Our Kitchen 1964

 Our Kitchen Table

Philadelphia, PA

1964

There were six kids at this time. Six years later, another kid would arrive.  We all sat in the booth and my paretns sat in the two chairs.  I think we had this setup for another two years and then my parents bought a big wooden table with two long benchs and my father sat in a chair at the end, on the left.  My mom sat on the end of the bench, of the left so she could get to the stove if necessary. We sat, as a family, at that table for the next thirty years.

Christmans Decorations

Christmas Decorations
Our Home; at the kitchen table
Philadelphia, PA
1964-66

When we were kids, my mom made us make all of our Christmas tree decorations.  She would set up the kitchen table to resemble a third world child sweat shop and the six of us would spend the afternoon making dozens of felt decorations.  

One year we made white doves and red cardinals.  Another year we made multiple designs of Ginger bread men and tress and candy canes and Christmas bulbs.

She made all of our stocking and I thought they were so festive.  Mine was a Christmas wreath and I thought I had the most beautiful of the wreaths.  My dad was Santa Claus.  Of course, my mom was Mrs. Claus.

The decorations lasted for years and then slowly, they seemed to disappear.  I gave a few to my friend who loves Christmas and he cried when I presented them to him.  He said he was not worthy of such an honor but I told him we had plenty to spare so he took them.  That was in 1982.  Now, we have only a few left.  My forced once offered to give me back all but one.  He wanted to keep at least one for his tree but thought my nieces and nephews would want a part of my childhood.  At the time I told him not to worry about it.  But now I would love to have them back and I no longer see this friend.

I have one or two of them. And I find that just holding them comforts me.

1964

1964

Overbrook

Philadelphia, PA

My age:  8- 9

School- Our Lady of Lourdes.  Miss Capra was my 4^th grade teacher.  I thought she was beautiful and she was much nicer to us than other teachers. I think she was about 20 years old.

Music- The Beatles came on the scene and changed the music world and took up all my interest in music; I became an audiophile. The Beatles made their first appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. And the whole country watched. They  had 13 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 at the same time and they held the top five positions in the Billboard Top 40 singles in America.  Everyone loved the Beatles.  Every song they released became a hit.

Movies

•       It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 
•       The Unsinkable Molly Brown – This movie was so inspirational.
•       My Fair Lady 
•       Mary Poppins- Feed the Birds was such a sad song.

Books- Beverly Cleary- Ramone-I loved these books.

News Events- it was a turbulent year.

•     North Viet Nam became a household word.

•     The Boston Strangler was captured and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

•     Warren Commission report on the assassination of President Kennedy concluded Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone.  Now 50+ years later, there are still lots of conspiracy theories out there. It is still a disputed conclusion.

•     President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law and it wasn’t well received.

•     Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

•     Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton.  This was gossip for everyone.

Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston for World Heavy weight championship. And while everyone talked about this fight, it did not measure up to the discussion when he changed his name to Mohammed Ali and converted to the unknown religion of Muslim.

•     President Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty Campaign. It’s unfortunate that we made some progress but now have more poverty than we did when the war started.

•     The first Mustang from Ford Motor Company was made. Now fifty years old, it still commands a level of coolness that so many of us aspire to earn.

•     The 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified which removed the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. 

•     Race riots plagued our cities all summer long. At times, I thought we were at war.

•     Three civil rights field workers disappeared after investigating the burning of a Black church by the Ku Klux Klan.

•     The World's Fair was held in New York. I went to the fair and saw the Pieta.

•     U.S. Surgeon General reported that smoking may lead to lung cancer.  This was something the cigarette companies disputed with vengeance.

•     Jack Ruby was convicted of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President Kennedy. His involved in this awful situation was a mystery now and still is today.

•     Sidney Poitier became the first black actor to win the "best actor" Oscar in his role To Sir with Love. I just watched this movie again after 50 years and I cannot believe how sexist it is.

•     "Hello Dolly," "Funny Girl," and "Fiddler on the Roof" premiered on Broadway. These plays have had their share of remakes and updated renditions.

•     The Rolling Stones released a debut album, "The Rolling Stones."  They were too cool for me at this time.

•     Hasbro launch G.I. Joe an action figure for boys to join the Barbie Doll for Girls. I don’t know if my brothers wanted these dolls but my father wouldn’t have let them get these dolls. “Boys don’t play with dolls,” he announced.

•     BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), a programming language is introduced. It wouldn’t be until 1981 that I ever heard of this language or understand its purpose. 

•     United States Presidential Election - Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic) defeated Barry Goldwater (Republican).  I still have my Goldwater pin.  It’s an elephant with big, black eye glasses.

Family

      We went to the movies on Halloween night. My mother thought it was a great alternative to taking the six of us out to hoard candy.  We went to see Mary Poppins. So, she put a basket of candy on the porch and left a note, “Take one and have a Happy Halloween”. One of the neighborhood kids told my brother that he got to our house early and took all the candy.

Tammy

Tammy
My doll
1964

All of my friends had Barbie dolls.  I had Tammy.  She was two inches taller and a bit more realistic in her weight distribution.  But she was a little cheaper in price and in maintenance.  Her outfits didn't cost as much as Barbie's and my mother was able to make a few outfits.  She also didn't have the 10,000 accessories that Barbie had. So, I had to work around the Barbie things.  When we wanted to take a ride in Barbie's car, Tammy didn't fit.  She had to run along side.  She didn't fit in the dream house as she was too tall. And dating Ken was out of the question as she towered over him.

As a kid, I don't think I saw Tammy as an inferior to Barbie but it would have been nice to fit in the car.  As an adult, I think there should be more Tammys in life.

The World's Fair- 1963

The World's Fair

New York, NY

Summer 1964

I don’t remember much about this fair. I went with my parents and two of my siblings. My three younger siblings stayed home. My grandparents must’ve taken care. My parents probably thought they were too young to be in this large crowd. And so, the five of us took the train to New York to see this world event.

The moment that stays with me is the long line to see Michelangelo’s Pieta. It seemed as if we had to wait for days in this line. It was hot and sunny. There were lots and lots and lots and lots of people. And we waited quietly. Finally, we could see a massive block marble. And as the marble came in to people’s view, the tone of the crowd became more pious. People stood in silence. Some people prayed the rosary. Some people put on chapel veils. But everybody stood with a sense of reverence.

As we approach the statue I was awestruck at its sheer beauty. It also filled me with sorrow to see this beautiful woman holding her dead son. It was a magnificent sculpture. It stood by itself so that nothing interfered with its beauty. People strolled past as slowly as possible. Nobody wanted to be rushed. They made the sign of the cross. They whispered prayers. Some people cried. Everybody was moved by this mother, by this son, by this rendition of so much sadness.