History As You Experienced It

Presents of Christmases Past (1960's)

If you were a kid in the 60's historical events of that decade may not be easily remembered - but what Santa placed under the tree Christmas morning is probably still etched in your mind.  Here are some of the presents I remember most fondly.

Deluxe Playmobile (1962). This ranks as my all-time favorite. It was a full dashboard of a car with working windshield wipers, turn signal indicator & ignition which made a purring motor sound when you turned the key. Little did I know back then as a 5-year old that this would be the closest I'd come to owning a car (I've lived in Manhattan for my entire adult life and haven't needed one).

Linus the Lionhearted Lion stuffed animal (1963).  "Krispy Kritters" was a new breakfast cereal with the manic tagline of "The one and only cereal that comes in the shape of animals!" as an array of animated creatures from the savannahs of Africa came scooting across the TV screen stampede style. Linus was the spokesperson and this stuffed animal was a premium with box tops. 

Kenner's Give-a-Show Projector (1964).   The projector showed slides of various Hanna Barbera cartoon characters. I got a kick out of projecting the images on the ceiling of my darkened bedroom or on my pillowcase and playing around with the focus band to show the images as huge or tiny. (Double click here to see a classic TV commerical for it.)

Hands Down (1964). This was a game that required hand-slapping action onto one of 4 plastic hands (called the "Slam-o-Matic"). Suspense was created when a player picked a card from the deck and the other players wondered if he/she had two-of-a-kind, which would instigate slapping down of his/her assigned hand. The last person who slapped was penalized.  Fun came when someone faked and got others to foolishly slap their hands. Because of the vigorous slapping action I worried about the plastic hands breaking off.

King of the Hill (1965). Using marbles as playing pieces, the route to the top of the hill included detours/holes that could lead your marble to reappear far away.  If your marble made it to the top a crown would pop up. This game brings back a nasty memory. On Christmas night we drove my grandmother home and upon arriving at her house I got out of the car to let her out and stepped in a large puddle of dog excrement. On the drive home we kept the car windows rolled down and I hung my shoe out the window. It was one of those "we'll laugh about this later" moments.  

"Lost in Space" pullover (1965).  This long-sleeved pullover jersey was in the style of the outfits worn by the male characters of the new CBS show Lost in Space.  I think it was the first time I was excited to get clothes for Christmas and I couldn't wait to wear it to school. My brother also got one; his was blue, mine black.

Battery powered TWA airplane (1968).  It made separate sounds for taxi-ing and for flying and had flashing red lights.  It was about 12 inches in length and made out of metal. I'd walk from room to room imagining routes the plane was travelling to all over the world. That Christmas was made memorable by the Hong Kong Flu which was raging throughout the country. Because everyone in my family had a touch of the flu we didn't go to Christmas mass. Also, the first space mission to orbit the Moon, Apollo 8, occurred during the holiday.

Spirograph (1968). This arts/crafts kit enabled aspiring juvenile artists to make beautiful, somewhat psychedelic images through a selection of colored pens, pins and design templates. It was a safe way for a child coming of age during the "Age of Aquarius" to experience mind expansion without using pot or LSD.

Skittle Bowl (1970).  I spent many a weekend in the winter of 70/71 in heated competition with my parents & older brother playing this variation of bowling.  We'd place the board on the kitchen table and each of us took a turn pushing out the billiard-sized wooden ball (attached to a post by a chain) in an arc. The ball would strike miniature bowling pins. Mom & I were rather mellow players but my dad & brother were more competitive and sometimes it would lead to tension that occasionally lasted beyond the match. 

Of course my gushing over these cherished toys is not meant to slight the myriad other wonderful gifts I've received over the years, such as Lincoln Logs, Matchbox cars, the games Operation, Yahtze & Mousetrap, a miniature Lionel train set and many more. To immerse yourself in even more you may want to consider the DVD Classic Toy Commercials of the 60's or the book Classic Toys of the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Pearl Harbor Attacked (Dec. 7, 1941)

(Many thanks to my dear mother for recounting her memories of the day  Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor, an act that drew the U.S. into World War II.)

