Having been born in the 1950s we survived our mothers who may have smoked or drank while being pregnant.
We were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with lead-based paint. There was no child-proof medicine bottles
We rode our bikes without helmets, rode in the car without car seats, or seat belts.
We drank water from the garden hose, ate white bread and drank Kool-Aid made with white sugar.
We played outside all day and didn’t come home until the street lights came on – and nobody worried about where we were or what we were doing.
Growing up in the 1960s, we were blessed with an idyllic youth.
We left our doors unlocked,
Rode our bikes to the swimming pool and
It was nothing to walk downtown to the Sweet Shop or Coffee Shop to get a cherry or chocolate coke.
Did anyone else skip school lunch to save their 35-cent lunch money to buy candy at Casey’s on Buckeye Street? I did.
Main Street
Many memorable events took place in the 60s: Who doesn’t remember where they were when President John Kennedy was assassinated? I was in Mr. Leaker’s 7th-grade homeroom.
In the news was:
The assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobbie Kennedy,
Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon,
Woodstock,
Teddy Kennedy and Chappaquiddick,
Anti-war demonstrations and
The Selma voting rights march.
Viet Nam was on the news every night, and by the way, thank you again to our veterans for their service.
Sunday afternoon Football
In Sports:
Our football team was the first undefeated team in the school’s history.
The Ohio State Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl to win the college football national championship. We felt we had a front-row seat because Jeanie Otis’ brother was on that team!
The New York Jets and Joe Namath beat the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.
TV programs you may remember: Peyton Place, Hawaii 5-0, Andy Griffith, I Dream of Jeanie, Gilligan’s Island, and the Jetson’s which took place in the space age – the year 2000!
Some of the Top hits and groups of the 1960s and I’m sure you still can remember some of the words:
The Beatles: I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Yesterday and many, many more
Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison
The Supreme’s: Where Did our Love Go and Stop in the Name of Love
Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone
My Girl by the Temptations
Monday, Monday and California Dreaming by the Mamas and Papas
I’m a Believer – The Monkees
Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
Bridge over Troubled Waters – by Simon and Garfunkel
Bad Moon Rising – Credence Clearwater Revival
The average cost of a home was $15,500
Average Income was $8,500
Cost of a new car was 3,200
Gas was 35 cents a gallon and if you were lucky you could find a gas war going on somewhere and could get 4 gallons of gas for a dollar.
In our last 50+ years, our decisions, beliefs, and personalities were shaped and impacted by the values we learned through our experiences in this small community of Celina. These influences are part of who and what we are today. We should appreciate the importance of our school years and growing up in this small town, at a time like no other.
