Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Reminisce Extra

BATHING BEAUTIES The bikini made its official debut for the media in 1946 at a public pool in Paris. Have you ever worn one? “My dad told me I had to wear the matching coverup at all times while at the pool. Yeah, like that happened!” CAROL GIFFIN VANHOOSE “I celebrated my 30th birthday by going wild and buying a bikini.” CAROL LIETHEN MCINTYRE “I loved my bikini back when I was a teeny-bopper. Oh, those were the days!” ROSE FREISE ECK Join the conversation at  FACEBOOK.COM/ REMINISCEMAGAZINE…

Growing up in Norco, California, in the ’60s and ’70s had its perks. I experienced one of them at age 14 when my boyfriend at the time got a small part in a movie and invited me and my older sister to go with him to the Hollywood set. We watched him shoot an airport scene for the movie Baby Blue Marine (1976), starring Jan-Michael Vincent. Walking back to our car after the filming, we noticed a line of people going into another set. We asked around and learned that it was the location of the TV show Happy Days. Of course, we had to get in on that! But we didn’t have tickets, so we were stuck outside. I was very upset and unable to hide my disappointment. At…

Back in 1945, while I was still cutting my baby teeth, my father, Clarence, was on an important diplomatic mission making dentures for Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government of China. The assignment came about unexpectedly. Before he was drafted into the Army in 1944, my dad worked for several years as a partner in a Minneapolis dental lab. After basic training, when his commanding officer learned of Dad’s unusual skills, my father was sent to Kunming, China, to be a technician with the military’s central dental laboratory. Patrick J. Hurley, ambassador to China at the time, had dentures made by the central laboratory. Madame Chiang confided to him that her husband was suffering with poorly made false teeth. He was using two worn sets—one for eating and…

Discover where genealogy and history intersect by learning for yourself whether family legends are true. I use ourtimelines.com. Simply enter a birth and death year for an ancestor to see the world events that happened during their lifetime. Also try these possibilities: Join the genealogy society in ancestral areas. Costs are usually low and the group may offer instructional webinars. Get to know state libraries and archives. Verify where they are by looking at the FamilySearch Wiki or via a browser search. Attend genealogy conferences to talk to experts in genealogy research and history. Check social media for pages devoted to people of certain backgrounds. Some social media groups that I belong to: Appalachia, Scots-Irish, and Palatines from Germany. PEGGY CLEMENS LAURITZEN, an accredited genealogist, writes and lectures about family…

When I was growing up in Southern California, I’d watch Emergency! every Saturday night. I loved that show. And I knew that one day I wanted to be a paramedic. But in the 10th grade my guidance counselor made it very clear that I needed to squash that dream. First, I was a girl—and fire departments did not hire girls, the counselor said. Second, even if they did take girls, I was 5-foot-2 and too short to be a paramedic. I was devastated. I graduated from high school in 1980 and went to college to study business. Which I hated. Fast-forward 35 years. I’d been a stay-at-home mother since our first child was born in 1986. I was reading an article in our local newspaper that said the community was…

Palm Sunday, 1972: My wife, Barbara, our three children and I were on our way home from church when we happened to pass by the base for our local volunteer emergency service. “Stop the car!” Barbara said. “I want to join the ambulance corps.” I immediately turned into the parking lot and Barbara went in to pick up a membership application. So began my wife’s 35-year career as a volunteer first responder. She started with training to be a dispatcher, which included basic first aid. To say that the emergency medical bug bit her from that point would be putting it mildly. She went from dispatcher to first medic in a very short time. Her early training included advanced first aid and CPR. That was followed by an emergency medical…

