Innehållsförteckning för May 2022 från Reminisce Extra

Once again, we have delved into our image archives to create colorful features—“All Dressed Up,” page 32, and our salute to mothers, “Hold Me Tight,” page 52. I’ve talked before about our vast collection of reader slides. We treasure these images. Some of them were donated to us in the early 1990s, when Reminisce was just a whippersnapper of a magazine. Now, as then, they are essential to the story of our brand, and to the story of the past that we explore each month. My appreciation for these unique records grows every time I encounter a fictionalized past in a movie or TV show. The other day, for instance, I paused on an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , the Amazon comedy-drama about a female stand-up comedian in…

Georgia Gibbs, born Frieda Lipschitz in 1919, sang for several labels before hitting her stride with Mercury Records. Known for her strong vocal style, she often was called by her nickname, Her Nibs, which meant a person of importance. For her recording of “Kiss of Fire,” Gibbs, a former Big Band belter, delivered a supercharged version of the song, which was based on an Argentine tango, “El Choclo,” with English lyrics by Lester Allen and Robert Hill. Gibbs’ sultry rendition set the already scorching lyrics—with lines such as “Love me tonight and let the devil take tomorrow/I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me”—positively ablaze, and sent the song to the top of the Billboard charts. In her book about 1950s pop music, Great Pretenders (2006),…

Les Paul’s solid-body electric guitar hit the market in 1952, decades after he began to experiment with a new sound. Made by Gibson, the guitar found a following from across the musical spectrum that included jazz master Al Di Meola and hard rocker Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Paul’s influence on studio technology may be greater: He invented overdubbing, multitrack recording and other techniques that ushered in the era of modern music. “He made technology a musical instrument,” said producer and record executive Don Was. “We’re all deeply in his debt.” Teacher didn’t know best Lester William Polsfuss’ piano teacher wasn’t impressed, sending home a note: “Your boy Lester will never learn music, so save your money.” Young Les, undeterred, formed his own orchestra by age 10 and then took…

1. TELL A RELIABLE STORY The Electric Storage Battery Co. in Philadelphia was a leading supplier from the earliest days of motoring; postwar car owners would have been familiar with the striking look of an Exide, with its graphic black and red styling. Its ad evokes a strong theme of the era that cast men as driven breadwinners who keep the economy rolling. 2. SPARK INTEREST In 1962, when all thoughts were on the promise of space after John Glenn’s orbit of Earth that February, AC Spark Plug positions itself as a future-facing company with a clever ad that makes its ordinary car part look like a rocket. 3. FUEL THE IMAGINATION Ukrainian-born Boris Artzybasheff, who immigrated to the United States in 1919, was…

TELL US HOW TO FIND YOU Whether you send your submission via mail or email or post it online, include your full name, daytime phone number, email address and mailing address. If you have a post office box, tell us your street address too. HELP US SORT THINGS OUT Include the name of the department your submission is for (Motoring Memories, Growing Up, etc.) on the first page of your submission or in the email subject line. For any photos you submit, please identify the people, city, state and year the photo was taken. We reserve the right to use submissions in any section of our magazine, or elsewhere. We do not return unsolicited materials. Send quality photo reprints or email high-resolution JPEG files (300 dpi at 8x10) so you…

Kids who use wheelchairs, braces and crutches are common after the virus sweeps through cities and villages. Cases appear around Memorial Day and subside in the fall. Pools and beaches close across the nation during the summer surge. After President Truman declared polio a threat in 1946, urging a “total war in every city, town and village,” local officials shutter bowling alleys, movie houses and other public spaces during outbreaks. By 1955, vaccines are widely available. The last cases of wild poliomyelitis recorded in the United States occurred in 1979.…

Prom and Proper Phyllis Gebhardt, now of Sanford, Florida, beams with delight at Tom Neppel’s high school senior prom in 1972. “I was a junior. He was this amazing jock,” Phyllis writes. “I was totally in love with him—in that teenage way. I was so excited to be invited. It was such an honor to go to a senior prom as an underclassman. My parents insisted that my dress be prim and proper.” HOMEWARD BOUND Peggy and Chris Black of West Jordan, Utah, were Brigham Young University students already planning to spend their lives together when they attended the homecoming game and dance on Oct. 24, 1970. They kept a ticket stub: BYU beat Utah State 27-20. STOLE IN TIME Judi Carroll of Escondido, California, glows in a sateen gown…

