Innehållsförteckning för March 2022 från Reminisce Extra

We all carry pieces of history, and I don’t mean only our cherished memories. For many of us, the past is tangible and large: Mark and I have several pieces of furniture that we inherited from his grandparents Papa Jack and Florence. A blond-wood bed with built-in bookshelves and a Formica kitchen table are among my favorites. That table is now my home desk. Papa Jack and Florence bought it and other pieces when they were fixing up their new tract home in Utica, New York, in the 1940s—as thousands of other young families were doing at the time. In our cover feature, “How We Live Now” (page 32), we look at the decor of the postwar period, which marked a bold departure then and is still admired today. It…

Trumpeter Max Kaminsky recalled ongoing brawls between musicians Jimmy Dorsey and younger brother Tommy of the legendary swing-era Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. “They fought around the clock,” Kaminsky wrote in My Life in Jazz. “Jimmy would leap, snatch Tommy’s trombone and bend it in two. Tommy would seize Jimmy’s sax and smash it on the floor, and the fight was on.” Such clashes led to the breakup of the short-tempered partners, with both brothers forming their own hugely successful orchestras. Between 1935 and 1950, Jimmy Dorsey had at least 10 No. 1 Billboard hits. The last, “Besame Mucho,” claimed top spot for seven weeks in 1944. The smooth style of Dorsey vocalists Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen differed little from the original, recorded three years earlier by Mexican crooner Emilio Tuero.…

~ The Nelsons ~“The hardest acting in the world is portraying yourself.” —Ozzie Nelson First billed as “America’s favorite young couple,” Ozzie and Harriet Nelson began their family adventures in broadcasting in 1944 on CBS Radio. The show featured the Nelsons, playing themselves, talking about everyday situations with gentle humor. In 1952, the sitcom found its TV home on ABC, airing until 1966. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet presented a vision of uncomplicated family life, paving the way for others, including Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver and The Donna Reed Show. How they met Both seasoned entertainers, Ozzie and Harriet met when she sang in his big band. Red Skelton played a role The couple worked in film and as regulars on Red Skelton’s radio show. After…

During my time as a smoker, three Zippo lighters found a spot in my pocket. Zippo No. 1 came to me in 1967. It was bittersweet because it belonged to my grandfather, who had died from the effects of smoking. Whenever I used my grandfather’s lighter, it reminded me of him, and it also reminded me that smoking was not a habit I should continue for very long. My grandfather worked in oil-and-gas drilling; his lighter was engraved with a drilling rig. Sadly, my grandfather’s lighter was stolen during my stint in the Navy. I bought Zippo No. 2 in 1969 in the ship store of the USS Forrest Royal, which had been a destroyer in World War II. It had the likeness of the ship engraved on it. That…

The company’s first ad—in 1936 in Esquire—generated few sales. Then it found success with a campaign that echoed a popular dealers’ sales pitch called the fan test, which involved holding a lit Zippo up to a blowing fan for several seconds. After Zippos proved their mettle in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, ads played up their reliability. Eventually Zippo spots capitalized on the brand’s cachet as an agent of American cool.…

As a child in Weatherford, TX, Martin loved performing. She was a natural at dance, imitating the moves she saw on screen. Never one to give up, Martin tried out for so many roles in Hollywood that she got the nickname “Audition Mary.” She found fame on Broadway, in the long-running musicals South Pacific (1949) and The Sound of Music (1959). Her title role in Peter Pan (1954), however, was her most beloved. Martin’s son, Larry Hagman, was famous as J.R. on the TV series Dallas.…

1 Thomas Jeffery founded a company in 1902 that became part of this manufacturer. 2 A merger with the Hudson Motor Car Co. resulted in the marque that built this vehicle. 3 The company adopted its name for this car’s color for a new model that debuted the year after this car was built. 4 This car and the Chevrolet Corvette were the only two-seat production cars built in North America during its lifespan. 5 The year this car was built, drag racer Shirley Shahan won a national hot rod event driving one of these models. HOW’D YOU DO? Answer is on page 56.…

