September 1953

I had the opportunity to attend band camp and Girls' State. So I had been away from home and family a couple times. However, it was different when I went to K-State at Manhattan.

Mom and Bill helped me move into Northeast Hall, one of two freshman girls' dorms. They took Jeanette, Ruth and me out to dinner. When that was over, they dropped us off at the dorm and drove away - whether Mom shed any tears or not, I don't know. It felt like I had been abandoned!

There were five guys, besides the 3 of us girls, from Ness City. There were two girls from Brownell. There may have been others from Ness Co but I don't remember.

My roommate was a great gal. She came from a very small town (yes, even smaller than Ness City!) not far from Manhattan. Her folks owned a cheese factory so we usually had a wheel of cheese in the closet. We had crackers, too.

Our room was on the third floor. So we tromped up and down the stairs a lot! There was a cafeteria in the dorm. We ate most of our meals there. Sunday evenings we were on our own because the cafeteria was closed. Then we usually hit the cafes in Aggieville.

I went home three times during the first 6 weeks at school - boyfriend in Ness, you understand. That third trip, Mother told me I had to stay at school until the Thanksgiving break which I did.

Music

I really enjoy playing the piano - not necessarily practicing! I bought my first piece of popular sheet music in 1949. I think it cost 35 cents! The name of the song was "My Happiness."

"String of Pearls" and "In the Mood" were two of my favorites to jitterbug to. Glenn Miller's musical arrangements were great.

Some of the popular songs by year were: 1947 "Near You" 1948 "Buttons and Bows" from the Bob Hope movie "The Paleface" was a big hit for Dinal Shore 1949 Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra had a huge hit with "Ghost Riders in the Sky" 1950 Patti Page had a hit with "The Tennessee Waltz" 1951 "Cry" A song written by an amateur songwriter was a hit for Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads. Johhnie Ray had a hearing problem so it was amazing that he would have a hit record. 1952 "You Belong to Me" sung by Jo Stafford was a No. 1 hit; Dean Martin and Patti Page also had hits with it. 1953 "Vaya Con Dios" was a hit for guitarist Les Paul and his wife songstress Mary Ford. He was an amazing guitarist. 1954 "Little Things Mean a Lot" was a big hit for Kitty Kallen. 1955 "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" was a hit for Cuban band leader Perez Prado.

The guys and gals who sang these songs were well-scrubbed and rather straigh-laced. When the veterans came home after WWII, they yearned for a simpler time and the world was becoming more complex.

Growing up back then, we listened to the radio program, "Your Hit Parade," where they played the top-ranked songs.

Many different singers recorded some of the same songs. Some were big hits for more than one singer. We always had favorites and our favorites weren't always the #1 hits.

Nowadays we play CDs. Back the we had 78 RPM records, 45 RPMs and later 33 1/3 RPM records. After that there were 8-track tapes but I don't know anything about them.

Time passes and new things come into being. It is interesting to know that some of the popular songs of the 50s had been popular many years before - and some of them came around to popularity again many years later. "What's old is new again."

Nostalgia from the Year I was Born

Some of the headlines from 1935 were: "New Nazi Law Bans Jews From Politics;" "Lawrence of Arabia Dies in Motorcycle Accident;" "Mussolini's Army Invades Ethiopia;" "Will Rogers and Wiley Post Die in Alaska Air Crash;" "Social Security Signed into Law;" Dust Storms Devastate the MidWest."

A Mickey Mouse wrist watch with a leather strap or metal bracelet sold in a gift box for $2.95. Watches for grown-ups were also $2.95.

The Academy Award for Best Picture went to "Mutiny on the Bounty;" best actor was Victor McLaglen for "The Informer;" and best actress was Bette Davis for "Dangerous."

Some of the music from that year was "I Feel a Song Coming On," "Begin the Beguine," Lullaby of Broadway." "Red Sails in the Sunset," and "I'm in the Mood for Love." Interestingly enough, all of these songs were popular again when I was a teenager.

In sports news back then the Stanley Cup Hockey team was the Montreal Maroons; the Heisman Trophy winner was Jay Berwanger from Chicago; the NFL champs, Detroit; the Indianapolis 500 winner was Kelly Petillo driving 106.240 mph; and the heaveyweight boxing champion was James Braddock who defeated Max Baer.

The average income in 1935 was $1,632. A new car cost $625. and a new house, $3,400.
A loaf of bread was .08, a gallon of milk .47, a gallon of gas .10. Gold per ounce was $20.67, silver was .38 per ounce and the Dow Jones Average was 120.

The President was Franklin Roosevelt and the vice president was John Garner.

Life expectancy was 59.7 years and I was born on a Monday!

Some people of note born in 1935 were entertainers Herb Alpert, Johnny Mathis, Phil Donahue, Little Richard, Woody Allen, Julie Andrews, Dudley Moore, Robert Conrad, Gene Wilder, Richard Chamberlain, and Rafer Johnson the Decathlete.

Some items advertised were the Westinghouse Precision Radio, Aqua Velva, Iodent toothpaste, the Coolerator Air Conditioned Refrigerator, Bromo Seltzer, Chrysler 70, Quaker Flour, and Exide batteries.

And no, I did not remember all this stuff. I had a handy, dandy little booklet that gave me the information.