We’ve Got Spirit, Yes, We Do, Part II
Category: 1960s
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
Campus Life, 1968 Southwest Missouri State College
The Look Of Education 1964
All of these images come from the 1964 Western New Mexico University yearbook, but I bet if you’re a Boomer from Anywhere, USA, you can relate.
This is what technology was.
And Physical Science was boring as ever.
Not only were there cigarettes, but cigarette girls who pimped them.
People typed on typewriters, and the carriage return made a sound.
They played pinball.
They helped each other balance their checkbooks over coffee.
Not really.
They resorted to violence to resolve domestic issues.
And they relaxed, listening to The Animals sing “House of the Rising Sun.”
A Car Is Shiny, But A Burro Is Sure
Such is the caption in this 1968 Nat Geo, as I call them. Evidently, it was a common practice for motorists to attempt to cross the Rio Grande River at its low points in fall and winter, though I would personally advise to NEVER ford a river by car. Yes, the wheels get wet, but so does the engine.
Cue the enterprising young Mexican boy on the burro, who offers round trip rides for 75 cents to get across the river. Often, they neglect to mention that a dirty half-mile ride to Boquillas then awaits them. If they have another 75 cents.
But what do they do with the CAR??
Associate With Us
When The Movie Is About To Start But You Don’t Want To Rush Her
And the concession girl is making eyes at you
and you’re wondering why you even bothered to ask Nancy out
in the first place
to see the stupid “Pink Panther”
when you’d really prefer “The Great Escape” in the theater down the hall
and you’d just as soon shove the Necco wafers and Charleston Chews down her throat
so you don’t have to stand here impatiently
as the minutes tick by
Vance Redfern Tees Off
Vance Redfern. Now THAT is a name worthy of an athlete, a news anchor, even a politician.
Those of you have visited The Blog of Funny Names already know my fondness for amazing names, and this ranks on the list of grand ones indeed. Have you ever met a Vance? It’s better than a Vince. Actually, the name Vance is of English origin, meaning “someone who lives near marshland.” I don’t think marshland when I think of New Mexico. I think Louisiana, which is technically where the Red Fern grows. But not where the Vance Redfern grows.
He graduated from Western New Mexico University in 1963 and still holds school records for his prowess on the golf course. His 73.6 stroke average is the lowest single season mark posted by any Mustang player, a fact not lost on these hat-donning ladies who witnessed said prowess.
Today we salute this awesome name. Together, we can encourage fertile young people to take this name from its current ranking of #838 in boys’ names and push it up where it belongs. And Vance (if you cannot surmise from the broad shoulders and the standard issue NASA astronaut flat-top) is second from the right.
Carry On, My Wayward Hon
The first snow of the year fell on February 20, 1964, and these New Mexicans were happy to have it. Well, at least the girls seem to be enjoying it.
Snow ball fights ensued, and the snow became slush.
Stop pelting Juanita!
Loving Lobster: Better Than Having Crabs
The Bull Goes On Forever, And The Party Never Ends
Back To Cool
The evil big-box stores have already stocked their aisles with back-to-school items, an affront to all American children, trying their durndest to enjoy the apex of global warming seasons. As a parent of a teen, my days of purchasing Elmer’s Glue and huffing markers and dull scissors are over, but we’re still expected to pony up for supplies. Evidently, $7000 in property taxes on a mighty modest home does not cover Kleenex.
To all this mid-summer school rigmarole, I at least ask the makers of supplies to look backwards for inspiration, and not to the future. This ad makes education positively dreamy.
Let’s not forget that Donny nor David would give you the time of day if you weren’t svelte. Lace stockings look gauche on thicc (yes, thicc) thighs.
But what if you’re too thin, and you need to bulk up? Simply sport a Hugh Downs jacket!
Hugh Downs was a once-relevant broadcaster who is still kicking it at 97. Look how attractive his family is, wearing bulky red-orange. And who’s the lady fondling his son’s hood? Go back to Paris, Simone.
Maybe you’re too young and hip to wear anything from an old fuddy-duddy and his family. Maybe you’re avant garde like Pat Boone, who lives life on the cutting edge.
Dressing like Pat Boone ensures that girls think you are a liberal arts professor. And maybe they’re into that kind of thing. Remember, remember, you’re mine… Wow, he really did wear white shoes.
Speaking of white, perhaps you missed my earlier post on putting more sugar in Lisa. Here’s another misguided Sugar Information ad, advising moms to put more sugar in their teens, so they can become slovenly-dressed sugar-swinging freaks–just in time for back to school!
Turtles don’t need seat belts, y’all. They just don’t.
I Don't Get It 