Young Boomers danced a lot. We danced in the gym at lunch hour and again on Friday nights at dance hops after football games. We danced at private gatherings of our friends in basements and garages and we danced at the swimming pool, community centers and country clubs. Until August 6, 1960, we did one of three dances – the jitterbug, the stroll or a slow dance. But on that fateful afternoon, … [Read more...]

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and to many of us Boomers, Thanksgiving meant more than just turkey and dressing. It meant football games on television. Go way back with me, if you will, to the early days of the National Football League. Typically, my family made the long drive from Beckley, West Virginia to Raleigh, North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my grandmother, Mama Ida. … [Read more...]

Every Boomer remembers his or her first bicycle. Next to turning 16 and getting a drivers license, the biggest day in the life of a youngster was getting that first, new bike. Afterall, a kid without a bike was like a fish without an ocean. The reason bikes were so critical during the early Boomer years is because families generally had only one car, and the dads had them at work. That meant if … [Read more...]

(I got this in an Email this week and wanted to share)   “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” Does that bring back memories? Recently, a not so elderly (65) lady said something to her son about driving a “jalopy” and he looked at her quizzically and said, “What the heck is a jalopy?” He had never heard of the word jalopy!! She knew she was old, but not that old. Here are some … [Read more...]

During the World War II, rubber and plastics were simply not available to consumers. But after the war, things changed. Needing to keep assembly lines open, manufacturers developed tens of thousands of new rubber, plastic and fiberglass products. Among them was the rubber squeeze coin purse. Every Boomer kid had one. It’s where we put the 10 cents for admission to the movies. It’s where we put … [Read more...]

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...]