Headlines & tidbits from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

American Living:

1940: 1st nylon stockings sold in US

1949: 1st Polaroid camera sold $89.95 (NYC)

1960: Taxes took 25% of earnings in US

1975: 80,000 turned out in New York City’s Central Park to celebrate the end of the Vietnam War.

Technology & Inventions:

1952: The Westinghouse Frost-Free Refrigerator was introduced

1954: The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. unveils a device that dials automatically. It is the forerunner of equipment that will soon permit a telephone user to dial direct, skipping the step of the operator.

Movies & TV:

1952: “Singin in the Rain” was in theaters starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds

1959: “Some Like It Hot” was in theaters starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon

1959: Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle, last airs on NBC-TV

1960: Elvis Presley appears on a Frank Sinatra special

1963: Bob Dylan walks off Ed Sullivan Show

1970: Beatles movie “Let it Be” premieres

1986: “Top Gun,” premieres

Music & Radio:

1963: Peter, Paul & Mary win their 1st Grammy (If I Had a Hammer)

1966: The Pet Sounds “masterpiece” by The Beach Boys was released. It contained “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Sloop John B.,” “God Only Knows,” “Here Today,” “Caroline No” and other songs.

1977: 1st quadrophonic concert (Pink Floyd in London)

1977: Howard Stern begins broadcasting at WRNW, Briarcliff Manor NY

1981: “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes hits #1 for next 9 weeks

1985: Madonna’s “Crazy For You,” single goes #1

Hollywood Headlines:

1967: Paul McCartney meets his future wife Linda Eastman

1971: Mick Jagger married Bianca Macias at St Tropez Town Hall

1976: Keith Relf, rock vocalist (Yardbirds), electrocuted at 33 while at home tuning his guitar

1980: Brian May of rock group Queen collapses on stage with hepatitis

1987: Rita Hayworth, actress (Gilda), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 68

The Arts:

1946: Musical “Annie Get Your Gun,” starring Ethel Merman premieres in NYC

1969: Monty Python comedy troupe forms

1981: Andrew Lloyd Webber/TS Eliot’s musical “Cats,” premieres in London

Sports:

1967: Mickey Mantle’s 500th HR off Oriole’s Stu Miller

1975: Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

1983: Reggie Jackson is 1st major leaguer to strike out 2,000 times

1985: Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year

1986: Reggie Jackson hit his 537th HR passing Mickey Mantle into 6th place

Automobile News:

1947: BF Goodrich announced the development of the tubeless tire (Akron Ohio)

1969: Last Chevrolet Corsair built

Shopping at the Great G. Fox & Co.

As a child growing up in Connecticut, nothing compared to trips with my mother to the department store, G. Fox & Company at 960 Main St. in Hartford. This grand institution was a family-owned, first-class department store, established in 1847. It was a cornerstone of the Connecticut economy when we shopped there in the late 60’s and early 70’s. I was unaware at the time that this store, which had once been the largest in New England, was soon to begin its decline. The original Fox family had sold the store to the May Department Stores Co. in 1965.

But in its heyday, before the invasion of malls, G. Fox was THE store to shop in. Within its 11 floors (plus a basement, sub-basement and mezzanine), you could find whatever you needed. And the service was exceptional. There were clothing departments for men, women and children, books, music, makeup, jewelry, art supplies, housewares, a fur salon and a stamp department for collector stamps.

A highlight of any shopping trip with my mother was stopping for lunch at the 1950’s lunch counter, which I believe was on the 6th floor. The restaurant was done in a classic diner style and had been preserved through renovations mostly in tact. There were booths to sit at, but I liked to sit on the chrome and leather stools that were fastened to the floor. I remember getting the best egg salad sandwiches there. It’s funny. I don’t remember the dessert, but I do remember the egg salad sandwiches.

My mother and I would make all of our usual stops at all of our favorite departments. The store was so beautiful to shop in, with its Art Deco design. The main floor was especially beautiful, with its high ceilings and marble floor. There were 8 passenger elevators. I remember taking one from the main lobby that was driven by a male uniformed elevator operator. There were also female attendants in the immaculate, black and white tiled ladies’ room.

You were so pampered at G. Fox that you didn’t even have to carry your purchases. You could have them delivered to your home the next day on the G. Fox truck, free of charge. I also remember my mother calling the store and having things delivered on approval. If it didn’t fit, or she just didn’t like the item, the truck would come out and pick it up, again, free of charge. We lived in a suburb of Hartford approximately 11 miles from the store.

