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Eugene Church · 03-23-2019, 07:56 PM

My Life is Nifty in 1950!

Well, EC is 9 years old... lives in New Orleans... attends the fourth grade at Jefferson Davis Elementary School... lives in a two-room apartment near Pontchartrain Beach, an absolutely wonderful amusement park on the beautiful shores of Lake Pontchartrain (pronounced "Pon-cha-train").

My stepdad is Johnny Church... never knew my real dad... I was born out-of-wedlock in 1940... father was an older married man, who took advantage of my youthful mother... my father was quite a dandy... owned a honky tonk night club... was a gambler... and a bootlegger... had the police department on the payroll and in the palm of his hands... only met him 3-4 times for a brief period of time... he had three body guards and a chauffeur... and a big limousine.

But my mother would not give me away for adoption... most of the time in the 40's, the family would try to hide the shame and would send the girl to a distant relative where the baby would be born and put up for adoption... then the girl would return home and resume her life like nothing ever happened.

Thank goodness for yours truly, my Mama would not do that... she kept me and raised me and did a pretty darn good job of it... I always had the love of family even though I didn't have a father for the first 7 years of my life... but I had my Mama and that was more than good enough... Mama and Jesus took care of me.

It wasn't easy for Mama to keep me... there was a terrible stigma and shame to be illegitimate in the 40s... not like today where it is rampant and commonplace... but, at least, nowadays society has progressed somewhat to be more forgiving and more tolerant and understanding... Mama took care of me with the help of my grandparents for my first seven years, then she met Johnny Church and got married... and EC finally had a father... and a really good one... he was a chief mate on a merchant marine ship... the chief mate is the captain's right-hand man... he's also the ship's navigator... Johnny Church must have been pretty good at his job... he got his captain's license at the very young age of 27, but never took command of a ship... money was the reason... also the huge responsibility the captain has... he is responsible for the whole ship... as chief mate, he could make overtime... the captain only got straight salary... with his overtime pay, Johnny Church made more than the captains he served under... plus he didn't have the entire ship to worry about.

The bad thing about going to sea is that you are away from your family for three, four months at a time... to be with Mama and me, Johnny got a job ashore, selling automobiles at a used car lot... sadly, he wasn't as good at selling cars as he was as sailor... finances would force him back to the sea... it was feast and famine for us... he made real good money as a chief mate, but it would go quickly when he would stay at home for three months with us... so that was our life at this time... home for a while... then out to sea... home for a while... then out to sea again.

Well, enough about EC... what's going on in the year 1950?

US History

NATO is created... 12 nations agree to the defense of the United States and Europe against the Soviet Union forces.

The "Red Scare" of Senator Joe McCarthy begins in Congress... he began to persecute people for being suspected Communists... he ruined the lives of many without justification... actors and screenwriters in Hollywood were blackballed and couldn't find work because of these Senate investigations.

The terrible Korean War began.

President Truman authorizes the production of the Hydrogen Bomb.

The first Peanuts comic strip was published October 2nd.

The Diner's Club issued the first credit card ever... what a shameful day for a consumers, most of whom would go on and "charge their lives away" into debt and sometimes bankruptcy.

My philosophy: if you can't pay your credit card off at the end of the month, don't charge it... do without the thing you wanted to buy... that way you avoid the exobitant 20% interest charge... which can get into the 30% range if you get behind in your payments.

Sadly, President Truman sent military personnel to Vietnam to help the French forces... we all know what this eventually led to... remember the ill-fated "Domino Theory" in the 60s?

The transitor was invented by William Shockley of Bell Telephone.

My gosh, look what he started and what we ended up with... Facebook, Twitter, Smart Phones... and technology addiction and all sorts of social problems.

Guess who doesn't have a smart phone?... or text?... but I do have a dumb phone... just use it to make calls... never been on Facebook and never will... never tweeted, either... and would you believe it, I'm quite happy.

Popular movies:
Cinderella
Samson and Delilah
Father of the Bride
King Solomon's Mines
Annie Get Your Gun

Television is in its infancy... in 1950 there are 8 million TVs in the country... and no, EC didn't have one... it would be three more years before common folks got TV.

Cost of Living 1950
How much things cost in 1950

Average cost of new house - $8,450.00 -
Average wages per year - $3,210.00 -
Cost of a gallon of gas - 18 cents -
Average cost of a new car - $1,510.00 -
Stromburg black and white Television - $249.95 -
Ball Point Pen - 25 cents -
Samsonite suitcase - $25.00 -
Clock Radio - $59.95 -

03-23-2019, 07:56 PM	#19
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,094 Blog Entries: 1	My Life is Nifty in 1950! Well, EC is 9 years old... lives in New Orleans... attends the fourth grade at Jefferson Davis Elementary School... lives in a two-room apartment near Pontchartrain Beach, an absolutely wonderful amusement park on the beautiful shores of Lake Pontchartrain (pronounced "Pon-cha-train"). My stepdad is Johnny Church... never knew my real dad... I was born out-of-wedlock in 1940... father was an older married man, who took advantage of my youthful mother... my father was quite a dandy... owned a honky tonk night club... was a gambler... and a bootlegger... had the police department on the payroll and in the palm of his hands... only met him 3-4 times for a brief period of time... he had three body guards and a chauffeur... and a big limousine. But my mother would not give me away for adoption... most of the time in the 40's, the family would try to hide the shame and would send the girl to a distant relative where the baby would be born and put up for adoption... then the girl would return home and resume her life like nothing ever happened. Thank goodness for yours truly, my Mama would not do that... she kept me and raised me and did a pretty darn good job of it... I always had the love of family even though I didn't have a father for the first 7 years of my life... but I had my Mama and that was more than good enough... Mama and Jesus took care of me. It wasn't easy for Mama to keep me... there was a terrible stigma and shame to be illegitimate in the 40s... not like today where it is rampant and commonplace... but, at least, nowadays society has progressed somewhat to be more forgiving and more tolerant and understanding... Mama took care of me with the help of my grandparents for my first seven years, then she met Johnny Church and got married... and EC finally had a father... and a really good one... he was a chief mate on a merchant marine ship... the chief mate is the captain's right-hand man... he's also the ship's navigator... Johnny Church must have been pretty good at his job... he got his captain's license at the very young age of 27, but never took command of a ship... money was the reason... also the huge responsibility the captain has... he is responsible for the whole ship... as chief mate, he could make overtime... the captain only got straight salary... with his overtime pay, Johnny Church made more than the captains he served under... plus he didn't have the entire ship to worry about. The bad thing about going to sea is that you are away from your family for three, four months at a time... to be with Mama and me, Johnny got a job ashore, selling automobiles at a used car lot... sadly, he wasn't as good at selling cars as he was as sailor... finances would force him back to the sea... it was feast and famine for us... he made real good money as a chief mate, but it would go quickly when he would stay at home for three months with us... so that was our life at this time... home for a while... then out to sea... home for a while... then out to sea again. Well, enough about EC... what's going on in the year 1950? US History NATO is created... 12 nations agree to the defense of the United States and Europe against the Soviet Union forces. The "Red Scare" of Senator Joe McCarthy begins in Congress... he began to persecute people for being suspected Communists... he ruined the lives of many without justification... actors and screenwriters in Hollywood were blackballed and couldn't find work because of these Senate investigations. The terrible Korean War began. President Truman authorizes the production of the Hydrogen Bomb. The first Peanuts comic strip was published October 2nd. The Diner's Club issued the first credit card ever... what a shameful day for a consumers, most of whom would go on and "charge their lives away" into debt and sometimes bankruptcy. My philosophy: if you can't pay your credit card off at the end of the month, don't charge it... do without the thing you wanted to buy... that way you avoid the exobitant 20% interest charge... which can get into the 30% range if you get behind in your payments. Sadly, President Truman sent military personnel to Vietnam to help the French forces... we all know what this eventually led to... remember the ill-fated "Domino Theory" in the 60s? The transitor was invented by William Shockley of Bell Telephone. My gosh, look what he started and what we ended up with... Facebook, Twitter, Smart Phones... and technology addiction and all sorts of social problems. Guess who doesn't have a smart phone?... or text?... but I do have a dumb phone... just use it to make calls... never been on Facebook and never will... never tweeted, either... and would you believe it, I'm quite happy. Popular movies: Cinderella Samson and Delilah Father of the Bride King Solomon's Mines Annie Get Your Gun Television is in its infancy... in 1950 there are 8 million TVs in the country... and no, EC didn't have one... it would be three more years before common folks got TV. Cost of Living 1950 How much things cost in 1950 Average cost of new house - $8,450.00 - Average wages per year - $3,210.00 - Cost of a gallon of gas - 18 cents - Average cost of a new car - $1,510.00 - Stromburg black and white Television - $249.95 - Ball Point Pen - 25 cents - Samsonite suitcase - $25.00 - Clock Radio - $59.95 - Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-10-2019 at 04:26 PM.