Tag Archives: 50’s

Growing Up in the 50’s: The Night Two Guys Burned Down

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Ken Dowell

What were the most important events of the 1950’s? Maybe the Korean War, the Soviets launching Sputnik, or the Cuban Revolution. But for me none of those events made much of an impression. I was born on the last day of … Continue reading →

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Growing Up in the 50’s: Religion

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Ken Dowell

The 50’s are a decade that was all about conformity. And conformity is all about appearances. Nothing symbolized that better that my family’s attitude toward and participation in religion. We were a devout, Christian, church member, believer sort of family. … Continue reading →

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Growing Up in the 50’s: A Decade of DIY

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Ken Dowell

A few years ago I read Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Mathew B. Crawford. The premise of the book is that modern man experiences a level of alienation because he is disconnected from his environment. He doesn’t know how anything … Continue reading →

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Growing Up in the 50’s: Tricky Dick on Main Street

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Ken Dowell

It’s 1956. I’m in first grade at Washington Park Elementary School in Totowa, N.J. It must be in the fall, shortly before the presidential election that year, and one day my whole class was lined up and marched in formation … Continue reading →

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Growing Up in the 50’s: Bomb Scare!

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Ken Dowell

Like most suburban houses built in the 50’s, ours had a stairway to the basement in the center of the house. Under the stairway was an empty space with progressively lower head room, since the ceiling was in fact the … Continue reading →

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Growing Up in the 50’s: Baseball

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Ken Dowell

For an American boy growing up in the 50’s there was one sport, baseball. For a substantial part of my childhood I played baseball every day. Day after day, I would eat breakfast, pick up my glove and head out … Continue reading →

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My father had his own small business where he worked with his brother and their father. They repaired electric motors. The motors they repaired were about the size of footballs and generally came from appliances like washing machines or refrigerators. … Continue reading →

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Ken Dowell | 4 Comments