50's and 60's Nostalgia

Our generation always speaks warmly of growing up in the 1950's (50's and 60's for me), and I put my hand on my heart when I speak of growing up in Portland, Oregon (the beautiful Mount Hood in the background). Here are some nostalgic pictures bringing to mind my growing up years and putting a smile on my face!

Home Sweet Home at 3007 N.E. 32nd Place in Portland. My bedroom was upstairs on the far right. For years I dreamt of owning this home as it's always felt like it was a part of me.  How I love this place to this day!

A milkman would deliver the milk to our backdoor in glass quart jars with cardboard stoppers. The cream rose to the top of the jar and we shook it to mix it in.  The garbage man walked to our backyard to retrieve the trash can, carried it to the street and returned it.  What a back breaking job!

Alameda Elementary school where I attended first through eighth grades and made wonderful, lifetime friends.

The hula hoop was the fad and it was so easy to keep it going in those days, even with no hips!

My Tiny Tears doll looked exactly like this one.
And I was given the FIRST Barbie when I was eleven...and I still have her! (She was promised to Mindy who did play with her, but then I snatched her back. Pictures in my mind of my mother sewing Barbie a wedding dress make her too precious to pass on just yet. And now her daughter, Sadie, is too old for Barbies!  So when?)

A quarter was a fair and reasonable allowance in the 50's and could actually buy something at the candy store.

Wax Coke- shaped bottles filled with colored water were a fun treat.  Or pink candy cigarettes...which do not seem appropriate in our days. Smoking was HUGE in the 50's, though not in our active LDS home! Glamorous movie stars, politicians, passengers on airplanes....all puffed away!

Our phone number was ATLANTIC 8-4152...or 288-4152. Phone numbers began with a word and the first two letters were part of that number. And the phones were all rotary and not push button.

Dad would get these green stamps with each fill up at the gas station. My "job" was to glue them in the green S and H stamp books which would be accumulated and redeemed for merchandise. Dad also kept a log updated with each and every gasoline fill up, indicating date/mileage/gallons. I wondered why he did that as he never referred back to his logs that I could tell...I guess I still do!
On Saturday mornings I loved to watch the cartoon, "Mighty Mouse" even though it was in black and white. "Here he comes to save the day! That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!" I can still sing the theme song! It was so nice to watch a cartoon without 15 minutes of action figure commercials!!

And then there was the "Howdy Doody Show."  And the "Roy Rogers Show." (Roy with wife, Dale Evans who I was once told I looked like, though at the time, I was 30 and she must have been 60.  Their beloved horse, Trigger, was "stuffed" and remains in the Roy Rogers museum in California.)

The Lone Ranger was a favorite. (Tonto, "Buttermilk" and the mysterious ranger) Westerns were BIG for many years.

"I Love Lucy" is still on PBS television.  The wholesome shows were a far cry from choices of today.  We loved "Father Knows Best," "Doctor Kildare," "The Donna Reed Show,"  "Leave it to Beaver," "Lassie,"...  all televised in black and white with "G" ratings. 

One day Dad bought a Magnavox colored television. It must have been a demo at Meier and Frank and we were the only people I knew with a COLORED TV!...I felt "pride"...not a good thing, but now we could enjoy the few shows that were aired in "living color!"

"Bonanza" was our weekly favorite! Michael Landon was a handsome Little Joe! Marge and I began calling Dad "Little Joe" as his first name was Joseph. If I recall correctly, the show was on Sunday evenings. We would watch it together as we ate grilled cheese sandwiches, pickles and chips.

Beemans, Clove and Black Jack were popular chewing gums....as well as Doublemint which stuck around through the years.

I had a three speed, blue Schwinn bicycle.....the latest and greatest in my eyes. I loved to ride down the hill to the north of us, or pretend that it was a rodeo horse as I would wave to the invisible crowd in my invisible blue sequinned costume performing trick stunts.

The Ed Sullivan was a very popular variety show and aired the premier American appearance of the Beatles!

I was there in front of my televsion, with all the other eager teenagers in the country, to cheer and squeal as they sang, "Ya, Ya, Ya!"

The movies in the theaters began with a black and white newsreel and....

a cartoon which was often the Roadrunner or a Bugs Bunny adventure.

 

I had a collection of my favorite star's pictures...8 x 10 glossies that the celebrities would send to fans for the asking.

  At one point one of my bedroom walls was nearly covered!

Ricky Nelson was a teenage heartthrob.                                 Cary Grant was every woman's heart throb!

