27 April 1957 “Glow little Glow Worm: Some Music from this Year”

I love this song, which was featured this year on the Nat King Cole show. The Mills brothers were at one time the “Four Kings of Harmony” a barbershop quartet formed by their father who, of course, owned a barber shop.
Here is another wonderful song of theirs, “Paper Doll”

This next number is not from this year, but from 1941. I would have been an innocent unmarried gal in 1941. I have always loved this song and it most certainly show up on the radio in 1957. It has the same group tonal sensibilities of many current 1957 ‘groups’.

Though many associate the “Banana Boat Song” with Harry Belafonte’s wonderful rendition, it was actually written and performed by the Tarriers in 1957.

In Dale Hawkins Suzie Q from this year, you can almost hear the sounds of the upcoming 1960’s. The electric guitar riffs and the increased percussion and repetitive guitar riff, this has a very dissonant modern sound that will culminate in the late 60’s and then into the various branches of rock in the 1970s.
I also love when I find videos such as this with a record being played on an actual record player.

Consider, if you will, 10 years hence: 1967. This how vastly great the divide between music shall be. Those electric guitar sounds softly foreboding in Hawkins song have evolved into the likes of Jimmy Hendrix.

Now, for me, this music is too dissonant and loud. Its almost painful to listen to. This, I am sure, is not a view shared by my modern day contemporaries. Perhaps it was because I, myself, was raised by older parents. My parents did not have Rock n Roll as teenagers. So, I grew up listening to their old records of Ella, Billy Holiday, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Teresa Brewer, Andrew Sisters and so on. My first introduction to Rock n Roll was occasionally listening to the bubblegum rock 45’s of my sisters (born in the 50’s teens in the late 60’s). Therefore the petulant sounds of the 90’s and grunge were often hard for me to associate with. And the hair bands and heavy metal of the 1980’s were never my thing. That is perhaps why I tended to like the New Wave music of the 1980’s particularly as many such bands had a very 50’s sound and often sported vintage clothes of petticoats, spiked heels and so on.

It is amazing to me the great divide between two decades as the late 50’s and late 60’s. Music, like art, is both a mirror of society and a blueprint of its notions. The changes and unrest coming in the 1960’s certainly show in its music and social morays.
I think I will close with the smooth, structured and calming tones of the Dinning Sisters. I think their perfect hair, lovely dresses are as much stage art as Lady Gaga, though I am sure that opinion will also not be shared. Enjoy:

31 January 1956 “ Desk Set and Floating Island”

This year I am excited to re-watch (well for 1957 me it will be the ‘first viewing’) of the Tracy and Hepburn movie “The Desk Set”.
I adore this movie for many reasons. The first being the simple pairing of two of my favorite actors, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. The duo were a real life pair and I can truly see them together. The grounded ‘average man’ quality of Tracy just fits the New England Blue-blood eccentricities of Hepburn.
Secondly, this movie really touches a major issue, the computer. Though done in a very Hollywood comedy way, Amorak (the computer) is threatening to take over the lives of the research department of which Hepburn is the head. Throw in a fun love triangle and you have a wonderful movie.
The sad moment for me, when I watch this movie, is that the 21st century me always points out, “Well, it’s all fun and laughs, but honestly those jobs, that very department really won’t exist in a few decades. I can do as much research in 10 minutes on my computer as it would have taken those girls a week of reference material and phone calls”. But, what can one do, the computer certainly came and has not left us anytime soon.
This movie is definitely worth a watch and if you would like to watch it now, simply click on the “APRON TV” button on the side panel and it will take you to my YouTube channel. There click on classic movies, Desk set is there in its entirety. Enjoy.
Now, a very small inconsequential moment in this movie that I love is that in one scene Tracy and Hepburn eat a ‘Floating Island’. The first time I saw this movie I wondered, ‘what on earth is floating island’? Since then, of course, I have found countless versions of this recipe in my cookbooks and magazines.

Here is the section of the movie where they talk about the floating islands. It is at exactly 5:29 on the little counter if you want to forward ahead to the actual dessert. It has little to do with the plot, but I often find moments, such as the beginning of this clip when he is in the kitchen, fascinating. Because being a time traveler one wants to get things right, so to see a kitchen set up and used, it makes a Vintage Gal’s heart go pitter patter. I adore the copper saucepans on the wall and have my own small collection started back in 1955. They do not come cheap but are perfect for certain things. For example, a copper bowl is one of the best bowls to use to make stiff egg whites as one would need in a dessert like ‘floating island’. As to why a copper bowl is better and easier to use, I found this explanation helpful and scientific:

The bowl you use makes a difference when you are whipping egg whites. Copper bowls produce a yellowish, creamy foam that is harder to overbeat that the foam produced using glass or stainless steel bowls. When you whisk egg whites in a copper bowl, some copper ions migrate from the bowl into the egg whites. The copper ions form a yellow complex with one of the proteins in eggs, conalbumin. The conalbumin-copper complex is more stable than the conalbumin alone, so egg whites whipped in a copper bowl are less likely to denature (unfold).

