The 50's were a very exciting decade and still are. It was a time of happiness,individuality and plain old
fun. For me it was a care free time in my life full of discoveries. The average kid watched their Black
White TV set about 6 hours a day watching not many channels but quality TV. Shows
such as the Howdy Doody Show, Lassie and Mickey Mouse Club to name a few (how
many here had a crush on Annette? Then at night, if we were lucky enough to stay
past 8PM, the Ed Sullivan show, I love Lucy, The Twilight Zone and countless other shows. Of
course who couldn't forget Superman , Kuka Fran and Ollie and Winky Dink. In fact remember that sheet of plastic you put on the
TV screen to draw objects to help Winky? And all the great cartoons on Saturday and Sunday morning. My favorite play toy
especially around Christmas was a Lionel Train set. I was lucky enough to get several cars each year as a gift. They added up over
the years. Other toys were Hula Hoops ("Can you still do it?"), Matchbox cars, Barbie and a pink Lionel Train set for the girls. Then
came Silly Putty it sold well over 30 million eggs in it's first year (it came in a small plastic egg). Now I know your saying what
about some other neat stuff we had when we were kids.
fun. For me it was a care free time in my life full of discoveries. The average kid watched their Black
White TV set about 6 hours a day watching not many channels but quality TV. Shows
such as the Howdy Doody Show, Lassie and Mickey Mouse Club to name a few (how
many here had a crush on Annette? Then at night, if we were lucky enough to stay
past 8PM, the Ed Sullivan show, I love Lucy, The Twilight Zone and countless other shows. Of
course who couldn't forget Superman , Kuka Fran and Ollie and Winky Dink. In fact remember that sheet of plastic you put on the
TV screen to draw objects to help Winky? And all the great cartoons on Saturday and Sunday morning. My favorite play toy
especially around Christmas was a Lionel Train set. I was lucky enough to get several cars each year as a gift. They added up over
the years. Other toys were Hula Hoops ("Can you still do it?"), Matchbox cars, Barbie and a pink Lionel Train set for the girls. Then
came Silly Putty it sold well over 30 million eggs in it's first year (it came in a small plastic egg). Now I know your saying what
about some other neat stuff we had when we were kids.
| Now mind you, I could go on and on talking about the 50's forever like I am sure you can also. We all have our favorite memories One thing we can all agree upon is that: We've come a long way since then some good things happening in our lives and some bad but the 50's yes the 50's will always have a place in our hearts. |
. Older kids used to wear tight white T shirts with their cigarette pack, if they smoked or not, rolled up in their shirt sleeve.
Soc Hops , school dances and get together's at the Malt shop were the norm but if you were lucky to own a car or borrow
the family one it was the Drive in. The first starting in Camden NJ it was a great cheap date You could also cruise to songs
by Bobby Darin, Elvis, Ricky Nelson. Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka and Fabian to name a few. And who could forget
especially that night when the King Buddy Holly died along with the Big Bopper and Richie Valens, in a plane crash. It was
indeed the day music died. On the East coast Palisades Amusement Park on a Saturday night was the place to go date or
not. It had tons of rides like: a scary and loud wooden roller coaster, skill games, a salt water pool with waves and the all
popular AM radio broadcast every Saturday night with live entertainment. I still reflect at all the popular the great times I had
there every time I drive past the spot were it stood (now Condos) Gee I miss that place it has great memories. Growing up, I
can remember what fun it was to simply hop into the family car and just drive someplace "Shotgun!!!!". Gas was inexpensive and
road Road rage wasn't even a word. I think the longest drive at least for me, at the time was down the Jersey Shore or up to Bear
Mountain in Upstate New York (Are we there yet?).
On the way we read those neat Burma Shave signs placed ever so far apart that presented a message. And what
about all those buildings in all sorts of animal or special shapes Speaking of driving, who could resist talking about
the great cars back then. Solid bumpers with gleaming chrome (lots of it) and tons of room. People couldn't wait
every year for the new models to hit the showroom floors. Cars back then were cheap as were homes. My first car
was a green 1950 Ford flathead 6 cylinder. A great car, remember the windshield wipers used to freeze every time
you shifted gears because they were vacuum operated. Tune ups were a snap you could climb inside the hood to
work on the simple engines, A matchbook was used to set the electrical contact points in the distributer and you
could super tune the engine using simple tools. No computers necessary. I also had a 56 ford Victoria Convertible
with a police interceptor engine. (Burnouts even in second gear) As was the norm back then I quickly had to put
in a floor shifter (A Hurst naturally). My only problem with it was a small retainer pin with the driver's seat back that used to break
constantly I can remember to this day having to put stuff behind it to prop it up. Custom cars were a great way to hop up cars.
