Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I actually remember more about the 1950s as I was born in the '40s. But in regard to cars and Chevys back then, I do recall the Dinah Shore Chevy commercials that went into the 1960s. I don't know when she started doing those.
For me, it's another a matter of me "wanting" to bash the 50s. I look at the 1950s from this perspective: "what if I, a Black man, was alive during the 1950s"?
The complaints you have about the '50s would also apply to the '40s, '30s, '20s, etc. But in the '50s was when things started to change for blacks. As early as 1954, in fact.
The complaints you have about the '50s would also apply to the '40s, '30s, '20s, etc. But in the '50s was when things started to change for blacks. As early as 1954, in fact.
Yes, I was a small child there at the time and my older siblings experience the same thing then as older kids. Sure there were clear days (your pic is of L.A., not San Bernardino County by the way, and was likely taken in mid-Winter), but much of the time you could cut the air there with a knife, particularly in the Summer.
If you're claiming Southern California air quality was good in the 50s you obviously didn't live around there then.
Perhaps if you'd lived downwind from the Fontana Kaiser Steel plant at that time and your lungs burned like you'd just smoked 10 packs of cigarettes after two hours of outdoor play, you wouldn't think the 50s were such a grand time to be a kid. Southern California air quality sucked then. It wasn't until the 70s that they started cleaning it up. Thankfully the steel plant eventually shut down.
Actually, the air quality was just as bad (if not worse) in the '60s and '70s. I remember running the required one mile in high school in 1978 or 1979 (my time was 7 min; 31 sec) and it hurt to breathe when I finished.
Also watch the TV show CHiPs (1977-1983) when there are some freeway shots. The mountains were not usually visible.
Actually, the air quality was just as bad (if not worse) in the '60s and '70s. I remember running the required one mile in high school in 1978 or 1979 (my time was 7 min; 31 sec) and it hurt to breathe when I finished.
Also watch the TV show CHiPs (1977-1983) when there are some freeway shots. The mountains were not usually visible.
I didn't say it was great there in the 60s and 70s. Whether it was or not, that didn't make the 50s a great time to be a kid in inland SoCal. The Kaiser plant shut down in the 80s. We moved to the beach in the 60s which was a huge improvement in quality of life. Of course the nice community we moved to (Laguna Niguel) didn't exist in the 50s.
I was born in the 40s, grew up in the 50s, but the 60s were by far my favorite decade. The 60s were a revolt against the boring apathetic 50s. The 50s were a great time to be a kid but when you were old enough to think, you probably weren't too thrilled with some of the things you found out about.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
