No, this isn’t the Marvelettes, singing that 1962 hit, but I hope it becomes an earworm for you today. 🎶 🎼 🎧 🎤 These images are courtesy of 1930, when talking on the phone required two hands. Multi-tasking be darned!
Do any of you remember the days of five-digit phone numbers (or less), before the seven-digit system?
While you are pigging out gluttonously this Black Friday, don’t forget that stars are pigging out, too. They may be purging later, but don’t you make that mistake. Your relatives slaved over those dishes. Speaking of slaving, here’s our favorite pinafored redhead cooking a roast.
Judy Garland may not have been over the rainbow, but I bet she was over the moon about this chicken.
Marilyn gets some help from a swarthy friend, while donning an inappropriate halter dress. Even Giada wouldn’t wear that in the kitchen.
Now Giada would wear this. Can any man resist Sophia Loren’s pasta-making skills?
For the ladies, here’s Ol’ Blue Eyes about to dunk his doughnut in 1950.
Rita Hayworth seems to be taking an awfully big bite in that easily-stainable white bikini. And is that a sea monkey at her feet?
We spent a long weekend in Ft. Worth and caught this 4pm daily cattle drive in The Stockyards. The day before had been a lovely sunny and 75, but a cold front took it down to freezing that night, and folks were bundled up in scarves and hoodies.
This guy led the drive down the cobblestone street.
That solid longhorn (in beautiful burnt orange!) made me laugh, because he kept nudging the cow in front of him with his horns.
It only lasted a few minutes, but it was hard not to want to step out and touch them.
Big Hoss brought up the caboose, and then it was over. Afterward, we got some old-time bottled soda and meandered through the shops. A fun way to round out the twilight hours. But this sign did catch my editor’s eye and caused me to grimace.
Today we wrap up the series on Lincoln Nebraska during 1943. All of these pics were taken from the Northeast High School Yearbook, otherwise lost to posterity. I’m so glad to preserve these images digitally, and thereby preserve bits of history.
“Making these for defense?” I don’t know how a hog house aids defense, but there’s a lot I don’t know. Like the words “Modernage” and “dirndl.” Maybe a dirndl dress was a good distraction from the worry of brothers and boyfriends fighting overseas.
Meanwhile, back at the hatchery…
Here a woman reviews wallpaper samples at Van Sickle’s Paint Store, and a couple checks out rakes at the hardware store.
Even though life wasn’t “business as usual,” a little butter and rouge could help preserve a lady’s sanity.
Thanks for joining me on this glimpse into Lincoln!
Fourteen points! Can you imagine buying meat with points? War changed life on the homefront.
Down at Helin’s Grocery, you could take your pick of produce without using your blue ration coupons. That’s a good way to get folks to eat their greens.
Able-bodied men who were not overseas were able to advise ladies on fruit purchases.
But who wants cheap fruit when there’s a bakery nearby?
Smack-dab in the middle of WWII, life went on in small town America.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the only place to go for a Coke date. Baker Pharmacy was also well-stocked.
Aware that their future likely held military enlistment, teen boys from Northeast High School enjoyed the luxury of hometown life, hot food, and picture shows such as World At War.
From what I gather, a “sponsor” was like the head of the pep squad. Betty Greer (“origin of the pep”) had maids, all with modern bobbed hair. But it doesn’t sound like she sponsored in the sense of providing funds. Although–props for your nice pearls and mink stole, Betty. 
And here are the boys for whom they cheered. These youthful guys, born at the turn of the century, long gone.
Most of their kids are probably gone, too. But Berton’s hair lives on forever.
Here we see some high school class officers. The XY-gene carriers all appear fairly normal. But Norma–Norma appears to have some botched surgery. I can’t quite figure it out. Clearly a female body was present for the photo, but then someone shrunk her head a la Beetlejuice, or took a head from another pic and pushed it inside the hair. Or do you suppose her head is just oddly petite? I don’t get it.
I Don't Get It 