loudest
45. The zapping sound of flies and bugs flying into the bug zapper
46. The trickling waterfall sounds coming from the Schlitz beer sign hanging in the Horseshoe Bar where our parents often took us to hang out while they drank or worked or worked and drank
47. The sharp slapping sound when you accidentally did a belly flop in the water at the pool
48. The swooshing sound you heard and felt as you hit the water after jumping off the high dive at the Fort Pierre swimming pool
49. The deep, rich tones coming out of the stereo as I lay next to it listening to Hank Williams
50. The chirping of frogs in unison down by the creek near Grandpa’s house
51. The loud tinny noise when Mom or Dad would snap the lid of their lighters shut
52. The tinkling sound of ice in the bottom of a glass that I would twirl with a straw
53. The jingle of the bells on Grandpa Dunker’s horse-drawn sleigh
54. The loud clap of thunder in the middle of the night that would wake me up and scare the crap out of me
55. The sound of wood crackling in Grandma Dunker’s wood burning cook stove
56. The squeaky sound of a pop cycle against your teeth as you chew it
57. The chirping and whistling sounds of a mocking bird
58. The reverberating whistle of a robin
59. The whispering sound of wind whipping through prairie grass
60. The tapping of Dad’s fingers against the table when he was bored or getting tired of waiting
61. The yodeling sounds coming out of Dad’s mouth when he would be driving down the highway
62. The sound of the little ball thumping on the floor and the swish of air as you or your opponent swipe down to pick up the jacks spread out before you
63. The sound of the hard rubber balls that hung at the end of two ropes as the clacked together, thus the name clackers
64. The sharp tap of Mrs. Hughes’ ruler as it hit someone’s desk when they weren’t paying attention
65. The sound of air swishing beneath you as you pump your legs through the air on a swing
66. The sound of squeaky springs making noise jumping on your bed or your parent's bed when they weren’t home
67. The thud of a pillow as your brother or sister whack you in the head with it
68. The roar and the crinkle of the grass fire that burned along White River near Interior when I was a kid
69. The swishing sound the spinner made for the Twister game
70. The snapping of my Mom’s fingers when she wanted to get your attention right now
71. The sound of practicing snapping my fingers
72. The pointless effort of the sounds of the accordion as we practiced our lessons – none of us kids were born musicians
73. The fake farting noises that my Uncle Gary taught us kids how to make by putting our hands in our armpits and flapping our arms – made for hours upon hours of fun
74. The swishing sound of Lessie’s toboggan racing down the hillside with all us kids on it
75. The revving noise of the engine of Grandpa Dunker’s snowmobile as we drove it up the hillside
76. The popping sound of Jiffy popcorn
77. The popping sound of popcorn popping inside a kettle on the stove
78. The farting sounds the mustard made as you squeezed it out of the bottle
79. The crackle of the fire in a firepit as you stood near it roasting your marshmallows
80. The grunting sounds pigs would make when you threw them some food
81. The shrill crying of a baby in the background – there was always a baby cousin around somewhere at family gatherings
82. The song from Green Acres that would get stuck in your head all the time
83. The piercing sound of gunshots coming from the show Gun Smoke
84. The sound of Lawrence Welk saying, “A one, a two, a three…”
85. The squeaky voice of Topo Gigio on the Ed Sullivan Show
86. The beep beep sounds of the Road Runner outwitting the Wile E. Coyote
87. The screams of fear of the other kids riding the Tilt-A-Whirl at the carnivals (or was that me)
88. The squeak of rubber against the wooden floor as a basketball player is dribbling down the basketball court
89. The thump of the ball hitting the floor as you dribble a basketball
90. The smack you hear as the bat hits the ball in baseball
91. The tap tap tapping sounds of plunking on a typewriter – I miss that sound – I loved typing on one
92. The shrill ring of a telephone hanging on the wall
93. The swishing sound a frisbee makes as you fling it through the air
94. The humming sound of my brother’s toy race cars as they whizzed around the racetrack – I loved watching it, and he rarely let me play, but once in a while he would give me the controller
95. The sound of music coming from the stereo at the roller rink that we would skate to
96. The sound you would hear when your hair was wet and squeaky clean as you rubbed your fingers down a shaft of hair
97. The sound of Chubby Checker singing “The Twist” as my parents twisted across the floor at the Horseshoe Bar
98. The funky sounds on the jukebox as my parents jitterbugged across the floor at the Horseshoe Bar
99. The swooshing sound of bottle rockets shooting up into the air and exploding
100. The little swish of air a bottle of pop would make when you opened it with a bottle opener
101. The deep resounding tones of church bells ringing
