# What were the 1950's like? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475 "2013-08-06T06:02:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/101 "2013-08-07T16:38:11Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I’ve often wondered about where the perception came from. Juvenile delinquency certainly wasn’t an issue in my little midwest town. I knew a couple of boys who got into minor trouble and spent some time in a reform school, but it was indeed minor – property damage or theft, I think. And back then, they’d be given a choice of reform school or the army. > > Was it a manufactured social issue? Did people panic because a few kids were dropping out of school or taking joy rides? The press at the time blew up the “teenage menace” thing…and Hollywood responded by coming out with a ton of “B” movies on the subject. yes, there certainly was a lot of teen crime and violence, but nothing near toady’s level. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/102 "2013-08-07T16:44:11Z")
My mom tells me that the fifties was an extremely bad time to be involved in a mixed marriage. My parents were from west Texas and my dad married my Mexican-American mother in 1952; instantly he could not get work in his area. They had to move to Houston where they were able to blend in a little better, but my mom still recalls being stopped in the street and being told by a group of white people that she was not allowed to spank my older brother (all us kids looked white). My Mexican-American uncles served in WWII and fought in the D-Day invasion and yet when they returned home in full dress uniform with campaign ribbons and multiple battle stars they could not be served in the local white diner. A few of our immediate family eventually moved to Ohio where Mexicans were more of a curiosity than a minority, no one had actually seen Mexicans others than migrant workers in rural Ohio so our families were tolerated. Still my full blooded Mexican cousins had lot pretty rough in school due to having Hispanic last names; I still recall little kids asking why I hung out with the spics and them being surprised when they met my mom and saw the black velvet bull fighter painting in the living room. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/103 "2013-08-07T17:44:50Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > My mom tells me that the fifties was an extremely bad time to be involved in a mixed marriage. My parents were from west Texas and my dad married my Mexican-American mother in 1952; instantly he could not get work in his area. They had to move to Houston where they were able to blend in a little better, but my mom still recalls being stopped in the street and being told by a group of white people that she was not allowed to spank my older brother (all us kids looked white). My Mexican-American uncles served in WWII and fought in the D-Day invasion and yet when they returned home in full dress uniform with campaign ribbons and multiple battle stars they could not be served in the local white diner. > > A few of our immediate family eventually moved to Ohio where Mexicans were more of a curiosity than a minority, no one had actually seen Mexicans others than migrant workers in rural Ohio so our families were tolerated. Still my full blooded Mexican cousins had lot pretty rough in school due to having Hispanic last names; I still recall little kids asking why I hung out with the spics and them being surprised when they met my mom and saw the black velvet bull fighter painting in the living room. I’m pretty sure my parents had racist views, but to their credit (and my gratitude later on) they kept it to themselves. I remember my mother looking suspiciously out the window at the Japanese woman that our young ex-GI neighbor brought back with him from overseas (this was in the early 60s). But then they lived through WWII and prejudices die hard. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/104 "2013-08-07T19:34:50Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Laws yes. You could smoke in doctor’s offices, hospital rooms, movie theaters, stores, airplanes, buses, trains, schools. I think the only place you couldn’t smoke was church. More than a few doctors smoked as well and some of those old-timers with a practice out in the boonies would have a lit one sitting in an ashtray while they were treating you. Brings to mind the great All in the Family scene with Bernard Hughes playing the family doctor paying the Bunkers a house call. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/105 "2013-08-07T20:19:26Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The Ford plant in Oakland had been retooled during WWII for war planes, and rather than re-retool, the company decided to rebuild, in Milpitas, 50 miles south. My Dad heard about this, and intrepidly decided to create a Milpitas newspaper for the Ford plant workers. The Ford Co. had a strong interest in encouraging their trained workers to relocate with the plant. There was a cheapo subdivision being built for them there. At that point Milpitas was a miniscule crossroads with a bar, cafe, drugstore, gas station, and not much else. I remember each of these businesses vividly. It was farm and ranch and orchard as far as the eye could see. I remember that vividly too. This plant is now a gigantic discount mall, the Great Mall of the Bay Area - which says a lot about the difference between then and now. At least the Nummi plant got take over by Tesla, so is still a factory. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/106 "2013-08-07T20:22:40Z")
