Recalling the 1950s

Last Tuesday I participated in a Zoom conference that Lilli had organized for Violet’s Girl Scout troop in Cambridge MA. Each scout had invited a grandparent or surrogate to join in an exploration of historical decades. Violet’s group chose the 1950s and we spent a delightful, inter-generational half hour talking about Eisenhower, Elvis Presley, Monopoly and other board games, Jello salads, and polio epidemics. The 10-year olds were amazed that televisions in the 50s were so “thick!” Have you ever tried to describe a picture tube? None had heard of “I Love Lucy” or Joseph McCarthy, but they all knew about Rosa Parks. I’m sure the other elders enjoyed this time together as much as I did. Best of all, the girls kept the discussion going after we signed off.

Newly aware of 50s paraphernalia, today I found my Brownie Scout beanie! Now this is a real fifties artifact. If you look closely at this photo, you can see an image of a “Brownie” on the front, though it’s almost worn away. At our first Brownie meeting, we heard a story about industrious “brownies” who were especially helpful after others had gone to bed. No one knew the next morning who had cleaned up the kitchen!  I wore this hat to school once a week in 2nd and 3rd grades. Every Tuesday morning, my father and my older brothers would inspect my uniform and have me sing the “Brownie Smile” song for them. Glad to see it’s still being sung.

My mother made my Brownie Scout dress, as she did most of my clothes, following an official pattern. The dress had a pocket near my left shoulder, just the size of a smile. By the end of 3rd grade, that dress (we weren’t allowed to wear pants to school) was pretty worn out, but it was time to “fly up” to Girl Scouts. I spent a wonderful week each summer after 6th and 7th grades (1956-57) at the Girl Scouts’ Camp Kiwanis, near Amarlllo. There I met girls from all over the Texas Panhandle. We took lots of hikes, swam, and sang a lot of songs. Even as more mature Girl Scouts, we still put on our Brownie SMILES!

Here’s a montage of music from the 1950s that had my fingers snapping!! What music do you remember?