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A Day to Marimba: 1955
... Disneyland TV show episode "Cavalcade of Song," Feb. 16, 1955. 1955. "Peggy Lee singing into tape recorder accompanied by Sonny Burke. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/04/2014 - 1:38pm -

        tterrace informs us: Filmed specifically for the Disneyland TV show episode "Cavalcade of Song," Feb. 16, 1955. 1955. "Peggy Lee singing into tape recorder accompanied by Sonny Burke. Soundtrack for Walt Disney CinemaScope cartoon feature Lady and the Tramp." 35mm Kodachrome by Robert Vose for Look magazine. View full size. love love love the title"A Day to Marimba" is a glowing gem in your diadem of fabulous captions. [Aw shucks. - Dave] "Fever"A marvelous voice! The LOOK lookLoses something in print. A real LadyJust a few days ago I asked a fellow record collector if he remembered who provided the voice of the Lady in the movie and he was stumped for a minute till I reminded him. A scene of exquisite class and beauty! There's never been anything like Kodachrome! We are Siamese I remember seeing this on TV way back when and recall Peggy demonstrating how she overdubbed a duet with herself portraying the cats singing "We are Siamese if you please" for the movie "Lady and the Tramp." This photo, though, probably isn't an accurate depiction of how the recording was actually done since that appears to be a single track machine and the quality would never pass Disney muster. [Though obviously staged as a simplified demonstration, the scene did feature a second tape recorder not seen in this shot. They appear to be Revere T-700s. -tterrace] Lost LovesIn 1962 I was teaching in a very isolated village in Papua New Guinea -- no electricity, just a battery powered record player with a single record of Peggy Lee's Lost Loves. Loved Peggy. Had no one else. Peggy's Actual ContributionPeggy Lee was not the voice of Lady. She was the "floozy" dog in the pound ("He's a Tramp"), along with the Siamese cats. "Lady" was voiced by an older actress. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, LOOK, Movies, Music)
Lady of Larkspur: 1955
... but I managed it! Fanny looks young for her age In 1955, she would have been 89 and certainly doesn't look 89! Fanny definitely ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 01/11/2023 - 7:42pm -

Frances Dorsey "Fanny" Cagwin, along with her husband George, were our neighbors in Larkspur, California, where they'd lived since 1905. Frances had been a school teacher in Virginia City, Nevada when she met George, and they married in 1887 at Carson City, where he was employed at the U.S. Mint. She was an accomplished musician, and in the living room of their Craftsman style home could be found a gleaming Steinway rosewood square grand piano. A wedding gift of her father to her mother, it had made the trip from New York by ship around Cape Horn to San Francisco, then by horse-drawn freight over the Sierras to Virginia City. Follow the link in George's name to see him and get a glimpse of his eventful life. Frances died in 1958 at the age of 92, and George in 1959 at 102. My big brother, then in high school and doing gardening work and errand-running for the Cagwins, took this Ansco Color slide with his then-new Leidolf Lordox 24x36 35mm camera. View full size. A good lifeemanates from this woman. I hope her husband's survival of her death was not unduly painful. Memories Of My GranMy grandmother Nellie looks just like this lady and lived to the same age. She and her husband Tom met on a boat to Australia in the 1900's and married out there where he was a ranch hand (a cowboy for all intents and purposes). In 1984 my grandparents came over here to visit my American bride and myself when she was 90. Someone asked Nellie how the flight was (she had never flown on a plane until then) and she said "Well! Once you are up there you can't get down" My grandparents died within a few hours of each other, and when Nellie heard that Tom died, she said to the nurse "Well! That's it then. Time for me to go". She fell asleep that night and never awoke. That was her amazing life just like Fanny. Ours was a different experienceFrances Dorsey "Fanny" Cagwin is charming. The photograph is beautiful. It's a blessing when neighbors get along so well. When I was in second grade, my family moved into a neighborhood that had better proximity to schools. Our house was on a corner, so we really had only one next door neighbor. Our introduction to that neighbor was when the man of the house showed my father where the property line was. The relationship deteriorated from there. Lovely neighborsTterrace, your brother's photo turned out much better than one I tried to take of our neighbor, Mrs. Laughlin, who lived across the graded dirt road from our family farm in Callahan, Florida. I was about 12 and had the use of my my dad's Signet 80 for the summer of 1964. You wouldn't think I could mess up the focus using a rangefinder, but I managed it! Fanny looks young for her ageIn 1955, she would have been 89 and certainly doesn't look 89! Fanny definitely looks to have been a fascinating lady with a life to match. I love how people dressed in the 1950's and everybody dressed up to go anywhere. Thank you tterrace for sharing such a great photo. I wondered where you had been and good to see you posting photos again! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Christmas in Columbus: 1955
December 1955. Columbus, Georgia. "Christmas decorations on Broadway." 4x5 inch acetate ... at 1121 Broadway is where ?mburg Jeweler was in December 1955. The S.H. Kress & Co. storefront is still there; but the building is ... of retail, especially restaurants. It looked nice in 1955 and looks nice now. [As noted below, the jeweler's name is on the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/10/2022 - 10:45am -

December 1955. Columbus, Georgia. "Christmas decorations on Broadway." 4x5 inch acetate negative from the Shorpy News Photo Archive. View full size. TimingNice hand alignment, Mr. Schomburg! 10:54:24 Can't see the Kress for the treesJimmy's Jewelers, at 1121 Broadway is where ?mburg Jeweler was in December 1955. The S.H. Kress & Co. storefront is still there; but the building is gone and all that's left is a parking lot assessable from Front Ave, the next street over. Lots of trees line Broadway between 11th and 12th Streets now and there is still a good amount of retail, especially restaurants. It looked nice in 1955 and looks nice now. [As noted below, the jeweler's name is on the clock. - Dave] Yes it is - Schomburg. Thanks. Good buy, ColumbusKress was - of course (?) - known for its Art Deco buildings erected during the Depression; but Columbus seems to have had to make do with an older yellow brick storefront. Can't see the city for the trees nowMy first job out of college was as a reporter at The Columbus Ledger on 12th Street. I must have walked past that Kress's 500 times on the way to the Government Center as the paper's government reporter and for lunch at Spano's. But there was not a tree in sight in the early '70s, so it looked about like it did in the mid-'50s. I've seen Shorpy photos of Augusta, Ga., my home town, and it is a carbon copy of Columbus, only flipped, with the river walk on the east in Augusta and on the west in Columbus. And Augusta's downtown, too, has been taken over by trees in the past 50 years. I guess that was the trend in urban planning then. Blue ChristmasIs that Elvis with an electric guitar under the Kress awning performing Blue Christmas? [Or an acoustic mandolin. - Dave] Forward in TimeThe great clock moved with the store to the north side of town. Lincoln CapriVery nice 1954 Lincoln Capri parked at the curb. White, with a dark (black probably?) top, wide white sidewall tires, and a very slick rear-mounted spare tire. The 1950's were a little schizophrenic about car design. Mid-50's were pretty good, but by the time 1959 rolled around, it was all about wildly oversized fins, trunks and hoods you could land a small plane on, and wheelbase that was out of control. But this 1954 model is an example of some of the best mid-decade design there was. That Lincoln... is stunning. Angling for Details I was immediately drawn into this wonderful shot because of the photo angle & amount of detail provided - including by other commenters. Love everything vintage, so I appreciate the car, building & location information shared. The personal stories & memories are the icing on the cake. (The Gallery, Christmas, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive, Stores & Markets)
Senior Sneak: 1955
... recreation getaway day, which for the class of 1955, including my brother and his roll of Tri-X film, was on May 18th that ... Wrong Place Hunter S. Thompson was in high school in 1955, in Kentucky. This guy may be his Evil Twin. Two women The two ... become nice grandmothers. It’s just that right now, in 1955, they stand on the threshold of two entirely different directions in life. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/10/2022 - 1:00pm -

Senior Sneak was the name applied to Marin Catholic High School's pre-graduation recreation getaway day, which for the class of 1955, including my brother and his roll of Tri-X film, was on May 18th that year. There was nothing particularly sneaky about it, since it was school-sponsored -- another shot depicts the principal at the refreshment counter clad in a distinctly non-priestly Hawaiian shirt. The location is Adobe Creek Lodge in Los Altos Hills, 50 miles south of the school on the San Francisco Peninsula. View full size. Times do changeIn 1974 we called it Senior Skip day and went to a local state park and everyone got drunk, stoned or both and played Frisbee and flew kites. Good times, good times. Interesting History The Adobe Creek Lodge has an interesting history. The Los Altos Hills Historical Society documents it here: https://www.losaltoshillshistory.org/Resources/AdobeCreek-Lodge/AdobeCre... Senior year traditionsWhen I graduated high school the senior class had Kid Day, where 17- and 18-year-old students dressed up like 3- and 4-year-olds, although I remember one guy wore a complete scuba diving wet suit. We also had a senior play, for us a series of short sketches presented by different cliques because it would have been impossible to get all the seniors (in my class) to agree to one cohesive presentation. When a teacher welcomed the audience that included parents, she stressed the most important thing was all the students had fun. What made that situation extra sad was we had some talent in my graduating class. I graduated with James Duff. I once worked with a woman whose mother was a teacher and, every year, the mother took the senior class on a trip through Europe. I've always liked my mother's senior trip, c1941. They went to the market in Juarez and then toured a nearby prison. Right Face, Wrong PlaceHunter S. Thompson was in high school in 1955, in Kentucky. This guy may be his Evil Twin. Two womenThe two women in the foreground of this photo seem to come from two different generations, or they straddle two contrasting eras. The one on the left with her fifties hairdo and sailor flap on her shirt will listen to Mel Torme and Frank Sinatra and not take drugs unless it’s Valium, mother’s little helper. The one on the right, in the coming decade, will listen to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and the Stones and the Grateful Dead and she will smoke weed and drop acid. The woman on the left will read romance novels while the one on the right is discovering Beat poetry. I think they’re both great, and they will both likely become nice grandmothers. It’s just that right now, in 1955, they stand on the threshold of two entirely different directions in life. [By the end of the year, Mary will have us believing in fairies. - Dave] Back in the day ...Our folks were pretty cool, as shown in this picture. The two dudes probably went on to become astronauts. Traditions?At the high school I went to, the only tradition was that the priests would beat the students for little or no reason. One of our heroes was a kid who was being thrown out. He was in the vice principal's office with his parents. The vp said something snotty. The kid got up and punched him right in the jaw, which seemed to surprise the vp. I have no idea what's happened to this kid in all the years since, but I hope things turned out well for him. I also have no idea why some of my fellow alumni feel any affection for that place. Maybe it's like those guys who miss being in Sing Sing. My Senior un-SneakMight as well toss in my Senior Day story from 1970. I spent it in detention with about 60 other seniors. Most of the others were there for skipping school the previous October 15th to attend the antiwar rally in D.C. The administration had gotten wind of the planned caravan and told students that anyone missing school without a medical excuse for the day were going to lose privileges. I, on the other hand, had stayed at a friend's home to watch Game Four of the World Series. Missing Senior Day didn't bother me at all. But the fact that my Orioles had lost that October day to the Mets (and the next day to lose the Series) still gets under my skin. Does tterrace know?I would be interested if tterrace, via his older brother, has any idea about what happened to those two women, whose futures davidk appears to foresee. Did the brother stay in touch with either or both of them, or maybe just hear about them over the years? [I'm afraid the answer to all the questions is no. -tterrace] Swell senior memories My school didn't have a skip day in our senior year; we had a day when seniors were allowed to wear bluejeans and T-shirts or sweatshirts, plus sneakers. Daring, eh? Our senior class trip was on a school bus, which lacked room for three of us. My friend jumped at the chance to offer her (jalopy) secondhand car her dad gave her. She, her beau and I rode forty minutes in the car behind the bus, cracking wise and making ourselves laugh hard all the way. We arrived at the courthouse, which was what some faculty or administration member chose for our class trip. Upon exiting the elevators on the twelfth floor, we learned that there were no court cases that day, nor for the entire week. So, inadequate bus capacity, no court cases, and a trip right back to afternoon classes - - a well-planned trip thanks to whom we never learned. A different friend and I walked the twelve floors down, then parted ways for our respective rides back to school. Years later, I would overhear parents becoming aggressive when requesting monetary donations for their seniors' trips to Disney World and such ("These kids deserve great memories! Don't be cheap!"), and just smile. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
They Got Me: 1955
1955 was the height of Davy Crockett mania, and while I never got a coonskin ... to prove it. (Fireman Frank Show, KRON-TV San Francisco, c.1955). Another shoe shot here . Peeling Keds tterrace and all - my ... a few TV Guides from the era. We got our first TV in May 1955 (GE lemon), which was replaced by an RCA in early 1957 when we moved from ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:05pm -