The war effort picks up as the government calls for the nation to conserve crucial materials. Rationing changes more than what Americans buy, however. It also changes how they live. Families plant victory gardens to bulk up rationed supplies of fruits and vegetables. By 1944, the 20 million backyard gardens provide more than 40% of the fresh produce eaten. Not only is gas rationed, but drivers can’t exceed 35 mph—known as the Victory Speed limit. Lower speeds also reduce tire wear to conserve rubber. Textile rationing demands pared-down clothing styles—no pleats, ruffles, double-breasted suits, cuffs or wide waistbands. Rules are strict. If you’re in the hospital for more than 10 days, you must turn in your ration book for safekeeping. If you die, your book goes back to the local…

Uncle Sam sent me my draft notice in May 1967, just after I’d finished college. By early June I was on my way to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Being a Wisconsin boy, I expected I was in for a long hot summer. A jet, then a propeller plane, then a hot, crowded bus—things were getting worse fast—brought me and a lot of other nervous recruits to our temporary new home. We were from all walks of life, ranging from a law school graduate to a guy whose listed address was “a stone’s throw from the railroad track.” We all did everything together, and it didn’t take long to get acquainted and learn to keep a low profile. I thought I knew how to stay out of trouble—do what you’re told…

Smooth-edged, easy to hold and with a distinctive click, the Zippo quickly found a place in popular culture. COUNTRY CLUB ORIGIN At a golf course, George Blaisdell saw a friend struggle with an Austrian lighter. Its unique chimney protected the flame in the wind, but the device took two hands to work, and it had a flimsy metal casing. Blaisdell, who grew up working in his family’s machine shop, decided to make his own. He kept the chimney and restyled everything else. WHY ZIPPO? Blaisdell liked the word “zipper.” He tried a few variations until he settled on Zippo. His first models cost $1.95, which would be about $38 today. ENGRAVING WORK In the mid-1930s, Kendall Refining Co. ordered 500 lighters embossed with its logo. Custom engraving quickly became key…

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Optical specialist Bausch & Lomb introduced a tinted anti-glare lens for pilots in 1937. The thin teardrop frame gave wearers a wide field of vision—handy for fishing and golf, too. American Optical, among others, made millions of pairs for the military in the war years. Merriam-Webster added the term in 1944, the year Gen. Douglas MacArthur put aviators in the public eye when he wore them on his triumphant return to the Philippines. With everything military in fashion, civilians snapped up surplus sunglasses after the war, and aviators became a style mainstay. Military pilots did not wear Ray-Bans. Bausch & Lomb launched Ray-Bans as a civilian brand when the company realized it was on to something with its sunglasses.…

ZIPPO MANUFACTURING CO. FOUNDED: in 1932 by George G. Blaisdell LOCATION: Bradford, Pennsylvania ONE FOR THE BOOKS: The company has produced more than 500 million lighters. RARE KEEPSAKE OF A SPECIAL TIME Army engineer opts for an engraved piece of history. While serving with the Army Corps of Engineers from 1975 to 1978, I traveled to many interesting places. But no experience compares to the six months I spent at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. There were 250 of us with the 84th Engineer Battalion, stationed out of Schofield Barracks in Oahu, Hawaii. We were tasked with clearing the island of Lojwa of its tropical sumac and turning it into a small city. The United States had carried out considerable arms testing in the Marshall Islands in the 1950s.…

Early American: Its chief inspiration is the 18th-century Philadelphia school, but it also borrows from other new-world ideas, such as the Shaker movement. Modernists like Shaker, too—notice its influence in a Heritage furniture ad at right—but the Early American interpretation leans to sturdy woods and traditional shapes. Tiki Culture: With dubious links to a 1930s California bootlegger, Tiki style took off after Thor Heyerdahl’s famous trip across Polynesia aboard the balsa raft Kon-Tiki in 1947. Rattan and bamboo furniture with bright cushions adorns home bars, where guests sip fruity drinks out of carved wooden cups.…

Mary Martin played the role of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, when the musical of that name opened on Broadway in 1954. I saw the spectacular production several months later when it was broadcast on NBC and my mother encouraged me to watch it on our new television. I was 10, and Mary’s talent had me utterly convinced that she was a boy. I began to write to her, and you can imagine my surprise when, after my fourth letter, I received a registered letter from her in return. After that, I continued to correspond with her, and she kept writing me back, telling me to follow my dreams. I began to wonder if I could meet this Broadway star! In 1963, Mary performed at the Fisher…