Sunday, December 7 was a mild early winter day in Pittsburgh.  After going to morning Mass and having lunch Mom went visiting at a girlfriend's house where their socializing was interrupted by a news bulletin on the radio reporting on Japan's surprise aerial attack of the U.S. Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii shortly after sunrise. Shortly afterward her friend Ginny's brother-in-law, home on military leave, received a call telling him to report back to base immediately. (The book At Dawn We Slept is one of many on the subject of this sneak attack.) 

Because Pittsburgh was one of the centers of U.S. military production there were fears about it being bombed as well. This led to regular blackout exercises whereby all residents were required, at the sound of air-raid sirens, to switch off all lights and pull down window shades. The goal was to make streets & landmarks harder to pinpoint in the event enemy bombers were overhead. Mom's brother (and my uncle) George was a senior in high school at the time and after graduating was inducted into the Marines and sent to Paradise Island for training.  He then spent the next 3 years in the Pacific repairing planes.  And Mom, then a junior in high school (her sweet-16 birthday was the following week on Dec. 14), helped with the war effort by distributing ration coupons.  After she graduated in 1943 she got a job documenting and tracking supplies of ammunition being put on supply ships sailing to Europe.  

Although it was a time of great worry Mom didn't recall feeling fearful but instead a sense of purposefulness & solidarity with neighbors & schoolmates as each made contributions to the war effort.   

The Hijacker Vanishes (Nov. 24, 1971)

The day before Thanksgiving 1971 was a snowy one in the hills of Western Pennsylvania (about 4" fell).  I was in the 9th grade at the time and my dad had gotten 4 tickets at work to tonight's Penguins hockey game at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.  I went with my older sister Linda, older brother Darrell (home for the holiday during his freshman year in college) and a neighbor from down the street.  The Penguins lost to Toronto 2-1 but it was an enjoyable outing nonetheless. Walking home after getting off the bus we were playing around in the snow and throwing an occasional snowball.  At one point I jerked my head to avoid one being thrown and my glasses flew off.  After looking for them for some time with no luck I ran home to get a flashlight (Mom joined us).  Finally, in the midst of our search a neighbor approached in his car and stopped when he saw our search party in the middle of the street.  He stayed so we could look in the light cast by his high beams and shortly thereafter we found my glasses. We had been out in the cold for probably an hour.

Meanwhile, while we conducted our search another was about to unfold in the Pacific Northwest. A man named D.B. Cooper had hijacked a plane, demanded parachutes and $200,000 and then jumped from the plane during a rainstorm into the wilderness north of Portland, Oregon.  Although hijackings had become a hazard of air travel since the late 60's, the way this one was carried out made it unique. And although a bundle of deteriorated twenty-dollar bills was discovered in 1980, and traced back to those given him, Cooper himself was never found. (The book D.B. Cooper: Dead or Alive? provides the full story of this mysterious man and his curious caper.)

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz

Nuclear War Movie "The Day After" Airs (Nov. 20, 1983)

ABC aired its controversial movie The Day After on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  It showed how a conflict between the U.S. & Soviet Union escalated into nuclear war and how it affected a family living in Lawrence, Kansas after a nuclear bomb exploded nearby. (View a video clip of the detonation.) I watched it with my ex-boyfriend  at his apartment on W.15th St. (We had broken up a few months earlier but would reconcile and move back in together a week before Christmas.)   

The movie (starring Jason Robards) had a grim storyline with no happy, or even hopeful, ending. It was even more sobering because of real-world tensions that had been building between the U.S. & U.S.S.R. during the first Reagan administration. Despite the fact that it was guaranteed to attract a huge audience the movie aired with limited commercials (and none after the bomb exploded) because very few advertisers were willing to air in it. This apprehension prevented ABC from charging high rates for advertising time; therefore, the few advertisers who took advantage got extremely good deals. One ad I remember seeing was for Orville Redenbacher's microwave popcorn. I thought the juxtaposition of a nuclear blast and corn popping was amusing in a black humor sort of way. 