A floating island is basically meringues made from egg whites floating on a custard made with those eggs yolks. There are many varieties out there. My 1950’s Better Home and Gardens has a recipe for a Strawberry Floating Island.As does the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook. This also has the basic floating island recipe as well.
And just for fun, to share a vintage show you may not have heard of, “My Miss Brooks” that involves some cooking and kitchen antics. This show ran also as a radio program on CBS from 48 to 57. It was adapted for TV and in 1956 (last year) was made into a film of the same name.
Here is the first part of the episode. To watch the rest just go to the APRON TV under classic TV. Enjoy!

And here is the movie trailer for the 1956 Feature Film: 

Happy Homemaking.

24 January 1957 “Jack Lalanne and Peyton Place”

On the Forum I was informed that Jack Lalanne has passed at the age of 96. He was a health guru before such a thing existed.
Here is how I would see him here in 1957. This is from an excerpt of a show from this year with Groucho Marx. He is 44, though refuses to say his name. He felt you were as old as your body type. He looks quite good for 44. I also like that the young lady, who is 20, looks much older by 21st century standards, but love that a woman wanting to look ‘grown up’ was more important than rather other’s thought she was perpetually a teenager.

Jack was also known for a food revolution. Living in California, he had access to more fruit and veg year round, but the Supermarkets all over our country by the late 1950’s were teeming with out of season foods. After the highways were literally created crossing the country in the mid 50’s, trucks began bringing produce quicker and cheaper to all corners of the USA.
Therefore, even a New Englander like me could take advantage of his recipe, here from his show, for Avocado Dip. Why don’t you try it:

The film adaption of Grace Metalious’ book, Peyton Place, is released this month. I read the book last year and am re-reading it now. By 21st century standards, this book is as racy as an episode of Sesame Street. But, at the time, Metalious’ portrayal of the small close-minded will knit New England community was so spot on as to cause affront and anger throughout the country.
I personally really love this book. I think the movie is wonderfully done and Lana Turner shines. I do notice, however, that here in the 1950’s, as we have such a strong sense of our own style in clothes and hair, that when we make a movie set in late 1930’s and into WWII, we have no qualm with the hair and fashion being more 1957 than 1942. That said, I love the way this movie is filmed. Though it is seen as a dark exposure of the small town, I actually find myself happily drawn into it.
The town in the book was actually based on three towns in NH where Metalious lived: Gilmanton, Gilford, Laconia and Manchester. It caused much excitement and the author was subject to many rumors about her. Some were purported to be true, her having an affair with a married man, and some completely unsubstantiated, her shopping at the local market in a fur coat and nothing else.
For me, as a New Englander, I would certainly have found much interest in this book. My own little town here, also a water front New England town, would have had many similar characters. Though one would never have talked about it openly, possibly only whispered gossips over fence rails and hushed tones in kitchens over cooling cups of coffee.
This was the type of book that housewives kept wrapped in brown paper and hid under the mattress, yet it sold  60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release and remained on the New York Times best seller list for 59 weeks. Shocked we all may have been, but intrigued we were.
I think this speaks a lot about American’s of the time and before. We are, particularly we New Englanders and our cousins in the Mid West, Puritans at heart. Our ancestors came here to get away from the ‘sinfulness’ of England. We banned Christmas, and singing and dancing, we were not a jovial lot. This sort of judgmental stern quality that hides a desire just boiling underneath, seems to be a recurring American theme. Even if one were to really see modern 21st century movies and TV we see more violence and sex, but always in a way that is about subliminal punishment. As if we need to go to the extreme and blow one another’s heads off, show the gore, and make ‘love-making’ about sin and intrigue. One has only to view movies of the time and now of other countries and see the glaring difference in the 21st century. Yet, in the day, America was still making a good movie, I feel.
I once thought, pre 1955, how ‘quaint’ old movies were. I watched them, surely, not as many as I have now I live here, but found them to be endearing. Yet, they always drew me in. They took me to a place I WANTED to believe in and if it didn’t exist, I wanted to make it. Our American films today seem not to have that. There are some good independent films which portray a more real quality of the average person, but sometimes that reality has a sadness that has settled on itself. It has said, “Well, things are bad, this way, and there is little to do about it, lets be ‘cool’ listen to cool music and just deal with it”.
I find in interesting that we will spend so many millions on CG and explosions and care little for the writing or the plot. Yet, to make an over the top Technicolor explosion of a movie with singing and dancing never occurs to the ‘corporate movie machine’ and I bet THEY WOULD be successful.
But, I digress. I am moving off point. The book, which came out last year, sold like hotcakes. The movie, just released this month here in 1957 will also be a major hit. It seemed, in our shock and anger towards the themes of the book ,we couldn’t help see a bit of our town in there and our need to spy, be the voyeur was too powerful. We were the Puritans, saying how bad it was in public and pointing fingers while at home the offending book was snug in brown paper hidden in the back of the airing cupboard where little Johnny couldn’t find it.
In many ways in the 21st century I am rather disparaged by the loss of community in our small towns that would lead to the intrigue and disgust by this movie. There seems to not be enough real ties to rally to any point, good or bad. Oh, we get together enough for Garden clubs, or 4th of July parades, but the shared communal spirit of the town seems lost. I wonder if this is the case in other countries? Is it due to the media we have available. We spend more time being the voyeur on the internet and then trolling secretly on blogs and other sites saying whatever we think without care of hurt feelings, decorum or language. It is easier, after all, being a judgmental Puritan, when one is not forced to show who they are. The stern ‘round hats’ of today can hide easily behind the computer screen.
Do you think your 1950’s counterpart in 1956 would have read the book? Would you have done it openly, discussing it with friend, or would you have secreted it away from children and possibly your spouse or neighbors? If none of you have as yet read it, do read it. It is quite good. The movie is worth watching as well.