The most spectacular time to visit G. Fox was during the Christmas season. The main floor was filled with poinsettias and there were old fashioned (yes—religious!) Christmas carols playing. The excitement and joy of the season made the air electric, as display cases brimmed with stylish and quality merchandise. But the real excitement began when Santa took up residence on the 11th floor. Every year, while we were young enough to appreciate it, my 3 brothers and me were taken up to the 11th floor where the Toy Department was. We would admire all of the unique toys and compile our Christmas wish lists. (As I recall, we would be allowed one expensive item from G. Fox to complement the stack of more standard games and toys selected from some place like Sears or later, ToysRUs.) I generally picked out a beautiful doll, but one year it was a stuffed white angora cat. I don’t ever remember being disappointed by not receiving this special item on Christmas morning.

Once we perused the toys, we got on the line to enter Toyland with its winter scenery, to wind our way up to where Santa was seated. Once there, we met Santa and asked him for something special and got our picture taken with him. Things usually went quite well, except for the year my youngest brother, about 4 years old, decided to tell Santa he had bad breath. My poor mother!

The day after Christmas, we returned to G. Fox. It had become a tradition to take advantage of the half price sale on Christmas wrapping paper and cards. The whole family spent a couple of hours among the crowds, selecting cards, paper and bows at 50% off for the following year. All of the shopping loot would be packed into a large box to be delivered to our home. When the box arrived, my mother and father packed it away for next Christmas.

So many of my memories of the time are tied in to that wonderful store. Going with my father to help him pick out diamond studs to surprise my mother on their 25th wedding anniversary. Buying my first real lipstick (not the cheaper version from the drugstore or 5 and dime). My older brother being old enough to drive me to purchase leather gloves for my mother, with money I had saved up. But the family sold the store in 1965, and there were so many changes made that the store lost touch with the core values it was founded on. The store closed for good in 1993.

The building at 960 Main St. in Hartford now houses both retail and professional tenants. I understand the Main St. lobby has been restored to its former Art Deco glory. But the store is gone, and I miss it and all the times we enjoyed there. I especially miss the days when a salesperson actually thanked you for spending money in their establishment.

Headlines & tidbits from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Front Page News:

1937: Dirigible Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, NJ (36 die)

1944: Gandhi freed from prison

1946: 5 die in a 2 day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco bay

1960: President Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act of 1960

1961: Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in Space (aboard Freedom 7)

1970: Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on anti-war protesters
at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others,
one permanently disabled.

1977: 1414 arrested in ongoing protests at proposed nuclear power plant site in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

1980: World Health Organization announced smallpox had been eradicated

1982: IBM releases PC-DOS version 1.1

1984: American veterans of the Vietnam War reached a $180-million out-of-court settlement with seven chemical companies in their class-action suit relating to the use of herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam.

American Living:

1961: President John F. Kennedy officially proclaims Sunday, May 13 as Mother’s Day. “The American Mother, as the heart of the American Home, by her labor and love instills in our homes and nurtures in our children the spirit of our country.”

1970: Now available at Texaco Stations - lead free gasoline.

Movies & TV:

1957: Last broadcast of “I Love Lucy” on CBS-TV

1983: “Laverne & Shirley,” last airs on ABC-TV

Music:

1959: 1st Grammy Awards: Perry Como & Ella Fitzgerald win

1962: West Side Story soundtrack album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album

1966: Mamas & Papas “Monday Monday” hits #1

1970: The Let It Be album was released in 1970.

1970: The soundtrack to the first Woodstock festival was released

1976: Kiss performs their 1st concert

1977: The Eagles’ masterpiece, “Hotel California,” was at number 1 on the singles chart in the U.S. for its only week

1981: Bob Marley died of lung cancer and a brain tumour

Hollywood Headlines:

1960: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorce

1977: Joan Crawford, actress, dies at 69

1987: Actor Tom Cruise (27) & actress Mimi Rogers (33), marry

The Arts:

1940: Pulitzer prize awarded to John Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath)

1953: Pulitzer prize awarded to E Hemingway (Old Man & The Sea)

1955: “Damn Yankees” opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 1022 performances

Sports:

1965: Willie Mays 512th HR breaks Mel Ott’s 511th NL record

1971: Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden

May 5, 1978: Pete Rose reaches 3,000 career hits.