As expected, the movie delivered a huge 46 household rating/62 share, making it the highest rated TV movie of all time and 3rd highest rated program of the year (behind the final episode of M*A*S*H and the Super Bowl). Soon afterwards a parade of TV movies with "socially relevant" storylines would follow including Something About Amelia (incest); The Burning Bed (wife beating); and An Early Frost (AIDS). 

Upon its conclusion a special episode of Nightline aired to discuss the movie with a studio audience. I had seen enough and didn't need to immerse myself further in the grim subject so I made my way home to the E.20's in the rain.  After what I had watched tonight I was looking forward to spending time with my family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz

Jim Jones Administers the Grape Kool-Aid (Nov. 18, 1978)

I was in my senior year at Penn State and had just come home for term break on Saturday afternoon. That evening my TV watching was interrupted by a news bulletin reporting that congressman Leo Ryan of California and 8 others (including TV cameramen & newspaper reporters) were gunned down at an airstrip as they attempted to leave Guyana. They were there on a fact-finding mission to investigate a cult known as The People's Temple whose members were mostly from California.

The next day an even more grisly story unfolded. After yesterday's shootings the residents of the settlement that congressman Ryan was visiting, Jonestown, had participated in a mass suicide - ordered by its leader Jim Jones. Although some had been shot most had died after drinking a grape-flavored drink laced with cyanide. And the number of dead was truly staggering. As the week went on the numbers kept getting higher, first 200, then 400, and all the way to the final astounding toll of 913. This story cast a pall over the Thanksgiving holiday. (A number of books have been written about this event including Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones & His People.)

The nation was still reeling from the horror of this tragedy when another horrific crime occurred just 1 week later (Nov. 27) as San Francisco mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk were shot to death in City Hall by a disgruntled former city council member. In a curious coincidence it turned out that Moscone & Milk had a connection with Jim Jones who a few years earlier was chairman of the SF Housing Authority.  

This tragedy occurred on a Monday, the day before I returned to classes at University Park for the start of Winter term.  I had spent that day in downtown Pittsburgh doing some shopping, buying my bus ticket and going to my dermatologist. It wasn't until I returned home that I heard the disturbing news. I was in the early stages of coming out so Milk's murder was especially sobering for me. Back then an openly gay man in such a public position was unheard of so it compounded the loss. (The Oscar-nominated film The Life & Times of Harvey Milk is based on the book of the same title.) 

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz

Milli Vanilli Fraud Rocks the Music Biz (Nov. 15, 1990)

I was away on business in L.A. visiting my company's office there for the first time (ad agency NWAyer).  That evening, a Thursday, I was in my hotel room (the newly renovated Biltmore) getting ready to drive over to West Hollywood for a bite to eat when I heard a breaking story on the evening news about Grammy-winning vocal duo Milli Vanilli (Best New Artist of 1990). It was revealed that they hadn't done their own singing when recording or performing!

Despite this deception I couldn't understand why a class-action lawsuit was filed to obtain refunds for those who purchased MV's CD/record Girl You Know It's True (which sold nearly 10 million units and produced 5 top-10 singles).  After all, the wildly popular songs were unchanged, with the same great hooks & beats, so if fans previously liked hits such as Girl I'm Gonna Miss You why would they no longer enjoy them now? Of course, MV had to give back their Grammy.  And unlike Vanessa Williams, whose career took off after a scandal forced her to step down as Miss America in 1985 (nude photos), the fledgling careers of Rob & Fab were largely over (and, sadly, Rob committed suicide in 1998).

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz

New York's First Great Blackout (Nov. 9, 1965)

I was in the 3rd grade and after dinner I was doing homework in the living room with the radio playing in the background (my parents listened to the evening news on venerated Pittsburgh station KDKA while we ate dinner). Mom & dad were getting ready to leave for Parents Night meetings at each of the schools my brother, sister & I attended.  That's when the news report came on about a massive power failure affecting New York City during evening rush hour. 