13 January 1957 “A Do It Yourself Coffee Table and Clowns:Once The Darling of The 1950’s”

I thought I would share this lovely little ‘Do-it-yourself’ idea from one of my magazines. It is a very clever mid-century modern design for a coffee table, utilizing a door. I think it could also be made more Early American by some clever painting or decoupage techniques. Or, simply paint it a solid color. I think it would be fun to attach some metal office baskets underneath (you could do this easily when it is turned upside down) so you could store magazines and things underneath out of sight, but easy to get to.
In the 1950’s and earlier, the clown was seen as an endearing character. Usually funny and jovial, though sometimes a sad clown, it represented the fun and excitement of the circus.
Here is a kid’s show featuring a Clown from the early 1950’s:

Clowns played a major role in graphic arts/advertising, children’s books, fabric, wrapping paper, even household items such as lamps and chairs. Even Food was often given these delightful creatures as a theme.
These battery operated toys were very popular during the 1950’s. And of course, the clown played a major role here as well.

The fear of clowns must have come after the 1970’s because I recall, as a small child in the late 70’s, having one of these type of Jack in the box with the clown face.
  These Hazel Atlas Milk Glass tumblers and Cookie jars are Kitsch today, but the bright colors exemplify the 1950’s kitchen palete of red/pinks, soft blue/teal, yellow and red.   They show that the clown was not meant only for children. Many a homemaker would have been proud to have these in her kitchen. These, to my modern sensibilities, are a bit more menacing. Before Ronald, Clowns were still considered good fodder to sell food.And toy clowns abound during this decade. This McCall’s pattern features one as part of this sew your own toy collection. To my old modern sensibilities he almost has a sinister grin, but I think this is due to my modern view of clowns.
Certainly Clowns played a major role as a ‘go-to character’ in arts and crafts. (This thanks to Kitschy Kitschy Koo)  And toys such as these would have been happily received and possibly wrapped in papers such as this.
Today, many of us have a very different view of the clown. We often view them as kitsch or sometimes even menacing and evil. That is probably due to the Poltergeist films where a toy clown attacks the family. There is also the horror writer Stephen King to thank for menacing clowns as well. I am not sure why they recieved that eventual position in the collection of frightening creatures. That is of course unless those children of the 1950’s (who King and Spielberg certainly were) had nightmarish moments as children with toys or bedroom furniture.
Though this looks darling to me it might have frigtened King or Speilberg late at night, with the long shadows cutting across it. Or perhaps the moonlight hit this just so, and nightmares ensued.
We do know that the Clown was one of the major choices for children’s Halloween costumes, both in the happy variety and the clown’s wayward cousin, the HOBO .
Even the art world was subject to these characters as we see in this 1955 painting by the artist Bernard Buffet. He was a French Expressionist and was a member of the anti-abstract group "L 'homme Témoin”. I suppose the irreverence of representational art in the form of the clown was their way to counter the growing popularity of Abstraction in the 1950’s.
Since that time, the clown has made many appearances in art, often with much irony or again with the ability to menace either out of fear or fear of good taste.
Any way you slice it, the clown elicits some response. There is no middle ground for these bright characters. You either coil in fear, raise your nose in disgust of Kitsch, or hold out your arms in a ‘Gimme Gimme’ stance, wanting to take them home with you.
I have a love hate relationship now after living two years in the 1950’s. My once clean cut hatred has become a see saw response of joy and disgust. Again, a response for sure, no hum-drum indifference.
How do clowns make you feel?

