Evidently the 1949 Sophomore Hop was not as hopping as she hoped. Reminds me of Community‘s Aubrey Plaza and her sneer.
The Senior Ball held in April also lacked its share of fans. Note folded arms and glare.
Whoever held the stage that night proved unsuccessful in entertaining the crowd. You’d think they’d just announced WWIII.
Maybe those gals should have stayed home and listened to Jo Stafford records. These smiles speak volumes.
“…and high school girls with clear-skinned smiles…”
“…who married young and then retired…”
Lyrics “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian
A young Michael Landon can’t help but hoot and holler during the 1947 football season.
Male cheerleaders lunge and make one jazz hand as a show of support.
After the “eighth straight victory over Farmers,” the Longhorn football players rejoice as they hit the showers.
Meanwhile, at the basketball game, Hank Williams, Sr appears to be ornery as heck. Come on, fellas! You need to have the ball rest on the side of the thumb rather than on the tip of the thumb on every shot! Move it on over!
Well, y’all, it’s hard to believe the bicentennial was nigh on 40 years ago. Some of you were already married, some weren’t even born, and I was in pre-school, oblivious to the fashion faux-pas going on in society. Scarves and bandanas for women, pointed shirt collars for men. And prints so loud coming together in a dangerous cacophony such as this! It’s as though clothing designers suddenly decided to make garments of sofa and wallpaper material.
Other fun facts of ’76 include:
When I think about bands forming, I think about a group of dudes (yes, I realize that’s sexist) in a basement, slowly getting gigs and paying their dues for years until being launched out of obscurity. Right? But Foreigner had major hits the following year, selling four million with songs like “Feels Like The First Time.” Way to get it going right off the bat, Foreigner!
Per www.thepeoplehistory.com, the cost of living was much lower:
Average Cost of new house $43,400.00
Average Income per year $16,000.00
Average Monthly Rent $220.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 59 cents
And a microwave oven cost $169.00. I could buy one for that price now. Although the interwebs says that sales of microwave ovens exceeded that of gas ranges in 1975, I didn’t know ANYONE who had a microwave then. I didn’t know anyone who had one in the 1970s at all. And I didn’t have one until my first college apartment. Do you recall Tappan microwaves?
As far as music goes, these were the songs the people requested on heavy rotation:
1. Silly Love Songs, Paul McCartney and Wings
2. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Elton John and Kiki Dee
3. Disco Lady, Johnnie Taylor
4. December 1963 (Oh What a Night), The Four Seasons
5. Play That Funky Music, Wild Cherry
6. Kiss and Say Goodbye, The Manhattans
7. Love Machine, Pt. 1, The Miracles
8. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Paul Simon
9. Love Is Alive, Gary Wright
10. A Fifth of Beethoven, Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band
So tell me–when did you get your first microwave? Did you have awful yellow and avocado green tupperware dishes to put inside it? Do you remember when earning 16K was a decent salary, and not the price of a used car? Did you vote for Jimmy Carter or Gerald Ford? Did you know the popular vote for Carter was 40 million and for Ford it was 39 million? That’s a pretty close call.
And did you know Carter was the first president to be born in a hospital? Wow! Were you born in a hospital?
These images all come from the 1930 University of Texas yearbook. While they reflect some aspects of the culture at the time, you would never know the country was in a depression.
Very little of the yearbook was in color, other than these images. I imagine most students could not afford them at the time, under the circumstances. I know I was never able to afford a university yearbook during my four years.
Here you see a student sweating over his impending exams.
And if you look closely enough at the inside of the yearbook, you can read the date Irene received it!
I Don't Get It 