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Middle 1950's America: Only
nine years out of World War II, the economy was on the upswing, and everywhere a
sense of well-being prevailed.
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If we could return to 1954 and the site of the future
Highlands High School, we would find a neglected field. Modest housing of
uniform 1.5-story wood-frame buildings had been quickly erected on a
stretch of Freeport Road (two lanes back then) to house the veterans and
their growing families. Most Blessed Sacrament Church was a relatively new
facility that was built originally as a school. Most shopping and banking
was done in Tarentum or Natrona.
Rare was the woman who was employed outside the home, a
mother's work was seen to be in the home, raising her children, while her
husband earned the money to pay the mortgage, car payment, and grocery
bill. Many of our fathers were blue-collar workers, employed at Allegheny
Ludlum, PPG, and Alcoa to name just a few. They earned good wages and --
to our astonishment today -- were able to afford a house and vacations and
a college/university education for their children on the income of one
parent.
Most families ate most of their meals at home, "fast
food" was an idea yet to come. "Three square meals a day" was what most of
our mothers aimed to provide. And chances are the menu was meatloaf,
chicken, mashed potatoes and canned vegetables. Some of us, from Italian
or Eastern European families, had a varied diet that included pasta and
pierogies. |
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In the News...
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In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas the
Supreme Court rules unanimously that racial segregation violates the
14th Amendment to the constitution. |
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Baseball legend Hank Aaron begins his career by
joining the Milwaukee Braves. |
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William Golding, who will proceed to win the Nobel
Prize for Literature, publishes his tale of the dark side of human
nature The Lord of the Flies. |
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Sun Myung Moon founds the Unification Church. |
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Senator Joseph McCarthy accelerates his
anti-Communist witch hunt with the nationally televised Army-McCarthy
Hearings and is formally censured by Congress. |
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French colonial rule in Vietnam weakens when Viet
Minh rebels take Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam is divided into northern and
southern regions. |
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Dow Jones Industrial Average has a high of 404
this year. |
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Estimated population of the United States this year
is 162,417,000; the average income is $3,960. |
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| On TV... |
On the Radio... |
In the Theater... |
| What's my Line |
| Ozzie and Harriet |
| I Love Lucy |
| Sky King |
| Romper Room |
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| Little Things Mean Alot |
| Sh-Boom |
| Hey There |
| Mr. Sandman |
| Oh! My Papa |
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| The Long, Long Trailer |
| The Glenn Miller Story |
| Beat the Devil |
| Dial M for Murder |
| On the Waterfront |
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What We Paid...
House $10,250
Car $1700 Gasoline
$0.22
Bread $0.17 Milk
$0.92 |
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