There were one or two periods of inflation bad enough to inspire PSA’s on radio, i.e. what the average citizen could do to work against it. Inflation does typically occur in wartime, and this was during the Korean conflict. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/107 "2013-08-07T21:09:05Z")
I wasn’t born until the 60s, but my grandmother owned a diner in Virginia in the 1950s. There’s a photo somewhere of her standing proudly behind the counter and “No Coloreds” sign on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/108 "2013-08-08T00:10:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > This plant is now a gigantic discount mall, the Great Mall of the Bay Area - which says a lot about the difference between then and now. At least the Nummi plant got take over by Tesla, so is still a factory. Long before that Nummi plant was a Nummi plant (but still later than 1950’s – like 1970’s) it was [I don’t remember what] but it had a water tower that could be seen for miles around. Across the freeway (or nearly so) was a dragstrip, and just on the other side of that was a glider port. All these things were surrounded by fields and cow pastures. I just mentioned in another thread that I landed a glider in one of those cow pastures. This was still largely the Milpitas as **Ulfreida** described it. Well, actually, Fremont, but I lived in Livermore and drove through Milpitas to get there. For a beginning student pilot, who couldn’t yet find his way around by sight from the air, the water tower was the most important landmark. That was the way to find your way back to the runway. Today, both the glider port and the dragstrip are long gone, not to mention the cow pastures. It’s all commercial development now, in particular near the freeway (which used to be known as State Route 17). Maybe there are still cow pastures if you drive a little ways farther out towards the bay. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/109 "2013-08-08T00:40:35Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > As an afficionado of guns and knives, I must say that quality of hand-tooled American arms (and maybe other implements) were at their peak in the 1920-1930s and 1940s to 1960s. The saddest example are those Case xx pocket knives. Case’s made from 1945 to 1969 were simply unmatched in quality. American craftsmanship died in the 80s when makers had to scale back in quality to match the second Japanese onslaught. Now, a number of pocket knife makers are trying to re-create those old beauties (with attendant high price.) But they still can’t match the old Case’s. > > Another example is the pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 rifle. While post-64 M-70s are better in many aspects, the joy of a pre-64 is something shooters smile at to this day. Yes. When I got into writing with fountain pens a few years ago, I found out about the amazing heyday of American craftmanship. Fountain pens are a great example too – almost all of the innovations in pen design were made in the US (from about 1905 on until the invention of the ballpoint), there were not only thriving factories but many different companies, and the pens were made to last at least a lifetime. I have wonderfully made perfectly usable pens made in 1912 (hardened black latex rubber), and from the 1940’s and '50’s (celluloid). These were gems of craftsmanship and design, made for the masses. I also have a chrome plated toaster from 1942 exactly like my mom’s, from a vintage toaster restorer, which works just like hers: perfectly. Unlike the junk toasters of today. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/110 "2013-08-08T00:51:37Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Today, both the glider port and the dragstrip are long gone, not to mention the cow pastures. It’s all commercial development now, in particular near the freeway (which used to be known as State Route 17). Maybe there are still cow pastures if you drive a little ways farther out towards the bay. Not that I’ve ever seen. There is one lonely orange grove right off Zanker between Tasman and Montague, which I drive past every day. Unless cows roam the sewage plant, that is. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/111 "2013-08-08T02:08:08Z")
I was born in 1943, so I was in high school by the fall of 1957. At the beginning of the decade, we had ice delivered for our icebox, as there was no refrigerator. Our radio was a 5 tube Radio Special that I listened to Jack Benny, the Lone Ranger and other programs on; a TV didn’t come along until later in the decade. The thing I remember about the tv was its small size, black and white picture, fussiness, and the frequent trips to the store to buy replacement tubes by testing them on the “tube tester”. We raised a lot of our food…chickens, corn, vegetables and fruits, and what we didn’t eat in season was canned by my Mom, who also sewed the kid’s shirts out of the cloth that animal feed came in. On very special occasions we would make ice cream in the hand cranked ice cream maker. The foods I