Social media In the '50's

Thank you, John Korling, for being the breath of fresh air in what is otherwise a headlong descent into codger-ville....

I'm as wild about nostalgia as the next guy. I love history to the point where I've made part of my living researching and writing about it for the last few years. But the world is every bit as interesting now as it was 50 or 100 years ago, and I'd much rather live in today's world.

That doesn't mean there aren't lessons to be taken from the past, there are many. And it certainly doesn't imply that I wouldn't be keen to step back into time once in awhile...I'd be the first person in line when the time machine opened for business On weekends. Maybe I could get a senior discount and use my frequent flyer miles....

overall, today is a much better place, and I'm thankful to be alive in such an interesting time. I also have great hope for the future. 

The greatest lie ever told was the one that is perpetuated by old men of every generation--the myth of how our children and grandchildren are somehow less than previous generations. It was a lie two hundred years ago, it is a vicious falsehood now, and I'm quite sure it will still be untrue when my great-grand-nephew is an old fart swapping stories with the other curmudgeons at the Mars Rover authorized service center

Jeff C

I'd be there fighting to get ahead of you Jeff! 

For me, I'm afraid I'd have to say that time travel for me would just be for the selfless task of accomplishing a Sheldon Cooper-esqe fulfillment of worldwide domination.  If that didn't work, then my alternate plan would be to change the course of history so Lionel wouldn't even think of that hairbrained idea of making scale Cab Forwards in those fantasy Daylight paint schemes.  That act in itself would bring a bit more sense and balance to the universe. 

"Gee Wally, tell Eddie to stop pickin' on me."   Beaver Cleaver, 1957

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
of exercise.  Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

The quote above has been attributed to either Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, or Hesiod; doesn't seem to be universally agreed on.  What is agreed is that the whole "youth of today" disdain (or lie, as you so eloquently put it) by the latest curmudgeon generation is far from new.

Hobby activity in the 50s and 60s consisted of belonging to railway clubs, going to meetings or regular railfanning nights, dropping by the hobby shop as often as possible or when you had free cash, waiting for new issues of magazines, maybe being lucky enough to go to New York and the Lionel or A C Gilbert showrooms, or going to a large Christmas display in a department store.

Yes, and "imagination" was a skill most kids had. Growing up in the '50s, we debated what cowboy was best...Roy, Hoppy, the Lone Ranger or Gene (I liked Hoppy because he didn't sing or wear a mask). Living in the NYC metro area, you were a Yankees, Dodgers, or one of the few Giants baseball fans. Football? Who cared? You argued what 1950s car was best looking (fastest had to wait until the '60s). My best friend had AF, and I had Lionel. I liked his better due to the passenger cars and whitewall tires on the engine (3 vs 2 rails didn't matter to me).

There is no "was."  They still do.

Rusty, did you and I grow up on the same block.  Sounds an awful lot like Chicago, Cicero or Berwyn area.  

Someone just sent this link to my wife today.  Very fitting for this thread.  It will show some of the bad things from our childhood along with many of the good things we have been recalling today on this thread.  Watch for Lionel trains about midway.  The Ronnie Milsap cover music sets the mood.

Good memories Mark.  Thanks for posting.  Tell the wife thanks too.   

1950’s Forum “Chat Room”



K.C.

K.C.

You've got the right idea.  Now what do we call it when we squeezed 8 high school seniors in a '65 VW Beetle?  The driver was actually able to drive the car down the road too!!

Glad you liked it, Bob!

Mark,

Here's the direct YouTube video link (embedded):

Excellent, John!

Thank you!

don't forget the use of fingers for non verbal communication. Your missing his point.

Nope, it wasn't lost on me.  However I think his conclusion is overly exaggerated.

Rusty and Jim: Up on the north side it was, Fast Pitch, Pinner, softball in the alley and hardball ( Baseball) in a place we called the green lot. ( infield was separated from the outfield by a 10ft fence.)  tackle football in the alley and school yard, Throwing snowballs at the CTA busses( open windows the aim point) Montrose Harbor at night, North Ave beach by day, oh don't forget about the Cubs games, AMT and MPC model cars kits, little league and football(Soccer), drag racing with our bicycles and of course trains.

