I Remember JFK: A Baby Boomer's Pleasant Reminiscing Spot

One thing that all Boomer kids had in common was that they grew up with an inherent distrust of the Russians in particular, as well as communism in general. WWII was fought to eliminate tyranny and oppressive governments, and here we were, twenty years later, and there was a wall in Berlin designed to keep its inhabitants from fleeing to freedom. An intensely frightening standoff between Kennedy and Khrushchev over missiles in Cuba had kept our parents and older Boomers up at nights, fearing the future. There had been a 1968 uprising in Czechoslovakia which had been ruthlessly crushed by Russian tanks.

It was all pretty scary stuff to an already insecure kid. I remember asking my mother repeatedly if she thought that we would be going to war with Russia. She would always tell me no, she was positive that we wouldn't, but the reports on the nightly news would too often make her reassuring words sound hollow.

Evidence that we had a serious enemy in Russia was found everywhere during the decade. Many public buildings sported signs near their entrances announcing that they were fallout shelters. In other words, in case Russia drops a bomb on us, and we aren't instantly incinerated, then we can run to the local library to gain a measure of protection from radioactive fallout.

Gee, THAT was reassuring.

Let's step back in time and step inside a typical home of the 1960's.

We'll use my modest Miami, Oklahoma dwelling, of course. It was a 1950's era tract home sitting on a modestly traveled street. Very typical of what WWII veterans were raising families in.

If you have time-traveled from the 21st century, the first thing you will notice when you step through my front door (three small staggered vertical windows placed at adult-viewing level) is a pervading odor of stale cigarette smoke.

If you see me sitting on the carpet, playing with a pile of toys, please note that I am completely oblivious to the odor. Second-hand smoke was a fact of life for a kid of the 60's, completely unnoticed.

You will also spot a variety of smoker's accessories. These include ash trays of various shapes and sizes, as well as desktop cigarette lighters. No properly-furnished 1960's dwelling would be complete without them. Even if it turned out that the owners didn't smoke, odds are that any guests who came over would. It would be an ungracious host indeed who didn't provide an ashtray for a visitor.

Some people are known as lightning rods. Whether they intend it or not, the attention they receive is strongly positive or negative, with no middle ground. The result is that such a person is either loved or hated.

Such a lightning rod that we Boomers grew up with was former Miss Oklahoma and 1959 Miss America second runner-up Anita Bryant.

Born in little Barnsdall, Oklahoma, a hundred or so miles away from my own birthplace, Anita was blessed with a set of pipes that made her singing talent obvious at an early age. She was performing onstage at Oklahoma county fairs at the age of six. Some time in the early 50's, Arthur Godfrey had talent scouts in Tulsa, and they heard the now-teenaged beauty sing and invited her to perform on the show. Anita's religious parents refused at first, until Mr. Godfrey himself convinced them that it would be a sin not to share her talent with the world.

Inspiration for I Remember JFK comes from a variety of sources. One more or less constant provider of ideas is The History Channel. I was watching a show on the 70's the other night and was intrigued by the origin and history of that enigmatic symbol of optimism: the smiley face.

The smiley face originated on the drawing table of one Harvey Ball, who was a freelance graphical artist in Worcester, MA. In 1963, the State Mutual Life Assurance Company hired him to design a logo that would raise company morale.

Ball sat down and designed a simple bright yellow smiling face in about ten minutes. The insurance company liked it, and Ball pocketed his $45 fee and forgot about it.

The insurance company produced 100 7/8" button pins with the logo. They soon had to order thousands more. Morale was raised dramatically, and the smiley face became immensely popular among employees, customers, and their friends and family.

Before I begin, kudos is (are?) in order. This piece was suggested by mega-commenter River's End. Please send your own suggestions in if you have any!

Circa 1966, opening a box of cereal, or a box of Cracker Jack, or one of those plastic egg-shaped containers from a gumball machine would often reveal a plastic ring that magically made an image transform before our very own seven-year-old eyes! It was amazing, high-tech stuff that epitomized the technological age we were living in.

The rings were cheap, simple, and a hit with kids. Nowadays, originals are no longer cheap. The technology behind them was also far from simple. But Chinese-made flicker rings continue to be a hit with the latest crop of kids.

A kid with a dime had many diversions to choose from when LBJ was President.

You could trek down to the corner grocery and buy yourself a couple of candy bars. You could feed a plastic capsule machine and maybe get yourself a prize worth twice that much. Or, you could slide that dime into the slot of a loud, mechanical, wonderful arcade game.

Arcades have been around since the 19th century. But it was the prosperous Boomer generation, with pockets full of change that were unprecedented in history, that caused arcades to explode in popularity.

I don't recall any self-sufficient arcades in 1960's Miami, Oklahoma, but they could be found in larger nearby towns like Joplin and Tulsa. We did have arcade games in the local bowling alley, as well as certain restaurants and businesses that might attract teenaged crowds.

Mom dreaded summer vacation from school. That meant that I would likely be accompanying her to Farrier's IGA in Miami, Oklahoma. That additionally meant that I would be relentlessly "warting" (her word for begging) for all sorts of food items that she could normally bypass when I was absent. It also meant that I would hammer her for a dime to drop into the horse kiddie ride.

The kiddie ride was strategically placed at the entrance of the store. Mr. Farrier knew that it would prove irresistible to kids accompanying their mothers, and that the kids would then do the selling.

Mothers probably wanted to wring Mr. Farrier's neck.

But he wasn't alone. Probably every 1960's supermarket in the US had a kiddie ride or two located near the store entrance. Back in those days, a thin dime would buy a minute or so of sheer heaven for a Boomer kid, an investment that our mothers would frequently cough up to stop that relentless begging sound...

Some things never change. A tried and true idea that works will be recycled from generation to generation.

Thus is the case with the machine that dispenses small items for a price. Ancient Greek engineer and mathematician Hero of Alexandria devised a machine around 215 BC that would dispense holy water in temples for a coin. The concept was such a hit that it appeared again and again throughout human history.

And one such vending machine in particular has proven its historical mettle, so that it exists in essentially the same form today as it did in the 50's and 60's, when we saw it as children: the gumball/novelty machine.

There were a lot of WWII veterans in the US during the 60's. Our fathers (and some of our mothers) who served in the war were now in their 30's and 40's. They were likely the single biggest demographic group out there, and the TV networks wanted their business.

WWII was a long, horrible, bloody, tragic blot on history. But the fact is that the US and its allies kicked the butts of those who would take over the world by force and rule with an iron hand.

Thus, our parents felt proud of what was accomplished, and the war was greatly romanticized in the eyes of the media. That meant that it was great fodder for TV.

Many a WWII drama was aired on the one-eyed monster during the 60's. And we kids watched them along with our parents. Our fathers knew that the action had been greatly bowdlerized, but that didn't stop them from tuning in anyway. And the success of the shows ensured that many a slightly cheesy half-hour episode would be churned out while the viewers continued to tune in.

One thing we Boomer kids could count on was having a choice of WWII dramas to choose from on the TV. Shows about the big war were commonplace, and one reason was that our parents remembered the era well, and probably savored the fact that they had helped defeat the forces of tyranny. Read on for the podcast.