12 January 1957 “TV Bloopers, Saturday Evening Post, and Transfers”

Addendum to this POST: I don’t know how I didn’t see this before, but I just found out that I had over 100 comments that were awaiting moderation. Now, I don’t know how this happened as I have no moderation on. I think there may be a new moderation for spam that is just now standard with blogger. But, when I saw so many lovely comments just sitting there waiting, I really felt bad. I don’t know how to turn that off, so any help with that would be great. Thanks and sorry if your comment never appeared on a post.
I thought this mildly amusing. This year, on the “To Tell The Truth” show, there was a blooper. Shows at this time are filmed lived in front of a studio audience. So, of course, there is no ‘cut and do-over’. In some ways this almost lent a more ‘reality’ to TV at the time. While today our ‘reality TV’ is heavily scripted and edited, but I digress.
Now, to understand this blooper you must understand this segment of the show. Three individuals each give the same name. One of them would, of course, be this person, often someone somewhat famous (as in this blooper episode Mickey Sullivan-A well known football coach)  Then the celebrity guests are given an affidavit of the real person and  have to try and guess who is ‘Telling the Truth”. In this clip the first fellow apparently gave his REAL name, not the false name. So, of course, Hilarity ensued.

I see this cover of last weeks (January 5 1957) Saturday evening post has mention of the Hungarian Revolt. I spoke of it briefly at the end of 56, never quite finding the right way to do the entire subject justice. Knowing what I do from the over seas newsreels of the time, I wonder how American received it. If it, in any way, made them feel more joyous of their own freedoms at the time and if it also began to worry them to try and keep an eye on those said freedoms. I don’t own this magazine, so cannot read the article. Maybe I can get my hands on a copy sometime.
Also, the illustration is adorable. I love the slim sheath dress of the surprised hostess and that, presumably, men wore suits to dinner parties. I also love the wallpaper in the room. It looks to be a sort of Plum background with Hydrangea’s or lilacs and paired with the greenish yellow doors, wow, they knew how to use color in the 1950’s.
 Speaking of color, this 1957 McCall’s of iron on transfer/appliqués are adorable. The bright color and simple shapes are such a part of this decade. I also love how perspective is always played with. The little cakes’ odd football shape contrasting the circular plate. These are the types of images I have been immersed in the past two years and so, of course, are highly influencing my own art. My current Children’s book being heavily influenced by color and odd perspective. It is rather freeing, actually.
These little designs must have been darling used as in the picture, on bedspreads, clothing or as wall art. I also noticed, again here, how clowns were perceived much differently than today. Today there seems to be a general consensus that clowns are either creepy, kitsch, or nightmare fodder. Perhaps  much of that is owed to the Poltergeist movies and Stephen King. But, sublimely ignorant of such things here in 1957, I have begun to look at clowns a little differently.
That will have to wait until tomorrow, because as technology often does to me, I had just inserted many clown images and text and it randomly shut down not saving any of it. It is very frustrating indeed! So, tomorrow: Clowns.

Now to close with, I am not sure if any of you would be interested to follow along, but this is the actual calendar days for 1957. Thought it might be mildly interesting to compare.
Happy Homemaking.

7 January 1957 “Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Chocolate Pie, Chocolate Eggs and Thought’s of Spring”

Last night, the 6th of January 1957, was Elvis’ third and final appearence on Ed Sullivan.
He did a number of songs including “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Too Much,” “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again,”

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but ended with this gospel favorite, “Peace in the Valley”:

I found this interesting little video on 1957. What we must remember, when we look at the prices they list, such as milk for $1, is that to make it equivalent to our time we have to multiply it by $7 dollars. So, though it sounds inexpensive, milk was actually $7.00 a gallon. Again, we see that small farms are still a part of the overall production of foods for our country and it is only 3 a gallon now because of the over production and corporate farming of today.
Also, the average home price they mention does not coincide with my findings, as 20,000 would make it about 140,000 for today. Still, a fun little video though. But, as with anything made for a quick browse, the details behind and the accuracy is going to be a little off.

I made a chocolate cream pie the other day for one of my desserts this week. It is really a rather simple pie to make, especially if you use the easy ‘mix in the pan pie crust’.

50’s gal Chocolate Cream Pie in Chocolate Crust

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions

1. cream egg yolks and sugar. Add in cornstarch, cocoa powder, salt, and milk, stirring gently.
2. cook over medium heat in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to boil. Then, remove from heat and stir in butter and extracts. Cool slightly before pouring  into pastry shell. Chill before serving.