They were simple pieces like chrome oil filler caps, chrome air cleaners, Chrome exhaust tips taped up grills, Baby Moon hubcaps,
sponge dice or baby shoes for the rear view mirror, for the race crowd exhaust cut outs, and purple under-the-dash lights to set
the mood. All available from the source back then a JC Whitney catalogue,a
teens bible. A must for every car especially a teen was a radio. It would play all day even
if the car wasn't moving. Ah yes to own a car back then was a sure way to attract the
ladies especially on cruise night down the Main Street drag Food for thought was
scrumptious. For Breakfast a bowl of Wheaties was the norm and hamburger was
good with a malt, but the dog, the all American Hot Dog was king. Can anyone
remember as a scout finding a green stick and toasting them over an open campfire.
They were great even if burnt On the west coast Pips was the place to get a great dog ,
Down south they had corn dogs and here on the East coast it was Nathans in Coney
Island, NY and a small place in Fort Lee NJ called Calahans. (A few of them still around
today) If you were Catholic the mom and Pop Pizza shop was where all families could be
found on Friday night which was a meatless day.
Other notable 1950 events were:1950 The first Peanuts Comic strip appeared,1952 Marilyn Monroe became the popular
pin-up-gal ,1953 the first issue of Playboy was launched, 1955 Disneyland opens in California, Jonas Salk invents the Polio vaccine,
James Dean Killed in a car crash, 1957 First satellite was launched by the USSR named Sputnik and in 1957 Elvis stars in his first
movie Love Me Tender. Speaking of Elvis most of us guys didn't want the girlfriend to listen to him because he was such a heart
Throb and that fit in perfect with our parents who thought his hip gyrations were too suggestive Which could account for his
waist up shots only on that first Ed Sullivan TV Show. Who would have thunk it all?? Not all of the 50's were great Truman was
nearing his end of term and we were trying to get out Of Korea. We had the Atomic bomb but other countries were closing fast
Then Came "Ike" Dwight D Eisenhower in 1952.The cold war between the US and nations led by the USSR It was a time when
diplomatic as well as political and racial struggles were around like: The Segregation and the Mc Carthy era. People were starting to
come to grips with the Atomic Age and were so badly informed.
Soc Hops , school dances and get together's at the Malt shop were the norm but if you were lucky to own a car or borrow
the family one it was the Drive in. The first starting in Camden NJ it was a great cheap date You could also cruise to songs
by Bobby Darin, Elvis, Ricky Nelson. Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka and Fabian to name a few. And who could forget
especially that night when the King Buddy Holly died along with the Big Bopper and Richie Valens, in a plane crash. It was
indeed the day music died. On the East coast Palisades Amusement Park on a Saturday night was the place to go date or
not. It had tons of rides like: a scary and loud wooden roller coaster, skill games, a salt water pool with waves and the all
popular AM radio broadcast every Saturday night with live entertainment. I still reflect at all the popular the great times I had
there every time I drive past the spot were it stood (now Condos) Gee I miss that place it has great memories. Growing up, I
can remember what fun it was to simply hop into the family car and just drive someplace "Shotgun!!!!". Gas was inexpensive and
road Road rage wasn't even a word. I think the longest drive at least for me, at the time was down the Jersey Shore or up to Bear
Mountain in Upstate New York (Are we there yet?).
On the way we read those neat Burma Shave signs placed ever so far apart that presented a message. And what
about all those buildings in all sorts of animal or special shapes Speaking of driving, who could resist talking about
the great cars back then. Solid bumpers with gleaming chrome (lots of it) and tons of room. People couldn't wait
every year for the new models to hit the showroom floors. Cars back then were cheap as were homes. My first car
was a green 1950 Ford flathead 6 cylinder. A great car, remember the windshield wipers used to freeze every time
you shifted gears because they were vacuum operated. Tune ups were a snap you could climb inside the hood to
work on the simple engines, A matchbook was used to set the electrical contact points in the distributer and you
could super tune the engine using simple tools. No computers necessary. I also had a 56 ford Victoria Convertible
with a police interceptor engine. (Burnouts even in second gear) As was the norm back then I quickly had to put
in a floor shifter (A Hurst naturally). My only problem with it was a small retainer pin with the driver's seat back that used to break
constantly I can remember to this day having to put stuff behind it to prop it up. Custom cars were a great way to hop up cars.
