Here in Orange County, we did have Tin Can Beach where literally thousands of Homeless lived right on the beach – from the Santa Ana River Jetty to Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach, which was County land at the time. The Hobo, the Bum and Rail Riders mostly lived in the country sides of our America, where we didn’t see them. Homelessness in those days was also mitigated by the participation of all of our Churches, the Red Cross and local County resources. The Italians brought in a few “Fiat Sports Cars” and the British brought in the Triumph Sports Cars….while the French tried a few Peugeots – all on a very limited basis and all with High Tariffs. The Germans had brought the first VW Beetle in very small numbers in 1948. Japan began to Import very low budget autos to the US: called “The Datsun”. Our country in 1959 belonged to a million American Independent Farmers and Diarymen, the AMA, the Pharmaceutical Industry, The Defense Industry, The Oil and Gas Industry, The Auto Industry and Anglo/US Bankers. Sammy Lee – Olympic Gold Medalist in Diving ( who recently passed away) could not buy a home in Orange County, because of his minority status. Mexicans were regulated to “Enclave Neighborhoods” and mostly tolerated because California which once belonged to Spain, had become a major labor source for Central Valley Farmers almost 100 years - after of course, using up all our local Native American tribe members which had encouraged by Spain to begin with. because of the complicated testing and requirements – to even register to vote. Blacks seldom voted in the Jim Crow world of both the North and the South that they lived in. Blacks in the south were still segregated in schools and even down to drinking fountains. Theraputic Abortions were being employed for rich white college girls and professional women. Women had heard about something called “The Pill” which made them safe from unwanted pregnancy. Tetracycline had been invented to supplant our antibiotic treatments array and save lots of folks from various Venereal Diseases. The Salk Vaccine had all but obliterated Polio. The US was slowly recovering from the tragedy of the Korean War. A phone call at a pay phone was 10 cents. Art Linkletter, Groucho Marx and Texaco Star Theater.Ī loaf of White Wonder Bread was 29 cents. Hugh Hefner had launched Playboy Magazine with cartoonists and poets such as Shel Silverstein while women were entering the workplace in greater numbers: with two incomes becoming required to meet the needs of the White Picket Fence Class: of Ozzie and Harriet, David and Ricky. One quote worth noting: “We just played in Southern California which is certainly a regional cultural center – and we were lucky enough to run into him while we were down there!”Īs you might recall 1959 was the end of the Eisenhower years and Richard Nixon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy were running for the office of President of the United States. The Kingston Trio Album “Live at the Hungry I” was a classic and worth getting, if you don’t have it. Their first hit came in 1958 when the pseudo cowboy song: Hang Down Your Head – “Tom Dooley” became a break-a-way hit. The Folk Singing Trio played in San Francisco to packed rooms. In 1959, the Kingston Trio came out with an album called “Live at the Hungry I”.
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