The character of Smokey Bear was created as part of a national ad campaign in 1944. But it took a real bear, a cub who survived a blaze in New Mexico’s Capitan Mountains in the spring of 1950, to put a cute face on the message of preventing forest fires—and melt hearts everywhere. The cub’s story began with his rescue from a 17,000-acre wildfire in the Lincoln National Forest. Firefighters found him clinging to a charred tree and named him Hot Foot Teddy because his paws were badly burned. The state’s first “flying game warden,” Raymond Bell, flew the cub to Santa Fe for treatment. It occurred to Bell that the black bear cub, renamed Smokey, could be a powerful living symbol of conservation and survival. Smokey became a media…

300 Weight in pounds of an average American black bear, the same species as Smokey. 20252 The exclusive ZIP code the post office gave to Smokey Bear in 1964 because he was getting more than 13,000 fan letters a week. You can still write to Smokey at Washington, DC, 20252. 1947 Smokey Bear’s “Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires!” becomes a familiar slogan. 1950 The year a badly burned bear cub is found in a tree after a fire in New Mexico. After being treated by Sante Fe vet Ed Smith (left), the cub is named Smokey and later given a home at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. 1952 Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins write a song about Smokey and give him a middle name—“the”—to match the melody’s rhythm:…

IN THE NORTH WOODS of Wisconsin on an extremely hot, humid day in 1968, Smokey Bear appeared at a combination firemen’s picnic and archery tournament. We kids followed Smokey everywhere, listening to the talks about preventing forest fires. I was sad when Smokey decided it was time to go. I continued to walk with him, asking, “Do you have to leave?” “Yes,” he answered. “Well,” I said, “you could come have a beer with my dad.” Smokey looked down at me. “Lead the way,” he said. So it was that Smokey Bear, in full costume, drank a beer with my father, James Alderton. Dad was a champion archer and had shared a beer with many celebrities over his lifetime, including Johnny Cash. But I know Smokey topped the list of his…

FOOD TRADITIONS How have you shared the joy of the holiday table with family and friends? Do you have marathon sessions to make pies, cookies, pasta or preserves? Is there a meal you still talk about at every get-together? Label your story and photos “Food Traditions.” STADIUM LOVE Did you ever see a game at one of the great old sports parks? Ebbets Field, the old Lambeau, Candlestick Park, the Astrodome? Maybe you had a beloved minor league field nearby. Tell us how it was—the crowds, the games, the fully loaded hot dogs. Label your story and photos “Stadium Love.” THE WAR EFFORT We’d like to hear about working during World War II. Label your story and photos “The War Effort.” CLASS TRIPS Class trips had their own logic—the buddy…

ABC’s General Hospital premiered May 1, 1963, which makes it the longest running daytime drama on the air. Do you have a healthy general knowledge of this fan favorite? 1 Name the fictional city where General Hospital is based. 2 Stuart Damon portrayed this patriarch for more than 30 years. 3 An estimated 30 million viewers tuned in for this much anticipated event in 1981 (pictured above). 4 Name the violet-eyed superstar—and show super fan—who guest-starred as Helena Cassadine. 5 Who is the “Jessie’s Girl” rocker who rocked stints as Dr. Noah Drake (and Eli Love) from 1981 to 2013? 6 He won eight lead-actor Daytime Emmys playing Luke Spencer, the most of any soap-opera performer. 7 A flight attendant and a registered nurse, she showed up in 1964 to…

WISE WORDS Weightier than a card, and a forever keepsake, too, this fill-in-the-blank gift book is a tangible expression of empathy and love. $10 emilymcdowell.com WARMING TREND Stir your way to dessert success with Mastrad’s 2-in-1 spatula thermometer—perfect for melting chocolate and caramel. The removable silicone tip is dishwasher-safe and the built-in stand keeps your counter clean. $18 amazon.com ME-TIME MARVEL Get professional spa results at home with Pacifica’s Disobey Time sheet mask. Lay the paper sheet on your face for 15 minutes to soothe, hydrate and infuse your skin with rose hip seed oil and other nutrients. $4 pacificabeauty.com HAVE A BALL Ball jars have been dependable storage for 135 years. The company reissued its classic aqua design this year. Decorate or pickle in style. $9 for a 16-ounce…

