Category Archives: 1960’s

Family Picnics!

. 1950's, 1960's, 1960's events, 50's Events, 50's Summer, What's New . 1 Comment
barbecue bbq beef charcoal

Photo by Francesco Paggiaro on Pexels.com

Beginning in 1959 my parents and my sisters, brother, and I went on our first family picnic to Interstate Park in New Jersey. It was followed by many more including my Grandmother, all my Aunts and my Uncles at the time, and two of my oldest sisters were married so with my brother-in-law it was a great big summer day filled with lots to do!

We would all gather and meet there early as possible, to get a good table close to the bathroom area! We set up the tables with goodies that were prepared on the day before someone would make the potato salad, another would make the corn on the cob and so on, there was a boat dock right there you could go fishing if you wanted, and there was a great trail to hike on that went on it seemed forever up the palisades!

Then we take turns playing football, or tossing a baseball, the kids would fill up their water pistols, including the grownup kids! We would also go there on the 4th of July in the 1960’s over the years, It made for some great memories.

Chatterbox P.A.

. 1950's, 1960's, 1960's events, 50's Events, Retro Recipes, Retro School, What's New

1941 Chevy
T Bird 1950’s

Hi! Sorry haven’t been around here but I moved and had 16 years of storage to sort and pack for new home and as you know, it’s not an easy event! unpacking is just as hard. Anway I had one free day to visit my Sister and family in P.A. And we went to an Auto display at a place named “the Chatterbox”.

That was in prosses shutting down soon and it was to be taken down for new developments. Sad it was like Mel’s diner and had great food inside, I took a few quick photos walking around it. It’s a well known in P.A. I have a few others I’ll post also.

New Music Added

. 1950's, 1960's, Music, The Jukebox, What's New

Juke Box
I added new songs from the 1950’s and 60’s!
Save the last dance for me by: The Drifters, Maybe Baby by Buddy Holly, Hey Paula by: Paul and Paula, Crazy by: Patsy Cline.

I’m Sorry by: Brenda Lee, Little Darlin by: The Diamonds, Supid Cupid by: Connie Francis, To know him is to love him by: The Teddy Bears, Do you want to dance by: Bobby Freeman, Who’s sorry now by: Connie Fransis. Get a Job by: Sha Na Na
illustration Licensed by:
(c) Can Stock Photo / VanderWolfImages

Lets Do The Twist!

. 1960's, 1960's events, 60's, Music, What's New . 2 Comments
The Twist

Twisting

Back in the 1950s and 1960s there were some great songs and some had a dance that went hand in hand with the song, like the Twist! It became very popular in the 1960’s on a show that was hosted by a DJ named Buddy Dean in Baltimore.

The song was recommended to Dick Clark for American Bandstand, Dick Clark searched for a local talent to record it, and chose Chubby Checker for it. In 1960 he performed it Wildwood N.J And in August he preformed it on American Bandstand, and the song became a national hit sensation! And it was so popular that in 1961 and 1962 those in high society were also up and twisting the night away!

And in New York city there was a nightclub named “The peppermint Lounge” that featured Joey Dee and the Starliters, and soon they had a hit song named, The Peppermint Twist! And a number of other music stars also recorded songs that had the twist in them.

It’s funny but my friend and I were 18 years old at the time and lived about 10 minutes from the city, so we said lets go over the city to the peppermint lounge because we thought that would be so cool, so we went on a summer day walked in and ordered 2 beers, that we drank and then walked out!  Yeah a couple of cool Jerks! lol
Illustration Licensed by:
(c) Can Stock Photo / Aleutie

Retro School Days

. 1950's, 1960's, 1960's events, 50's Events

pexels-photo-261719.jpeg If you ever saw the movie “A Christmas Story” the school classroom always reminds me of the school’s I attended in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

In the mornings we all would say the of pledge of allegiance, than sing my Country ‘Tis of Thee, than class would begin as always.

The classroom had that big blackboard with the chalk and erasers that two kids always had to take outside at the end of the day about, 2:45pm, and bang the erasers against the building and out came the chalk dust! And in the afternoon the class would go outside in the school yard and play a game of dodge ball! It was reading, writing, and arithmetic, spelling, geography, science, and then some.

