In those days, in the US, most stations would play the national anthem and show a picture of the US flag waving at the end of the broadcast day–after the late news. Then yes, there would be nothing but static until the next show started at 8am.
I remember one station–although this was probably a few years after I was eight years old–that would broadcast a picture of the US flag all night. They might have played the national anthem, too. But most stations just “played static” all night, in black and white.
When I was eight years old, I got my first pair of glasses–cat-eye glasses that I thought were VERY cool.
I spent my out-of-school time riding my bike everywhere, sometimes with siblings and/or friends, but usually alone. This was considered “normal” and “safe” back then.
The Twilight Zone was a scary show that I was not allowed to stay up and watch. (I still have nightmares about one episode that I watched from behind the sofa without my parents knowing.)
I had a Baby TenderLove–a baby doll that didn’t move, cry, talk, or even pee. But its surface was supposed to feel like real skin. (It disappeared into my closet after I watched the above-mentioned Twilight Zone.)
You could only walk around the house talking on the telephone if you had a 100-foot cord. Most people didn’t.
You couldn’t talk on the phone in the car at all, unless it was parked close to the house, and you had a long enough cord.
I had an electric piano that played notes by blowing air through something like whistles.
I also had a Schroeder-type child piano.
Telling people I wanted to be an astronaut was frowned upon, because “girls don’t do that.”
I had toys made of metal, with lots of sharp edges and small pieces.
I had my own transistor radio, that only picked up AM stations. But it had an earphone jack, so I could listen to it without anyone else hearing it.