Years later (as a resident of NYC) I was on a date when the conversation turned to our tastes in music, in particular, The Supremes.  My date told me that whenever he heard their song I Hear A Symphony it always brought back memories of the Blackout of '65.  On the evening of the blackout it was being played on radio station WABC-AM when the melody & voices became distorted as the turntable slowly wound down after losing power. And my memory of him telling me what he remembered was that when we said good-night he hugged me so hard (it came out of nowhere) that he broke one of my ribs. Literally, a painful memory.

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz

Bush Pushes Rumsfeld Aside (Nov. 8, 2006)

It was a dreary & rainy Tuesday but I was in good spirits for a number of reasons.  First, the results from yesterday's mid-term election were very positive as both houses of Congress returned to Democratic control.  Secondly, it was payday for me after completing a consulting project for research company MRI.  I went up to MRI's offices in Chelsea at around noon to pick up the check and from there I walked over to my bank to deposit it. While standing in line at HSBC I heard the surprising (and gratifying) news on CNN that irascible Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was stepping down! 

This news flash was like a beam of sunshine breaking through the clouds.  Even better was the fact that for some reason the president decided to wait until after the election to make this announcement. Therefore, it was of no benefit to Republican candidates. This good news made the day's pouring rain (the most of any day this year, a record-setting 3.60") more than bearable. In fact, as I walked home I felt lighthearted, just like Gene Kelly in his famous rain-splashing scene in the the movie Singin' in the Rain. At long last there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel - and in 2 more years we would be delivered from evil. 

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz    

Gore Vs. Bush: Too Close to Call (Nov. 7, 2000)

I was running on the treadmill at the gym (Crunch Fitness) in the early evening watching election coverage as I warmed up for my weight workout. The early returns looked promising for Vice President Al Gore.  In fact, NBC had just projected him to be the winner in Florida.  This encouraging news gave me a lift during my workout. However, by the time I returned home an hour later the state's 25 electoral votes had been taken from his column as Florida was now "too close to call". This was quite an unusual, and puzzling, development. 

I stayed up until nearly 2:00 and then for whatever reason I chose to keep the TV on as I slept.  (At least I was able to lull myself to sleep knowing that former First Lady Hillary Clinton had won her race in New York for the U.S. Senate.) I awoke to the same uncertainty as when I crawled into bed - the race had yet to be called.  And this is how it would stay for the next 5 weeks until the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Bush's favor - thus beginning an 8-year nightmare for the nation. (Books by CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and renowned Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz discuss the standoff in Florida.) 

The craziness in Florida, with its confusing variety of ballots, made me reflect on how those in the advertising research field (my profession) so often disparage Nielsen for its measurement of TV audiences - using techniques which go through rigorous methodological review.  How curious that its methods are held up to such greater scrutiny compared to the jerry-rigged system used to elect the President, the most important man in the world.  

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz

"The Great Pumpkin" Makes Its TV Debut (Oct. 27, 1966)

Charles Schulz's popular comic strip Peanuts surged in popularity in the mid-1960's.  It was the subject of a Time Magazine cover story in April 1965; the first animated Peanuts TV special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas", aired in December 1965; and the following year the holiday-themed novelty tune "Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron" went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks.  And on this Thursday evening on CBS the special "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" aired for the first time. 

I was 9 years old at the time and in the 4th Grade. I watched the 30-minute telecast over at the house of my friend Mary Kay Opalanko, who lived across the alley from us (she was year a older than me).  We watched Linus & Charlie Brown's little sister Sally sitting in the pumpkin patch while we set up Mary Kay's new road-race set in her living room.  My older brother Darrell joined us because of the lure of the racing set (he also helped assemble it).  An added attraction was the Opalanko's new color TV.   (Mary Kay's family was also the first in the neighborhood to get a big, above-ground swimming pool.) 

"The Great Pumpkin" delivered a 31.6 Nielsen household rating, making it the 30th highest-rated telecast of 1966 (episodes of Bonanza comprised half of the top-30 that year).  And although new Charlie Brown specials would proliferate through the years none would achieve the same beloved stature as this one or "A Charlie Brown Christmas".  (To purchase either on DVD doubleclick  "Great Pumpkin" or "Charlie Brown Christmas".)

Remembered by Rob Frydlewicz