1903 Charles Land devises the porcelain jacket crown. 1905 German chemist Alfred Einhorn formulates the anesthetic later known as Novocain. 1911 The U.S. Army Dental Corps is established. 1913 The world’s first oral hygiene school, the Fones Clinic for Dental Hygienists, opens in Connecticut. 1920 The American Board of Orthodontics, the world’s first dental specialty board, is founded. 1938 The first synthetic-bristle toothbrush hits the market. 1958 Tests to certify dental lab technologists are given for the first time. 1959 A full reclining dental chair is introduced. 1960 Lasers are developed and approved to treat periodontal disease.…

WE LIVED IN A LARGE OLD two-story house in Freeport, Illinois, in the 1960s. When I was 9, our mother, Carol, was working the evening shift at the hospital where she was a nurse. Our father, Curtis, was trying to keep track of all six of us kids—no easy feat in a house that big and all of us under age 10. He called out to us (numerous times, I’m sure) until we eventually gathered in the kitchen. It wasn’t too much later someone said, “I smell something burning.” Sure enough, the acrid odor of smoke was filling the house. My father raced through the rooms but couldn’t find the source. Concerned for our safety, he ordered us all out and across the street to our neighbor’s. From there, we…

MY FRIEND Bonnie Travis and I were playing golf together one August day in 1982. We were having a lot of fun, until at the ninth hole Bonnie suddenly dropped to the ground. I ran to help her up, thinking she’d fainted. To my shock, she wasn’t breathing. I immediately started CPR and shouted for someone to call an ambulance. Within about 20 seconds, Bonnie started breathing on her own. I had saved her life! I received an American Red Cross certificate of merit signed by President Ronald Reagan for what I did that day. But credit also goes to the first-aid instructor who taught me CPR at a Lady Elks meeting two months earlier: Bonnie Travis.…

SMOKEY BEAR HAS BEEN a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father, William Pierce, started working with the Virginia Department of Forestry in the 1950s. One of his favorite jobs was running the Smokey Bear programs in the local elementary schools. Sometimes he was the presenter, teaching children conservation lessons through games, and sometimes he was the one wearing the Smokey Bear outfit. He was in many parades and festivals as Smokey Bear, handing out rulers, coloring sheets and the comic books that told the story of how Smokey came to be the representative of the U.S. Forest Service. When we were old enough, my friend Linda and I were pressed into service, wearing the Smokey cub outfits to many parades and gatherings. To complete…

Dad was an accountant, but I’m sure he harbored secret dreams of being a backwoods fishing guide. His uncommon facility with numbers doomed him to a successful career in an office. Still, he lived out a version of his fantasy for two weeks every August. We’d pack our yellow Dodge Monaco with camping gear and escape north, away from the Toronto suburbs and into the central Ontario hinterland, where we fished in the morning, played cards in the afternoon and read by a Coleman lantern at night. But in 1969, the summer before I turned 7, we didn’t go north. Instead we headed southwest to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Not a fishing hole in sight, though waves of heat radiating from that poor Dodge, overworked and without air conditioning,…

FROM THE TIME I was 6 until I turned 16, I spent summers with my grandmother Mary Elva Warren Tevault. I was fascinated with her Lux cuckoo clock. She tended not to wind it when she was home by herself, but I insisted whenever I visited. I inherited that clock when my grandmother passed away in 1980, and it’s moved around with me ever since. Just like Grandmother, I no longer wind it every day. When I do, and the little bird comes through the door to announce the time, it brings a flood of wonderful memories. Lux cuckoo clocks are collectors’ items now, even though they were mass-produced and sold for about $3 when new in the 1930s. A clock shop owner once asked me how much I wanted…