Now, for the chocolate crust:
I use my Pat a Pan recipe for a single layer easy pie crust:

1 1/2 C Flour
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C  Salad Oil
2 Tbs milk

But to it, I added 3 TBS unsweetened bakers powdered chocolate. and one extra tablespoon (making 3 total) oil. This makes a nice chocolaty pie crust as well.
These arrived in the mail yesterday. They are the latest addition to my little ‘suburban farm’ life. They are called chocolate eggs because of the beautiful rich deep brown shade. The are the eggs of a French breed of chickens known as Black Copper Maran’s. This close up still doesn’t really do the color and pigmentation and speckles justice, they are just a beautiful egg. To see how dark they are compared to a traditional brown egg, look at this: Here you can see what my Ameracauna’s blue eggs look like, then the copper maran and then a traditional brown, such as my Orpingtons and Cochins lay. Though this is not a picture of my eggs, it shows the variance.
Here is what a rooster and hens look like. They are a currently very sought after breed and their eggs are suppose to be delicacy. Many French chef’s pay through the nose for these deep brown eggs. I hope to get enough laying hens to supply our local farm for some pin money and to help pay the cost of keeping the chickens for myself.
Although I love our current rooster, I am hoping to keep a maran rooster so I can get pure bred eggs, as the fertilized eggs sell for as much as 50 dollars a dozen on ebay!
I purchased one dozen (though I did not pay that much) and I placed 4 under a broody hen in my chicken house and the other 8 our in an incubator in my little sitting room.
A broody hen, for those that don’t know, is a hen which wants to sit and hatch her eggs. Many modern production breeds have had this bred out of them, but heritage breeds and older breeds like I have, such as the chochin and Orpington, often will go broody. This is what I wanted, as this is a more natural way to hatch out your chickens. And the joy of watching a hen with chicks is wonderful.
This is the first time my hen has gone broody, so I hope she will continue to sit. The plan is she will stay on the eggs and when they hatch in the incubator, you quietly introduce them to her under her and she accepts them as if she has hatched them and then raises them for you. I have a special broody pen inside the chicken house, so she is still with all her hen friends, but they cannot get to her or knock her off the nest. Or, when the chicks hatch, attack the little babies. If it all works there will be pictures to share, of course.
 HERE is a site about the breed, if anyone is interested. Their eggs are highly sought after and they are a great dual purpose bird. This means they are great egg layers as well as meat birds. I have been trying to decide, since last year’s hatching, what breed to have as a possible meat bird. These may do the trick, we shall see. And, hatching them now means I will have laying hens by June or July.
Since the very first of January I have had the “Spring Bug” of wanting to hatch chicks, order eggs, sketch out this year’s garden ideas. I really honestly love all four of the seasons, and just when I think I love one season, then next arrives and I get excited for that one. Though, Spring has to be a favorite. The potential and the hope it brings. The joy of setting the seeds, planning, dreaming of the summer bounty. I am not sure if I would enjoy Summer as much if I lived in a climate that was warm year round. But, then again, I would be able to grow more things more often, so I can’t really guess unless I did it.
I did save seeds from some of my veg last year, as I made sure to order heritage old plants. IT is really imporatant, for any of you gardeners out there, to try and order and save as many ‘old plants’ as possible. One hates to be a doom sayer, but if Peak oil ever becomes true and we are in a place where we aren’t mass producing, then the majority of the seeds of what we eat at the grocery store are made to only grow either one season or only when reacted with certain chemicals. There are MANY people selling heritage and old strain plants, so look for them online when ordering.
THIS SITE HERE is the company where I ordered my fertilized Maran Chicken eggs. They also grow, harvest, and sell heritage seeds. I might order from them this year and they sell on eBay as well. I have not ordered seeds from them before, so I cannot say how good they are.
I also have many heritage seeds in THE CORNER STORE as well. I actually ordered a lot of my seeds through my Amazon store last year, through smaller dealers. I think I listed all the seeds under the various plant, tomato, cucumber etc.
I am also excited to use my growing compost this year for my garden. Since this will be our second summer back here in this house, I feel I can build on what I did last year and improve upon it.
Are many of you excited about gardening? Any of you interested in keeping chickens? There is also the joy of wearing lovely Spring colors and lighter fabrics again as well. Ah…Spring.
Well, enjoy your day and as always Happy Homemaking.

31 December 1956 “Marilyn Monroe: The Embodiment of the 1950’s? Auld Lang Syne”

Marilyn moved back to CA this year, having lived in NYC since 1954, when her marriage to Jo DiMaggio failed. She moved to the city to enroll in Lee Strasburg’s acting studio. Though close in age, he and his wife and family almost took her up like a daughter. Something which greatly affected their daughter and actress Susan Strasburg who played the younger sister in Picnic in 1955. She would  later reprise the role of Anne Frank on Broadway at the age of 18. Of Marilyn she said, she was like an older sister she loved but of whom she was also greatly jealous.
Marilyn’s time in NYC resulted in her marrying playwright Arthur Miller this year on June 29th 1956. They then moved to England to work on The Prince and the Showgirl. Not one of Monroe’s more well received films.

Her reason for returning to Hollywood was her upcoming work on the film Bus Stop. The film was released in August 31st of this year. It was a more dramatic piece for Monroe and better received by film critics.