1955 was the height of Davy Crockett mania, and while I never got a coonskin cap, I was as wrapped up in it as most kids of the time, hence the "Dying at the Alamo" concept of this shot. Didn't have any arrows, so I had to improvise with that twig. My eye patch, which I was forced to wear in an unsuccessful attempt to deal with my "lazy eye" condition, sort of adds to the effect. (It was unsuccessful because I kept cheating by peeling it up so I could read my comic books.) I think that was an official Boy Scout canteen, but I don't know where we got it, since neither of us were in the Scouts. Sharp-eyed camera bugs will notice my brother used fill flash with this Kodachrome; he'd borrowed or rented a fancy electronic flash unit. Mortally WoundedReminds of an image of American photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard, who lived in Lexington, Kentucky and famous for his enigmatic and surrealistic photographs. Davy's CanteenThe canteen is German WW2 issue. Looks to be in great shape..do you still have it? A Slippery SlopeHow did two such red-blooded American boys manage to grow up without being Boy Scouts? Which brings me to something I hesitate to even mention. (Yet here I am mentioning it!) Did your brother turn into ... a beatnik? And you. Were you ... a hippie? Hmmm...Interesting image. From the description, I'm still working on the mix of Davy Crockett, Alamo (good so far), arrows, Indians, eye patch, pirates (?), Boy Scout canteen and, via AT, a German WWII canteen. Hey, that's what childhood is for: imagination! Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska March 16, 1966"With nothing more than a simple eye patch, we have brought amblyopia to its knees!" -- Sally Brown Fellow amblyopicAh, the eye patch! Despite my mother's custom-made creations...despite Sally Brown's excellent example...When you're 5, nobody wants to be the kid with an eye patch. My right eye is about 50% to this day! I hear they treat it now with dilation drops to the good eye so it doesn't focus as well... Eye PatchI had to wear one of those eye patches when I was a kid, too. And I, too, cheated over and over again because the damn thing was so annoying. Oh, the late 1980's... Remember the AlamoYou post the most awesome pictures. I really enjoy looking at how the generation my husband came from, and the one right before mine, played and lived. We played Army, cowboys and Indians and other games, but Davy Crockett was no longer a "thing" when I was a kid. DUMB PICTURESI gotta tell you; I am not into family pictures. Want me to send you some of my baby pics? See what I mean? These pics are worthless. [Baby pics of you? No thanks. Photos posted here need to be at least three years old. - Dave] "Dumb Pictures"Y'know, it always amazes me when someone says something like, "I am not into family pictures..." and just assumes that if he (or, possibly she) is of that opinion, then everyone must be. Forcryinoutloud... if you don't like a certain kind of picture, skip over it. But at least grow up! Arrrrrh!My grandson had amblyopia and had to wear an eye patch for a whole school year when he was in 1st Grade. Thanks to Jack Sparrow, he was the hit of the year and all the girls and boys thought it was really neat. Dumb Pictures?!These family photos are, in their own way, as much a documentation of their time as photos of a Washington swimming beach from the 1920s. Photos which I'm sure someone at the time called "dumb pictures" because they weren't of the Battle of Antietam. I'm sure Anonymous Tipster's baby pictures will eventually fill that niche - hopefully when the youngest of us has died of old age. Dumb picturesIn defense of anon tipster, the tterrace photos are becoming similar to sitting through a neighbors slide show of their vacation in who care's where. Since I lived in this time period, I can look at my own photos for "blast from that past". Brandicoot doesn't speak for us all and it she doesn't like some comments, she can skip them. HaHa. [I think the majority opinion here would be that tterrace's photographs are quite good. And exceptionally so. The read counter speaks louder than words. - Dave] "Dumb" picturesThe number of views clearly shows the minority opinion. The mood here is usually warm and inclusive. Not clicking something that does not interest you takes no effort at all. Foy Las Vegas Oh Oh Oh DaveRe: Baby pics of you? No thanks. Photos posted here need to be at least three years old. Oh, Dave - I just love you. Big time. Really. Seriously. I love you. Hehehhee [Aw shucks. - Dave] Me! It's about me!!!>> Not clicking something that does not interest you takes no effort at all. But the site is for me! If I don't like something, the site has failed! Me me me! Un-ChucksNot Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes. I was a PF Flyers or Keds kid. Still have my "Karl the Karrot Keds Klub" button to prove it. (Fireman Frank Show, KRON-TV San Francisco, c.1955). Another shoe shot here. Peeling Kedstterrace and all - my 60s era high top Keds label always peeled off. Maybe I pulled at it too much. Anyone else had that issue? Maybe we can file a retroactive class action lawsuit. ChucksHey, are those Chuck Taylor All-Stars? Fireman FrankGlad to see that someone else recalls that cartoon show on Channel 4 with the zany "puppet" carrot with its long "hair" flailing about! There was a short daily show right around the evening news with a longer one on Saturday afternoons. (I entered the drawing contest a time or two, not winning anything.) I've a few TV Guides from the era. We got our first TV in May 1955 (GE lemon), which was replaced by an RCA in early 1957 when we moved from Hayward to Novato (for less than 6 months). Now there was Deputy Dave on weekdays and Captain Fortune on Saturday mornings on KPIX-5. KGO-7 had the Mickey Mouse Club. Great picsBut not so smart commenter! I love all the pics shown on Shorpy!! Keep it up. Majority rules. Add St. Sebastian to the mix...for a thoroughly intriguing iconographic mashup! CanteenYeah, that's a Wehrmacht canteen for sure. After the War, it probably came over as army surplus/salvage for $1.99! Urg, stupid eye patchesI had to wear one too in kindergarten, my teacher would give me stickers to put on it. And even though I was in class I would still lift it up to draw all the time. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, tterrapix)
MG vs. Cadillac: 1955
... slide of my uncle in his newly-acquired MG around 1955, in front of his San Francisco home (on the right). Why the Caddy limo is ... Looks great by the way. [Yes, he bought it used in 1955. -tterrace] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/11/2019 - 12:51am -

Someone took this Ektachrome slide of my uncle in his newly-acquired MG around 1955, in front of his San Francisco home (on the right). Why the Caddy limo is there, or if it's connected with the event, I don't know; based on the front fender trim, I think it's a '54. Appears to be a registration certificate taped inside the windshield. I presume it's parked facing the wrong way on the street because Cadillac limos get to do that. Next-door neighbor kid seems entranced by the scene, as I would have been. View full size. MG-TDLooks like uncle fitted a non-standard radiator cap (looks like a leaping Jaguar)to his new MG-TD - the MG-TD was eventually replaced by the slightly redesigned MG-TF - an interim measure until the sleek MGA was produced. the rights to to MG-TD design were purchased by a Malaysian group who are producing a modern version of this British classic; check it out at - http://www.td-2000.com/ TC or TD?Probably a TD. Damn I love these post war MGs (or just about any MG - I owned an aged and rusty MGB at one time and was heart-broken when I was forced to sell). Lovely proportions, just he thing for a college student who wants to look a bit more sophisticated than he could in the family sedan, and could do it at an affordable price. Thoroughly idioscincratic . When he grows up and gets married he'll replace it with some anonymous Detroit Iron and when he gets really successful he'll turn into a Cadillac owner. Someone's done a little after market modification by adding a hood ornament. MGs didn't need that short of frippery. MG's are fantastic!My mother had a MGA, British racing green who passed it to me. So much fun to drive on country roads in Western Mass, New Hampshire, and Vermont. But a very heavy car to push! IdiosyncrasiesOne thing you could say about the MGs is that they were full of idiosyncrasies. The dual carbs were unlike anything you'd find on a North American car. They needed a specialised device to properly synchronise them and it didn't take much to throw them out of synch. The early MGBs (like mine) used two six volt batteries in a battery box located behind the seats and just above the ground. Supposedly this helped with the center of gravity, but you really had to improvise if your battery box rusted out and there was nothing to keep the batteries in the battery box. Mine were held in with spit and baling wire - well, wire anyway, and I'm not kidding. Pushing MGsMy best friend also had an MGA (black with the wonderful wood trim around the cockpit) in high school so I'll second the "heavy car to push" post from paula and completely get the irony of the quip, recalling how fun it was to drive and the absolute headache of all the work we had to put into it to keep it running - operative word "running" since the dual carbs were nasty to maintain, plus other mysterious mechanical and electrical aliments. Going on memory, but the turn indicator was a left/right switch on the dash and would disengage itself only after you hit a bump. That may have been intentional on the part of the engineers... or not, we never decided but that's how it worked. Another friend had a Sunbeam and another had a Datsun Fairlady. My first car was a '63 VW bug with a canvas sunroof that my dad repainted with a case of spray paint cans. I think it was the best of the bunch. Series 75I'm thinking the Cadillac was for scale, to show how small the MG was. CaddyI am sure the Cadillac is 1956, the MG does look like a 1954. [The limo is a 1954, not 1956, Cadillac. - Dave] 1953 MG TDIt is a 1953 TD. They made the TF in '54. It has the round taillights (late TD and TF) 1953 MG TD IDThanks, Anon., for nailing it down chapter & verse. That goes into my family photo database on all the Uncle Albert & his MG photos. Lifelong TD'sStarted out riding in the back of my uncle's TD in the early 50's (there is no back seat) racing to a package store with my father as co-pilot down some back road. Must have caught on, as I now have owned three of them, many MGA's and B's, and Healeys. Still have two TD's, one Healey 3000 and a Bugeye, all wonderful rides. Those "random red clouds"are that oh-so-cool car's AURA leaking into the photograph. (A car that tasty is simply oozing aura to the point of visibility!) Picture perfectWith the neighbor kid looking out the window this could be a magazine ad for a MG! MG memoriesBack in the late 60s and early 70s, my dad had two MGs, a 1951 TD and a 1954 TF. The TF was the only one running at the time, and one of my earliest car memories is of riding the freeways of Houston at night with the top down. Fun stuff for a 3-4 year old kid. Thanks for the memories. I'm assuming that it was bought used?I'm assuming it was a "gently used" MG that your uncle bought rather than brand new? Looks great by the way. [Yes, he bought it used in 1955. -tterrace] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
San Francisco Ferry: 1955
... took this picture on a trip to Northern California in 1955. He worked as an engineer for Riverside County and was visiting various ... 
 
Posted by motobean - 02/21/2014 - 8:21pm -

My father took this picture on a trip to Northern California in 1955. He worked as an engineer for Riverside County and was visiting various engineering projects. View full size. Gas WorksNice shot. The large gas tank near Fort Mason, which no longer exists, caught my eye. I did some research and found that it was located at Bay and Laguna Streets. This interesting account of the 1906 earthquake discusses the North Beach Station: http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/gas.html (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Kidde Kokoon: 1955
1955. "H-bomb hideaway. Family seated in a Kidde Kokoon, an underground fallout ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/14/2013 - 7:36pm -