My first year as a teacher, 1948, I was 19 years old and taught 19 children spanning six grades in a one-room schoolhouse near Shawano, Wisconsin. Most of the students were related to each other; in one case, a boy in fourth grade was the uncle of a second grader. Looking back, I think I did a few key things right. I treated the children like they were my younger brothers and sisters. I taught them to sing, which we did together every day. And I appreciated humor, though what was funny to me was not always funny to the children. “My first school lunch must’ve been good, because I sat on the porch to finish it long after lunch period ended.”MARVIN MEYER • REDLANDS, CA For instance, when I…

Her First Battle Was the Toughest WHEN AN AMBULANCE COMPANY relocated to a different town, leaving our upstate New York community with the nearest service 20 minutes away, I decided to train as an EMT. I was 40 years old at the time. I joined a group of new fire department recruits for first responder training. I was delighted when I passed the course but disappointed to learn I couldn’t use my new skills without being attached to a fire department or ambulance service. So I looked into becoming a firefighter. This was the mid-1970s and I didn’t know any women who were firefighters. On the other hand, since I’d already trained with some of the members, I didn’t think I’d have a problem getting in. But when I asked…

Pat and I were born a month apart in 1946. Our moms were girlfriends and Pat grew up across the alley from me. It was a quick hop from my front door to her back door to walk to school together or for a day of playing. We often met up with friends at the spot we called “the field.” The field was an undeveloped area of about 3 acres. It was anything our imaginations wanted it to be. At various points, it was a baseball diamond, a racetrack, Tarzan’s jungle and the Wild West. When Pat and I were 10, the field also was the scene of an unforgettable experience for us—one in which Smokey Bear would have a lasting impact on our lives. There was a little white…

The Forest Service is careful about preserving Smokey’s image—so much so, it has a long list of what people should and shouldn’t do while wearing a Smokey Bear costume. DO wear a Smokey Bear costume only to promote wildfire prevention. DO remain anonymous while wearing the costume. DO express sincerity and interest by moving paws, head and legs. DO let others, especially children, initiate a hug, paw-shake or other greeting. DO limit appearances to 15 or 20 minutes to avoid heat-related illness. DO keep costume out of sight before and after use. DON’T be photographed without wearing Smokey’s head. And no pictures while getting in or out of costume. DON’T clown around or make vulgar gestures. Never compromise Smokey’s integrity. DON’T speak. Smokey’s uniformed escort should do the talking. DON’T…

My mother, Jo, volunteered to play Smokey Bear for the Arbor Day festival at our Cocoa Beach nursery school in 1965. But when she got the costume, she realized it was far too big for her. No problem, she thought, Lane is tall; he can wear it. Dad wasn’t happy about being volunteered, but he put on the costume anyway. The day was very warm, with the Florida sunshine bright and hot. The costume was made of thick fur, and Dad started sweating profusely. To make matters worse, the bear head was too large for Dad to sit upright in our station wagon; he had to lie down in the bed behind the back seat with his head poking out the rear window. On our ride to school, people were…

MAKING WAVES COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE, better known as the French Line, operated vessels that were the envy of competitors in decor, amenities and—bien sÛr—cuisine. Passengers were treated to classic French food and service so elite even their dogs had multicourse dinners. The Ile de France was the first art deco-styled liner, and ushered in a French Line heyday that lasted until the late 1930s, when its fleet was pressed into service for World War II. After 1945, the company struggled to rebuild. But it had the Liberté, a sleek German liner seized for war reparations, and the stylish Flandre, which featured a novelty—air conditioning—when it launched in 1952. The ads here, all from National Geographic, reflect the French Line’s 1950s renaissance, when sophistication was de rigueur. Two are original works by…

At nursing school in the 1950s, we attended classes all year long for three years. We were allowed to be engaged, but we couldn’t marry until the final four months of the program. Tony and I were to marry in mid-May and three of my classmates had scheduled their weddings for around the same time. The four of us decided that our “something blue” would be a pretty blue garter that each woman could pass along to the next bride. I was the last in line. I weighed 106 in those days and the women before me were all a bit heftier. So by the time it got to me, the garter was so stretched that I had to hike it up to my thigh to get it to stay…

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