I don't thinks so. Its was all about face to face or in your face socializing. Something kids just don't quite understand to day.

That's was good.  covers both 50s and 60s brings back many memories.

Yes it does.  Glad you liked it.

For me, it depends on if I feel connected, in a realistic way, re: the form of personal interaction I'm participating in...

I've had meaningful connections, here, in a foriegn country, when I usually was thousands of miles away, from the other parties, in the conversation.

Often, people outgrow their immediate surroundings; and head for greener pastures... There are single people here(on this forum) and people in relationsships, something must be drawing your participation; and, it seems to be more than just trains.

Rick

Ah the good old days. I remember searching the apartment I lived in a couple of weeks before Christmas for presents and I found a large box in my sister's closet. It was wrapped in brown paper and tide with twine. I had to open it to see if it was a LIonel Train,so I did.     There it was, I felt like Ralph finding his RED RYDER, a silver F3 with three silver passenger cars. I had it set up and running in minutes. After about twenty minutes or so I packed everything as it was and placed it back in the closet. My mother,brother and sister are gone,I never told anyone about what I did until now. I was nine at the time.

I'm old enough to remember the 50s (the bad and the good) and I'm certainly still around to experience the present day.  Given a choice, I would select the 50s over any other decade I have experienced, even though life has been pretty darn good to me over all my many years.

Not me.  I love the '50s and model them on my layout, etc., but I recognize that being a kid, and living in a good home with loving parents, was what made the '50s so great, not the '50s themselves.  As kids we didn't pay that much attention to it, but it was a time on tremendous international tension, nasty politics (McCarthyism, witch hunts), social, gender, and racial discrimination that would be completely unacceptable today, along with a good deal of corruption and nasty big business dealings and wall street shenanigans.  

All in all, I'll stick with when I am and leave the time machine dormant in the closet for now . . .

Yep…we sure did a good job of ridding society of all those nasty things, didn't we?  

Truth is, most all of those things are a whole lot worse today than they ever were in the 50s. 

We've made significant advancements in science, technology, and medicine, but have apparently lost our direction and values as a society in most other respects.

  Joe, what you are looking at is a very biased sample.  When a particular decade/place/location is brought up it is highly likely that those who remember whatever is being discussed with fondness will reply and it is also very likely that those whose memories are otherwise will refrain from commenting. 

  It is quite true that for some percentage of the OGR population (and the population in general) the 50's or the 60's bring back fond memories.  However, it is also quite true that there are many people for whom the 50's and the 60's were a real nightmare. I can't speak for John but my only reaction to that time period is one of relief that it is gone for good and that it will never return.

  I don't mind the fact that you and others want to recall your favorite moments back then and it is interesting (to me) to read what you have to post and see that you did actually make it through that time relatively unscathed. But you should remember the sampling bias and recognize that not everyone shared your good fortune.

Did you see what John's doing over on the cab-forward thread???   

David

Show me where I was bashing anyone who fondly recall the 50's.  I can show you examples of me showing how some of you guys bash kids of today by using sarcasm to prove a point, though.

Now for me, I can list plenty of examples in this thread where the people "reminiscing" of their childhoods taking jabs, some subtle, some not, of the kids of today's generation, including you with your comment about how "imagination was a skill that most kids had." 

That was your exact words.  Notice the past tense in your comment.  It doesn't take a genius to conclude that you were suggesting kids today have no imagination.  Tell me how that would be interpreted any other way.

I'm all for people recalling their childhood days with fondness.  I do it also.  What I take exception to is getting on top of your soapboxes making sweeping, disparaging comments about the kids of the present in the process.  I'm sure there were older generation curmudgeons like you that were making snide comments about your generation as well; doesn't make it right if they did either.  Maybe you can evolve a bit and try to break that cycle, what do you think?

I don't think John has been bashing anyone...he's just expressing his own views, as are the rest of us.

I'll reserve my comments on the young folks of today--a category that, from my perspective, includes anyone under 50 .  I wish them all the best of luck.  They're going to need it.