1955. "H-bomb hideaway. Family seated in a Kidde Kokoon, an underground fallout shelter manufactured by Walter Kidde Nuclear Laboratories of Garden City, Long Island." United Press photo. View full size. How much lead lining?Without any lead lining, and depending on how deep the shelter was buried, this wouldn't do you much good. [Not true. Three feet of packed earth above the shelter will reduce the intensity of gamma radiation by a factor of 1,024. - Dave] Dave, I'm not sure about the factor of 1024 you speak about. In reading this information, there is a level of protection in a small amount of dirt or concrete. Of course, if you don't insulate the door, your shelter won't get a glowing report; but you will. I've also read that many early bomb shelters were built less than 12 inches below ground level, and some were just placed in a basement. [The standard minimum 3-foot depth for an effective earth-shielded fallout shelter is based on well-established research. This is why underground shelters don't need a lead lining. - Dave] A basic fallout shelter consists of shields that reduce gamma ray exposure by a factor of 1000. The required shielding can be accomplished with 10 times the thickness of any quantity of material capable of cutting gamma ray exposure in half. Shields that reduce gamma ray intensity by 50 percent include 1 cm (0.4 inch) of lead, 6 cm (2.4 inches) of concrete, 9 cm (3.6 inches) of packed earth or 150 m (500 ft) of air. When multiple thicknesses are built, the shielding multiplies. Thus, a practical fallout shield is ten halving-thicknesses of packed earth, reducing gamma rays by approximately 210, or 1,024, times. deja vuSome years ago in Seattle after retiring to the backyard after dinner with a new friend I noticed a wheeled hatch in the middle of the yard. "Oh that's our bomb shelter" the host exclaimed, and sure enough after she opened the hatch we all went down a ladder into a shelter looking exactly like the one pictured. It even had a couple of unopened crates of (50 year old) canned goods still piled in the corner. A very weird deja-vu to say the least since I distinctly remember them being sold off parked flat bed trucks near my neighborhood as a kid. What's missing?I see canned food. I see canned water. Where's the can? Space efficiencyYes, by all means, let's take up valuable space by keeping the canned food and water in cases made of 3/4" plywood! Lulz-deficientThey forgot the canned laughter. Brilliant design, business dudThat radiation monitor is an extremely clever device that works entirely without batteries, which in other radiation detectors of the time were typically in the depleted state when you finally needed them. And it was total business flop. Walter KiddeWas this the same company that makes firefighting equipment? Half-thicknessA substance's ability to shield from radiation is measured in half-thickness, which obviously is the amount of material needed to reduce the radiation dose by 50%. It also depends on the radiation source, for example cobalt-60 is more energetic than cesium-137 and therefore requires a thicker shield to get the same reduction. I couldn't find anything for packed earth, but the half-thickness for steel with a Cs-137 source is about half an inch. Several feet of packed earth would definitely reduce the radiation level, probably by quite a lot. Without more research I can't be sure how much. [The half-thickness for packed earth is 9 cm, or 3.6 inches. Multiplying that by ten, to 36 inches, reduces radiation by a factor of 210, or 1,024. - Dave] Twilight Zone episode?I don't foresee a happy outcome here. It's going to get weird any minute. Playtime?Little Girl has her toy stuffed cat to play with, so I guess Mom & Dad will be fighting over who gets to play with the toy Jeep on the floor! Where the elite shelter.Seriously, I lived through this era (born in 1942), and nobody had one of these. They were seen in newsreels, and PR photos like this, but no real family wanted, or could afford this nonesense. Necktie Geez if I'm going to have to wear a necktie I'm not going. Where's Junior?I see a toy Jeep partially visible behind the box of canned water. Did Junior not make it in time? Kanned HeatIn your Kidde Kokoon you will have Kanned Water, Kanned Food, and Kanned Heat! (aka: Sterno) D.I.Y.Did the owners of the shelters have to furnish the interior to suit their needs. Those shelves and bunks look fairly homemade. What a gloomy place. I'd rather be deadLiving in this thing with my family would be worse than the alternative. We'd be at each other's throats in a few hours. If you're going to have a bomb shelter, at least make it comfortable! Chocolate DropSpam and sweet cocoa for sandwiches and cocoa cupcakes. It's a lifestyle. Are You Kiddeng Me?I hope there are closed-environment sanitation facilities/provisions out of camera view. Otherwise, it will be a foul smelling and unsanitary Kokoon before too long. US Army Trenching ToolKind of curious to know why they have one. There's nothing to dig inside the shelter, and if you go outside to dig, you've just exposed yourself to the radiation you were trying to avoid! Re: Trenching ToolAsk yourself how you would get out, after the ingress tunnel is filled with debris. RE: Trenching ToolI think if you're close enough to the blast to be covered by debris, you're probably toast anyway. [Not to belabor the obvious, but fallout shelters are shelters from fallout, i.e. gamma radiation from the radioactive dust and debris that fall after the blast. They're not blast shelters. - Dave] They really did existMy parents had some friends who were very eccentric, and they had one. They took us through it once, when I was very little. This would have been about the Cuban Missile Crisis era. I remember it was painted sunny yellow inside and was tiny and smelled musty. It couldn't have been more than about 8X10 feet. My dad said it reminded him of a converted septic tank. In 1962 the Marx toy company even made a dollhouse with a fallout shelter included. The room on the left of the ground floor is the shelter. A modern variationUnderground shelters that look quite like fallout shelters are popular in some parts of Australia as wildfire shelters. They don't have air filtration systems because they have to be completely sealed to prevent the fires from sucking out all the oxygen. As wildfires move very quickly, it's not necessary to take shelter for more than an hour, tops, and the air within the shelters is enough to sustain the occupants for that short period. Studio ApartmentIn some of your more upscale areas today (Manhattan, Silicon Valley...) you could probably rent that space out for a couple grand a month. Our fully equipped houseOur house (built 1961) has a tiny bomb shelter tucked under one of the bedrooms. It has an extra set of floor joists above it and steel braces running between those and the floor; there's also a vent pipe to the outside. I really cannot see the five of us lasting in that room more than about an hour; my son is too tall to even stand up in it. The roof trusses on the house are overbuilt, which came in handy when the tree fell on the dining room a year ago. My parents tell me that some of the houses in their neighborhood have built-in shelters too. Of course being that we all live within a few miles of major DoD labs and contractors, not to mention NSA, one would have to expect that in a concerted nuclear attack we would have all been collateral casualties (as the euphemism goes). (Technology, The Gallery)
Working Dad: 1955
March 1955. "Men participating in family life. Includes women and children standing ... Hubcaps Call it what you will, but the buggy has 1955 Plymouth hubcaps on it. At least one anyway. Agreed, Plymouth & ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/15/2016 - 11:37pm -

March 1955. "Men participating in family life. Includes women and children standing by window waving to men as they leave for work." Photo by Bob Lerner for the Look magazine assignment "Male Behavior." View full size. WaxI will eschew the obvious point about the lady's anatomy, and mention the fact that that milk carton would probably still be made of heavy waxed paper, or cardboard. Thick gobs of wax sometimes. The plastic coated cartons were a great step forward. SuburbiaThe Missus is lookin' nice and perky today. Bye Susie! Susie?Um, yeah, have a great day Dad. Boy, do I love Cheerios! Restrain yourselvesMembers of the Shorpy.com community are asked to please not make the obvious comment about the contents of this pleasant and innocent photo of times gone by. Thank you. Bye Dad!I was five when this came out. Only difference is my father left before daylight for his army "pencil-pushing" job. He was gone when I got up, and my mother slept until after my sister and I went to school. I'd say we had a typical lack of quality parenting. This is America! Homburgs Away!One of my favorite memories from my youth is this motif set in the future, as it often was in the pages of Popular Science and Mechanix Illustrated. I was soooo looking forward to the day when I grew up and had my own flying saucer. Older and more jaded now, it strikes me that, given our inability to drive safely in 2 dimensions, the potential for mayhem in a 3-d traffic jam over Manhattan during rush hour is mind-boggling. You forgot the paper!Dad left what appears to be his New York Times on the kitchen table, yet he's appears to be on his way to the train station. There's a car parked outside, but is it his? This is a well-educated East Coast family. Of course, he could have left the paper behind for his wife to read, which would be very nice male behavior. Charming sceneI love the swing away can opener on the wall. Most likely it was yellow. They seemed to be in every home in my community. Ours was red. Lovely shelves for the tins of spices. An altogether charming scene. Neighbor's house both TV channels on that antenna.Precursor to cable TV up on the roof. And you had to get up and walk to the set to change the channel. The horror. The CarNot much to go by, but it's a low-end Chrysler product, probably a '55 Plymouth Plaza or such. News you can useJust FYI, anybody who still has any of those old tins of spices, they can be sold for much more than their original prices if you have the time and patience to put them in a yard sale or sell them on eBay. When my mom died after 54 years in the same house, we found dozens of old spices in her kitchen cabinet in all sorts of old containers and tins, even some wrapped in parchment in more ancient little cardboard boxes. Some she would buy for one recipe and never use again. Anyway, my sister bagged them up in a large, clear plastic bag with a note saying they were old and probably not usable, and sold the whole lot (about 30 kinds) priced at $20. To my surprise they were one of the first things to be sold at the estate sale. I also see they often appear on eBay for a tidy sum, which baffles me since I don't know what they do with them, but if you are a seller of things, don't just throw them away as I was going to do. Maybe they use them for props in films to create authentic kitchen settings, I just don't know. Looking For CluesI am questioning if the car is a Borgward. My clue is the point where the roof meets the door and edge of windshield. That rules out Plymouth, Hudson Jet, Crosley, US Ford, Ford Anglia or Prefect. All those cars have a rounded corner. How much curve is in the edge of that windshield is a clue too. It wraps pretty far for its era. The left edge of the door's window makes me wonder if this car has something other than roll up and down windows. That is why I am wondering if it is an import, not a US car. But I can not really tell if that is a slide mechanism on that window or just some reflection. [Looks like a '55 Plymouth to me. - Dave] I am also questioning if this location is a Levittown. Levittown houses had kitchens at the front, and some models had that floor to ceiling window with this same 2 by 4 framing, and the slider on the top row. Sure looks like a Levitt kitchen window. Milk carton?I was also intrigued by the package on the table, and looked up old milk cartons. I think this is the type shown, and the carton has a dairy name on it; something like Grandview. Box 'O MilkThat's a carton of milk from the Grandview Dairy. The cartons had one corner that would lift to pour out the contents. Even the small half-pints of milk in school had these flat tops. Milk Cartons Into ToysThose boxy milk cartons must have been very common in those days. In Northern California (East Bay) where I grew up, one of the dairies had the cartons printed up like railroad cars and one a diesel locomotive. The "wheels" were printed flat on the bottom -- you were supposed to cut them out and fold them down to finish the car or locomotive. Neat stuff for a poor kid. Levitt RanchThe home in the background, over the roof of the car, is definitely a Levitt Ranch. I owned one for 4 years in the late 80's, in Levittown, NY. The main clue is the chimney in the center of the house. The homes had the furnace in the kitchen, under a removable cover. Adjacent to the furnace was a 2 sided fireplace facing the kitchen and the living room. These homes were built with car ports most of which were converted to garages. Here's a street view of the one I owned, 26 years after I sold it. It was a wreck when I sold it, and doesn't look a bit different. goo.gl/7B46DV HubcapsCall it what you will, but the buggy has 1955 Plymouth hubcaps on it. At least one anyway. Agreed, Plymouth & Levittown NYThat the hubcap matches Plymouth seals the deal, even though that car does not have the stainless strip. Obviously Dave and Fanhead are correct. And dang the collective brain is good when it comes to figuring out geographic locations. Forget the CIA. The Shorpy collective can solve anything. Milk cartonMy dad was a home-delivery milkman from the early 50's to the early 1960's and when milk started coming in cartons, the smaller ones opened the way the one in the photo does - you would peel up the tinfoil at the corner and then peel back the corners of the top. I don't think he ever delivered gallons or half gallons in cartons, when he was in the business it was always glass. TrimlessThe side trim on a base Plaza wasn't standard—of course, neither were full wheel covers, but factory literature didn't show the smaller hubcaps. (Kids, Kitchens etc., LOOK)
The Rainbow Market: 1955
April 21, 1955. Inside the Rainbow Market in Larkspur, Calif. After my father sold his ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 11/10/2010 - 11:48pm -

April 21, 1955. Inside the Rainbow Market in Larkspur, Calif. After my father sold his store in San Francisco, he worked here in one of our home town's two grocery stores for a few years. That's him in a white apron at the end of the aisle. The exterior of the building can be seen here. My brother also took this shot while he was at it, also on 35mm Tri-X. View full size. Coca-ColaI'd love to have some of that old-fashioned Coke in a bottle. Glass is so much classier than plastic. Tastes better tooSomehow Coke - or any soft drink - tastes better out of a glass bottle than it ever does out of a plastic bottle, or worse a can. Don't ask me why but it does. Hamm'sIs that "FROM THE LAD OF SKY BLUE WATERS" Hamm's Beer in the lower left hand corner?? [Land, not Lad. - Dave] Wonderful Tri-X Grain and Real CokeCoca-Cola with no high-fructose corn syrup, just cane sugar, in thick green glass, probably with some city's name on the bottom, -- and the wonderful grain of Tri-X Pan...I can forgive the blown highlights from shooting inside towards the outside. Kosher CokeIf you want to taste what Coke used to be, find some kosher Coca-Cola that is made only during Passover season. It is available in big cities, particularly in the Northeast. Safeway in the D.C. area carries it. It's made with cane sugar. Hamm'sI remember Hamm's beer advertising with a cartoon panda when I was very little in the late 70s-early 80s. Now such advertising that appeals to kids would be controversial, but they were out of business long before I was old enough to drink and I became definitely a wine, not beer, kind of person. Nonetheless, this comment has got that jingle stuck firmly in my head. OU-P CokeAll Coke is Kosher, even the high-fructose corn syrup version. What you want is "Kosher for Passover Coke." It usually has a yellow cap and occasionally Hebrew lettering on the top. It will have "OU-P" on it somewhere. The OU signifies Kosher according to the Orthodox Union and the P meaning Passover. KJBS RadioHas an interesting history. They started small, but achieved many broadcasting "firsts". I love that old Tri-X, too, grain and all. I used it years ago to shoot high school football and basketball games for my hometown newspaper. Cane Sugar CokeDon't ask me why but Mexican Coca-Cola is sold in glass bottles and is only made with cane sugar. Even stranger, It seems to be fairly easy to obtain in the US. Most Hispanic grocers carry the stuff. Heck, I have two sources readily available to me here in South Dakota. And the previous comments are true: Once you drink Cane Sugar Coke out of a glass bottle, the "other stuff" loses much of its appeal. Love this site! Coke from Latin AmericaMy local corner ethnic grocery carries both Coke and Pepsi in glass bottles (imported from Mexico I think). I must admit I didn't notice much of a difference when I sampled the Coke, cane sugar and all, from the plastic bottle variety. I too seem to remember both Coke (and frozen custard) to be a lot better when I was young. But it was probably just the rarity of sampling that made them so delicious... Tri-X and HammsThe highlights aren't as blown in the original neg. I boosted the contrast to give more oomph to the interior. Here's a detail looking through the front window, also a closer view of my father, and the guy partially obscured on the right is Ernie Epidendio, the owner of the Rainbow Market, manning the cash register. The gal reading the magazine or paper looks like she stepped out of one of those 1950s ads over on Plan59, and there's something about her kid that makes me think he might be in a Cub Scouts uniform. Oh, and that animated creature in the Hamms beer TV commercials wasn't supposed to be a panda, but a bear of one North American species or another. The Land of Sky Blue Waters was in Minnesota, not China. The Beer Refreshing Soda In Glass BottlesSoda in glass bottles can still be found in many parts of the U.S. For a location near you, check out www.glassbottlesoda.org/ I'm lucky to live near Winona, Minnesota, which has one of the last bottling plants in America still producing Coke in bottles. Coke in AustraliaYou can still buy Coca-Cola in Australia in a glass bottle, it costs more than a can or plastic, but if you want it you can still get it. The Real Thingis Coca-Cola made with cane sugar, and Tri-X developed in Microdol at 3 to 1. Eleven Cellars wine99 cents a bottle -- is that an early hobo brand? (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Stores & Markets, tterrapix)
The Big Sleep: 1955
... over the years. Herewith we present his latest, from 1955. It's February 1955, and as I, their delightful little brother, slumber peacefully, one of my ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 02/15/2017 - 8:37pm -

