Memories of Hand Warmers

It's funny, but every once in a while I remember something that I haven't thought about for decades. In this case, the bitter cold weather is reminding me of the Jon-e Hand Warmers that my parents bought us when we were in elementary school in the 1960s.

I think my brothers and I all got them as Christmas presents. I probably wasn't too thrilled when I unwrapped mine – after all, it wasn't a toy.

But to a little kid, there was something very mature about a thing that you filled with a flammable liquid, lit, and then carried around in a little drawstring pouch. It was like having all the manliness of a lighter in your pocket – without having to smoke!

Not surprisingly, the hand warmer got a lot of attention from the kids I walked to school with, who were curious about it – and more than happy to hold it for a while. Sometimes it was a little hard to get back.

I have no idea what ever happened to mine. Maybe I didn't get it back after all.

Anyway, I did an online search to see if Jon-e hand warmers are still being made in 2014. It doesn't look like it.

I suppose it's just as well. It's not too hard to imagine a school going into lockdown in 2014 if one of these things were discovered in a kid's pocket.