Living the Life: An Account of Life in the Late 1950's and the Early 1960's

My grandmother, Beverly Perry, grew up in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, she was born in October 20, 1945 (see fig. 1). She grew up in a household where culture and religion ran deep, shaping how she lived. Her family had very strict rules and a very strict schedule that they stuck to and that is how her family ran. She lived in an area where she was able to walk to everything that she needed and instead of super stores, everything was little shops. Instead of three TV's per household, everyone had one, instead of two cars per household, everyone had one family car. Times were different then, my Grandmother found it to be a "slower, better more simple lifestyle and where everyone knows everyone" (Perry, Personal). This research project delves deep into the day to day living of someone in the 1950's and 1960's, showing how daily life and trends were different than what they are today, and the different expectations that are put upon a person.

Figure 1. My Grandmother and Grandfather, (left) from 1964 and (right) from 2010.

GROWING UP

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When my Grandmother was growing up there were many different expectations while living with her parents. In her household her mother stayed home taking care of the house while her father went off to work. When her father arrived home, everything was supposed to be spotless and her and her brother had to be a picture of perfection and there was a family dinner laid out like always of something along the lines of spaghetti, pork, and a vegetable. When leaving the house she had to be spotlessly clean, and no wrinkled clothes. At this time is was very important on how other people viewed you. My Grandmother was not allowed to spend time with any boys alone and dating was completely prohibited, also her curfew for every day was nine o'clock. This at the time was very common to have this routine and her family was living the definition of the "American Dream". It was the idea that man should marry a young woman and have three children. They would live in a cutout house in the suburbs. Every house to look the same, with a small TV, cute kitchen, well kept yard, and the white picket fence out back (T, Jeffrey). My Grandmother found that she enjoyed this time period the most enjoyable than others, even with the strict rules in her household. During this time, "everything was more relaxed, without cellphones and computers. You could just walk down to the corner store and not be afraid of anything and be able to stay out all day without your parents worrying" (Perry, Personal).

FUN

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Even though my grandmother had an early curfew, she would still go out with her friends. Things to do that were fun were taking walks downtown with her friends. Back then it was ok to have your kids walking around and you would know that they were ok (Perry, Personal). Also, she liked to go to the movies, which was a very big deal. "There was one theater in town and it would be planned way in advanced for when we would go see a picture" (Perry, Personal). My Grandmother's favorite movie that she went to see was Sound of Music. It is in the top ten movies for the decade of the 1960's ("Top 10").Her and her friends would often exchange their records and bring them over each other's houses (see fig. 2). Or to be outside they would gather everyone up and play softball down at the park.

Figure 2. An Elvis Presley vinyl record that my Grandmother owned (Perry, Stephanie).

SCHOOL

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During her years in high school she would walk to school everyday both ways, very few kids drove to school during this time unless they had important jobs and could afford to. While she was growing up Brown vs. Board of Education went through and brought down the law that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for African-American and White students unconstitutional("Separate") (see fig. 3). I questioned my Grandmother if this effected where she lived at all or if this caused any difficulties, and to my surprise, she said it did not at all. In her high school there were a few African-American people and everyone seemed to get along with them and there were no protests or outbreaks.

Figure 3. A photo representing integration in schools (Liptak).

TRADITIONS

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My Grandmother and her family grew up very strongly Portuguese, and one of the Portuguese traditions is the Holy Ghost ceremony. This is when a decorated alter is created in a chosen person's home and stays there for a week. People can come to their house to pray and be with others of their religion. This ceremony started in the Azores, Portugal where my Great Grandparents came from. There is a larger ceremony that occurs once a year and there is a parade a mass and a feast, "the traditional carrying of the crown and scepter in the Portuguese processions is a reminder of the love and devotion Queen Elizabeth had for God, the Holy Spirit and for the poor and less fortunate of Portugal" ("Holy"). My Grandmother stated in her interview that she "remembers this time very well and she enjoyed all of the people coming to the house" (Perry, Personal).