        A huge chunk of Shorpy is devoted to Member Photos. tterrace, Principal Panjandrum of the Shorpy Department of Comments and User Submissions, has contributed dozens over the years. Herewith we present his latest, from 1955. It's February 1955, and as I, their delightful little brother, slumber peacefully, one of my sneaky siblings takes this photo. They did this a number of times, always finding great amusement in contrasting the uncharacteristic serenity I exhibited in my sleeping vs. waking state. Ha ha. View full size. TroubleEven in your sleep you have that trouble look. I really don't see serenity. I see sleeping trouble. I would have loved that wallpaper as a kid in that day and age. Unfortunately, growing up overseas, we did not have access to it. My wallpaperIn color. Changed my mindNow I want a pair of Kermy's striped chairs and several rolls of that wallpaper, please. And someone to put it on my bedroom wall for me. And that's all I need. Fun PajamasI can see a guitar and rope on the pajamas. What else decorated them? Maybe a cowboy theme, with some horses and guns? [Cowboy-themed PJs at this point in my life is highly plausible. -tterrace] (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
La Dolce Vespa: 1955
July 1955. "Vespa motor scooters in Rome, Italy." From photos taken for Look ... Is Cinerama opened at the Sistina Cinema on June 28, 1955 and played for 49 weeks. Other films: L'ultimo ponte , a 1954 ... The bike with the tag numbered 4951 appears to be a 1955 MV Agusta 125 cc TR. Power came from a single cylinder four stroke. Race ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/20/2015 - 6:18pm -

July 1955. "Vespa motor scooters in Rome, Italy." From photos taken for Look magazine. View full size. Hype, Italian Style"You will be torn from your seats - Taken into the screen - Become actors in the film!" sez the Cinerama posters. This Is Cinerama opened at the Sistina Cinema on June 28, 1955 and played for 49 weeks. Other films: L'ultimo ponte, a 1954 Austrian production released as Die letzte Brücke and later in 1957 in the US as The Last Bridge; Operazione Mitra (1951); Le vacanze del Sor Clemente (1954). Steve Barclay of Operazione Mitra was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1918, had minor roles in US films in the 40s, then apparently worked exclusively in Italy starting 1949, even once co-starring with Sophia Loren. IMDb lists his last film in 1956, and his death in 1994 in Rome. I couldn't find if he rode a Vespa. Wasp MinorityLambrettas outnumber the Vespas (Italian for wasp). There are two LDs and a naked D along with the Benelli, the MV and the mystery bike at the end MV AgustaThe bike with the tag numbered 4951 appears to be a 1955 MV Agusta 125 cc TR. Power came from a single cylinder four stroke. Race prepared MV Agustas were formidable competitors well before 1955, and the brand is still available today. The Sweet WaspI bought a (new) red 1965 Vespa when I was in high school...not much different from the ones pictured here - cost a little over $300, and it's still in the family! Nice to see these '50's models with original, authentic Italian accessories. LOVE the roll bars on the Vespa in the center. Wish I'd had a set on mine...(ouch!) Here's mineI bought mine from Sears, Roebuck & Co. about 1962 for about $300. Repaid my dad with earnings from a Roswell Daily Record paper route. LambrettaI have a 64 Lambretta that I rebuilt from a barn recovery...It'll get refreshed this winter... (The Gallery, LOOK, Motorcycles, Movies)
The Boy Can't Help It: 1955
... this photo of my brother was taken on Friday, April 15, 1955 at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California on Kodak Tri-X film ... What, no smoking in the boys room section in the 1955 yearbook? I'll bet more classmates did that than played football. ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 6:07pm -

Other than the fact that this photo of my brother was taken on Friday, April 15, 1955 at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California on Kodak Tri-X film exposed for 1/25th of a second at f4.5 with a Lordox 35mm camera, I know nothing about it. Except that it wasn't used in the yearbook. BTW, got a match? Smokin in the boy's roomSo why were you two taking pictures in the restroom? I'd be a bit concerned if I came in and somebody had a camera. Balls of Fire!That was the code phrase at Ellensburg High School in 1969, which meant that a female teacher had been spotted walking toward the girls' restroom. The cigarette that was being shared by several girls was then quickly flushed. None of the teachers were anosmatic, of course, but that got rid of the physical part of the evidence! The first high school I went to, at Fort Knox, had a smoking area across the street from the school. If you were at least 15 and had a note on file in the office from your parents, saying that it was OK for you smoke, you were welcome to go there when you weren't supposed to be in class. 30 years later, my son, at 16, got a ticket for "possession of tobacco" and had to go to juvenile court! Your Brother WillFe-fe, fi-fi, fo-fo, fum I smell smoke in the auditorium Brother Will, Brother Will He's a clown, that Brother Will. He's gonna get caught Just you wait and see (Why's everybody always pickin' on Will JD for certainLooks like one of those juvenile delinquents we were warned about in the 50s. Smokin' In the Boy's RoomSounds like the makings of a good 50's rock song. Check outthe big waterfall to the right. Every married woman in the world want's one of those installed. No boy's room for us...I did time at a private college prep school a decade after your brother, and we didn't have to smoke on the sly. We were allowed to smoke on a covered porch next to the cafeteria. I actually made it through four years and graduated from there in 1968. I doubt that the sanctioned smoking continued much past that... I smoked my share of those things, along with some cigars and a lot of pipes as well. I smoked my last cigarette thirty years ago last February. That's Toadfrom "American Graffiti" Brownsville StationSitting in the classroom Thinking it's a drag Listening to the teacher rap Just ain't my bag The noon bells ring You know that's my cue I'm gonna meet the boys On floor number two! Smokin' in the boys' room Smokin' in the boys' room Now, teacher, don't you fill me up with your rules But everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school. Smokin' in the Boys' RoomTeacher don't you fill me up with your rules; everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school! SmokingWhat, no smoking in the boys room section in the 1955 yearbook? I'll bet more classmates did that than played football. Lordox 35mmMercy, I had never heard of such. All I know now is that is was a German camera. I doubt I’d swop it for my ’55 double-stroke M-3 however. Risky BusinessFor some of that era, this was as bad as it got. Just don't light the filter, that's bad for your health. Smoking?I graduated from a Catholic High School in 1956---no smoking in the "John" in those days and we respected the rules. We did some other dumb things, though. Uh-ohJust wait till the Sisters see this. My smokin' brotherA little more background: the film designation comes right off the edge markings of the negative. We also have an original print, and my brother had recorded the date and exposure info on the back. I didn't take it myself, one of his MCHS confrères did. At the time I was an innocent lad of 8. I was aware of the photo early on, though, but until recently thought it was just an arranged gag shot - reinforced by the fact that the cig is obviously not lit. Possibly it was, but I've since learned that Respected Elder Brother was not entirely unfamiliar with inhalation back then. When he took up a pipe in college a couple years later, and openly smoked it in the familial presence, that somehow seemed so much more respectable. Rip Tragle: thanks for the Lordox image. Below is my brother's actual camera. Pretty sure it came through the Montgomery Ward catalog. Weird globular object in the background is a self-illuminating slide viewer. Pressing the slide down in the slot activated the internal lamp. I had completely forgotten about it until just now. Coffin NailsI'm sure that one of the reasons my mother and father lived such a long a life (103 & 97 years) was that they never smoked. Whatever the reason, either they didn't like to smoke or just wouldn't spend the money on it. My brother and I grew up in a home with no ashtrays. However, if there would have been a World Series or Championship Tournament for smokers, we could have been contenders. Fortunately, we got the message about 30 years ago and quit for good. Dual PurposeIt occurs to me that Daves "Smoke on the Water " caption could also be used on this pic as well. Look AgainIn the Lordox portrait, and tell us if that's not the reflective bowl of a camera flash, with a 5B flashbulb ready to pop. Evolution of SmokingWhen I was in 7th grade, (1969-70), I went to a private school and one of our teachers smoked in the classroom while he taught. It was allowed. Later, in public high school, they had ashtrays outside of the doors for students who wanted to smoke. Times sure do change. Now it's probably back to smoking in the boys' room again. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Vern & Mike: 1955
"Vern & Mike 1955 Worthington" is all it says here. Whatever you boys are doing, stop it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2022 - 10:19am -

"Vern & Mike 1955 Worthington" is all it says here. Whatever you boys are doing, stop it this instant! Blurry 35mm Kodachrome probably taken by Mom or Dad. View full size. Looks to me like Rick and Marty Lagina starting their search on Oak Island. It's a Bobby Dazzler ... Hey Vern, it's Ernest!Vern was listed as the 13,698th most popular boy baby's name in 2021. The decline has been steady for over a century, but it appeared to hit its nadir about the time of the one-season 1988 CBS program "Hey Vern, It's Ernest!" Stand By MeThis photo, and the lads within, immediately reminded me of a scene in the 1986 coming of age film Stand By Me. "Vern" Tessio, played by Jerry O'Connell, is desperately digging under his front porch for a quart jar of pennies he buried there at the beginning of the school year! Hey!They found Timmy! Boys are easier to raise than girlsAt least that's what Erma Bombeck said. She said with boys at least you know exactly where you stand -- in the path of a hurricane. She gave the example of, when you hear a noise upstairs and you call up to a bunch of boys, "What are you boys doing up there?", they'll yell down, "We dropped the cat down the laundry chute. It was cool!" But when you hear a noise upstairs and call up to a bunch of girls, "What are you girls doing up there?", they'll yell down, "Nothing." And you have no idea what they're up to. It's interesting that, when I tell that story to women, they almost always beat me to the punchline. Whatever they're doing ...I bet it involves matches. Great commentsHad a good laugh at the comments by rgraham and doug floor plan. Agree there's probably an exciting plan to set fire to that pile of stuff, and the idea of sending a hapless pussy cat down the laundry chute is at once hilarious, typical of what boys would do, and fully empathetic towards the terrified kitty. (Kids, Wisconsin Kodachromes)
Boy Cave: 1955
... in his half of the bedroom we shared. At the time - May 1955 - he was 17, I was 8. Later that year he'd be off to college, but the room ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 6:14pm -