And about 1954 schools began using ink pens with the inkwell, and every student wrote in cursive writing! which a number of schools canceled out over the last few years, but some are bringing it back. It’s a great way to write a letter and should you need to sign your name to a document that’s the way to do it. You never think at the time that you might miss those school days, it’s not later in life that you reflect back on how it was.

Family Gathering!

. 1950's, 1960's, 1960's events, 50's Events, What's New . 1 Comment
Family together

Family Gathering!

My Sister and I were reminiscing about how our family’s all lived in the same town in the 50’s and 60’s, it was so easy to visit each other as we all lived no more than 10 to 15 blocks from each other, and we were also recalling that mostly in the 60’s, my Sisters and Brother and all the kids would come on Sundays, a couple of times a month to visit and gather and chat to catch up on things and to have diner.

At first the Parents would have coffee, tea, and usually pasties fresh from the bakery, the kids would be coming in and out from the backyard either to get a drink or snack or go watch a little TV then back out to play. We would gather around the dining room about 3:00 in the afternoon in those days and I think some of us still do!

Then later on as the day wore on there were more snacks, then one by one everyone left for home. Over the years most of the family moved to different towns, some close by and others further away. So we wanted to share this great memory, of a time in the 50’s and 60’s of when our family’s all lived and gathered in the town we lived in.

Illustration licensed from (c) camstock photos

1960’s karaoke!

. 1960's, 1960's Classic Autos, 1960's events, 50's Fashion, 60's, What's New . 2 Comments
51 Chevy

1951 Chevy

When I see the late late show at times with James Corden and his guests, It reminded me how, that’s what we did in the mid-Sixties in this model car my wonderful 1951 Green Chevy with a AM radio and it drove like a tank! lol

I would drive around with my few friends bring one of us would bring a guitar, and we would just sing whatever songs were out at the time and very loud at times and people in passing cars thought we were weird, they laughhed at us, but we thought we were sounded good saying, they don’t know good music! when they hear it! lol

We would ride around town in the cold winter or those warm summer evenings like that without a care in the world! So the late late show host has a great guest lineup for his karaoke Car segments, and I had great friends in mine, and it doesn’t get any better then that!

Site update!

. 1950's, 1960's, What's New

retroboy Hi ! I updated the site today and it’s re-named thepastisback.blog  I’ll be making a few changes nothing much, so please join us here for the latest for our memories, facts, fashion, and more about the good times of the 1950’s and 60’s!.. Thanks. Bob

School Holidays

. 1950's, 1960's, 50's News, 50's Triva

pexels-photo-273011.jpeg I was thinking about the difference in holidays off from schools these days and back in the 1950’s and even the 1960’s

We didn’t have 3 day holidays, we did observe a half day on Holy Thursday, then no school on Good Friday and following Easter Day, we went back to school on monday.

I remember school letting out in early June about the 10th or so, I’m talking only of the pubic schools from the county and city where I lived. But I think it may have been the same in most of the states at that time.

I remember observing President Lincoln’s Birthday on Feb, 12th and we had President Washington’s Birthday off on Feb, 22nd. We had a half day on Dec 23,  for the Christmas Holidays and went back after the new year.

I looked up and found these calendar of Holidays and Observances: from the year 1955

Jan 1 New Year’s Day
Feb 12 Lincoln’s Birthday
Feb 14 Valentine’s Day
Feb 22 Presidents’ Day
Mar 17 St. Patrick’s Day
Apr 10 Easter Sunday
Apr 15 Tax Day..
May 5 Cinco de Mayo
May 8 Mother’s Day
May 30 Decoration Day Jun 19 Father’s Day
Jul 4 Independence Day
Sep 5 Labor Day
Oct 12 Columbus Day (Most regions)
Oct 31 Halloween
Nov 11 Veterans Day
Nov 24 Thanksgiving Day
Dec 24 Christmas Eve
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Dec 26 Christmas Day’ observed
Dec 31 New Year’s Eve.