Mom made the traditional cheese fondue on Christmas Eve. Shown at top is the original cookbook from which she's taken the recipe since the late '60s/ early '70s. Shown at bottom is Mom preparing the recipe on Christmas Eve 2012.
Showing posts with label 1960s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1960s. Show all posts
Monday, December 24, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Aluminum Tree
Was at the Minnesota's Greatest Generation exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul yesterday. This display made me think of Grandma Alice's aluminum Christmas tree from the 1960s.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Christmas Eve 1968 - The Minneapolis Tribune
I obtained a facsimile of the 1968 Christmas Eve edition of the old Minneapolis Tribune at an exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. The exhibit was 1968 and covered a lot of the events that happened during that turbulent year in American history. It was fun to see what the headlines were. Mom and Dad and I were living in Minneapolis near the old Fairview and St. Mary's hospitals.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas 2011 - Christmas with Ed Ames
I've been looking for Christmas with Ed Ames on CD for a few years now. Mom's had the vinyl edition since as long as I can remember. The album was originally released in 1967. As a kid one of my favorite Christmas songs was Carol of the Donkey. I've never heard anyone but Ed Ames sing a this song about a donkey that feels he's not good for much but finds joy when he's the one picked to carry the Virgin Mary on his back. One of my all time favorite Christmas songs is I Wonder As I Wander and my first exposure to it was on this album. Ed Ames has a most gorgeous baritone voice. Listening to this disc has brought back some very good feelings of Christmases past...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Christmas 2011 - Frosty the Snowman
The 1969 animated special Frosty the Snowman, which I haven't seen in years, was on network t.v. tonight. As a kid I remember looking forward to this being on and I loved the sappy but cute story. Back in the day, before home video, one had to watch something whenever it was on and if you missed it, you missed it because the recording of television didn't exist either. This was also my first introduction to the great Jimmy Durante.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Christmas 2011 - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Part 2
From Wikipedia:
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired Sunday, December 6,1964, on the NBC television network in the USA, and was sponsored by General Electric under the the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour."
"The special was based on the Johnny Marks song by the same name; the song taken from the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS affilliate television stations with the network unveiling a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special, and one of only four 1960s Christmas specials still being telecast - the others being A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman."
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Christmas 1965 - Mom and Dad's First Christmas Together As a Married Couple
This photo was created using Mom and Dad's wedding photo which was taken ealier in the year.
Christmas 1966 - At Grandpa Lou and Grandma Alice's
Christmas in Two Harbors. Grandma Alice and Grandpa Louie hadn't moved into their house on 6th Avenue yet. When these photos were taken they were living in an apartment above their bakery.
Top photo: Aunt Alice Mae photographs me along with the cousins.
Middle photo: Uncle Dale is on the far left.
Bottom photo: Grandma gets a shot too.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Christmas 1967 - See 'n Say The Farmer Says
From Wikipedia:
"See 'n Say is an educational toy created by the toy company Mattel in 1965 after the success of its talking Chatty Cathy doll."
"In the 1960s, after introducing a line of talking dolls that said different phases when a string protruding form their upper back was pulled, Mattel trademarked the word chatty. Several Mattel pull-string talking dolls and toys were packaged in boxes that read 'A chatty Toy' or 'A Chatty Doll by Mattel'. However, these dolls and toys spoke phrases at randon when their 'chatty ring' was pulled. see 'n Say, introduced in 1965, was the first Mattel talking toy that allowed children to choose the exact phrase they wanted to hear by adjusting a pointer on the toy's face to a particular item and pulling the 'chatty ring.' The Farmer Says See 'n Say made animal sounds when a pointer shaped like a miniature farmer was aimed at pictures of animals on its dial. For example, when pointed at an image of a duck, the phrase 'this is a duck...quack, quack, quack' was heard. Unlike other toys, the original See 'n Says required no batteries. Instead, sound was produced by a simple low-fidelity phonograph record driven by a metal coil wond by pulling the toy's string. The was the same mechanism used in Chatty Cathy dolls."
I loved this toy. I loved pulling the string and being able to pick which sound I wanted to hear.
Christmas 1967 - Joe and Mom
Mom opens presents with me. The Farmer Says toy in the first pictures was one of my favorite presents.
Christmas 1967 - Aunt Linda and Uncle Wally's Visit
Aunt Linda, Uncle Wally and their daughters stopped by for a visit during Christmas of 1967.
Top photo: Aunt Linda gives Uncle Wally (who was being a little stinker) a kiss.
Middle and bottom photos: (Standing from left) Cousin Jeannie holding cousin Beth and cousin Patty holding me. (Sitting) Cousin Lee holds cousin Cathy.
Christmas 1967 - Christmas Tree
My first three Christmases were at the old house. Here I am with our Christmas tree in 1967. Mom made all of the orgami birds that decorate the tree.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Christmas 1968 - Christmas at Home
Top photo: Our Christmas tree at home in 1968.
Middle: I'm holding my favorite toy, Baby, in front of the tree.
Bottom: In my sporty red coat. At right are the first appearance of the figures that would be part of a larger manger scene.
Christmas 1968 - Color Wheel
The following is from Wikipedia:
"An aluminum Christmas tree is a type of artificial Christmas tree that was popular in the United States from 1958 until about the mid-1960s. As its name suggests, the tree is made of aluminum, featuring foil needles and illumination from below via a rotating color wheel."
"Aluminum Christmas trees were first manufactured sometime around 1955, remained popular into the 1960s, and were manufactured into the 1970s."
"During the 1960s, the aluminum Christmas tree enjoyed its most popular period of usage. As the mid-1960s passed, the aluminum Christmas tree began to fall out of favor, with many thrown away or relegated to basements and attics. The airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 has been credited with ending the era of the aluminum tree, and by 1967 their time had almost completely passed."
"The aluminum Christmas tree was used as a symbol of the over-commercialization of Christmas in the 1965 Peanuts holiday special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The program is considered a classic amongst Christmas specials, and its mention of the aluminum tree solidified the tree's legendary status while satirizing it as well. Peanuts character 'Lucy' implored Charlie Brown to get a 'big, shiny aluminum tree...maybe painted pink.' Charlie lamented the commercialization of the true meaning of Christmas, ignored his friends' request, and purchased a small, scrawny natural tree instead."
In the bottom photo I'm standing in front and my cousins Debby, Diane and Danny are standing behind me. Behind all of us is an aluminum tree. The color wheel is at the bottom right.
Christmas 1968 - Christmas at Grandpa Louie and Grandma Alice's
Top photo: I got my own phonograph as a present.
Middle photo: With cousins Diane and Danny.
Bottom photo: With cousins Debby, Diane and Danny. Note the aluminum tree behind us and the color wheel at the bottom right.
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