My brother, via self-timer, in his half of the bedroom we shared. At the time - May 1955 - he was 17, I was 8. Later that year he'd be off to college, but the room didn't become completely my domain until he moved into our sister's when she married in 1958. Here the only sign of my occupancy is at the lower left, part of the disorganized agglomeration of junk I always had covering the child's table I called my desk. On the wall, the incongruous juxtaposition of a holy water font and a protractor. I can't remember if the former ever actually held any holy water; on the other hand, you never can tell when you might need to draw a circle. The chart shows U.S. mineral distribution. On the side shelves of his desk, stacks of science and nature guidebooks, including some Golden Nature Guides which later became mine. I still have them. The photo tacked to the upper right corner of his bulletin board is a collage of two other Tri-X shots he took in his high school classrooms. Yes, we still have that too, complete with the original Scotch tape. There are also several 35mm film canisters on the desk - metal ones, remember? I think he took this with bounce floodlight; it looks too bright for the room's normal illumination. Note the complete absence of rock band, supermodel, sports and movie posters. Yes, it was a different world. View full size. Conformal Posture"Ma! You don't want me to slouch, then fix the ceiling in our bedroom." (Smack!) NerdlandReminds me of my bedroom about ten years later: upstairs with sloped ceiling, technical/non-art tacked on the ceiling, science books. Brother's photoThat print stuck at the upper right of his bulletin board. The fact that this teacher's initials were G.O.D. was a source of much amusement, I understand. Timer PhotosWhen ever a self timer was used, folks try to act as if it's a purely candid shot. Great picture. And, back in the day, I would have loved that wallpaper with the P-38 too. Alternate Title"Self-Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (About to be Farked and/or Colorized)." P-38 Sighting?Looks like a P-38 on the wall above your brother's head, and some other planes about? If that was fighter plane wallpaper, I'm jealous. Degrees vs CirclesMethinks that the object hanging on the wall is a compass and as you noted is used for drawing circles. A protractor is used to measure degrees of an arc forming part of a circle. Cozy BedroomI love the nautical bedspread and lampshade. That wallpaper looks familiar! Boy Cave todayMy brother just found this listing for a rental of our old home. Much changed inside, but still recognizable. There's one shot of our old bedroom, the 9th thumbnail: Start slideshow. Great house!I checked out the realtor's photos -- what a great house! I think you should buy it back. Realtor RealityThe poor Realtors who have your old home listed are going to have one heck of a mystery as to why this particular property receives an incledible number of views this week! LOL! 9 Arch StreetLast sold for $1.175 million, November 2005. "Terraced grounds" (well of course they are). Property taxes a mere $11,000 per annum. Alas, the Salmon Kitchen has been replaced by a "chef's kitchen." Living room invaded by Giant Slipcovered Ghost Furniture. Rod SerlingI think he would appreciate the surreal nature of this posting; to find your house on Shorpy while, in its moderne duds, listed for rent 56 years later. Great coincidence. Lost its charmAlthough someone put a lot of money into fixing up the place, they have only succeeded in stripping it of its original character and warmth. [As a great statesman once said: I have a dream house. What if the place were purchased by the Shorpy Trust for Historic Rustication. We'd buy it back and hire tterrace as the curator and resident guide, tasked with restoring the house to its former grandeur. Sell all that Martha Stewart froufrou on eBay or trade it for some decent 1950s appliances and period furniture. Unfortunately the Trust is woefully underendowed. Who wants to chip in? - Dave] re: Lost its charmHoly mackerel, home furniture inflation has been almost as dramatic as home price inflation. The only room that seems less overwhelmed by the contents is my old video room in the basement (below in 1979). Interestingly, the cabinet, shelves and even the shelf brackets are the same ones. I've actually long indulged in the fantasy of somehow (by winning the lottery?) reclaiming 9 Arch and restoring it, along with my father's garden, to precisely the way it was in, perhaps 1960. 9 Arch Then and NowHere's a short slideshow using images from the real estate listing and vintage shots from our collection: http://tinyurl.com/3kk36xu A House is not a HomeLast July, 2010, I had occasion to visit my old hometown and driving by my childhood home, was astounded to see that it too was for sale and vacant. Since nobody was living there, my family and I parked and went around the entire house peering into all the windows to see the changes in the last fifteen years since my mom died and it was sold. She had lived there 54 years, from the time she was 33 until she was almost 86 and it was always the place where everyone wanted to spend time, holidays, vacations and even just visit for a cup of coffee or tea and chitchat and always, always lots of laughter. Needless to say, the place had been "updated" and stripped of its warmth and frankly looked like very bastardized architecture. The rooms were modernized, yet strangely appeared cold and the huge vegetable and flower gardens were all sodded and as slick as a golf course. The interior was without a heart or soul and the cozy familiarity had been completely stripped out, leaving me missing most the occupants who made it what it once was. I would not want the house the way it is now because there is nobody I love inside and nobody I know to greet me; it is just a house. The people who dwell within are what makes it so much more. Like the poet said "You can't go home again." I do keep it all intact in my memory as I keep all my most valuable and priceless treasures. Tterrace has once again tugged at everyone's heartstrings with yet another outstanding presentation of life's 'moments in time' that we can all identify with. As Bob Hope said, thanks for the memories. Nobody can take them from you. The FurnitureI suspect the house has been professionally "dressed," with the furniture, throw rugs and wall hangings to make it more enticing to prospects. Thanks, tterraceYour contributions to Shorpy's are wonderful. I was born in 1941 so we are pretty much contemporaries. These are great memories; keep up the good work. Thanks to you too Dave for giving TT plenty of space. Thanks JohnHowardYour comment about the temporary professional furniture dressing probably explains the missing wrought iron railing on the landing at the bottom of the stairs. It was probably removed to facilitate getting the furniture to the upstairs. I was wondering why the railing was missing in that photo and thought it a bit unusual as well as unsafe. When does the TTerrance coffee table book come out?"TTerrace: An American Century" A Different WorldYes, it was a different world. It was when boys were boys and Men were really MEN. Somehow the lines have been blurred since then. Only my humble opinion. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Cadillac Garage: 1955
Circa 1955, our second example from a series of 8x10 photos labeled "Cadillac ... was in the trunk. The picture could very well be in 1955 because the '56 models debuted in September of 1955. Don't make her angry I got a total "Christine" vibe from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/02/2012 - 4:03pm -

Circa 1955, our second example from a series of 8x10 photos labeled "Cadillac 1951-56" and bearing a "Ford Styling, Dearborn" ink stamp. View full size. A Pretty GrilleThis picture takes me back. I saw the front of this Cadillac and thought to myself that it was a 1956. My mother had one and I learned to drive it. It was big and smooth. Drove like a flying carpet. The air conditioning was in the trunk. The picture could very well be in 1955 because the '56 models debuted in September of 1955. Don't make her angryI got a total "Christine" vibe from this series. Labor IntensityWhen I see something automotive from that era I think of the number of discrete parts which made up, say, the grille/front end, and how much effort that took in the assembly phase. As labor costs have risen, the number of parts that meet on the assembly line has been reduced to a trivial portion of what went into one of these behemoths. Grrrr!Ah, yes, back when cars had faces (or perhaps grimaces, as in this case). The stark dead-on view adds to the menace. I'm told that those big chromed lumps on either side of the grill were called "Dagmars" in tribute to the, um, physical attributes of a popular TV performer of the period. These examples, however, look more like big tusks of some sort. Cadillac vs. LincolnI love Cadillacs, but I have to say that the 1956 Lincolns were much more modern looking. Caddy optionsAs arizonacal pointed out, the optional air conditioning unit was in the trunk of these vehicles. Fresh air was supplied to the unit via two intake vents, one each on the exterior sides of the rear window (visible in the previous image of the 56 Eldo). Cold air was passed into the passenger compartment from the trunk area via two clear plastic ducts, visible in this picture on each side of the rear seat. Absent on this 56 but visible on the Eldo is the optional Autronic Eye automatic headlight dimmer. (It’s hard to imagine that guys were paid to sit around and think up these weird product names.) The device didn’t last long and soon went the way of Packard’s radar brake. There seems to be more than a little interest in the 54 in the background. [Note that the Eldorado sports the AC intakes but not the plastic ducts, which were used only in sedans. -Dave] Last Year, First Year1956 represented the last year of a three-year styling cycle for Cadillac that began with the 1954 model. It was also the first year that the revolutionary new-in-1949 overhead valve V-8 received a displacement increase from 331 to 365 cubic inches, also increasing horsepower to 265 and 300 for engines equipped with the two four-barrel carburetors, standard equipment on Eldorados and optional on all other models. The four-speed Hydra-Matic, called Jetaway, also received a thorough revamping and the addition of a Park position on its shift quadrant. Here's my own 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Although it is a de Ville, it was ordered with every available 1956 option, including a special-order interior and the Eldorado engine and wheels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFfHT50s7-4&feature=plcp From Autronic Eye, to Guide-MaticAutronic Eye became Guide-Matic (so called because it was designed and manufactured by GM's Guide Lamp division) in 1958. It utilized a much slimmer dash-mounted photoelectric sensor, and added a knob on the back for adjusting its sensitivity. Later in the '60s, the sensor moved into the grille, and the adjustment was through a ring around the headlight switch knob. Autronic Eye, and later Guide-Matic, were also available for many years on other GM makes (even Chevrolet), but it's most commonly seen on Cadillacs. [Autronic Eye became Guide-Matic for the 1960 model year. This GM product was also offered on Ford cars starting with the 1957 Lincoln. - Dave] Absolutely Stunning CadillacVictrolaJazz, your Cadillac is so beautiful and in such lovely condition. The interior is astonishing; I've never seen a leather interior to match it. The red interior with the white exterior make a super attractive combination. You are a lucky man to have such a car, and you are to be commended for sharing your car with us. What a stunner!!! Fifties ACMy mom had a 1957 Lincoln with AC in the trunk. It could probably have made ice cubes, but didn't dehumidify the air too well. When was really hot and humid outside,it would actually snow inside the car. We thought that was a lot of fun - snow in the middle of an Oklahoma summer! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos)
A Wedding: 1955
From the Linda Kodachromes comes this circa 1955 slide labeled "Wedding." We hear the deviled eggs in the reception hall ... see a lot of similarities with my grandparent's wedding in 1955. Of course, being Catholic, my grandmother's 'princess' dress covered from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2013 - 2:26am -

From the Linda Kodachromes comes this circa 1955 slide labeled "Wedding." We hear the deviled eggs in the reception hall are first-rate. View full size. My take on the familiesThe groom's parents standing on our right are looking a lot happier than the bride's parents. I surmise they gave birth to the groom because he looks like a perfect balance of genetic material from each of them, i.e. Mom's robust cheeks and Dad's easy smile. The bride's parents on the other hand seem quite solemn and resigned, keeping a stiff upper lip while thinking about the cost of the wedding. Colour CodingFrom the left: Bridesmaid, Bridesmaid, Maid of Honour (or Matron of Honour). Note - I'm from Canada - that's the way we spell honour! Pink & BlueIt wouldn't be uncommon for the maid of honor to be designated in some special way like that - a different-colored dress, a different, more elaborate bouquet, different jewelry. Isn't It Obvious?Clearly, the blue dress goes to the shortest one. And, by the way, the groom's mother is very attractive and bears a striking resemblance to a famous person I can't quite put my finger on. Saving dental and optometrist billsI hope their children got his straight teeth and her eyesight! Muffed ItThe vestigal muffs worn with summer dresses are an oddity beyond compare. I fervently hope that the bride's children found photos of this wedding when they were old enough to be at war with their parents over bell bottoms. The mouths have itMy guess is that the Maid/Matron of Honor is the sister of the bride. Assuming that the bride's parents are to her right, the mother of the bride (black hat) and the Maid of Honor have strikingly similar "smiles." WowA Frasier episode I watched recently concerned a wedding. One line was "Bridesmaids' dresses are always ugly to make the bride more beautiful!" I guess it's true. Payment Due Upon Receipt Looks like the Father Of The Bride is holding the Caterer's invoice in his right hand. The bride's parentsI think they're on the far right. They're usually the host and hostess for the wedding, so they'd be first in the receiving line to greet their guests. [Family resemblance would seem to indicate otherwise. - Dave] Groom's MotherShe could be Lee Remick on a high dosage of hydrocortisone. That famous resemblanceof the groom's mother is, I believe, to Ingrid Bergman. It's those apple cheeks. Emily Post would be disappointedAccording to Emily Post's 1969 edition of Etiquette page 401, the receiving line consists of the Mother of the Bride, the Mother of the Groom, the bridal couple with the Bride on the Groom's right, The Maid/Matron of Honor, and the bridesmaids in order of height. The two fathers walk about together (in jolly camaraderie, no doubt). The Best Man and Ushers (they are not properly called Groomsmen) do not join the receiving line (to their great relief, no doubt). And, of course, the bride's family's butler is at the head of the line to announce aloud the names of the guests. GlassesAll of the men here and none of the women, except for the maid of honor, are wearing glasses. Did the women just have better eyesight? Or was it vanity? Until she was fairly old, my mother did not like being photographed wearing her glasses. Just wondering. ClassicI see a lot of similarities with my grandparent's wedding in 1955. Of course, being Catholic, my grandmother's 'princess' dress covered from neck to wrist. The bridesmaids dresses looked a lot like these, though, and the maid of honor also had a different colored dress. However, instead of matching the flowers to the bridesmaid dresses, they had alternating colors- pink bouquets for the ones in green, and a greenish bouquet for the one in pink. (Of course, I'm judging the colors from some very questionable Kodachrome snapshots- the official photos were black and white, of course.) A Family AffairThe gene pool is clear. From left to right - younger sister of the bride (same mouth), sister of the groom (looks just like the groom's mother), older sister of the bride (a dead-on younger version of the bride's mother), father & mother of the bride (Dad is thinking oy vey one down, two to go), bride, groom, groom's mother (Jane Wyatt's doppelganger) and father, who are very happy and looking forward to either the highballs or grand kids to come. (Linda Kodachromes, Weddings)
Happy Birthday to Me: 1955
August 15, 1955. My ninth birthday. In answer to my request, we had turkey with all the ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:07pm -

