The fierce early '40s plummeted us into the greatest war in history. Despite its told and untold tragedies the war was not without its redemption; for it united a people like never before. The rich and famous were at one with the rank and file; women wore uniforms or coveralls, and children bought war stamps. At the half mark of the decade triumphant joy on V-E and V-J Days—the holocaust had scarcely poked through the cover-up, nor had much thought dwelled on the implications of the atom bomb—brought euphoria that would last for years.
TV antennas in '49 were now increasingly being laced to chimneys, destined to snag ensuing Santa deliveries. At the same time news broke on the first successful experiment in color television—yet three quarters of the population didn't have black and white yet and those who had were squinting at 7" snow on gray.
With the pros still a stepchild to college football all the nation either admired or hated Notre Dame for becoming national champs for the fourth time under Frank Leahy. Out of South Bend, too, came another "champion" in the late summer of '49, Studebaker continued to outpace Detroit in sleek design by adding a bullet nose to its '50 models to complement its wrap-around rear window introduced as early as '47.
Levittown, taking a lesson from the automotive industry, retooled, scrapping its popular cape-cod model for its " '49 ranch model" with accessories.
But the euphoria of the post war years of the forties abruptly ended by the UnAmerican Activities Committee, together with the "38th Parallel" becoming a household word. However, bad news took a back seat to "I like Ike." Stalin graciously obliged this good feeling by croaking. This bustling decade of the 50s—the "police action" in Korea; McCarthyism at home and Puerto Rican extremists firing on Congress notwithstanding—was led by the growing middle class and thus consumerism.
The cobalt bomb made its debut, but cancer still reigned; still, Dr. Salk gave the children hope. Elvis gave the children of Sinatra fans something to scream and swoon about as he hipped his way onto the scene in blue-suede shoes.
Near the end of the decade almost every household had a 21" screen, and Howdy Dowdy replaced Uncle Milty as Mr. Television, but Baseball was king of TV. flag factories were humming since we had become fifty united states.
Copyright © 2005 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: December 14, 2005.
http://stevendedalus.joeuser.com