Air conditioning may well have been one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, but for most folks of a certain age in the Valley, chilled air in July was something they could only dream of.

Senior citizens in Sunbury, Northumberland and Milton recalled on Thursday -- when the temperature reached 89 degrees and the relative humidity hit 90 percent -- how they coped with the summer heat when they were younger.

"We'd drag the mattress off the bed and put it by the window," Helen Boardman of Sunbury said.

William Kuenseler lived across from the old Greyhound bus terminal on Fifth Street in the city.

"We'd open the windows, hoping to catch a breeze," he said. "Those hot fumes from the buses would come in the windows."

"It was terrible, riding in a car," said Jim Poploskie, who grew up in Shamokin. "The only thing that would save you was those little wing windows."

Andy Gavason, sitting next to Kuenseler, nodded.

"Yes, I remember those wing windows," he said. "They don't have them any more."

Wing windows were at the front edge of the side windows and would swing open to direct air to the inside of the car, Gavason said.

Terry Benfer of Milton also remembered the heat inside cars when he was growing up.

"You had 2-55 air-conditioning," he said with a laugh. "Two windows at 55 miles an hour."

Hazel Smith, enjoying a card game at the Northumberland Senior Action Center, had the perfect solution.

"I grew up in New Berlin, and I spent a lot of time in Penns Creek every summer," she said.

Bobby Feigles, of Milton, said she did the same thing.

"I lived right next to Muncy Creek in town, and I would be in the creek every chance I had," she said.