Notes from the White County Historical Society

By Charlene Shields

Notes from the White County Historical Society as they appeared in "The Carmi Times."

Copyright ©2002 by "The Carmi Times" Permission to reprint granted to Cindy Birk Conley and the ILGenWeb by Barry Cleveland, editor, "The Carmi Times."


More decades of note

Here's another in my series on the fads and fashions of the decades of
the past century.

Do you remember? The Sixties???

Andy Warhol and pop art, LSD, the twist, watusi, Janis Joplin, the
Beatles, Jackie Kennedy pill box hats, love beads and flower
children-all are indicative of the '60s.

People wore bell-bottoms, tie-dyed T-shirts and go-go boots. Troll dolls
were produced, and skateboards became a phenomenon.

Homes were enhanced with water beds and lava lights. Mother's work
became lighter with the advent of disposable diapers. Chubby Checker
introduced the twist. Others did the "Mashed Potato," "The Frug" or
"The Monkey."

Acid rock and The Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher-all types of music took
their place, along with the rage for Beatles music.

Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" was a best seller.

There was something for everyone in TV: The Beverly Hillbillies,
Bewitched, The Addams Family, Gilligan's Island, The Twilight Zone,
Star Trek and Hogan's Heroes.

Do you remember? The Seventies???

Transcendental meditation became popular. Tank tops, hot pants, string
bikinis, designer-label jeans, polyester leisure suits, mood rings, pet
rocks, CB radios, hanging baskets, macramé, streaking-all of these
help define the '70s.

People danced the hustle and disco, and Saturday Night Fever with John
Travolta was a hit in films.

Simon and Garfunkel sang "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme," and Helen
Reddy had a hit with "I Am Woman." Sammy Davis took center stage with
"Candy Man," and Tony Orlando and Dawn had everyone singing, "Tie a
Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree." Debbie Boone sang "You Light Up
My Life."

In 1975, theater-goers in New York were treated to "A Chorus Line."
Best selling books were The Godfather, The Exorcist, Jonathan Livingston
Seagull, Love Story, Jaws and The Thorn Birds. Roots was a best seller,
as well as a memorable TV series.

The world became acquainted with bigot Archie Bunker when All In The
Family premiered on TV in 1971. M*A*S*H came out in 1972 and became an
all-time popular TV show. Maude, Happy Days, Good Times, The Mary Tyler
Moore Show and Taxi all had a good run.

++++

I suspect our reminiscences are far along enough into the century that
several of the readers can identify with some of the books, shows and
fads mentioned above.



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Copyright © 2002 by Cindy Birk Conley, all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercial use of the information contained in these pages is strictly prohibited without prior permission. If copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information.