remember liking were fried okra, biscuits, fried chicken and rabbit, fried potatoes, and tamale pie. There weren’t any frozen foods at first, but that changed…my new favorite food became Swanson’s tuna pot pie. Candy was for Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. I think I may have seen 5 or 6 movies in the decade. Once or twice a year we would travel to the beach for the day. Vacations were used to visit relatives, and we pretty much stayed in a “motel” one night between California and Arkansas - driving constantly the rest of the trip. One of my jobs was to keep the canvas water bag that hung on the front bumper full so we could refill the radiator when it boiled over. My friends and I wandered free after school and during the summer. Digging holes, catching lizards, and shooting our BB guns were great sport, and bike rides were great adventures. Kids were seen more than heard, but allowed more freedom than today. It was a great time, but things like good health care weren’t available to my economic stratum…so I suppose it all balances out. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/112 "2013-08-08T02:21:13Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > \I also have a chrome plated toaster from 1942 exactly like my mom’s, from a vintage toaster restorer, which works just like hers: perfectly. Unlike the junk toasters of today. I have a “junk toaster of today” which works perfectly and has done so for around eight years with no end in sight. So they’re not all “junk”. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/113 "2013-08-08T02:39:57Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I have a “junk toaster of today” which works perfectly and has done so for around eight years with no end in sight. So they’re not all “junk”. Well, you are one of the lucky ones. We threw out 3 new, expensive but unfixable toasters before I found Mr.Toaster. And, no plastic. Bakelite handles! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/114 "2013-08-08T03:42:41Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I have a “junk toaster of today” which works perfectly and has done so for around eight years with no end in sight. \*Eight whole years? \* Wow! That’s like…eternity! I’m impressed! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/115 "2013-08-08T04:27:11Z")
I was born at the end of 1951. I was born and grew up in Los Angeles When I was in elementary school several years the teacher would start the school year with a geography lesson “where is everybody from?” Each of us would stand up and tell the class where we were born. The teacher would make the location on a map There was at least 2 years where I was the only child in the class of 28-30 that was born in California. Back then it really was the golden state. People couldn’t wait to get here. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/116 "2013-08-08T04:27:32Z")
Some intersting stuff. I grew up in 1970’s Australia and can actually identify with a lot of what has been mentioned (one car, one B&W TV with only a few channels, no AC in cars or houses etc). I think about the only things we got around the same time as the US were major film releases. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/117 "2013-08-08T13:46:25Z")
Not an American. The 50’s in my country were pretty idyllic for children- I could go off all day by myself, no worries about predators etc. No tv, no mobiles, no computers- people read, listened to the radio/ records and interacted with each other. Houses were affordable for almost everyone. No huge income gap- no really rich people, no poverty to speak of ( that I knew about ) NO unemployment. 2 parent families were the norm, divorce was rare, unmarried mothers with bastards unknown. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/118 "2013-08-08T16:45:19Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Not an American. > > The 50’s in my country were pretty idyllic for children- I could go off all day by myself, no worries about predators etc. No worries or no knowledge of predators? During the 1950s some creep in a car approached me and said he was my father. I said no you aren’t and walked away (other kids were around.) I didn’t understand what was happening since no one talked about that stuff then - but it happened. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/119 "2013-08-08T18:03:28Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe Socrates complained of the problem. 🙂 🙂 Re juvenile delinquency, I’m at the Elvis chapter in Halberstam’s book. I had forgotten how music began to divide the generations. I remember standing up in Latin class and defending Elvis to Mrs. Morton. I don’t remember what she said to set me off – it was unusual for teachers to make any comments on pop culture. It appears that the combination of Elvis, race music and James Dean did a lot to scare some of our parents in 1955. They couldn’t control what we listened to anymore, so maybe they feared losing all control. They didn’t though – that didn’t happen until the 60’s. We still respected our elders, at least to their faces. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475/120 "2013-08-08T18:10:04Z")
Things didn’t end well for Elvis and James Dean. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-1950s-like/665475.md?page=7)