They were simple pieces like chrome oil filler caps, chrome air cleaners, Chrome exhaust tips taped up grills, Baby Moon hubcaps,
sponge dice or baby shoes for the rear view mirror, for the race crowd exhaust cut outs, and purple under-the-dash lights to set
the mood. All available from the source back then a JC Whitney catalogue,a
teens bible. A must for every car especially a teen was a radio. It would play all day even
if the car wasn't moving. Ah yes to own a car back then was a sure way to attract the
ladies especially on cruise night down the Main Street drag Food for thought was
scrumptious. For Breakfast a bowl of Wheaties was the norm and hamburger was
good with a malt, but the dog, the all American Hot Dog was king. Can anyone
remember as a scout finding a green stick and toasting them over an open campfire.
They were great even if burnt On the west coast Pips was the place to get a great dog ,
Down south they had corn dogs and here on the East coast it was Nathans in Coney
Island, NY and a small place in Fort Lee NJ called Calahans. (A few of them still around
today) If you were Catholic the mom and Pop Pizza shop was where all families could be
found on Friday night which was a meatless day.
Other notable 1950 events were:1950 The first Peanuts Comic strip appeared,1952 Marilyn Monroe became the popular
pin-up-gal ,1953 the first issue of Playboy was launched, 1955 Disneyland opens in California, Jonas Salk invents the Polio vaccine,
James Dean Killed in a car crash, 1957 First satellite was launched by the USSR named Sputnik and in 1957 Elvis stars in his first
movie Love Me Tender. Speaking of Elvis most of us guys didn't want the girlfriend to listen to him because he was such a heart
Throb and that fit in perfect with our parents who thought his hip gyrations were too suggestive Which could account for his
waist up shots only on that first Ed Sullivan TV Show. Who would have thunk it all?? Not all of the 50's were great Truman was
nearing his end of term and we were trying to get out Of Korea. We had the Atomic bomb but other countries were closing fast
Then Came "Ike" Dwight D Eisenhower in 1952.The cold war between the US and nations led by the USSR It was a time when
diplomatic as well as political and racial struggles were around like: The Segregation and the Mc Carthy era. People were starting to
come to grips with the Atomic Age and were so badly informed.
| click poster for Palisades Park pictures and Fredd ie Cannon song. |
50's
Rock and Roll
Rock and Roll
the fabulous
I didn't forget, I couldn't. Stuff like: Comic books (think I owned a Gazillion of them) Slinky , Baseball cards. Remember
playing keepsies, where we would toss the cards against the front steps or attaching them between the spokes of our bicycle
wheels to make motorcycle sounds? (Don't you wish your mom didn't throw them all out years ago?) And then there was
Bazooka Bubble gum with Bazooka Joe and all the (at the time) neat stuff you could send away for with the saved wrappers.
Ah yes great stuff, today a real treasure literally. Then came girls you know the ones we used to call icky and make faces at.
It was a home run just to steal a kiss from one. They wore Pedal pushers , hoop skirts and the all popular poodle skirt with
playing keepsies, where we would toss the cards against the front steps or attaching them between the spokes of our bicycle
wheels to make motorcycle sounds? (Don't you wish your mom didn't throw them all out years ago?) And then there was
Bazooka Bubble gum with Bazooka Joe and all the (at the time) neat stuff you could send away for with the saved wrappers.
Ah yes great stuff, today a real treasure literally. Then came girls you know the ones we used to call icky and make faces at.
It was a home run just to steal a kiss from one. They wore Pedal pushers , hoop skirts and the all popular poodle skirt with
White top and scarf tied in a pony tail around their neck. Oxford Black and white shoes or Penny Loafers were the
footwear. As for the boys, Jeans,Black and white high top US Keds and if you were lucky a Davey Crockett Coon skin cap
footwear. As for the boys, Jeans,Black and white high top US Keds and if you were lucky a Davey Crockett Coon skin cap