August 15, 1955. My ninth birthday. In answer to my request, we had turkey with all the trimmings. I'm pretending to carve. The camera this was taken with was probably a birthday present, thereby starting me on my road to photographic immortality. Poetic justice that the shot's out of focus. Gobble gobble. Apotheosis Jr.Who is now the top Google hit for "Apotheosis of Seventies Hotness"? Mr. tterrace himself! Clapclapclap. Hang in There KidIn a mere 20 years you will be the apotheosis of Seventies Hotness! Happy Happy Birthday Birthday TT!Since this picture (and many of your others) remind me so much of the kid from the movie The Sandlot, you know - the one with the glasses - I hope you get a "magic moment" smooch from the hot lifeguardette at the pool! We could personalize 'em!Match everybody up to the 'toon we think they look like! Yeah! That's the ticket! Happy B-Day!I love that your mom made you a full-on T-giving dinner AND a cake on your b-day. Now that's love! Happy birthday, thanks for sharing your wonderful photos! Happy Birthday to YooooHey gang -- it's tterrace's birthday! Or yesterday was tterrace's birthday! Everyone wish him a happy ninth. You can pile your gifts on the dining room table. I got TT a Hubley Atomic Disintegrator. Promise you won't try it out on the cat. (The "Sister" setting, btw, is 500.) Hey Kids!I have a great idea! Funny paper party hats! And by that I mean party hats made from the funny papers! (Why are you all looking at me that way? It'll be superfun. Really!) Good trees bear good fruitHappy Birthday and many, many more tterrace. It is apparent that you were raised by a very nurturing and responsible mom and dad, as it is no small task to prep a full-scale turkey dinner with all the trimmings and a homemade birthday cake as well. Your parents love has created a wonderful human being with talent, decency, a good sense of humor, a hard worker and a person who is happy to SHARE with everybody, strangers included. Thank you for the pleasure of giving all of us glimpses of our old memories in photographs, thanks for all you do and for being YOU. Have a joy-filled and fulfilling year and be proud of yourself and your fine family. We appreciate you. Better Late Than NeverI always seem to miss the birthdays, but this present is worth the wait. Here ya go TT, after all, what's Hubley Atomic Disintegrator without your trusty Spacenik Space Helmet for protection? Wiggly antennae included! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! Happy B-Day to TT!The official Terwilliker School 5,000-finger salute to tterrace! ["The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T" is a great movie! Did TT see "T" when it came out in 1953? - Dave] Because We're KidsI missed out on "Dr. T" when it came out; indeed, I never even heard of it until it started showing up on TV in the 80s, when I taped it. Then I got the laserdisc. That's all I have now since I'm too cheap to pop for the new super-duper DVD transfer because it's in a Stanley Kramer collection with other films I don't want. (Hmm.. should have asked for that for my birthday.) Back in the day, my brother was taking me to things like "Rear Window." About the cranberry sauce: note that it's the jelly version, as per my specifications. The other kind, y'know, the one that's all lumpy - well, it's got bits and junk in it. The bowl on the right has olives, the black kind, not the yucky green ones. I asked for those, too. [The DVD is on Amazon for $11.99. I have it and the transfer is first-rate. Re the Kramer Collection -- I don't have it but "The Member of the Wedding" was a really great movie. And short story. - Dave] Gee whillikers!!!This was the best birthday a kid ever had! Thanks, everybody! I used the Atomic Disintegrator on my sister's boyfriend, and it worked! I never saw him again! My sister says it was because of the way I kept kicking him in the shins, but she can't fool me. Help with the MenuIs that cranberry sauce in the dish in the foreground? Awesome. "She's-a-her birthday, too!"Dave, looking at your photos makes me wish I had lived your life! This is a great photo. And those drapes!~ [Dave did not post this photo. That's not me. Thank tterrace. - Dave] Poster BoysOh, I still don't really know how this site works. I thought you posted all the photos and they were all of you. Sorry. [Look up where it says "submitted by" above the pictures. That's how you can tell. - Dave] Your mom REALLY loved you!Why? Because she cooked a turkey in AUGUST! Remember the summer heat in pre-a/c days? I want to know if you got a Davy Crockett coonskin cap. Maybe something from Howdy Doody? Roy Rogers? How about lots of space toys. WHAT did you get??? (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, tterrapix)
Perfect Pancakes: 195X
... see on the billboard. [Billboard Betty is the 1955 version painted by Hilda Taylor. - Dave] From 1949 to 1964, Betty ... on the Art Linkletter "House Party" TV show. Betty 1955 I went to the gallery of the various Betty Crockers in the link ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/04/2021 - 1:21pm -

Los Angeles circa 1954-57. "Betty Crocker promises you perfect pancakes." No. 2 in series of billboard photos from the files of Pacific Outdoor Advertising. View full size. Betty, is that you?In 1936, Neysa McMein created the first official portrait of Betty, a composite painting that blended the facial features of the female staff in Washburn-Crosby's home service department. (Washburn-Crosby was a predecessor of General Mills.) I suspect that's the Betty see on the billboard. [Billboard Betty is the 1955 version painted by Hilda Taylor. - Dave] From 1949 to 1964, Betty was portrayed on television by actress Adelaide Hawley Cumming. I don't see any resemblance between Adelaide and the Betty on the billboard. UncoloredNote the greying at the temples of Betty Crocker. I imagine this confers gravitas and conveys authority in the kitchen. I guess you want pancakes from your mother or even grandmother rather than from your girlfriend fresh out of Home Ec. BETTY GOT BETTERThe Anacin must have worked. I’m pretty sure that was Betty on that earlier sign; you know — with the headache. Now she’s rested (well, there’s still a little tension in the face), composed and ready to push the pancakes. Let’s hear it for over-the-counter relief! Pancakes!Better than Anacin for nervous anxiety. I love this threadI have hand painted many billboards in my career (pre digital) and absolutely love this series. Many people might not realize that in the old days there were men and women who would actually lay out and paint these things. These would be designed in color, to scale (usually), approved and given to the painters to produce. These could be 20 feet tall and possibly 60 feet long. The backgrounds would be painted white prior to your arrival, so you could break out the chalk, snapline and yardsticks and get to work. Most were produced indoors, yet working on location was not uncommon. Just wish these were in color. Wonderful stuff. Same billboard!Neato! Same billboard as the Anacin babe. Where will Number 3 be? Betty on TVBack in those days there was an actress who played Betty Crocker to do commercials on the Art Linkletter "House Party" TV show. Betty 1955I went to the gallery of the various Betty Crockers in the link provided by Dave in the comment of Sewickley. I prefer the smiling woman to the one on the billboard. Picture perfectGood thing this artist and the one doing the Anacin billboard didn't switch places midway. Just imagine -- (Billboards, Kitchens etc., Los Angeles)
Candid Living Room: 1955
... available light shot on 35mm Kodak Tri-X on April 21, 1955. Newspapers strewn around on the floor; my mother in her ubiquitous apron ... Walls and ceilings This house was built before 1955 before the era of drywall construction. This looks just like the living ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 5:01pm -

Previously in our living room we saw what it looked like with the family dressed up and posed formally. Here's what real, every-day life was like, captured by my brother in this candid, available light shot on 35mm Kodak Tri-X on April 21, 1955. Newspapers strewn around on the floor; my mother in her ubiquitous apron with her hair up in curlers; Father with his slippers kicked off, looking up from his paper (looks like our local Marin County daily, the San Rafael Independent-Journal) across the room at the TV. What that giant pile of stuff is next to my mother I haven't been able to figure out; some big, fabric-related project of hers perhaps. Where am I? My guess: behind my brother, on the floor, eyes glued to the TV. View full size. Adopt MeI think you have the all American family. If I could go back in time, do you think you mom and dad would adopt me? Tell us more about your parents. What did your dad do for a living? Did mom work (of course, being a mom is a full time job). Father Knows BestDid you grow up on a sitcom soundstage? Or is there a ceiling up there somewhere? Don't Touch That Dial"It's the the Tterrace Show, sponsored by the North American Lighting and Lamp Council, in cooperation with the California Curtain Advisory Board!" The BeavYour name wouldn't be Cleaver would it? Going somewhere?Why did moms always have a head full of rollers or pin curls? I thought the point back then was to look good for your man when he got home, but I remember my mother with a never-ending head scarf and picky, picky bobby pins underneath it. ChairwomanI think the fabric is upholstery fabric. It looks like there are some springs and arm rests underneath the fabric, so I suspect that your mom was upholstering a chair! Judge not, lest ye be judgedStyles at that time required curling of the hair so when did you do it? Like many women, I worked outside the home so, even worse than wearing pins during the day, I rolled my hair at night and had to sleep on the things not to mention that my new husband had to sleep with them too. When curling irons came back on the scene, now electric, out went the curlers. Leave It to TterraceNice observation, Anonymous. That piece of trim that fakes the viewer into thinking it's a ceiling is the first thing I usually notice when watching sitcoms. The perspective of this photo also makes it appear that the walls (at least the left side) do not meet at 90° angles, but something much wider, just like sitcom rooms. She let him live?Clearly, your mom never saw this photo. Jeez, I'd have had my ears set on fire if I so much as mentioned that mom had her hair in curlers, never mind taking a photo of her like that! Walls and ceilingsThis house was built before 1955 before the era of drywall construction. This looks just like the living room of the house we had built in 1953 that had wet plaster walls and a coved ceiling and what looks like a moulding, which I think was plaster, to separate the wall from the ceiling. We would paint the ceiling white, the walls light blue. Curlers and wallsIn regards to curlers, I'll just mention that prcrstn8 hit the nail on the head and say no more about that. As to seattlekid's speculation about the vintage of the walls, our house was built in 1906 as a Presbyterian church. Our front porch had been the bottom portion of the belfry. Just a few years later, the congregation moved to the neighboring town of Corte Madera and the building remained vacant until 1923 when it was purchased and remodeled as a dwelling. My folks bought it in 1941 (for $3000!). The walls and ceilings were plywood overlaid with plaster stippling. In the most recent sale a couple years ago, the house apparently went for somewhere around $1,500,000. Not the Larkspur I grew up in. We almost know themTheir photographic series of black and white vignettes causes us to stop and melt in nostalgic wallowing, while for most others it's no more than vague reminisce, but the connection is there, so we persist, and share our lives, happy to show that we are all the same at heart, regardless of race, creed or social standing, this is America at its best, I say, how say you all? (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Hello, Helen: 1955
Columbus, Georgia, circa 1955. "Helen Smothers" is all it says here. The World of Helen is tidy, ... chairs to match. What a country. Helen Smothers In 1955, Helen was Executive Director of Christian Fellowship Association. The ... - Dave] Our "Dining Room" Table Circa 1955 to 1971. Someone else's table? Someone else's home? The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2015 - 11:25am -

Columbus, Georgia, circa 1955. "Helen Smothers" is all it says here. The World of Helen is tidy, organized and monogrammed. 4x5 acetate negative. View full size. Small beginningsWhat Ms Smothers is shown reading is of historic importance. Using my Photoshop Ultra app, I can see that she's holding the very first of what would become an enormous series of direct-mail incentives from the tireless marketing folks at Omaha Steak. Just imagining the vast herds of meat-producing animals turned into delectable foodstuffs packed into dry-ice-filled styrofoam containers since this photo was taken gives me the fantods. Parenthetically, one of the small joys of moving is the off chance that Omaha Steak may lose your mailing address. Obsessive Compulsive DisorderIndeed, the world of Helen is tidy and organized but someone should have told her that she does not always have to sit at her own place at the table when nobody else is having tea with her. She seems tightly squeezed in and confined in that corner but still enjoying some personal, handwritten letters received in the mail. When was the last time you got one of those? Cozy scene though. FormicaThe kitchen table miracle. Gone were the hard to manage oilcloth table coverings of yesteryear. Now an almost indestructible table top framed in chrome with chairs to match. What a country. Helen SmothersIn 1955, Helen was Executive Director of Christian Fellowship Association. The Formica table resided at 2116 7th Avenue, Columbus, Georgia. She was mother of Tommy Smothers. (No, not that Tommy Smothers). The present location does not show up on the street level view. EyesWhat's with the marks around the eyes? Flash reflecting off the tea cup? [Reverse eye-tan. - Dave] Our "Dining Room" TableCirca 1955 to 1971. Someone else's table? Someone else's home?The monogram on the place mats appears to be "K", rather than "S". [A monogram consists of two or more letters interwoven, in this case H and S. -tterrace] Which begs the questionWhy is it called a "monogram"? [Because of this. And on another note. -tterrace] TableMy Grandmother had that very set, in yellow. We lived in Parkersburg WV (Columbus, Ga., Kitchens etc., News Photo Archive)
Executive Suite: 1955
January 25, 1955. "Becton Dickinson Co., Rutherford, New Jersey. Mr. Becton's office. ... my posterior. Advance copy Seems to be the May 16, 1955 copy of Aviation Week on the table. [Actually it's the January 24 ... the right with the cacti is Arizona Highways, January 1955. Arizona Highways is published by the State of Arizona Department of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/30/2016 - 2:42pm -