With roots in 16th-century Europe, the autograph book gained wide popularity in the late-Victorian period, and hit a golden age before World War I. Autograph books of that era may feature lively original sketches or miniature paintings. These books are prized by historical societies and collectors as attractive and unique records of the past. They may sell for $60 or more on auction sites. Artwork is rarer in autograph books from later decades. A 1937 book similar to Julie’s was selling on Etsy recently for $20.…

This car originally belonged to a two-car, one-driver household in New England. Its owner, a businessman, had an everyday work car and this luxury convertible. He only drove the car between Memorial Day and Labor Day; the rest of the year, he kept it parked in a heated garage. When I became the car’s second owner, it was 30 years old and had only 24,575 documented miles. The owner’s niece, whom I worked with, encouraged me to contact her aunt about buying this special car after her uncle died. Although my favorite car color is black and I’m addicted to convertibles, I wasn’t initially excited about buying a car of this make. But the car is from the year I graduated high school, and as I learned more about the…

FIND HATTIE’S HATPINS Hattie has lost two hatpins in this issue! Tell us at reminisce.com/hatpin if you find them. We’ll randomly select winners to receive a year’s subscription to Reminisce. In the March issue, we hid the hatpins among the curtain folds on page 33, and on top of the building front, below Barnett’s signage, on page 46. There’s no purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on 4/11/22, and ends on 6/10/22. Visit reminisce.com/hattieshatpin-rules-rem for official rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. POP QUIZ, PAGES 42-43: 1.D 2.A 3.B 4.A…

Chinese and Japanese tailors immigrating to the Hawaiian territory in the early 20th century were some of the first to sew loose-fitting men’s shirts from bright kimono fabric. Bing Crosby endorsed the tropical style, and by the late 1930s, the shirts were fashionable as island souvenirs. U.S. service members returned from Pacific tours wearing the look, and a relaxed President Harry Truman on the cover of Life in 1951 gave the breezy style maximum exposure. Merriam-Webster added the definition the following year. Businessman Ellery Chun trademarked “Aloha Shirt”—his term for the casual, colorful shirts he designed—in 1936.…

MY GRANDMOTHER EMILIA came from a small Italian village and spent lots of time in the mountains. When she moved to Colorado and married my grandfather, who was from Sicily, she loved going to the mountains with him. In the summer, our whole family took trips to San Isabel National Forest, although our experience probably was unlike that of other campers: My grandmother brought her pasta pot, homemade sauce and all the trimmings, and cooked a spaghetti dinner on the campfire, complete with meatballs, grated goat cheese and homemade Italian bread.…

Septuagenarian Mr. Potato Head made history on April 30, 1952, when he starred in the first-ever kid-targeted TV commercial. An assemble-it-yourself toy, the Potato Head kit included a Styrofoam ball and 28 plastic parts—eyes, ears, noses, mouths and even hats—with attached pins. Kids practiced poking the facial features into the foam before decorating a real tater. By 1964, however, child-safety regulations, combined with parents’ revulsion at the reek of organic matter wafting from their kids’ rooms, drove toymaker Hassenfeld Brothers (later called Hasbro) to supply a plastic tuber. The company also rounded the pointy ends on all the parts. Since his debut, Mr. Potato Head has welcomed his spouse, Mrs. Potato Head, kids Spud and Yam, and a host of other veggies. Fast-food spinoff Frenchy Fry, along with celebrity potatoes…

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Anka was 15 when he wrote a song about a crush on an older girl. Recorded in 1957, “Diana” rose up the charts and launched Anka’s career. In 1962, Anka reworked his song “Toot Sweet” into the opening theme for new host Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. As rock ’n’ roll took over in the ’60s, Anka stayed true to his old-school style, becoming a regular performer at nightclubs in Las Vegas, NV. After his friend Frank Sinatra vowed to quit performing, Anka wrote the lyrics to “My Way” with Sinatra in mind. It became the Chairman’s signature song.…

IN FULL BLOOM Dolores, my wife, holds our daughter Kathleen in the spring of 1961. Their coats coordinate with the blossoms on the tree. DALE FISHER • READING, PA COMING UP: Dear Ol’ Dad Post your photos: REMINISCE.COM/SUBMIT-A-STORY STANDING BY My parents, Richard and Phyllis Merrill, were expecting my older sister, Marilyn, in the summer of 1940. At the time, they lived in the Bay Area, where Dad started a business, the Merrill Sign Co., on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, CA. JAY FINLAY SUN CITY WEST, AZ…

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