Help Celebrate Schaumburg’s 50 Years!

Go Back to the Fifties!

General

American Cultural History – 1950-1959 – from Kingwood College Library – covers everything 50’s – from music to movies to sports to news.

http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade50.html

The 50’s Web - hula hoops, sock hops, Elvis, Bandstand, TV Westerns and lots more!
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fifties.htm

Heartbeats One and Two – 50’s and 60’s – Click on a year and get major news highlights, songs, movies, toys and the cost of living for selected items.

http://centex.net/~elliott/

Lisa’s Nostalgia Café – the 1950’s – food, fads, movies, television, advertising, magazines, books, etc.

http://members.tripod.com/lisawebworld2/50s.html

1950’s - from Wikipedia – overview of the decade – news, music, movies, world leaders, and more. Click on each year for a list of major events.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s

Rewind the 50’s – everything fifties – fashion, movies, songs, cars, and parties.

http://www.loti.com/page1.html

News / Headlines / Politics

Headlines and Audio from 1950-1959 – from Archer Audio Archives – listen to audio of various commercials, hear Mike Wallace as the spokesman for Fluffo shortening, hear part of Elvis Presley’s performance of Hound Dog on the Ed Sullivan Show and more audio clips from the 50’s.

http://archer2000.tripod.com/1950.html

Cold War Museum - 1950's – read about President Dwight Eisenhower, the Berlin Crisis, the Korean War and more.

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/index.asp

Cold War Civil Defense Museum - virtual tours of 1950's bomb shelters, emergency supplies, warning sirens, etc.
http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/

Conelrad – all about this civil defense radio and warning system. Posters, audio of broadcasts and much more from the cold war and the atomic age.

http://www.conelrad.com/index.php

The Korean War – timeline, battles, aircraft, casualties, insignia and more.

http://www.korean-war.com/

McCarthyism - from Wikipedia. Senator Joseph McCarthy and Anti-Communism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy

School Desegregation – Little Rock Nine – from Wikipedia.  “The Little Rock Nine is the common term applied to the nine African-American students who were prevented from attending Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas during 1957.The integration crisis was a major event during the American civil rights movement.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine

Sputnik – Russia puts the first satellite in orbit – and starts the space race.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour_def/space_missions/sputnik.html

Music

Lost in the 50’s – Oldies Jukeboxes – play those oldies from the 50’s on your computer. Click on a jukebox for a playlist.

http://dapatchy.com/oldies/ 

Movies

Film History of the 1950's - greatest films for each year and academy award winners.

http://www.filmsite.org/50sintro3.html

Drive In Theaters – from Wikipedia - history of drive in theaters and state by state listing of surviving theaters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-in_theater

The Hollywood Blacklist - from Wikipedia. "The Hollywood blacklist was a group of film actors, directors, and screenwriters in the late 1940s and early 1950s, including at least ten who were members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), who were investigated by the House Committee on Un-American Activities for communist activities based on information gleaned by the US and UK governments via the VENONA project (cryptanalysis of messages sent by several Soviet intelligence agencies to cells in the West).  The day after ten writers and directors who were CPUSA members were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to give testimony, a Hollywood blacklisting policy was implemented by studio executives through the MPAA in what has become known as the Waldorf Statement."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist

Television

Classic TV – 50’s TV shows – Click on the index for list of classic TV show titles and then click on a title for more information.
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv50.htm

The Golden Age of Television - TV Variety Shows – from 50’s Web – Milton Berle, Colgate Comedy Hour, Perry Como, Jack Benny, Your Hit Parade and other variety shows.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/variety.htm

Top TV Shows - from Entertainment Scene. Top 10 shows by year in the 1950's.

http://www.entertainmentscene.com/top_tv_shows_50s.html

Wielding the Red Pen - Censored Films and Television – “Hollywood has a long history of censorship and self-regulation. The Production Code of 1930, also known also as the Hays Code, after then-president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) Will Hays, affected the content and distribution of all films produced in Hollywood regarding profanity, nudity, sexuality, and other potentially offensive situations.” 50’s movies and shows censored included The African Queen, A Streetcar Named Desire and even episodes of the I Love Lucy TV show.
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/censored/film.html

Literature / Books / Plays

1950’s Bestsellers – from Cader Books. Best selling books – both fiction and nonfiction -  by year – including From Here to Eternity, Peyton Place, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and even the venerable Betty Crocker Cookbook.

http://www.caderbooks.com/best50.html

The Beat Generation – from Wikipedia – “The term Beat Generation refers primarily to a group of American writers of the 1950s whose work strongly influenced the cultural transformations of the '60s. The principal works of the movement are considered to be Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957), Allen Ginsberg's Howl (1956), and William S. Burrough's Naked Lunch (1959).”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_generation

Tennessee Williams and the 1950’s - This website explores the cultural and social context of the U.S.A. in the 1950s as a background to Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/mmorris/101D2/Hemingway/

Food / Candy

1950’s Foods – from Food Time Line. 50’s food history, popular brands, backyard barbecues, theme dinners, typical foods, and more.

http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html#1950s

50’s Classic Collection – from Hometown Favorites – candy from the 50’s.

http://www.hometownfavorites.com/shop/candy_cat_js.asp?c=1&p=1

Fashion / Clothing / Interior Design / Furniture / Fads

1950’s Costume Links – timeline of 50’s costume, costume movies, and more.

http://www.costumes.org/history/100pages/1950INKS.HTM

Collecting 1950’s Vintage Clothing – clothes, prom dresses, major designers ,etc.

http://www.fashion-era.com/Vintage_fashion/a10_collecting_fifties_vintage_1.htm

1950’s Fads – from CrazyFads.com – hula hoops, 3-D movies, Davy Crockett coon skin caps, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, car hops, and more.

http://www.crazyfads.com/50s.htm

50’s Fashion – includes interior design, furniture, and clothing http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/mmorris/101D2/Hemingway/fashion.htm

The 50’s Home – from Lisa’s Nostalgia Café – home interiors, furniture, patios, appliances and more.

http://www.angelfire.com/retro/lisanostalgia2/50shome.html