I suppose we have 400 channels on our TV and usually can’t find anything worth watching. It wasn’t always that way. In the 1950’s, there weren’t that many channels (only 2 or maybe 3 if you were lucky) but the programming was of such quality that it was called the Golden Age of Television. The Variety Shows – now a dinosaur in programming – led the way. First up, the Milton Berle Show. The King … [Read more...]

Boomers own Beach Music. Those of us who lived in Virginia or the Carolinas, or those Boomers who may have vacationed in those spots in the late 50’s, the 60’s, and a little into the 70’s, remember Beach Music. We remember beach clubs and dance halls along the oceanfront at places like Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach in SC, or in Atlantic Beach or Carolina Beach in … [Read more...]

Look in the medicine cabinet of a modern family and you’ll find Neosporin and other balms and creams to treat wounds. No pain, just soothing comfort to treat a “boo-boo” on a child. But remembering back when Boomers were growing up, there were three medicines used to torture children – Iodine, Mercurochrome and Methylate. It’s hard to rate these three liquids from Satan in terms of pain, but as … [Read more...]

Today, we live in a world of big box stores, but it wasn’t always that way. Growing up in the 50’s, my hometown of Beckley, WV only had Mom & Pop businesses. There were no national or even regional franchises. Every business and store in town was locally owned. We had a Pontiac dealer, a Buick dealer, a Ford distributor, a Dodge dealer, etc. Each was locally owned and some sold wares other … [Read more...]

A brief history of the perils of mankind. The cavemen had woolly mammoths, Goliath had David, Roman gladiators had their arenas, Europeans in the Dark Ages had the Black Plague, cowboys had Indians and Baby Boomers had roller skates. Probably more concussions, broken arms, twisted ankles and general states of embarrassment were related to roller skates than any other hazard Boomers have faced … [Read more...]

Anyone over the age of 50 knows first hand what a jukebox was. But ask a youngster today if he or she wants a nickel for the jukebox and you’ll get a blank stare. Yes, fellow Boomers, we are that old. Boomers and jukeboxes grew up together and some of us are here because of jukeboxes, which brought our moms and dads together. In restaurants, at dance halls, swimming pools, soda shops and … [Read more...]

As summer winds down, memories of summers past come to mind. One that stands out for many Boomers is that of a family gathering around a White Mountain Freezer to churn some homemade ice cream. In our family, making a batch of homemade ice cream was an event unto itself, almost holiday-ish in significance. I remember summer evenings at Grandma Brewer’s house with lots of aunts, uncles and … [Read more...]

“The beer that made Milwaukee famous!” Schlitz, of course. “The King of Beers!” Budweiser, who else? “Brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.” That would be National Bohemian. “What’ll you have?” Pabst Blue Ribbon. “The champagne of bottled beers.” Miller High Life Well do Boomers remember the jingles about the great beers from our youth. The first sip of beer I ever … [Read more...]

It is really a miracle that there is even one Boomer still alive. For the most part, our generation worshipped at the altar of the sun, fearing nothing except that we might be the palest among our friends. Boomer moms would on occasion suggest that we use some suntan lotion. Remember the little girl in the Coppertone ad with her white butt cheeks showing? Who wanted to look like the Coppertone … [Read more...]

A defining moment in the lives of many Boomers came in October 1954 when Texas Instruments and a company called the Regency Division of I.D.E.A. combined to offer the first production model of the transistor radio. No longer would be young people be tied to a plug-in radio in the den or a manually tuned radio in the car to listen to their favorite rock and roll songs. Now, with a smaller, portable … [Read more...]