TRENDS

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What people think of as "cool" or "stylish" today, was very different to what it actually was in the 1950's and 1960's (see fig. 4). The clothes were different, the cars were different, the music was different, the shows were different, and so on. The top shows of this time period are Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and I Love Lucy ("Top"). The westerns and comedies seemed to draw the biggest amount of attention during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Not only were the shows different but the styles, the hair was shorter and worn curly, and the woman were expected to wear skirts to the knee and respectable shirts. My Grandmother noted that by the end of the sixties, this was not expected anymore and girls could wear pants and and have longer hair (Perry, Personal). The number one family car that she remembers is the Pontiac, many people in the town had one. Lastly, another big influencing trend is music. Elvis was the absolute favorite of my Grandmothers and to this day he still is (see fig. 5), he may not have been the favorite of everyone in this decade, but he was up there. Many people also like Ray Charles, The Beatles, and the Beach Boys.

Figure 4. Trends of the late 1950's and the early 1960's. The first slide are my

Grandmother's favorite TV shows, while the rest are the popular trends of the time (Perry, Stephanie).

Figure 5. Elvis Presley, Jailhouse Rock ("Elvis").

MEETING A MAN

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Growing up my Grandmother was not allowed to date or have boys call the house. My Grandfather was the first boy to do both of these things, which made my Grandmother's parents dislike him very much. He also was not fully Portuguese and they wanted their daughter to marry someone one-hundred percent portuguese. During this time a person was judged by their family and what the father did for work. She said that, "The first question I was asked when I told my parents about him was 'what does his father do?' that was how people made their first judgements" (Perry, Personal). She also told me that when she told her parents that he asked her to marry him that they tried to bribe her with a car to not marry him (Perry, Personal). That is how much they disliked him. She denied the car and married him even though it was against their wishes and they came around, and my Grandparents are still together to this day.

LEAVING THE HOUSE

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When my Grandmother was eighteen she got married to my grandfather in 1964. This was normal for this time to get married, but to me it seems crazy to get married now. My Grandmother said that, "It was much more commonplace then and college was not necessary, if I had been born when you were [1992] there is no way I would have gotten married so young" (Perry, Personal). After getting married she got pregnant with my father in 1965 and then with my aunt in 1966. My Grandfather did not allow her to work, because he felt that it was his job to. When the time of the drafts for the Vietnam War came around, my Grandfather was never considered. This is because he was diagnosed as a hemophiliac, and therefore he could not go. My Grandmother said to me that "she has lived a happy life with no regrets, and I hope the same for you" (Perry, Personal). My Grandmother is a very strong and smart woman and I enjoyed hearing about her life.

Works Cited

"Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock." You Tube, 26 March 2011. Web. 10 May. <<2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSwmFiFN3gA&feature=player_embedded>>

"Holy Ghost Tradition." Portuguese American Social & Athletic Club, 40 Fenwood Avenue, Smithfield, RI 02917. Web. 17 May 2011. .

Liptak, Adam. "Brown v. Board of Education - Supreme Court - Segregation - Schools - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 10 Dec. 2006. Web. 17 May 2011. .

Perry, Beverly. Personal interview. 24 April 2011.

Perry, Stephanie. 10 May 2011. Picture.

Perry, Stephanie. 10 May 2011. Slideshow.

"Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education." National Museum of

American History. Web. 10 May 2011. .

T, Jeffrey. "1950's American Dream." The Haps. 1 Aug. 2005. Web. 17 May 2011. .

"Top 10 Movies of the 1960s - TopTenReviews.com." TopTenREVIEWS Movies Reviews

-TopTenREVIEWS. Web. 17 May 2011.

"Top TV Shows, 1950's." Entertainment Scene. Nielsen Media Research, 28 Mar.

1997. Web. 10 May 2011. .