To many readers of course the 1950's will only seem another decade of history not unlike 1850 or 1750 that were studied in high school classes or read about in books.
For some of us though, we have first hand knowledge of having been raised, or married, or working or starting businesses, having children during this time, graduating or perhaps experiencing owning that first car.
Ya... that first car. The 1950's were a somewhat unique period in history.
There was a very serious war fought in Korea by the former Allies of World War II from 1950 to 1953, the French Indo China War which was a precursor to the Vietnam War, the Suez Crisis and Hungarian Revolt in 1956, and the Castro Revolution of 1959 along with the usual flair ups in Latin America and the sad demise of our own Avro Arrow fighter plane and the accompanying loss of 50,000 jobs.
Oh ya, and there was the constant threat of a nuclear war since the Soviet Union obtained the Bomb.
Did I mention that Londoners in England were literally choking to death from air pollution in their city and the Thames River was considered a dead zone.
Yet many of us refer to this decade as the Eisenhower era of peace, prosperity, and rapid expansion of the U.S. and Canadian highway and interstate systems along with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Taxes here were non existent or very low..not much worth talking about.
And lawyers? Wills were made by them and Perry Mason was as close as any of us would ever get to seeing one.
They even made a TV show later called "Happy Days" about this period where Rock n Roll and Elvis exploded on the scene and
the Beatles were yet unknown. The Ed Sullivan TV Show was chock full of vauderville acts from an earlier time but there was always American Bandstand.
Yes TV, that new invention with the market flooded by Admiral, Sylvania, Northern Electric, RCA and other brands..not a foreign name among them... how strange that seems today eh?
For Windsor, it was not such a good decade economically however after Ford
moved its vehicle assembly plant and head office to Oakville; but somehow we all persevered.
After all we had our own CKLW AM radio station that was rapidly becoming one, if not the top, innovative, popular and make or break stations for all rock n roll artists.
I remember the sock hops, going steady, hitch hiking everywhere, part time jobs, somehow coping with so many siblings and parents who were really square
daddy-o. And that first car.
Yes, mine was a 1951 Meteor with fender skirts and dual exhaust -- sticker
price? $600. In those days a person could pay $25.00 and receive Public Liability and Property Damage (PL&PD insurance coverage up to a minimum amount with the Ontario government).
Would that we had something like this today. Anyway, pulling in to a gas station with, at best, a fresh beginner's driver's license and asking for a $1.00 worth of gasoline (the attendant put in the gas, checked under the hood and would add water and "bulk" engine oil for $25 cents a quart, not a liter, if needed and even clean your windshield).
Oh yes, that first car, the rattail combs, levies with the cuffs turned up, white socks, and the girls' poodle skirts, pony tails, bobby socks and saddle shoes...and for me the duck ass hairdo with the two surfer curls in the front hanging down to my eyebrows.
Wow, was I cool. But alas, the chicks thought otherwise and of course, I blamed it all on my facial pimple that would always come out just before the big date.
I must have had 20 good looking girls on my street that I drooled over, secretly of course.
With my friends present I would only pull the girls' pony tails or frighten them with a garder
snake, of which I was more afraid than my intended victims. We would seemingly play
sandlot softball or baseball, football, basketball or ice hockey all day long.
Never soccer. Organized sports were pretty much in their infancy in those days.
We made our own fun also playing marbles, chestnuts and kick-the-can or hide-and-go-seek.
We walked to school. School buses? Never heard of them and most of our teachers didn't tolerate horseplay.
They had both knowledge and sting and could make your life miserable if you crossed a line. And if you didn't pass you failed.
It wasn't uncommon to have repeaters in your class.
Fast food then was making a ketchup or peanut butter sandwich or grabbing an apple on the run from home while eating out meant sometimes enjoying a milkshake at the local dairy bar or if you were really flush, a hot dog or fries.
The 50's mean a lot of different things to all of us for sure... So come on out to our
1950's themed Canadian Transportation Museum and our 50's
diner.
Let us help you conjur up and experience a moment or two from those earlier years...because when its all said and done.. we only have our memories...and what memories they are indeed.
unknown. The Ed Sullivan TV Show was chock full of vauderville acts from an earlier time but there was always American Bandstand.
Yes TV, that new invention with the market flooded by Admiral, Sylvania, Northern Electric, RCA and other brands..not a foreign name among them... how strange that seems today eh?
For Windsor, it was not such a good decade economically however after Ford
moved its vehicle assembly plant and head office to Oakville; but somehow we all persevered.
After all we had our own CKLW AM radio station that was rapidly becoming one, if not the top, innovative, popular and make or break stations for all rock n roll artists. 
square
daddy-o. And that first car.
Yes, mine was a 1951 Meteor with fender skirts and dual exhaust -- sticker
price? $600. In those days a person could pay $25.00 and receive Public Liability and Property Damage (PL&PD insurance coverage up to a minimum amount with the Ontario government).
Would that we had something like this today. Anyway, pulling in to a gas station with, at best, a fresh beginner's driver's license and asking for a $1.00 worth of gasoline (the attendant put in the gas, checked under the hood and would add water and "bulk" engine oil for $25 cents a quart, not a liter, if needed and even clean your windshield).
Oh yes, that first car, the rattail combs, levies with the cuffs turned up, white socks, and the girls' poodle skirts, pony tails, bobby socks and saddle shoes...and for me the duck ass hairdo with the two surfer curls in the front hanging down to my eyebrows.
Wow, was I cool. But alas, the chicks thought otherwise and of course, I blamed it all on my facial pimple that would always come out just before the big date.
I must have had 20 good looking girls on my street that I drooled over, secretly of course.
With my friends present I would only pull the girls' pony tails or frighten them with a garder
snake
, of which I was more afraid than my intended victims. We would seemingly play
sandlot softball or baseball, football, basketball or ice hockey all day long.
Never soccer. Organized sports were pretty much in their infancy in those days.
We made our own fun also playing marbles, chestnuts and kick-the-can or hide-and-go-seek.
We walked to school. School buses? Never heard of them and most of our teachers didn't tolerate horseplay.
They had both knowledge and sting and could make your life miserable if you crossed a line. And if you didn't pass you failed.
It wasn't uncommon to have repeaters in your class. 