She does, however, sing one song in the film, “That ole Black Magic” Here it is: (I could only find the version that the talking was dubbed in French, but the song is left in it’s original version of Marilyn’s odd ‘Southern’ accent. I wonder what actual Southerners thought of her ‘accent’)

During the filming of Bus Stop was when Monroe really began abusing sleeping pills and prescription drugs in general. We shall never know if her ultimate end was her own on purpose or by accident. I personally feel it was simply a mixture of Depression and a mistake. One could easily, when popping pills with such abandon and mixing them with alcohol, make themselves unknowingly a deadly cocktail.
In 1961 when she had been released from a psychiatric hospital by then divorced husband Miller, she almost overdosed after singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” To President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. She and Miller were then set to remarry on the 8th of August 1962, but Marilyn Died on the 4th of that year.
There is almost something of the 1950’s distilled in Marilyn. Her rise from a simple girl in the late post war 1940’s to a big star. She was basically physically remade with plastic surgery and various lessons during the 1950’s. The curvaceous gold digging  femme fatale ambition of her characters was almost a representation of the 1950’s in America. The sudden rush of wealth and endless new drugs and fun. One didn’t know what to do with it, so we enjoyed it, played and made the world bigger and better in one short 10 year period. But, in many ways, maybe it was too much too fast and too soon. As Marilyn ebbed, so to does the life of plenty we were just beginning to get right. Even her own demise at her hand really is rather a metaphor for us. The power, the nuclear power, the money, the increasing need and greed for oil and all it entails, all of it a very deadly cocktail easily ill-mixed could become a death potion rather than a lovely cocktail.
The 1960’s harbor many changes for us that we still feel today. But, as I have discovered over these past two years, there was a sleeping dragon in the 1950’s which we built upon it’s back our economy and lifestyle. As I understand more and more where we came from those short decades ago, I want to fix what was wrong and restore what was right. But, can we find a base to build a dream on? Can we walk on clouds? I am not sure.
As I approach 1957 and see 1960 in the headlights, I wonder. I do know with our modern technology of the computer we are able, we vintage minded, to seek one another out. Though we may all have different reasons for harkening back to a past many of us were never originally involved in, I know there is a common thread there. And that, that thread, could be the beginning of a great garment in which we are all seamstresses. I hope it is a wonderful quilt of accomplishment and success that we all work on together. I think if we are mindful of our stitches we can succeed. That is enough of that metaphor.
I hope all of you have had a wonderful year, I know 1956 has taught me a lot and I look forward to 1957. Tomorrow, hopefully, I can be more specific about how and what I feel 1957 will be for me and this blog/site.
Happy New Year and as always:
Happy Homemaking!

3 December 1956 “Some Music From This Year”

I thought I would just post some fun music that came out this year, 1956. Enjoy!
The four Preps:

This is another well known song from the Preps

Harry Belafonte’s hit ‘Banana Boat’ was also released this year:

The wonderful Duke Ellington and “Take the A-Train”:

Johnnie Ray, here performing this year on the Frankie Laine Tv show. He sings walking in the rain and If I Had You:

Dinah Shore, on her own show, singing “Honeysuckle Rose”. I adore her dress here:

The lovely Kay Star singing her 1956 hit ‘Rock and Roll Waltz’. The term Rock and Roll is really becoming a part of the vernacular here at the end of ‘56.

Eve Boswell’s famous but not very often heard song “Pickin’ a Chicken”. It was a popular South African Song with new words. This song hit #9 on the UK charts this year, 1956. She was a very talented lady and lived in many countries and spoke many languages. Her follow up album would have her singing in 9 different languages!
Well, enjoy the music and Happy Homemaking.

25 November 1956 “Happy Thanksgiving”

Here some families enjoy the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC in the 1950’s. I love the children’s winter suits. You will notice that, even were the picture in color, the over all look would be calm and pleasing colors. No loud neon and an over abundance of Corporate Logos and printed Thomas the Tank engine and Sponge Bob everywhere.
Now, they did have fun programs for kid’s in the 1950’s and Rootie Kazootie was one of them in the early 50’s.
Rootie Kazootie was a popular early 1950’s children’s program. It incorporated puppets as well as live actors. The show first aired locally as “The Rootie Tootie Club” on New York’s  NBC affiliate WNBT on October 14, 1950.The show aired on NBC until November 1952, and was seen on ABC beginning in December. The last telecast was May 7, 1954.
So, today here is the Rootie Kazootie Thanksgiving special in its entirety even with advertising. So, if you are busy set the kids down in front of this fun show and see if they enjoy it. And have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