January 25, 1955. "Becton Dickinson Co., Rutherford, New Jersey. Mr. Becton's office. Fellheimer & Wagner, client." Anyone got a match? Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. Except for the deskIt looks just like the teacher's lounge in my high school in 1960. Ouch!Just looking at the furniture pains my posterior. Advance copySeems to be the May 16, 1955 copy of Aviation Week on the table. [Actually it's the January 24 issue. - Dave] Lofty Topic"Aviation Week" set out for visitors to read; Hank Becton, son of one of the founders, was a licensed private pilot, and occasionally flew to inspect potential factory expansion locations. Up-to-dateThey have upgraded their Western Electric telephone to the 500 series; these were bakelite plastic and were used from the early 1950's to the 1980's, with many still in use. Re: Advance CopyWhy do the January 24th and May 16th copies of Aviation Week have the same cover? Am I missing something? [The covers are ads. - Dave] Lot of ashtrays for one roomI see four. Now you won't find a single ashtray in the entire building, let alone one room. There's probably more on the other side of the room. Such a fundamental change. Back then, not finding an ashtray (whether you smoked or not) would have seemed out of place. Now, finding one is the out-of-place artifact. Magazine on the rightwith the cacti is Arizona Highways, January 1955. Arizona Highways is published by the State of Arizona Department of Transportation. They have a pretty good production value for a government program. (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, The Office)
Ladies vs. Tomboys: 1955
April 9, 1955. Atlanta, Georgia. "Softball or ballet? Linda McConkey, of the Lorelei ... When this photo of the softball players was taken in 1955, Harper Lee was creating Scout (birth name Jean Louise Finch). Super ... done). My Photography Knowledge is slim In 1955; what shutter speed would the photographer use to catch this amazing shot? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/22/2020 - 2:52pm -

April 9, 1955. Atlanta, Georgia. "Softball or ballet? Linda McConkey, of the Lorelei Ladies softball team, diving for third base during an exhibition game; and Jerrie Rainey, playing third base for the Atlanta Tomboys, as she jumps for the ball." Wide World photo. View full size. Safe at thirdGreat form, the two of them, but no way is Jerrie getting Linda out. Still ThereNot Linda or Lorelei, but the softball fields at Piedmont Park, near the soccer fields and beach volleyball courts, all surrounded by an 800-meter granite dust running track. A mighty blast can send the ball rolling near the steps shown in the pic. In the 1890s the park also hosted the first UGA-Auburn college football games. Linda may be safeBut Jerrie's got better legs and quite possibly a cuter outfit. Even if a spike comes down on a handWe can all be sure that there will be No Crying. 'Tomboy' anyone? no one?I was curious about the term "tomboy," which I thought must be banished to the dustbin of embarrassing stereotypes. Not exactly, though you can find plenty of calls to discard it (including by the Girl Scouts). At the same time, it has been appropriated by advertisers and (concept and imagery at least) by radical gender-benders. It's an old term, originally referring to a brash male youth. It was also sometimes attached to an immodest woman. By the 17th century it had the familiar reference to a "boyish" girl. In the 19th and 20th centuries, tomboys were everywhere in culture and especially literature. There are academic studies. When this photo of the softball players was taken in 1955, Harper Lee was creating Scout (birth name Jean Louise Finch). Super GirlsIt didn't even dawn on me they were playing softball when I first saw this photo. As a lifelong Superman family fan, I saw one Supergirl coming in for a landing (great form!) while another was taking off straight up (unusual but sometimes done). My Photography Knowledge is slimIn 1955; what shutter speed would the photographer use to catch this amazing shot? [The same as you'd use today. - Dave] That’s my GrandmotherLinda was definitely safe; I can’t remember all of the details, but I can get them and share them with y’all if you like, because that’s my Nanna diving into third base. She was an amazing athlete and only recently slowed down in the past ten years or so. She’ll be 83 in September and keeps a copy of this photo in a book at my parents’ house. She’s absolutely one of the most incredible humans I’ve ever known. And as for the legs, that’s debatable. See, Nanna was not only known for her athletic prowess, but her beauty ... and those legs. Boys would come from other schools to watch her legs as she ran up and down the court at her high school basketball games, where they eventually retired her jersey. (The Gallery, Atlanta, News Photo Archive, Sports)
Making Pies With Mom: 1955
Life in the Willow Village, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1955. View full size. Another pie in the oven Yes, Mom is cooking ... 
 
Posted by gwynne - 02/02/2010 - 9:51am -

Life in the Willow Village, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1955. View full size. Another pie in the ovenYes, Mom is cooking another Baby Boomer in there along with her blueberry pie. That's indeed a maternity top and the elastic stockings and sensible shoes show she has been down the road before. The little blonde alias Big Sister is too cute. Where's Fang?I heard a radio interview with Phyllis Diller reminiscing about life as a young housewife in Ypsilanti, while her husband worked at Willow Run. Attention, all red-blooded androidsWow- a robot in a see through dress! Was she pregnant?Although she appears fit and trim, the style of her blouse reminds of those worn by "expectant" mothers (I don't recall the term "pregnant" being used, but I was a still a youngster). YayThanks for posting this. As a child of the '50's, I really enjoy '50's vintage photos of "homey" scenes like this. That wringer washer looks evil, though. Hatching JacketMy wife always called those maternity tops "hatching jackets" when she wore them in the '50s and '60s. Dangerous Wringer WashersI can attest to this. I was a child of the 50's and got my arm caught in the wringer one afternoon when I was 5. I was lucky my uncle had stopped by to see us and he pulled my arm out. That darn thing never caught me again! My mom had warned me to be careful. re: Hatching JacketWow, I haven't heard the term "hatching jacket" in ages. My dad, the oldest of 13 children and born in 1943, gently joked that my grandmother single-handedly started the fad! Smiling washing machineThe way she has hung up her potholders on the wall above the jacketed washing machine seems to humanize it to a point! Or, perhaps its a grin meant for youngsters to rethink their plans to fool around with that hand-mangler and arm-buster, also known as a mangle, or wringer! The first time I saw this, that's the first feature I noticed about the whole thing! Now, I can't look at this picture without seeing that first! (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kitchens etc.)
Zany Puppets: 1955
Columbus, Ga., circa 1955. "Toys for Christmas." Starring Zany Puppets, a Transogram "Disneyland" ... seam in the sidewalk. $50.00 worth? I realize that 1955 incomes and expenses were a small fraction of what they are today, but I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/08/2016 - 7:07pm -

Columbus, Ga., circa 1955. "Toys for Christmas." Starring Zany Puppets, a Transogram "Disneyland" board game, Patrician phonograph, Permoplast clay and "Trophy Hunt" target game. 4x5 negative from the News Archive. View full size. Giving You the Evil EyeThere is something really strange about that model's eyes. Can't imagine News Photo used this shot for the final ad. [Photos in the News Photo Archive were taken for newspaper articles, not ads. - Dave] Trophy HuntI had that as a kid. A cogged-wheel/ratchet where the hammer could be rotated and 6 rubberbands hooked between that and the front of the gun. Presto! You had a 6-shooter to annoy your little sister with. Forget the targets, they were lame. SparkieAnd aenthal thinks the model's eyes are strange. I really don't like this hand puppet at all. But I do remember the smell of that kind of plastic. Trophy HuntThanks for jogging the memory, John Howard. My brother and I had welts all over the place from these pistols. Pretty Good Christmas Morning HaulFor a boy anyway. But can you imagine finding all those puppets under the tree! Too young to cussIf I tried them now, cussing would definitely be involved. Those skates bring back some unpleasant memories for me. How I made it through childhood without a broken ankle using those things amazes me. They would detach from the shoe almost every time I hit a raised seam in the sidewalk. $50.00 worth?I realize that 1955 incomes and expenses were a small fraction of what they are today, but I believe that at the time you could buy everything in this picture for about $50. If you've looked at toy catalogs and TV ads today, toy manufacturers think nothing of putting prices on their individual toys of $100.00 and up, even more on some electronics and computer novelties (that is what I paid for a single toy Unicorn for my little grand daughter at Christmas). Mystery modelThe model looks familiar, like a TV actress. I wonder who it was? Also, given that her eyes are nearly closed (like she blinked), I'm guessing this particular shot didn't make it into the paper. I know this is going to hurtI remember the puppets, and know we had one or two in the house in La Grange, 20 miles (?) west of Chicago back then. I was able to use the skates when other sibs were not using them, and to this day remember KNOWING it was going to hurt when I fell backwards to thunk my pumpkin on the concrete. It did. Made a scary sound, too. The skate wheels on the concrete vibrated as the wheels went over the finished surface with its small imperfections. Your feet would tingle as you skated, and for a while after you took the skates off. You would also have trouble walking normally for a bit without wheels. Shoes just didn't roll as well. There was always a 'kerchunk' when you rode over the anti-crack grooves every 3 feet or so. It helped to have one foot ahead of the other and transfer weight to that foot as you passed over. I don't remember the name 60 years on, but the contractor that put in the sidewalks embedded his company name and the date (1923?) at the end of each section of sidewalk. I may still have a skate key around here somewhere. Lo-Fi PhonographThe Patrician phonograph was acoustic, not electronic. It only used electricity to turn the record, not to amplify the sound. What a ShameWe don't see the word "ZANY" so much any more...of course, we don't see those puppets either - except maybe on "The Simpsons." Zany puppetOh wow, I had the puppet she is holding. I too remember the smell of the plastic the puppet heads were made of. (The Gallery, Christmas, Columbus, Ga., News Photo Archive)
Webcam Version 0.0: 1955
My brother in 1955 at age 18, proving that the practice of teenagers taking pictures of ... alternative/indie. I never would have guessed it was from 1955 without the caption. Timeless! Strong Resemblance to ... Janeane ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 02/20/2010 - 2:31pm -

My brother in 1955 at age 18, proving that the practice of teenagers taking pictures of themselves predates digital cameras and the Internet. This was in the bedroom he and I shared from about 1953-58. The little child's table and chair set at the left is what served as my "desk" at the time. Since I always had it piled high with junk like that, if I ever wanted to actually do anything like draw, I'd go downstairs and use either the cocktail or dining room table, set up a card table or just plunk down on the living room floor. My brother labeled this (introspective? vacant? chimerical?) self-portait Ektachrome simply, "Me." View full size. Timeless shotThat definitely looks like a web cam pic with the monitor glowing in his glasses. Even his style is a bit alternative/indie. I never would have guessed it was from 1955 without the caption. Timeless! Strong Resemblance to ...Janeane Garofalo (not meant as an insult to your fine and worthy brother). This American LifeHe's wearing Ira Glass's glasses! Family portraitsCould have been Ambrose Monk, as well! Declan?I thought that was Elvis Costello for a moment. Love and DeathI thought HEY! Woody Allen Would LoveTo see a pic of him now!! Great picture, thanks for sharing. Brother todayRean asked for a shot of him today. He's on the left in my comment here. Work in progressHe does seem to exude a hint of Andy Warhol. Having seen photos of him with his pretty wife, I'd have to say he certainly improved with age. Vastly. HOW old?He looks waaay older than eighteen! GreatCan I say how much I enjoy your photographs -- keep them coming. The Glass Familytterace, it's clear to me that you and your brother would have been the inspiration for Salinger's Seymour and Buddy Glass if you two had been born about twenty years earlier. Your description of this photo is spot-on to the description of the brothers' room in "Franny and Zooey." (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, tterrapix)
Generation Gap: 1955
December 1955, Calpella, California. My paternal grandmother, born 1882 in Murialdo, ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 09/20/2011 - 11:00pm -

December 1955, Calpella, California. My paternal grandmother, born 1882 in Murialdo, Italy; me, born 1946 in San Rafael, California. Kodachrome slide by my brother. View full size. The situationObviously you were a boy trapped in the body of Dave Garroway, and Nonna was the only one who understood. Am I right? The comfort of flannelAnd I bet you still enjoy the warmth and comfort of those flannel shirts, especially on a cool Northern California evening. What was your grandmother's name and what was her story? It would be interesting to know how she got to Calpella from Murialdo. Flannel shirts..We're about the same age, so I remember those flannel shirts quite well. And, like the one you're wearing, mine seemed to always have sleeves too short. But I couldn't stand having the top button buttoned. Hated ties, too. One thing I never understood is why they put the soft side on the outside of a flannel shirt and the stiff, scratchy side inside. I mean a flannel-lined jacket has the soft side on your skin. Seinfeld would have said ... what's up with THAT? How about a flannel-lined flannel shirt? GrammaDo you have any idea what a lucky boy you were to have had an obviously adoring grandmother? But then, that made her lucky too. To CalpellaOn 1 January 1906, the French ship La Touraine sailed past the Statue of Liberty into New York Harbor from Le Havre France. Theodore Roosevelt was the President of the US. On board were Giovanna and her sons Guido and Albino. Giovanna was 23, Guido would be 4 on January 19, and Albino was 2. They were from Murialdo, Savona, Italy. On 2 January 1906, the family first set foot on U.S. soil. The date January 2nd was always mentioned by our father as the most important day of his life next to his birthday. So much so that I often got confused and thought January 2nd was his birthday. tterrace's sister I can't help it!It's a lovely photo and a lovely story and I hate to be trivial but ... the grapeleaf-pattern fabric on that chair is spectacular! Neighbor!I came across your site on Firefox Stumble and I see Calpella! Small world... great picture! I am a Ukiah girl. You know the Ukiah Daily Journal posts old pix of Mendo County on their website? The Love of a NanaI think, tterrace, that this is my favorite photo thus far of your collection. And thanks to your sis for the background story, as an immigrant myself, it warms my heart. That's another photo I'm glad I took!Brother Will. Tierna fotoSigo desde Huelva (España) tu página hace meses. Me gusta ver la gente que fue, creo que así las hacemos vivir un poco de nuevo. Hoy me enterneció tu abuela. Le dedico a ella un momento de mi tiempo, seguro que te quiso mucho. PrideDid Grandma ever tell you how very proud she was of you, tterrace? Because it's written all over her lovely face. ItaliaWonderful picture. My grandmother was also born in Italy (1904) came to US in 1908. Settled in Jersey City (I think the Jersey water is why her hair never turned gray). Thanks for sharing. Four wordsBEAUTIFUL in every way. In Good HandsAh--as a pianist/keyboardist & teacher of the same, I see that even though your grandmother's were older and more used, you two actually have the same type of hands. Expressive ones too; notice how different her right and left are--one at rest and the other caressing you. Kodachrome magicThere's something amazing about seeing old photos in colour instead of black and white. It really makes you feel like it could've been yesterday. Quality FilmWow! You can even see the veins in tterrace's hands -- on the "not full size" picture! Slide film was always so much better than print film, but I stuck with prints because I didn't want to be bothered with projectors or viewers. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Kids, tterrapix)
Backseat Blogger: 1955
... cushy headliner. As someone who still drives a 1955 Olds, these photos really get to me! I just adore seeing an old car in its ... 
 
