We who grew up in the 50's had the best life !

[wheelgun1958]

1968 changed all that.

Volkswagen type II went from a split windshield to a bay.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I meant I was immune to racism, not to polio. Being white, I was not subject to any race related decisions. Sorry about the mix up.

As to causes of polio, there was a scare that it was transmitted through contaminated waterr in swimming pools. Many folks feared going to the pools.

Bob Wright

Sorry bout that. I flunked reading 101 this morning.
Yea I remember the pool cause. I also remember the the fuzz on peaches caused it. Soooooooo you had to wash the peaches before eating. I don't remember washing anything before eating whither from the tree or the CRATE

 

[Bob Wright]

As to the 'Fifties, I spent some of my teenage years in Hollywood, Calif. And had a buddy with a brand new 1958 Ford convertible. Drove down Hollywood Blvd even.

But had to be back at Camp Roberts on Monday.

Bob Wright

 

[Jeepnik]

I miss cruising "THE STRIP". The real one Sunset and Hollywood Blvd. sad day when the cops started enforcing no cruising laws. Cops wouldn't write tickets and they usually apologized ( most had and some still cruised). They just told us to make our passes less frequent.

Funny thing is many former cruising meccas now have "official" city sponsored cruise nights.

 

[cowboycopus]

Great fun, Thanks

 

[Kevin]

While I can't comment on life in the 50's I'll say this about today.

This morning since my daughter is done with school for the summer, we went to the bookstore.

On our way there she said she would like to go to the mall, however with all the violence and shootings she doesn't feel safe doing so.

I was speechless. She said her friends feel the same way.

I'm serious, how do you answer a teenager who say something like that? You can't just say it will be ok tomorrow. Or tell them to get over it.

Sorry to be a drag on this thread. I did actually read the whole thing. I see Bogus Bill wrote some stuff. He was a good guy.

 

[dstegjas]

If you look hard enough you will still find things that remind you of the 50's. Here is a picture of one of our local high schools participating in "Drive your tractor to school day". Sometimes you just do things because it's fun.

 

[Bob Wright]

Anyone remember 'Lil Abner? Loved that cartoon. Always identified with Joe Btfslk, the little guy that ran around with the thundercloud over his head.

Now you've gone and done it! Put a ear worm in my ear. The mention of Lil Abner brought to mind the picture show and that memorable song, "Jubilation T. Cornpone!"

Bob Wright

 

[Bob Wright]

WE, my family, always had a dial 'phone. But our neighbor down the street had one better than that~it was neither dial nor pushbutton. One just put the receiver to ear and told the operator the number they wanted. Some towns just tell them WHO thaey wanted!

Bob Wright

 

[turd]

While I can't comment on life in the 50's I'll say this about today.

This morning since my daughter is done with school for the summer, we went to the bookstore.

On our way there she said she would like to go to the mall, however with all the violence and shootings she doesn't feel safe doing so.

I was speechless. She said her friends feel the same way.

I'm serious, how do you answer a teenager who say something like that? You can't just say it will be ok tomorrow. Or tell them to get over i

Kevin, I'm really sorry to hear that. Kind of left me speechless I guess. There have to be millions of young people who feel that way, and no way to reassure them. For someone just starting in life to not feel safe doing 'normal' things is pretty sad.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Kevin, I'm really sorry to hear that. Kind of left me speechless I guess. There have to be millions of young people who feel that way, and no way to reassure them. For someone just starting in life to not feel safe doing 'normal' things is pretty sad.

Well maybe todays kids need to toughen up a little. During the Korean Police Action in 1952 I was living on Travis AFB CA. and was in the 3rd grade. Everyday we would practice. If you see a flash don't look at it and dive under your desk so you could kiss your ass goodbye We were not convinced that desk would save our lives after watching the A Bomb test on the news
You don't think that scares the crap out of a kid especially when your Dad is flying in nuclear armed B-36s. We didn't have malls to go to, but you could go to the Movies and watch the news reels to see what real killing was all about. Yes we lived thru it and continued playing Army and Cowboys and Indians.
This is not meant to be against Kevin's Daughter. It just brought back some old memories that are not so good of the 50s.

 

[KIR]

I was born in 1943 and remember almost everything named in this thread. Living in Brooklyn, NY was a paradise for kids like me. Played outside until it was dark. Behaved (mostly) because EVERYONE knew who you were and where you lived. Without a/c the adults sat outside on folding chairs in the summer and kept eyes on all the kids. We had some known Mafia members living on my block, but in those days the criminals mostly fought among themselves and did not shoot randomly out of car windows killing innocent kids.

But in fairness, all was not as perfect as some of us might remember. There was polio, which sent parents into deathly fear every summer. A really damaged knee meant a wheelchair for life, not a prosthetic knee. Blocked arteries in the heart meant an early death, not a bypass surgery.

On the other hand, major league baseball was about the only sport that we followed (no one paid much attention to the NFL, or the NBA, and the NHL was so desperate that I went to dozens of NY Rangers games with free tickets given out weekly to Boy Scout troops) and without the unions and "free agents", you could get to know the names of every player on your home town team (and they stayed with one team for their whole career). Cursing in public was virtually unknown, and teachers in school instilled traditional values and patriotism in their students. And America, having just won WWII, was the undisputed leader of the world, and EVERYONE knew that we were the good guys.

Truly wondrous days for those of us lucky enough to have grown up in that era.

Vito, I was born in 1943 also. My B-Day is next week. Yes, the 50's was a great era. Baseball was the sport to follow, but as I grew older I came to embrace many other sports as I lived across the street from a playground in L.A. I played many others and became good at most of them, but never excelled at any one. There was a post above that had a picture of the Lone Ranger and recently I came across a similar one but of Clayton Moore without his mask. This is a great thread and it brings back so many memories. I could comment on all the posts herein, but I am trying to continue on and make new memories.
KIR: aka: G'G' G'Paw (five generations for the second time I have been a part of)

 

[Kevin]

Jim, I understand what you're saying and yes you had exercises in school to do something about a nuclear attack. I remember those too. I guess that would have been in the 70's and early 80's for me.

Today the kids in school have regular fire drills. But they also have "active shooter" drills.

Well, I don't want to turn this political. So nothing from me if teachers should have guns or not.

A few years ago I was teaching and we had those shooter drills. It scares the kids plenty. Mostly the little kids, up to say 2nd grade.

The kids are taught to be quiet and hide as best as possible.

 

[Paul B]

I was born before the start of WW2. I was about three and a half on December 7, 1941 when the Japs hit Pearl harbor. Not really old enough to tell what was going on but plenty old enough to know something very bad had happened. For the rest of the time before the war ended there were air raid drills, usually around two or three in the morning. The thing that went through my mind and I'm sure my parents minds was, "Is this another drill or are they coming ashore?" By the time "duck and hide" was the drill I was long out of school.
Paul B.