24 November 1956 “Thanksgiving Eve”

I think I may have shared this video last year, but it is fun to watch. A 1950’s family prepares for Thanksgiving. You will notice how the turkey is obviously Before we genetically made and then hormonally increased Turkey production. By today’s standards it seems almost a ‘weakling turkey’. We need to get back to that for our own health, I think.
Isn’t it lovely how the gentleman help the ladies to their seats. I like that they also point out how to use your soup spoon properly. This was always a pet peeve of mine, not sure why. I guess its the sound of people slurping up great bucketfuls of soup like they are eating their Cap’n Crunch in a vast bowl in front of the TV. This family seems to use the ‘American Method’ of eating with their fork in their right hand. It seems a mixed bag here in the states, but mostly my family eats with the fork in the left hand (that’s why it is placed on the left by the way).Although, later in this video the little boy uses his left hand with his fork (incorrectly I might add). They seem to switch back and forth, I wonder why that is? Who of you uses the left hand fork method vs. the left to cut, right to eat fork method? I wonder why we have that combination in this country. It would be interesting to find out.
I love that mother has her holiday corsage. And interesting that they have their holiday pudding now (or Christmas pudding). At least that is what I think she has lit for dessert set on the holly leaves.
I see they wished on the wishbone right after dinner. We always save ours to dry for the first week of Christmas and then wish upon it, not sure why.

I have made ahead some of my things. I made my Brown Bread yesterday. It steams for about three hours and is very easy to make. I made my cranberry sauce from local Sandwich grown cranberries. The cape and this area is a very large cranberry growing area. They are lovely before they harvest, when they flood the fields and the men in their big waders are out rounding up the floating bright red berries.
I have designed and made a dinner favor/place card and also printed up our menu. Sometimes when I do a longer sit down dinner now, I like to have the menu in front of each plate just to see what is being served and as a fun take home for my guests. Many people scrap book and these are fun ways to have keepsakes. You can write on the back or stick a photo of the day there, whatever you like. I will show how they looked after the table is set, but here is the image before it is printed.
  For the Favor/place card I scanned an old Post card and then changed it in Photoshop. I was going to handwrite each person’s name, but I actually liked how the font I used really looked cute for the persons name. Again, a fun thing to save for a scrapbook. (Just as an aside, we call our house 6-A House, because we are the historic King’s Highway, also known as 6A. I don’t know when this started, but we have called it that for years.)
Here is the Menu. I wanted to make a homemade version of the green bean/onion casserole that many people have on Thanksgiving. I have never served it myself and have only ever had the ‘original’ version once. It is made with a can of soup, can of beans and packaged fried onions. I found it rather salty and ‘fake’ tasting. But, I wanted to make my own homemade version. So, yesterday I made some mushroom cream soup with shitake mushrooms and real cream. I also pan fried onions very thin and just lightly coated in flour. I will mix these with fresh beans tomorrow to make the casserole. Since I did so much work, I decided to name the dish in French. So, Green Bean Casserole with Shitake mushrooms became Cocotte de Haricot verte avec les champignons shitake. Some how in French it sounded better and though it seems a bit ‘overdone’ for this big holiday, I think it will be fun. And of course I can watch my guests read it, do their French in their head and then laugh.
Oh, I thought I would share a good site for napkin folding. There are many ways to do it. I prefer the rosebud, as it is simple and I can also insert my Thanksgiving favor in the front, like a little pocket. HERE is the site.
Well, back to work for me. I hope all of you here in the States have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And Happy Homemaking.

17 November 1956 “Thanksgiving Dinner Preparations”

It seems the tradition of football and Thanksgiving has been around a bit, as this 1949 New Yorker attests. We don’t, in my family at least, partake in this tradition. Which, honestly is fine with me. My hubby knows football likes he knows how to cook a turkey…nil. But, for many American families the sound of the game is a part of the day. When I was younger and had to be at various family members, sometimes this was a part of the day.
Now what Thanksgiving prep would be complete without Butter? it really is a great way to roast a turkey, as is shown in this little video. One can also lift the skin a bit at the back and neck and put butter under, careful to lay it back down again. Olive oil also works nice for this and adds a different flavor.

Let us hope no one in the 1950’s or even today for that matter, found this sad little meal on their table.

Last year I roasted my Turkey for the first hour with only butter on, to seal in the juices, then the rest of the time with the lid on. I only took the lid off for the last 30 minutes or so, to nicely brown the skin. This seemed to really make it juicy.
Here are roasting instructions from one of my vintage magazines. I shall share more of it with you this week. This is the roasting. There is carving as well.

Here are some stuffing recipes. The first is for a roast duck, an alternative offered in this issue for Thanksgiving. But, I think it would be lovely in a turkey as well. 
I am making oyster stuffing this year and might try this recipe: Oyster stuffing is often a tradition here in New England. Last year I made a cornbread maple syrup stuffing, that was so lovely. Though, I don’t necessarily follow recipes to a tee, any longer. I know the gist of stuffing, as I make it more often than just at Thanksgiving, so it will most likely be a pinch of this a dash of that. Sometimes make your bread into an almost crouton is a good way to do it as well. The day before or even two days before, cut up your bread into cubes and season as you like then lightly bake to harden. Then you can taste the seasoning before you make it into a stuffing. It is rather like a homemade version of ‘box stuffing’.
For my American readers, are you doing anything special this year for Thanksgiving? Or any good recipes to share?

