A Look Back at Summer Fun in KC
What are your family’s favorite summertime activities? A Sunday afternoon at the K, cheering on our boys in blue? A night under the stars, enjoying a musical at Starlight Theatre? Perhaps a picnic at a local park or a road trip to another city?
Whatever your family’s top summertime picks are, those same activities were likely enjoyed by families 30 years ago, when KC Parent was in its infancy. As part of the publication’s anniversary celebration, we took a look back at summer issues of KC Parent from 1986, the first full year the magazine was in print.
Some things haven’t changed much over the years: Concerts, plays, pools, parks and ballgames were popular family hotspots back then, although details such as who and where have changed over the years. Beating summer boredom and “brain drain” were popular topics, along with how to keep children entertained during long car trips and free/cheap outings for families.
Other things found in those early issues are strictly ’80s-bound and cannot be carried over to 2015, such as certain popular entertainers of the day and an article on wearing seatbelts, a rather new concept at the time.
Take a step back in time and enjoy these highlights from the early days of KC Parent:
Summer 1986
Many parents are constantly on the lookout for free or cheap activities. Taking a family of three or four (or more!) on an outing doesn’t have to mean digging deep into your pockets, and an article from June 1986 highlighted some of the free destinations found around Kansas City: Children’s Day at Missouri Town 1855, Ernie Miller Nature Center, farmers market at City Market and Deanna Rose Farmstead.
Sound familiar? The children who enjoyed these fun sites in 1986 might take their own kids to the same spots in 2015. All the places are still open, still free or inexpensive and still host thousands of families each year.
An article about “Learning on the Road” featured ideas on how to slip in educational activities during family road trips. Workbooks, math games, I Spy contests, state license plate checklists and word games were all mentioned.
One idea made me smile: The author suggested giving each child 20 dimes at the beginning of the road trip. If they followed the car rules, they could spend that money at their destination. However, for each rule they broke, they had to pay a dime back to the adults. It’s a great idea, but would have to be converted to today’s money. After all, $2 won’t buy much these days.
Another article focused on buckling up for safety—and because it helps children behave better. The author wrote how her kids used to ride without seatbelts because the dog had chewed through the straps. When she saw how well-behaved her sister-in-law’s kids were when they were strapped in and not as mobile, she turned into a believer.
Those of us of a certain age remember cruising down the road in the family station wagon, hanging out the window, draped over the front seat or sprawled in the backseat. Somehow we lived through it, yet we make sure our own kids are buckled in tight.
Another story featured ways to beat summer boredom, and the writer suggested local libraries, sports, parks and rec programs, the zoo and picnics at city parks. These suggestions are certainly applicable to today’s kids, and our family has utilized all of these ideas in summers past.
An article that focused on keeping teens occupied during the summer had some terrific suggestions: learn life skills such as cooking and cleaning, get a job, take up a new hobby and organize a garage sale.
One idea caught my eye: “Initiate activities to help teens in later careers, such as computer skills.” Computers were in many schools but very few homes in 1986. The future was obviously pointing to their rapid expansion, so learning computer skills was good advice for teens at the time.
In the summer of 1986, the Royals were the reigning World Series champs, vying for the crown again. Events at Royals Stadium (renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993) included a Dairy Council George Brett nutrition growth poster giveaway and a McDonald’s and Coca-Cola baseball glove day. No bobblehead giveaways were on the agenda in 1986.
KC Parent printed a calendar in its early days, full of local events for the whole family, just like it does today. There were a lot of plays around town in the summer of 1986, including Snoopy at Theatre for Young America, Charlotte’s Web at the Coterie, West Side Story at Starlight and Annie Get Your Gun at Bell Road Barn Playhouse.
Local concerts in the summer of 1986 included Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Dionne Warwick, Tom Petty, Air Supply, Beach Boys, Juice Newton, Lee Greenwood, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Glenn Miller Orchestra, John Anderson, the Temptations and the Four Tops.
Several locations were mentioned that were popular in the day but no longer exist, or exist in a different form: Metro North Mall, Bannister Mall, Tiffany’s Attic, Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base and Benjamin Ranch, to name a few.
Frugal family fun, entertaining outings and tips on child-rearing have long been the focus for Kansas City families, and the heart of KC Parent.
Tisha Foley enjoyed looking through past issues of KC Parent for this article. She and her family live in Belton.