Remember Paste?

I was looking for a song in an old magazine from 1950, when I came across a craft project in the magazine.  The article said to “paste” something.  “Pasting” was what we used to call gluing.  It was a thick white glue that came in a plastic jar like the one below.  You’d use a stick to glue something. Nowadays, most kids use glue that comes out of a thin hole from a bottle. (My kids never heard of paste.)

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The point here is that I haven’t used or seen paste since elementary school!  When I read the word, I could see it and smell it once again.  These are the types of memories I treasure as an adult.  They bring back the feeling of being a young kid.

What reminds you of being a kid?

This article was posted on Sunday, May 9th, 2010 at 8:54 am and is filed under Arts and Crafts, Childhood Memories, Parenting, Paste. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

10 Responses to “Remember Paste?”

  1. Metalhaid Says:

    Hi, I’m a 47-yr old guitar player who’s recently stumbled upon your website. I’m enjoying remembering some old songs and learning new ones.
    PASTE!! I remember some kids actually used to *eat* paste (much like Ralph on The Simpsons.)
    Another thing that always takes me back is the smell of Play-Doh (especially when I was trying to remove it from the carpet, LOL.) My kids are big now (I have a 21-yr old son in the Marines and my 16-yr old daughter is in FFA raising a lamb) but every once in awhile, I’ll come in contact with it and remember trying to make something look so edible that my little brother would eat it LOL. Thanks for the memories!

  2. Lisa Says:

    I flashback to childhood too when I smell Play-Doh. The other smell I remember is finger paint.

    Thanks for writing!

  3. flo farrington Says:

    I am from the Bahamas, and the owner of a nursery/ Preschool, I wish to communicate with other operators in the Carribbean.
    Thank you.

  4. Lisa Says:

    Marijka wrote about paste:

    I LOVE the smell and texture of paste! I also loved the smell of the old ‘ditto’ machines – remember how they worked? It was my job to do that in middle school.

    Mama Lisa:
    I remember dittos – you’re right it’s another smell from the “old” days. Funny how certain things in time have smells that don’t exist in other times.

  5. Bianca Says:

    I havent thought about paste till I came across your site. It does brings back memories.

  6. Monique Says:

    Guys, did your paste smell to bitter almond? Ours did/does and I’ve just read that the one we had when we were kids was made with flour with a little of bitter almond oil to get a nice perfume; so we could eat some of it after all, it was harmless!

  7. Lisa Says:

    That’s cool Monique! Ours did not smell like almond. It’s hard to explain – there’s nothing really like it. It was a strong smell with a hint of glue – but not Elmers. Can anyone explain the scent?

  8. Jeana Says:

    We still use pots of paste in Japan! I am old enough to remember it. But it was something of an adjustment for the young non-Japanese teachers because it makes quite a mess if you don’t take the time to teach the kids how to use it properly from the first day (but, hey, isn’t that true for just about anything in the classroom?). For some reason they don’t give the kids the little sticks for applying it – the kids are supposed to use their fingers and they hate getting it on their hands. So it results in many trips to wash their hands and makes supervising a craft more complicated for the teachers. The non-Japanese teachers at our preschools in Japan always protest and try to get us to use something else, but the kids have to learn to use it before they go to elementary school where it is still commonly used. (Still smells and tastes pretty good though.)

  9. Nina Says:

    What was the name of that paste? Can’t recall !

  10. Steven Says:

    Borden’s, the Jars had Elsie the Cow on them.

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