11 November 1956 “I Want Candy”

Candy in the 1950’s, and earlier, was often a treat to a child. The level to which sugar is available to children today was only just beginning in the mid 1950’s.
After war-time rationing of sugar, candy (with many other products) had a boom. And a new market: The child themselves. While mummy and Granny may recall tootsie rolls and penny candy  amid jars of candy sticks and penny candy, it was a sometimes treat. By 1950’s this same treat was made much more appealing to its target audience.

The bright shiny plastic world of children's candy really started in this decade.
  Here are the first pez, introduced in 1955. They featured a full bodied robot or Santa.
And not only were candies more exciting and placed for children’s reach in stores, they also began to be specifically marketed to them. From 1949 –1952 Snickers was the sponsor of the Howdy Doody show. Other candy was also advertised at this time. What is interesting is how commercials once began in the late 40’s early 50’s, as part of the programming rather than a separate commercial break, is what many advertisers are now going back to. Here is Howdy and friends extolling the wonderment of the Three musketeers bar

Soon sugar, er that is, Candy began sprining up in all sorts of places. Sure, one could have a coke, but they could be expensive, but if you wanted that sugar rush in a glass, why not get mummy to buy Fizzies! These would be introduced next year, 1957. Made by the bromo company, that used to offer ‘upset stomach relief’ now they were a kids treat.

And, to be more adult, one had candy cigarettes. Even I recall these as a child in the late 70’s. I remember there were both candy and gum cigarettes. We always preferred the gum variety, as they were coated in powdered sugar under the paper wrapper, and one could blow out and it was like a puff of smoke. Of course, the gum’s flavor suffered for its sugar loss, but we didn’t care. It was fun to play ‘movie star’ and be glamorous. This, however, never made me want to smoke in real life. I have, on occasion, smoked filter less cigarettes for fun, but never more than possibly three individual cigarettes in one month, so I think I could safely say I was not addicted.
Candy even influenced our music. Candy Floss by British Terry Dene. Though somewhat lost on US audiences, as we call it “Cotton Candy”, at least we did in the 1950’s.

And the lovely Chordettes with Lollipop

Now, while searching for the Chordettes version of Lollipop, I found this modern version of a song called lollipop by Lil Wayne. I just put the link as you can decide if you want to watch it. HERE IT IS. I suggest, if you watch it, be cautious of your children in the room. It isn’t as racy as some, but what is amazing to me is the blatant objectification of women. What really burns me is how so many will go on and on about how women were ‘so oppressed’ in the 1950’s and yet feel fine that their teenage sons and daughters watch a rapper as he shows his great wealth. Why look at all he owns, many diamonds (which always surprises me when you consider the amount of young African children who literally die to mine them) big cars and, of course, tons of women, just for him. What a great message for our daughters, you value is in your looks, the amount of possessions you can get from your man. I would put Gentleman Prefer Blondes up against this any day, at least that has a cute moral ending. 
I honestly feel for the current and coming generations. I wish they could have the innocence and the beauty of the old days. Some may think having a door held for one is oppression, I think it good manners. And having a date feel the need to dress up and take you dancing, dancing where you can talk and where beautiful gowns,not bumping and grinding in a loud club that is so boring one needs overt amounts of alcohol and drugs to deal with it.
It might not seem cool now, but I know a girl would love to be treated like that. Why do you think the Disney Princess and the Vampire novels where the young man has ‘old fashioned ways’ and can’t actually do anything to you are so popular? Girls miss romance, but don’t realize it because there is no romance left in the world. They can’t really see it but somehow feel it missing. And the ‘romance’ of modern ‘chick flicks’ are often false tales of some ‘bad boy’ or someone who just happens to ‘turn himself around’. When, really, there are plenty of actual gentlemen in the world that girls could consider right off, but they may not be ‘cool’.
With good manners and consideration, women have lost their place of courteousness in men’s eyes. It is good that we can be seen to be equal in the work place, let’s not go away with that, but this subtle woman as object or something to be conquered attitude that silently permeates our society is rather scary, I think. I don’t know how I would feel if I had a teenage daughter, rather worried I would think.
I promised myself to try and stop the comparison of then and now and continue to focus on only the good of the old days, but in a way, its the good I find that makes the bad today seem so wretched. And somehow it all seems so propagated by a few simply to make money and keep us wanting more. But, I digress…
My point to mention candy today was to do a two or three part post in which I talk about candy making. Something I am now doing, to sell at a local fair with a friend. So, all of that to get to some fun candy recipes tomorrow. My mind does go off on tangents!
Well, tomorrow I will share some recipes and fun images of candy making. Get your candy thermometers out ladies and gents…
Happy Homemaking.