Doris Day was darling and a favorite, and Audrey Hepburn was the most beautiful woman in the world!


This picture of Meier and Frank is not very good though I love the angle. It was taken...looks like in the 1940's as the cars are of that era. It was built in 1932, so this is early on. Meier and Frank was a big part of our lives. Dad was the supertintendent over personnel and a VIP, so as Mr. Swenson's daughters, we were always treated very nicely. Nearly every family purchase was made there (25% discount), my sisters worked there, and the most fun outing was to jump on the bus with a friend and head downtown to this classy store. There was a uniformed employee manning the elevators ( The Empire State Building style) and assisting customers to floor after floor of wonderful merchandise. Sally and I modeled in the Tea Room on Thursdays all through our childhood. Sadly, Meier and Frank lost its individuality and first class flair when it was purchased by the May Company after Dad retired.

And then there was Yaw's Top Notch (hand on the heart!) in the Hollywood District of Portland and close to Grant High. I found this 1950's picture and couldn't believe it. The famous, delicious hamburgers were 55 cents, and a Green River soda, 20 cents in the 50's. Yaw's was the high school hang out and where everyone went for a yummy burger! I can still taste it!

45 rpm (revolutions per minute) records were the rage! I had a cute little portable turntable in my room and I would listen to my favorites tunes  over and over again. They had one song on each side.

And then the longer playing 78 rpms took over and Sally got a fancy cabinet style turntable. I loved her music, too.

This album by Johnny Mathis was my very first album and I still have it! Crazy! What a smooth beautiful voice Johnny had!

And I still have this one....the first Beatles album....may be worth some $$$$$$!

Pantyhose had not been invented, so with nylons came a garter belt! Girls did not wear pants to school, though the following year after my graduation from high school the rule was lifted....same story at BYU. So the garter belt or girdle was the norm. I tried on a girdle once and thought,
"You have got to be kidding me!"

Ulysses S. Grant High School...once again, hand over the heart!

Girls wore gym uniforms like these! And sneakers instead of expensive Nikes, etc. And then there was the dreaded shower after gym class...do they still do that?

On my 14th birthday, all I wanted was a transister radio which I VERY happily received. I found a picture of the VERY ONE I had,  couldn't believe it...made me happy all over again to see it!  Made by Magnavox.  It was THE THING! As cool as an " I Touch" today.

I tried to find all the cars that our family owned during my childhood. The first one we had was a 1949 Buick. Ours was a very pale aqua green. I loved the armrest "pony" in the middle of the backseat....No child carseats or seatbelts in those days! This car was later given to the missionaries. We were a one car family.  Mother would drive Daddy to work and pick him at the end of the day.  It seemed to work just fine.

Our 1954 or 55 Cadillac was the next family car...a nice sturdy, heavy vehicle which probably saved my Dad's life in our accident and maybe Sally's and mine, too. Again, no seat belts installed or required which could have saved my mother!

A nice Chevy, family station wagon followed. I think it was like this one...for sure the rust color. I remember driving all the way to Florida from Portland in this car with Lorle and her family. My niece, Cathy, and I were great friends. I also remember helping Sally turn the steering wheel as there was no power steering...it was a beast!

And then came this sporty, cute Corvair Monza...white with red bucket seats. This was the car we had when I learned how to drive and nearly gave my Dad a nervous breakdown. Better for both of us that he hired a "professional" to give me a two week driving course. In Oregon a 15 year old was given a learner's permit for a year and at age 16 could take the tests and get a license.

This blue 1964 Ford Falcon was my very first car that I purchased..with a loan from my Dad which I paid back. I had graduated from BYU and moved to So. California where Sally and Alan lined me up with their friend who sold it to me. Bill and I called it "Birdie," (Falcon, get it?)

I did all my BYU assignments on a manual/portable Olivetti typewriter like this one. There was no "delete" or "undo" or "backspace." All mistakes were in print, so it was difficult to type a paper that looked perfect, at least for me. 

As a freshman in the fall of 1967, I lived in the newly built Deseret Towers at BYU which were just recently torn down to make more apartment- style living accommodations. How sad.  They sure worked for me and dorm living was a great place to meet friends to move "off campus" with for the following years.  Cafeteria meals...no cooking or cleanup was great!


Well, as soon as I push "publish post" I will think of things I should have included. But I'll save those for another time. How fun to think back on those wonderful childhood years in the 50's and 60's!  It was a "charmed" time to grow up!