Go Fly A Kite

Yesterday, I wrote about how the opening of soft serve ice cream stands signaled that winter was over and warm weather was coming. Today, our friend Rick Kurish, longtime blog contributor and researcher, reminisces about another sign of spring – kite flying – and provides some nice vintage graphics to go along with them.

"Do kids still fly kites, or is that another activity lost to video games?” wrote Rick in an email about a month ago. "As I was working in the yard the other day, I was thinking it was almost kite flying weather. 

"While building and flying kites was a common spring activity for me and my brother growing up in the 1950s, I realized that it has probably been years since I’ve seen kids flying kites. Perhaps that’s because the area where I live now has too many trees and other obstacles that make kite flying impractical; at least that’s what I would like to believe. 

"Where I grew up, there were open fields all around our house which made flying easier. I suppose today’s kids would find kite flying incredibly boring and old fashioned, but we enjoyed it.

"Newspaper articles from the 1930s through the 1970s attest to the popularity of the activity among kids. Each spring, the newspaper contained articles on kite flying contests and meets, as well as editorials warning kids about the dangers of flying kites. 

"In the 1940s and 1950s, even your old friend Reddy Kilowatt was featured in public service ads reminding kids to observe safety precautions. 

"In the 1970s, churches and stores used kites to lure in kids — and their parents. A Baptist Church encouraged kids to attend Church by giving each child who attended Sunday School on “Kite Sunday” a free kite. 

"Perhaps in the next few weeks I will see a young child and his or her parent flying a kite and, for me, it will herald the return of Spring.

"I've attached several articles from the CT from the 1930s through the 1970s. I thought you might find them interesting.”

I did, Rick! Thanks for sharing!

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Just like Rick, my brothers and I tried flying kites for amusement, at least for a little while. As he noted, you needed a lot of space to do it – which we had, because there was just a big open field to the west of our house on Skyline Drive. I remember Dad came home with a box kite one time too, which we managed to destroy.

I wrote about those kite flying days of the 1960s back here.

It’s funny how kite flying was so dominant in the public consciousness back in the 60s, whether it was in the comic strips (like Peanuts) or TV shows (like the beginning of That Girl).

Today, kite flying seems to be a largely forgotten form of entertainment for kids, just like those balsa wood airplanes. Oh well.

Anyway, if you want to relive those kite flying days, a quick look on Ebay reveals a few vintage kites for sale right now, both of the promotional variety.

Marlo Thomas flying her “That Girl” kite in the opening credits of the show.