Hey John. I with Allen on about expressing you views but. I have kids in grade, middle school and one with Autism. So I can speak with some authority on what kids are doing and not doing today. In my house Play station is barred, If my son had his way he would be on you tube or playing Mine Craft all day. I make my kids read books, I only allow websites that they can have fun, stimulate their imagination, and learn. My autistic child, the computer is a learning tool. The big difference between today and the 50s, 60s, and to some extent the early 70s, good or bad was kids were allowed to be kids without the PC police and lawsuits. Parents were allowed to discipline their kids the way they saw fit. Don't get me started!!!!!!!!

Our social media was walkie talkies from the sears catalogue. Had to be upstairs and have a pretty clear line of site to talk from house to house but we made it work. I seem to remember it was near impossible to talk from one side of the street to  the other. Which is probably what started the North vs South rants on Claremont St. 

We also had telegraphs but morse code got kinda old pretty fast.

Quite right Allan, and while I never ask anyone to try to defend me I do thank you for that. 

And I commend you re: reserving judgment on the younger generation, but I think it was interesting that you wish them luck and that they're going to need it.  Don't you think it's fair to say that given that each generation has had events of varying degrees of severity wars, economic depression, etc. that adults were saying the same thing to the younger ones?  I would certainly think the parents and grandparents were wishing your generation good luck whilst stocking up in the bomb shelters. 

I have 2 kids, one preschool the other grammar, both have ADHD.  My wife has worked the majority of her career working with both kids and adults with autism and various forms & degrees of mental illnesses.

As with all things, indulgences in moderation and guidance from parents is key to kids developing successfully.  Some don't, but many do.  Nothing different.  The scenery is different but fundamentally the stage is the same.  You and others tend to forget that there's more people in the world now than when you, I, Allan, and most others were growing up.  Per capita there are more irresponsible kids and parents/grownups but in proportion to that there's also more good and responsible kids, parents, and grownups per capita as well.  The chief difference is with the advent and progression of the Information Age the less savory side of humanity is shoved in our faces more, whereas most of the bad things short of major wars & conflicts used to just be regulated to a blurb in the back pages of the newspaper, if they were even reported at all.

I have been a member of the forum for thirteen years now and during that period of time there have been numerous posts regarding the relative merits of the competing eras of the 1950's and present day America.  On this issue I believe that each and every individual is entitled to their opinion and should have the ability to state that opinion as long as they stay within the boundaries of good taste and basic courtesy as required by the forum. 

That being said, I readily admit that I have an adverse opinion of those posts that degenerate into name calling of any sort in order to discredit the opinion of others in an ill conceived attempt to buttress their own.  If a person desires to state an opinion do so but I see no reason for anyone to use the terms curmudgeon and codgerville to portray the views of those who view the 1950s with pleasant memories.  There can be no question that each era has its strong points as well its weak points and I think it is worthwhile that each are delineated on these posts but for goodness sake I think these points can be made without belittling or degrading those who disagree on either side of the issue.

Admittedly, I used to be a curmudgeon and citizen of codgerville, but, I retired.  And now I have been renewed, rejuvenated and born-again into a life, free of strife, and no work-a-day problems.  I love to remember the good ole days, when I thought my life was simpler.  But now, my life seems to have become simple again, and these might just be my new good-ole-days.  

I wasn't born in the 40's or 50's but I tend to look at those time periods more fondly than my own.  Not that mine were no good....my childhood is much like everyone here describes;  out from late morning until the sun went down playing whatever sport was in season....nerf football, hockey, softball, basketball, curb ball, soccer, whatever.  Only checked in for water, food or bathroom otherwise out all day with no supervision.  Not so for kids today.  A larger awareness of society's predators, instant access to news and a country that seems to tolerate everything while no one can take responsibility for their own actions, has led to structured play dates, cocooning, and helicopter parents.  Technology may be advancing but I don't equate that to things being better than before.  I see things as worse than before and continuing in that direction.  No I would not want to live in a time of bubonic plague but I look at the 40's and 50's as a more ideal time than mine.  One that I wouldn't mind living in.  If I could pick out a time period to live like picking out a neighborhood that would be it.  Kids today are still kids...but the world we live in is a far cry from the good old days and unfortunately the kids of today reflect that.  BigRail 

Thing's change,people don't. BIG WHEEL KEEP ON TURNING.

We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game