Report to the principal’s office! For young Boomers, those words were the equivalent of “Uncle Sam really wants you!” Or “Is it contagious?” An invitation to the principal’s office in the 1950’s and 60’s was not for discussing world events or even for a chat about your future pursuit of higher education. It was not to find out your thoughts on the Homecoming Dance, … [Read more...]

Not many Boomers were able to avoid the scourge of hand-me-down’s, those clothes and shoes passed down from older brothers or sisters, or from one family to another. Most Boomer parents were children of the depression, and recycling was a way of life, not a fashion statement. Moms were even known to cut off buttons from old shirts and coats, so you know they were eager for gently used … [Read more...]

  The modest snow we had last week brought dozens of kids to the schoolyard behind our house where a gentle hill allows a long slide on sleds. Except, most kids didn’t have sleds, they had plastic toboggans. When we were kids, there was only one way to zip down a hill in the snow. A genuine Flexible Flyer. A Flexible Flyer was at the top of every kid’s wish list come Christmas time. … [Read more...]

Throughout World War II, American soldiers wore crew cuts, or GI’s as they were often called. It was a rallying point for the troops to have their locks collectively sheared to the scalp. After “The Boys” came home in 1945 and in years to follow, the crew cut became the hair to wear for young Boomers. “I want a GI,” were the instructions to the barbers of that era. For a quarter, and … [Read more...]

  What Boomer can ever forget that first uniform of his or her youth, likely from being a member of a Cub Scout or Brownie troop. I clearly recall that royal blue shirt with the bright yellow kerchief, my Cub Scout uniform in 5th grade. As a new scout recruit, I was fascinated by the badges and emblems, and I wanted as many as I could pin or have Mom sew on my uniform. They didn’t cost … [Read more...]

I miss seeing the test pattern in the early morning hours and I miss hearing the National Anthem played each night at the end of broadcasting. I miss seeing Dave Garroway on the Today Show and I miss the zany comics on the Steve Allen Show – Louis Nye, Tom Poston, and Bill Dana (Jose Jimenez). I miss the Maxwell House commercials and the smell of hot tubes within the TV set. I miss the great … [Read more...]

I had just turned 10 and would spend this Christmas in our new house on Jennings Street in Beckley, WV. I had made a Little League team that year, loved my Fourth-Grade teacher and Freddie Arnold had just moved in just down the street. I now had a built-in baseball, football, and basketball buddy. Life was good. As Christmas approached, there was one thing I really wanted – an English bike. … [Read more...]

The Pent-ultimate Christmas present for every Boomer boy was a Lionel train. At least it was for me. I was seven and a Lionel train was at the top of my wish list to Santa Claus. I simply had to have one, even though they were fairly pricey, and my dad earned only a modest salary as an FBI agent. By boyhood friend, Billy Richmond, got a train for Christmas the year before. Billy was a year … [Read more...]

  Coach Ryder had scheduled junior high basketball practice over the Christmas Holidays. Those who wished not to be perpetual bench warmers would be wise to attend. Thus, I begged my parents to let me stay in Lewisburg rather than attend a funeral and an extended stay in North Carolina. I asked my close buddy and fellow basketball teammate, Dave Gladwell, if his family could put me up for … [Read more...]

In the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and well into the 70’s, Americans smoked. A lot. It was almost assumed that a person of age would take up smoking. It was the thing to do, even though everyone knew – even without a warning from the Surgeon General – that smoking was bad for you. “Don’t smoke. It will stunt your growth,” our parents said. Then they would light up. Yet, Boomers … [Read more...]