RSS 2.0 NEWS FEEDS1946 Memories
Posted 04.10.08 at 3:55 PMGoing through a collection recently, I came across an interesting pamphlet entitled “Remember When: 1946 Memories.” Of course, I stopped working and started reading. Well, here are some facts that I certainly didn’t know:
Our life expectancy was only 62.9 years. The President of the United States was Harry Truman, and there was no vice president of the United States. There was no Pulitzer Prize winner that year.
A new house could be purchased for only $5,600, and the average annual income was $2,500. A new car cost $1,125, and if you bought a car and then couldn’t afford a house, you could rent one for $65 a month. You could tool around a lot in your new car since gasoline only cost 15 cents a gallon. If you picked Harvard University for your education, tuition was a hefty $420 per year. If you weren’t serious about studying, you could go to a movie for 55 cents and send a letter to your sweethear for only 3 cents.
Some 1946 babies were Diane Keaton (Jan. 5), Dolly Parton (Jan. 19), Liza Minnelli (March 12), Cher (Cherilyn LaPiere Sarkisian, May 10), and Sylvester Stallone (July 6) to name a few. Yes, it was a good year.
The Academy Award Winner in 1946 was “The Best Years of Our Lives” (still one of my favorites). This momentous year produced “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Goodyear put out an ad that was a pleasing change of pace. It pictured a WOMAN holding a rivet gun. “Here’s a gun that shoots planes —t ogether!” it said.
No, America was never the same, as women had a taste for earning their own money, by then.
Was it a good year? You be the judge. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was formed, AT&T announced the first car phones, the birthrate jumped to over 1.4 million in one year with the return of surviving WWII service men and women (BOOM!) and — best of all — World War II veterans, making use of the provisions of the GI Bill of Rights, headed off to college in record numbers, many of whom could never have afforded to go otherwise. And Tom Brokaw has said that many who received their education because of the war went on to make fortunes and become the backbone of U.S. business and industry.
Comments: 0 | Read & Comment »Home Front Letters: John W. Kautz
Posted 04.09.08 at 2:13 PMFrom John W. Kautz of Blue Grass, Iowa, we learn the following:
My father made two statements that I remember to this day. (1) when my two older sisters began dating, he would remind them as they departed on a Saturday evening, “If you can force yourself to stay out past midnight, then you can force yourself to get up for church in the morning,” and (2) when I entered school, he said, “Remember that the teacher takes my place.” Mom’s favorite was, “In budgeting your father’s paycheck, I never take from one envelope to balance out another at the end of the month.” I recall sitting alongside her as she divided the dollar bills among the various designated envelopes.
Money had always been an obstacle in my early life, as my parents were 8th grade graduates, and left my educational choice up to me. I paid my own 1942 entry at Michigan (tuition was $75 for the semester with in-state only $50.) My dollars came from summer employment although they did give me $100 before my senior year commenced.
Late 1942 through 1945 found me in military service and WWII as a Navy officer. In this status I eventually was earning $5,000 annually, which was great as I had a wife and son come onto the scene. In January 1946 I was ready for discharge and began my 31 years in the educational field. Back at my parents’ home in Chicago, I applied for employment at the Board of Education and was told I’d have to wait until an exam was given as I wasn’t a grad from Chicago Teachers College. Yes, I could be a substitute teacher at $5 a day!
This I did for a couple of years, eventually taking the exam. This qualified me for elementary school only, and my assignment eventually climbed to $3,000 per school year! By now, I was a daddy for the second time and needed extra outside jobs. Need I say that when an opportunity came for me to go to Europe as an Army Education Advisor, at a whopping $5,000, I took off! This situation prevailed until 1951.
Of Yvette Myles, the PJC history student assisting with these letters, he says, “I can’t help but place you and my oldest great-granddaughter in the same category. Amber, who lives here with Kathy and I, is a college-bound student with an interest in graphic design (whatever that is). She is currently enrolled in a community college earning prerequisites for a September enrollment at the University of Iowa. She will be 21 in April and a pretty sharp gal along with Yvette in Texas!”
Best wishes to John, Kathy, Amber, and our own Yvette, and thanks to John for sharing these interesting memories.
Comments: 0 | Read & Comment »Home Front Letters: R. L. Simons
Posted 03.24.08 at 4:02 PMWith the writers’ written permission, I will be sharing some of their vivid memories of the past, especially of the 1940s. I have begun a collection in Aikin Regional Archives of the written memories of people who lived through the turbulent years of World War II, including memories of America’s Home Front, and many of them have given me permission to excerpt their wonderful letters for the readers of this Web site.
The letters, pictures, and other papers which they have sent me become a permanent part of this collection in Aikin Regional Archives. Since I cannot possibly answer and continue a correspondence with each writer, a very talented history student, Mrs. Yvette Myles, is helping me with the letters this semester. Many thanks to Yvette and to her PJC history instructor, Alan Williams, for this assistance.
Think of the great learning experience it’s been for Yvette, who reads and answers each letter.
Comments: 0 | Article Continues ... Continue Reading & Comment »Pete Humphries
Posted 03.13.08 at 10:42 AMOn November 12, 1942, according to the Pete Humphries Co. ad (“The People’s Friend: Not Too Big for Little Business, Not Too Little for Big Business”) in The Paris News, Gold Medal flour went for 6 pounds for 35 cents, or 12 pounds for 65 cents. Sugar came in cloth bags at 5 pounds for 35 cents, or 10 pounds for 65 cents. Spuds, on the other hand (Idaho Russets) were 10 pounds for 47 cents. Read it and weep. Fresh, “krisp” Post Toasties were two 14-ounce boxes for 19 cents. (How much is cereal today?)
Let’s proceed to fresh fruits and vegetables. Grapefruit, three for 10 cents; a dozen Texas seedless oranges for 30 cents; red delicious apples, same price; cabbage 4 cents a pound; and bananas, a poujnd for 10 cents. Steak was 29 cents a pound. My personal favorite, bakery specials: “fruit ring, carmel nut layer, or pecan layer cake, ea. 22 cents.” And Downyflake Donuts of all kinds and flavors, 13 to 18 cents apiece? No, 13 to 18 cents a dozen.
Comments: 0 | Article Continues ... Continue Reading & Comment »359th Infantry Texas Brigade 1918
Posted 03.12.08 at 5:04 PMA unique item being catalogued for Aikin Regional Archives is “A Short History and Photographic Record of the 359th Infantry Texas Brigade, Lt. Col. W.A. Cavenaugh commanding, 1918.” It is illustrated with pictures of the members of the 359th. I’ve included a list of the counties making up the various companies whose members are pictured:
Co. A: Collins and Grayson
Co. B: Cooke, Denton, Parker, and Wise
Co. C: Johnson and Tarrant
Co. D: Ellis, Navarro, and Hill
Co. E: Delta, Fannin, and Lamar
Co. F: Dallas
Co. G: Anderson, Henderson, and Kaufman
Co. H: Hopkins, Hunt, Rockwall, and Van Zandt
Co. I: Franklin, Rains, Red River, Titus, and Wood
Co. K: Bowie, Cass, Camp, Marion, and Morris
Co. L: Cherokee, Rusk, and Smith
Co. M: Gregg, Harrison, Panola, and Upshire
Note: for some reason, there is no “Co. J” listed.
Officers from “E” Company were 1st Lts. W. B. Martin, A.S. Weaver, and John P.
Hopkins. 2nd Lts. were J.R. Cunningham, V.L. David, and Dean S. Barnard. Commanding was Capt. Fred N. Oliver.