Posted by tterrace - 05/06/2021 - 7:43pm -

My father piloting our 1949 1948 Hudson. Looks like he's in the midst of shifting. Dig that cool steering wheel and faux-woodgrain dash. Removing the slide from the mount for scanning revealed the appendages on the backs of the front seats, which I'd forgotten about. In fact, I'm still hazy about what they were; the one on the left looks like it's holding something. My brother's Ektachrome slide. View full size. Just wait in the car.As a kid, my father's favorite phrase to me, when he would run in to do a short errand, was "just wait in the car," and being the one in the passenger seat, I always marveled at the sleek and streamlined design of mid-century car interiors. This one is a beauty, the steering wheel and dashboard a work of art. I remember shift knobs of bakelite, celluloid, ivory, even crystal on luxury cars. I could almost feel the velvety texture of that plushy headliner and I believe those appendages you refer to were just to put stuff in, whatever was needed, maps, books, sweaters, so you wouldn't have to hold it in your lap. My neighbor had a'51 Hudson Hornet, looked a lot like this. I also remember that my Dad would always 'special order' his cars, even economy models, with his personal choice of interior and exterior colors, which would be done for you if you guaranteed the purchase and if you were willing to wait. The Hudson Hornet was featured in the animated film "Cars" as the most powerful engine ever from that era. I do not know if that is a true fact. LOVE this photo, thank you. [Those seat-back appendages are robe cords. - Dave] Hudson, Hudson Rambler, Rambler ... Daddy-O was not a Big Three kinda guy, evidently. Hudson robe cordsNow it all comes back - that's where we hung our "horse blankets," as my mother called them. You needed them in the back seat - the Hudson's heater didn't quite keep things toasty back there. In fact, on cold nights, I'd be down on the floor draped over the nice warm drive-shaft hump. And looking up at the ceiling mesmerized by the rotating light patterns from the headlights of passing cars. HudsonsYes, they were robe cords, or blanket cords. I fully agree, the early '50s cars were great as far as instrument panels, etc. I had four -- count 'em, four -- Hudsons and liked them all. The Hornet may not have been the MOST powerful, but my '54 Hornet (no Twin-H) with overdrive would run away from most other cars. Not my past...Born in 1964 and European, but I really like this picture. Reminds me of my father taking us to southern France in a white Austin Cambridge. TurningI guess those big steering wheels were pretty much a necessity before the introduction of power steering. Nicotine headlinerWas daddy a smoker by any chance? Looks like a cigarette burn mark just above his head. Hudson head markNope, he didn't smoke. That's residue from good old Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie. Recent MemoriesWhen I was a kid, the "robe cords" were something to hang on to! I never realized it was for anything else! They were very handy for bumps in the road! My own kids (now in their early twenties) grew up hanging onto the cords of my '54 Olds, too! I think that in the early 1950's the Olds Rocket engine was closing in on the Hudson as the most powerful, or at least it was the one that started winning in the stock car races. The engine itself has the name prominently placed across each side, lest you forgot you were driving a Rocket! But this Hudson, with its gorgeous dash and full mohair headliner...I can smell the interior when I see this photo! Those old headliners (made from mohair, the coat of an angora goat) didn't buckle and sag like the "modern" glued headliners, and fell victim to moth holes, if anything! The great "old car scent" that you still can smell today, was much due to this soft, cushy headliner. As someone who still drives a 1955 Olds, these photos really get to me! I just adore seeing an old car in its "natural habitat"! Kathleen Scan hardwareWhat do you use to scan your transparencies? I have an HP 3000-series ScanJet at home, which is nice for opaque materials but terribly inadequate for scanning slides or negs. My parents live in Idaho and drive through Cascade twice weekly, so of course I pointed them to "Dee's Cafe" (https://www.shorpy.com/node/2863). They promise to do a "then & now" update photo if they can find the original vantage point. Looooove the blog. A desktop un-Shorpied is a sad computer indeed. tt's scan hardwareWell, there's no doubt that a dedicated film scanner like Dave uses (see his comment here) does the best job, but I use an Epson Perfection V700 Photo. It's basically a flatbed scanner, but with dedicated lenses for opaque & film and film holder height adjustment, allowing for better focus than other flatbeds with film scanning capability. It also handles film sizes other than 35mm, which we have a lot of in our collection. And it's cheaper. HudsonsI own two 1949 Hudsons. I grew up in the back seat of a '49 Super Six sedan. 1949 Hudson adsAwesome photo! Back when cars had style. I'm working on a graphic design project on Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady (the car they drove in Kerouac's On the Road was a '49 Hudson), and I've been trying to find high-resolution scans of advertisements for the 49 Hudson. Preferably, ones with just the car (some are pictured with families, etc. in and around them. The images are public domain now, and from what I can tell, given the low-res scans I've seen, the quality of the illustrations is excellent. If anybody has any copies of these old ads, i'd love to see them. [Below: Two from Plan59. Click to enlarge. - Dave] Hudson revisionismI recently came across a 1989 video of my brother and me talking in which I refer to our "1948 Hudson." That's actually more in accordance with the method by which we acquired the car. An uncle had ordered one in anticipation of it being one of the first cars to come off a post-war assembly line, but he would really rather have had a Buick, and when he learned he could get one, offered us the Hudson, and Father bought it. Models of the two years are virtually indistinguishable. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, tterrapix)
The Young Moderns: 1955
My parents' first apartment in Chicago in the mid 1950s. My father was just out of architectural school and his midcentury modern tastes are evident. Full size. Trés Chic I love that coffee table. Can I be the first to play the "re-cre ... 
 
Posted by deanw - 09/19/2011 - 11:26pm -

My parents' first apartment in Chicago in the mid 1950s. My father was just out of architectural school and his midcentury modern tastes are evident. Full size. Trés ChicI love that coffee table. Can I be the first to play the "re-create this room with Ikea" game? Except for the cool lamp on the right and the coffee table, I think I've darn near got it. Great RoomWhen I see pictures of cool rooms I am reminded that I should document the places I live. Better bust out the vacuum so I can take some pictures tonight. Home MadeWas your dad a woodworker? It looks like the coffee table and chair are home made. Maybe stained pine? Prediction for the pastI think I can safely say that from this point everything was moving up. Lucky peopleThey were fortunate. They had air conditioning! TinyThat picture looks like a scale model of an apartment. I think it might because of the sloping walls. PlayhouseBetween the sloping attic ceiling and the too-big-radiator for the room, this looks like a child's playhouse. Our first apartment in 1954 looked very, very much like this one. Had to take turns to turn around but we were happy. Fan of it allThank you thank you shorpy!! A huge fan of mid-century modern, great photo! Magazine-worthy creativityWow, this photo really caught my eye on the homepage. The apartment looks small, but the room flows nicely and is beautifully decorated. Just shows how much you can do in small spaces. This should be in a furnishing magazine. Thanks for sharing! Floor 7-1/2: The Mid-Century YearsI seriously love it, not a single thing out of place, but I must say I get a definite Being John Malkovich vibe. Function and all that JazzSimplicity always works. Very nicely done; well adapted. That C.I. radiator on the right side really jars the perceived scale of the space! Is that a picture-less frame on the right wall? Cool! And a good use of the 'heta' materials. Tiny Tim?How tall are your parents? That apartment looks like it should have been for the small people in Wizard of Oz. Silk purse from a sow's earIt looks like your folks were living in a garden shed, but WOW did they have excellent taste in furnishings! They probably could've made a chicken coop look like a penthouse suite. Love itLove the floor lamp!!! That tableI, too, love that coffee table. Do you have any other photos of this room, maybe with different angles, yet showing the coffee table? I see a woodworking project just crying out at me. BungalowAs a Chicagoan I think I recognize that space--did your parents rent the second story of a Chicago Bungalow? They did a great job with it. I love the driftwood on the table to the right. We had one on our coffee table. A bit woozyWhat did they rent -- a shipping container? The giant radiator just completely messes up my perspective. Neat furniture, though. Objet d'ashAnd the obligatory ceramic ashtray. I recognize that from my childhood, as well. It seemed everyone smoked (and indoors!) back in those days. Fantasticcoffee table. The rest of the room too. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Art & Design)
Davy Crockett: 1955
May 1955. "Actor Fess Parker on a 22 city promotional tour as Davy Crockett. ... theirs? I Feel Like We Grew Up Together I was 9 in 1955, and like most other adolescent boys I watched Davy Crockett on TV and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/28/2014 - 7:01pm -

May 1955. "Actor Fess Parker on a 22 city promotional tour as Davy Crockett. Includes public appearances at department stores." From photos by Maurice Terrell for the Look magazine assignment "Meet Davy Crockett." View full size. C'mon Man!The cutout Davy looks like the character I remember: rugged, tough, gun at the ready. The real Davy (Fess) looks lazy, soft, ready for a nap. Bet the gal sneaking up on him could knock him out with that pillow. I was 11and thought the blooming song would never go away! I was five years oldI had a coonskin cap as well. But very confused at the time...I thought the song said [he] kilt (killed) in a "bar" when he was only three. Turns out later in life that with dialect, he "kilt him a bar (bear) when he was only three." Funny, I knew what a bar was at only five. I was six years oldWith my coonskin cap, my fringed jacket and my plastic Kentucky Long Rifle. One day I tripped while chasing down General Santa Anna, & thereafter I had a Kentucky Carbine. A Davy Crockett lessonOne of the childhood punishments I've always remembered - probably involved my refusing to eat something - was being sent to bed one evening before a new Davy Crockett episode aired on Disneyland. Didn't solve the eating problem, though. Unlike just about every other boy, I don't remember ever wanting a coonskin cap. A few of my little friends even wore them to school. BTW, the stand-up is for the theatrical film "Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier," which was edited together from portions of the first three TV episodes, which Walt Disney had wisely decided to photograph in color. The Davey Daze I was seven years old but what I remember most was the trading cards that came with a good slab of bubblegum for a nickel. The cards with the action scenes at the Alamo were the most valuable for trading. I think that the raccoon was an endangered species back then with all the caps that were sold. Looks like he's in ChattanoogaSo he's in the right state. Davy and Pearl HarborI remember I was at a friend's house listening to a radio version of Davy Crockett when it was interrupted to announce the bombing of Peal Harbor. I was to young to know what that was all about so I hurried home to find out. Coonskin capThe Coonskin Cap was the item every kid wanted back then, I think I had one. Anyone still have theirs? I Feel Like We Grew Up TogetherI was 9 in 1955, and like most other adolescent boys I watched Davy Crockett on TV and never missed an episode. I never wanted a coonskin cap though! I love the fact that later in life Fess Parker started a well known winery in California's Santa Maria Valley and made some world class Pinot Noir's. As luck would have it, I grew up to live in California and drink his Pinot Noir. I guess you could say we went from Davy Crockett to wine together. Disney marketingJust read a Disney bio--the story of trying to find someone to manufacture the hats was a great one! I was nine alsoAnd had to live with being a "Davy" in school. Still walked around in my cap, singing the song, though. DavyB (LOOK, Movies, Stores & Markets, TV)
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