 Newark High School Wildcats - Class of 1960 I50th Class Reunion Reveille Where are they now? and Directory Updates Share your photos! Life in the '50s In Memoriam |
Newark High School Wildcats - Class of 1960 I50th Class Reunion Reveille Where are they now? and Directory Updates Share your photos! Life in the '50s In Memoriam |
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Life in '50s "Nerk, Ahia" Most of us drove our parent's cars, but . . . the lucky ones drove '48 - '52 Fords, Chevy's, Plymouths and Dodges in various colors and conditions. The guys spent plenty of money (when we had it) on baseball cards. Some of our favorite places to be were Tony's, Natoma's and Blamer's. Playing the juke box at the L&K - 6 plays for a quarter Ice cream cones, sundaes and floats at Kelleys famous dairy bar. Funnies in the newspaper delivered to the door weekdays and Sundays. Hooties on E Main and movies at the Valley Drive-in. Gym jams at the YMCA and root beer at Stewarts Drive-in out on the west side on Church St (almost to Dugway Park). Dancing at the Crystal and Pier Ballrooms out at Buckeye Lake. You had to be 18, but somehow we got through the door! Saturdays we could be found thumbing through the vinyl at Martins and McMichaels Music Stores. Great food at Dagwoods restaurant on East Main and the BEST PIZZA EVER at Balandies, out at the end of Hudson Ave. The Arcade Theatre (in the Arcade) owned by Clark Rader (Ben and Becky's dad). The Grand Theatre on the south side of the square where we watched the old "B" cowboy movies - Lash Larue, Tom Mix, etc. High school games with friends, gathering at a party, and get togethers at someone's house (with the parents home). More hours than we can count were spent at the rolling rink. White "sneakers," P.F. Flyers, black and white saddles and brown loafters - now that was coooooool. And every Christmas, we and a few hundred others would oooh and aaah at the lighting of the County Courthouse. Life in '50s USA |
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REMEMBER WHEN?
All the girls had ugly gym uniforms (and we had to make them in sewing class - yuk!). Nearly all of our moms were there to greet us when we got home from school.
Decisions were made by eeny-meeny-miney-moe, and mistakes were corrected by do-overs. Real "street cred" meant doing a double dog dare, and oly-oly-oxen-free made perfect sense.
Catching lightning bugs in a glass jar with holes punched in the lid could happily occupy an entire evening. (You know, we still could!) We would lie back in the grass with friends and say things like, "That cloud looks like a ... ."
Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside and we battled with our siblings over cereal boxes with the send-in box-top prize offer. Baseball was played with no adults around to help us with the rules of the game.
A '57 Chevy was our dream car . . . to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races. We never asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition and the doors were never locked.
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SLANG
Wowsville,
Daddy-O, Bash, Hep, String Me,
Nowheresville, Nuggets, Classy Chassis Allie Oop, Wazoo, Beatnic, On the Stick, Passion Pit, Wet Rag, Squaresville, Bent Eight, Hang, Frosted, Razz my Berries, What's Buzzin Cuzzin, Cherry, Real Gone, Horn, In Orbit, Kick, the Most, Cut the Gas, Kookie, Itsy Bitsy, Jelly Roll, DDT, Nest, Grody, Mirror Warmer, Be Bop, Don't Have a Cow, Ivy Leaguer, Keen, Tight, Make the Scene, Lay a Patch, Get Bent, Jacketed, Fream, Flip Top, Goose It, Cube, Greaser, Kill, and, of course, Back Seat Bingo.    GIRLS
FASHION
Home Perms for $2.00 - Which Twin has the Toni? and Bobbi Soft Pin Curls Beehive, Bouffant, Turtle Dove, Beau Belle, Heather, and the Bob Evening in Paris, Prince Matchabelli Tangee The World's Most Famous Lipstick Camay Cold Cream Soap Angora, rhinestoned and embroidered sweaters, poodle skirts, neckerchief, white gloves for church, dotted cotton, peppermint blouses, crinolen, rick rack, saddles and Mary Janes Horn-rimmed, Cat's Eye with Rhinestones, Round, Browline eye glasses    BOYS FASHION Crew
Cut, Tapered, Flat
Top
Pompadour, and Pompadour with DA Duck Tail or Duck Butt Brylcream (a little dab a do ya), Lucky Tiger, Vitalis, and Pomade Wax Tapered and gray flannel suits, suit jackets and trousers, cardigan and letter sweaters, skinny ties, denim jeans, white t-shirts with sleeves rolled up, leather and denim jackets, loafers, PF Flyers and Converse high tops TV
SHOWS
INVENTIONS
1950 Credit
Card - USA
1951 Breeder Reactor - USA 1952 Hovercraft - England 1952 Hydrogen Bomb - USA 1953 Transistor Radio - USA 1954 Robot - USA 1954 Solar Cell - USA 1955 Atomic Clock - England 1956 Nuclear Power - England 1956 Video Recorder - USA 1956 Video Tape - USA 1957 Satellite - Russia 1958 Computer Modem - USA 1958 Microchip - USA 1959 Lunar Probe - Russia |
COSTS
In 1950,
the average cost
of a new car
was $1,500, by '59 it was
$2,400
 American
cheese 45¢ a #
Carnation Milk 14¢ Coffee 37¢ a # Bread 12¢ Gerber baby food 10¢ Grape jelly 19¢ Grapefruit 4¢ Ground hamburger 27¢ a # Kellogg's Shredded Wheat 18¢ Lettuce 12¢ Margarine 19¢ a #
Miracle Whip 55¢
    Nylon stockings 50¢ Ladies full length cashmere coat $59 Boys denim jeans $2.49 Boys winter jacket $4.88 Mens shirt $3.99 Womens handbag $1.32 Men's all wool suits $28.90 Mechanical adding machine $3.98 Infant crib $24.95 Chenille bedspread $3.49 Philco 20" B&W TV $229.95 Sylvania 17" B&W TV $179.95 Regency gas range $144.95 Singer sewing machine $19.95 GE portable food mixer $18.95 Hair dryer $5.95 HiFi Stereo $199.95 |
