Don’t they look cute?
When I first put this photo of my husband and his older brother in our album I labelled it “Trolley Time – around 1951″ And on the next page of the album is the following photo labelled “Ian & Lindsay 1956″ This is fine…. as labels go. Just recently I asked Lindsay if he remembered his trolley……

Well, an interesting conversation (the story) followed. Trolleys were built by boys. All one needed was a plank of wood, wheels & axles from the local bike shop, a few big nails to attach the axles to the plank, some strong rope tied to the front wheels for steering and a strong stick attached to the side as a brake. The wooden fruit box-cum-seat Lindsay told me was an added luxury.

Not many cars about, so they drove their trolley down the road. And the Tandem Trolley above had steel wheels which added excitement because they could do “wheelies” or spin out. These were the days when children went off outside playing and building things without fear of hurting themselves or being at risk from others.

I doubt that there are many young children today that have had the pleasure of building their own trolley. It’s these little details that add to the story and make the photos more interesting than just the labels.

Please contact me if you want any help writing your family stories.

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