Jayhawker Life, April 1936, Part I

Though we don’t think of 1936 as a particularly hopeful, happy year in American history, the students at the University of Kansas seemed to be doing just fine.

Interesting jazzy artwork, no? Costume parties, bicycles built for two…

Roller skating, swimming, snowmen, shooting, wrestling, and a toucan that is in no way a jayhawk, their mythical mascot. The name is a combination of two birds — the noisy blue jay, known to rob nests, and the sparrow hawk, a stealthy hunter.

The typical hazing took place.

The ladies of the YWCA posed for this portrait.

I found this an odd item to place in a university magazine. What say you?

Watch Your Back, Subversives

I’m glad I wasn’t a student at Berkeley in the 1960’s. Being chased by cops during student protests looks fairly terrifying.

Berkeley pioneered the Free Speech Movement (FSM), a long-lasting student protest which took place during the 1964–65 academic year.

These days when we see students running for their lives, it’s for a different reason. But either way, it’s still frightening.

Ain’t Nobody Got Time For Constitutional Rights

Illustrated History of the US, Getty Images

Panic and fear of a Japanese invasion led to the rounding up and internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII per Executive Order 9066. This woman’s body language in Redondo Beach seems to show some panic and fear as well. Both Canada and Mexico followed suit shortly thereafter.

This shot of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Dillon S. Myer, director of the War Relocation Authority, seems to imply no resentment on the part of those who were relocated to Gila River Relocation Center in Rivers, Arizona. Can we leave soon please?

Per http://www.history.com, about 117,000 people were affected by relocation, with a total of 10 housing camps. Two were located on Indian reservations, despite the protests of tribal councils, who were overruled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Snap.

Army-directed evacuations began on March 24. People had six days notice to dispose of their belongings other than what they could carry.

Anyone who was at least 1/16th Japanese was evacuated, including 17,000 children under 10, as well as several thousand elderly and handicapped.

These folks are smiling at Santa Anita, but the crowded conditions betray them. Although they were not met with the horror and atrocity of concentration camps, a cage is still a cage is still a cage, especially since most of the people were American citizens.

Getty Images

The last Japanese internment camp closed in March 1946.

Tights And Loafers

This February 1941 LIFE article states that these colored stockings are head-turners. I agree that these green stockings DO turns head, but not for the right reasons. I don’t know any gal who’d find those a compliment to her ensemble.

They actually look much better in black and white, especially when paired with lovely smiles and (of course) a bottle of Coke. Coke makes everything better. 

Boy, this gal is a stunner, such a lovely image of spring.

Evidently, stockings are made of lisle, a word with which modern women are not familiar.

lisle. n. 1. a fine, high-twisted and hard-twisted cotton thread, at least two-ply, used for hosiery, gloves, etc.

The only Lyle with which I’m familiar is Waggoner, the actor from “The Carol Burnett Show.” Did you know he’s been married to his wife for 58 years??

reddit

 

Nicotine Responsible For Decreased Fan Support

1961 Round-Up

Perhaps it’s the combination of shades and smokes that makes these fellows look too cool for school–too cool to jump up and down anyway. Methinks they don’t want to look overly enthusiastic and wind up looking like Mr. Plaid down below, who appears to be uneasy in applause. Perhaps he has tender palms?

And then there’s the other end of the spectrum. Fans who come out to support the team, rain or shine, not afraid to look excited.

And the cheerleaders sure appreciate it!

1949 Cactus

So Much Meat Pulls The Surface

I hear Shiraz pairs nicely with Peru system.

Not a fan? What about old adopted mother’s veggies? So fresh!

And don’t forget to customize the heat level to your desired God Fire.

Still too spicy? Ask for a pat of adult butter to even out the heat.

If you’re vegan, you’ll have to skip the butter. No dairy for you. But remember:

Pretty wife eat cheese. Pretty wife eats meat. Pretty wife eats flesh salad.

Lost in Asian translation? Retreat and think of cakes.

Not a fan of cakes? Try a small square of caramel.

Do you eat? Coron to you! Bon Appétit!

Please Hold

Bill Averett

All images are from the 1961 Baylor University Round-Up.

Bobbie Sue Wilson

According to these pictures from over a half century ago, folks have always had a love affair with phones. All that was available at the time was the black, corded rotary kind, like the one we had in our dining room for years.

Larry Hodges

I still have nightmares, where I’m calling someone on a rotary phone, and I have to start over again, or the rotary won’t work right.

Darla Prudom

I remember waiting for hours for my friends’ numbers to stop giving me the busy signal, so that I could update them with the latest dish. Sometimes, I’d just give up altogether. There was no voice mail, and you had to get through to the line in order to leave a message on the answering machine.

Gerry Frederick

We couldn’t walk around the house, either, so we were tethered to the base. And the cords would inevitably get wonky in their coil. You remember janky, improperly-coiled cords? I guess that still happens to office phones.

Bruce Peterson Photo

By the way, did anyone ever clean their receivers? These days, I Lysol-Wipe our phones regularly. I guess those were the days before antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizer.

Mrs. Hardcastle

The university even had a Cotton Bowl float devoted entirely to the phone!

So don’t let anyone tell you we haven’t always loved our phones, even before they were smart!

giphy.com

Putt Putt

I Remember Distinctly

Garnet Carter built his first “Tom Thumb Golf Course” in Lookout Mountain, TN in 1927. Two years later, he drove to Miami to build another. By the following summer, mini golf courses were springing up around the USA along roadsides. Folks could stop and play on greenswards made of cottonseed hulls (Astro Turf was not patented till ’65) and roll their balls through the pipes. Living through The Depression may have stunk, but at least there was putt putt.