Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Wistful Wednesday : 1963

Now that was some year.  Remember lining up in the gymnasium of your school to get the little white cup with the sugar cube that had the pink liquid on it?  That was how we got our Oral Polio Vaccine here in Minnesota.  I had a friend with polio, she already had braces on her legs.  She still has braces on her legs.

Gas was 29 cents a gallon and a loaf of bread cost 22 cents.  If you could plunk down $3,200 you could buy a car.  A first class stamp was 5 cents and we used zip codes for the first time.  We watched Bonanza on TV on Sunday nights.  A different night we watched Combat! with my Dad.

12 years old in 1963 Connie

In 1963 I was 12 years old and in 7th grade.

John F. Kennedy would be assassinated and Robert Frost would die.

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both… Robert Frost”

Gene 1963 (2)
In 1963 Far Guy was 13 years old.

The Beatles were just starting to cause some excitement on the news.  My Dad would call them long hairs.  Crew cuts and very short well groomed hair was the norm.  Barbers were kept busy cutting hair. 

Quinn’s Barber Shop was where Far Guy went to get his haircuts.   He walked downtown by himself and waited his turn…he cannot remember how much a haircut was.

My Dad would go to town to get a haircut until my Mom saved enough S & H green stamps for a hair clipper…after that he and my brother would get their haircuts on the stool in the kitchen wearing a blue cape with pink flowers on it.

Only Sailors and ex-cons would have tattoos, they were usually anchors or hearts with arrows through them with a sweethearts name or Mom.  Piercings were found in National Geographic and it was usually something through the nose of an African tribe member.

Times were different back then. In fifty years things change.  What do you remember about 1963? :)    

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22 comments:

Primitive Stars said...

Loved this post, I was only 4years old but remember Sunday night watching Bonanza, listening to the Beatles, thanks to my Brother,. I think those were such wonderful times, Blessings Francine.

DJan said...

I had completely forgotten about S&H green stamps! I saved them back then, too. I was 20 and was bleaching my hair when Kennedy was assassinated. My hair was champagne blonde from a bottle and I wore little pink bows in my hair and very high heels. I wouldn't go back to those days for anything! :-)

Muffy's Marks said...

The best of times, and the worst of times.

Travels with Emma said...

I got my driver's license!

Intense Guy said...

I was only 2 years old. I vaguely remember the JFK funeral on black and white tv.

Beth said...

I remember 1963. I was working as a telephone operator the day that Kennedy was shot. Every light on the board lit up and it was a mad house. I will never forget it.

Karen said...

I was 6 and that was the year we moved to Canada from England. We moved to a cowboy town in the middle of BC, and only last about 5 months before moving to the civilized southwest corner of B.C., where I've been ever since.

Karen said...

PS Makes me smile to see you smiling in a photo:) Far Guy was a handsome 13 year old!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Love the pictures of the two of you at 12 & 13! You brought back a lot of memories. I remember well the day Kennedy was shot. I thought the guy that told me was kidding.

Nancy said...

A great post - I remember Fred MacMurray and his movies (Flubber, etc.), lots of wholesome movies produced by Walt Disney, and purchasing soda from a horizontal vending machine where the bottles had to be manually moved into the vending area. Sometimes it was like a puzzle to get the flavor you wanted. The one thing I miss the most is a fountain coke - the taste cannot be replicated in a can or plastic bottle. I loved cherry cokes that were served at the Woolworths soda fountain.

Anonymous said...

I was 6, and remember my brother looking much like Far Guy in those days. Larry loved the Beatles. I loved Bonanza and Gunsmoke.

Red said...

You cover a wide part of 1963 life. You hit on some of the major situations. hair is important. Prices tell us so much. It's amazing how much has changed. I't going to be much more difficult to do the same in 2063. Neat post.

Far Guy said...

Nancy, we have a place in town where you can still get a fountain Coke. I call them the REAL thing. The last time I was in there the lady offered to put a flavor in it. I called her a heathen.

marlu said...

My mom always got a cherry coke! Loved them myself. I love chocolate but when I heard of a chocolate coke, I thought they had gone too far! I ordered a "400" a lot. That was chocolate milk with ice.

651367 said...

I was 4 1/2 almost 5. We went to see Kennedy lay in state, Mom did not believe me when I told her that Kennedy had been shot. We lived about an hour west of DC, so we went into the big city often. What fun we had watching the parades.

LindaG said...

I loved Combat! ! I wrote to the studio and got autographed pictures. Don't remember what happened to them, though.
I remember all those things, especially perch fishing with my Dad. I was 11 then.
I don't remember the price of haircuts back then, either, but I remember all the rest. :-)

Dreaming said...

Great question. I don't remember anything, specifically. I can make 'guesses' based on my age... I turned 12. I had just finished 6th grade. I went to Arizona during the summer to visit my Grandmother and her husband, Nick. We lived in Rochester, NY.
I did get glasses the following year, and they probably looked very much like the ones you were wearing in your picture!

Jacqi Stevens said...

A blue cape with pink flowers on it? Now, that's styling!

Linda Reeder said...

1963 - I was in college in Seattle, freshman to sophomore years. I certainly remember President Kennedy's death and funeral. That was a very depressing time. I went home for summers in Oregon and for major holidays but otherwise seldom saw my family. My world changed while my family stayed the same.



Cynthia said...

I became a published writer in 1963! The local paper published poems about Kennedy's death and mine was one selected.
If I behaved myself when I had to go to the doctor for a shot, I got a chocolate soda downstairs at the drugstore. I made it last as long as absolutely possible while my mom waited patiently to do some shopping since we were in town.
Thanks for the memories, FS!

Rita said...

I was in seventh grade and I remember looking out the window and seeing the janitor pulling the flag down to half mast--and he looked like he was crying. An announcement came over the intercom that President Kennedy had been shot and killed. I honestly can't remember what happened after that. Seems to me we had an assembly of all the classes to be told what happened, but I can't remember if they kept us at school the rest of the day or sent us all home or what. I just remember the TV being on for days with every channel covering the shooting the then the funeral. It was like the world stopped for a few days.

It really was a different time. We had to wear dresses to school or church. The Beatles were considered long-hairs--and, little did we know, but in a few short years guys would have hair past their shoulders! And there would be riots and bon fires and shootings...things shifted.

Anita said...

When I think of the Kennedys, I think of Caroline; that she and I are only a month apart in age. I think of her life and of mine. I like mine better. If she knew me, she's probably say that she likes hers better.