Tag Archives: 50’s

The TV Dinner Goes Viral

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Ken Dowell

The nation’s press weighs in on the TV dinner phenomenon. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

From Clarence Birdseye to the Swanson Boys: The Folks Who Brought Us the TV Dinner

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Ken Dowell

The inventors, salesmen and scientists who created the tv dinner. Continue reading →

Posted in Growing Up in the 50s, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Remembering the TV Dinner, Somewhat Fondly

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Ken Dowell

It didn’t taste very good and it wasn’t very good for you. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

The Jukebox Story: An American Cultural Icon

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Ken Dowell

‘an enduring image of a bygone era’ Continue reading →

Posted in History, History of Teenagers, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Jukebox Story: Rise and Fall

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Ken Dowell

The impact of technical, economic and cultural changes. Continue reading →

Posted in History, History of Teenagers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A Growing Up in the 50’s Book Review: The Shame of What We Are

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Ken Dowell

A review of Sam Gridley’s The Shame of What We Are, a novel in pieces. Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Growing Up in the 50s | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments

A Baseball Fan Memoir Chapter 1 – Childhood Heroes

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Ken Dowell

The first seven years of my life coincided with the heyday of New York baseball. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn, the Giants in Upper Manhattan and across the river the Yankees were in the Bronx. All three won a World … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What Was So Cool About the 50’s?

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Ken Dowell

For a child it was an age of freedom. I’m sure there were predators and pedophiles and kidnappers then too, but we didn’t know anything about them. We felt safe and acted like we were safe. That meant that as … Continue reading →

Posted in Growing Up in the 50s, History | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Growing Up in the 50’s: A Week at the Shore

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Ken Dowell

We had one week of vacation when I was growing up. It happened in July and it was at the Jersey Shore. Seven days on the beach, seven nights on the boardwalk. Then we came home and waited for next … Continue reading →

Posted in Growing Up in the 50s, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Growing Up in the 50’s: Ode to the Y

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Ken Dowell

I was probably about six the first time I was sent to a summer day camp. I was enrolled in a place called Camp Belle in Totowa. It was at an open piece of land where there was a pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Growing Up in the 50s | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments