Wednesday, June 5, 2019

1961




1961
1338 East Sharpneck Street
West Oak Lane
Philadelphia, PA


My age: 5-6

School- St Raymond’s Grade School. Sister Angela Marie was my teacher. We crossed the street from our house and walked up the alleyway to the school.

Home- we lived in a 3 bedroom, one bathroom row home in North Philadelphia.  There were 8 of us at the time.  My parents had the master bedroom.  The four girls were in one room and the two boys had the bedroom that wasn't much bigger than a closet.

Music- I've heard these songs all my life.  But I can't be sure I've known all of the songs since I was five.
  • The Boll Weevil Song - Brook Benton
  • Crazy (Willie Nelson) -- Patsy Cline 
  • Crying - Roy Orbison 
  • Dedicated To The One I Love - The Shirelles 
  • Every Breath I Take - Gene Pitney
  • Hit The Road, Jack -- Ray Charles 
  • A Hundred Pounds Of Clay - Gene McDaniels 
  • Let's Twist Again - Chubby Checker 
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)  -- The Tokens 
  • Michael (Row The Boat Ashore)  -- The Highwayman 
  • Moon River -- Henry Mancini/ Andy Williams 
  • Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes 
  • Runaround Sue - Dion
  • Runaway - Del Shannon 
  • Run To Him - Bobby Vee
  • Shop Around - The Miracles 
  • Spanish Harlem - Ben E. King 
  • Stand By Me - Ben E. King 
  • Take Good Care Of My Baby - Bobby Vee 
  • Town Without Pity -- Gene Pitney 
  • Travelin' Man - Ricky Nelson 
  • Walk On By - Leroy Van Dyke 
  • Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?- The Shirelles 
Televison
  • Mister Ed 
  • The Yogi Bear Show- I loved cartoons
  • The Flintstones- I wanted to go back to the stone age.
  • Car 54, Where Are You? - I thought this show was hilarious
  • Hazel 
  • Password - I thought these contestants were so smart.
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show - I thought Mary Tyler Moore was beautiful.
  • October 4 - The Alvin Show on CBS (1961-1962)
  • Candid Camera- I loved this show.


News Events
  • John Kennedy was sworn in as the US president and my parents were Republicans so he was the enemy.
  • Yuri Gagarin, from the USSR,  became the first human in space and this was a huge embarrassment for the USA.
  • U.S. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps. 
  • US Cuban Exiles and CIA mounted unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Castro known as the  Bay of Pigs
  • The USSR tests the "Tsar Bomba," the largest nuclear bomb ever. We were in the midst of a cold war with many communist countries.
  • East German closed the border between east and west Berlin and the construction of the Berlin Wall began.  I never thought this war would come down.
  • NASA launches the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission.  We were determined to surpass Russia in this area.
  • Disney releases their first live action musical film, "Babes In Toyland." I vaguely remember seeing this movie.
  • The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) started and continues to be a positive force fro wildlife.
Family
  •  I started grade school. I was very excited to start but then school became a tremendous chore as I had terrible reading problems.
  • My dad started his law practice in Philadelphia.  He was in a firm with three other men and their office was on 13th and Chestnut in Philadelphia.  He used to take me to work from time to time and I loved going there with him.  Usually another sibling came along and we played while he worked. Than he would take us to Horn &   Harrardt’s cafeteria for lunch.
  • My grandfather died sometime around this time but I am not exactly sure what year it was.

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