America was changing every year, new cars, new toys, new technology, new fashion, and new lifestyle. Florida is known for beaches and Disney world. In 1950’s Florida very popular because of beaches, which allowed cars to drive on. They even had car racing on Daytona Beach. Today they have tuned the race track into a restaurant called Racing’s North Turn. Daytona Beach still allows cars to drive on the beach. Florida has been part of big changes in the 1950’s. Publix started in Lakeland and developed only southeast. Publix has grew since it started in Lakeland Florida and Disney World. Walt Disney designed City Walk which many people from all around the world to visit the attraction. Florida was one of the biggest tourist attractions and always kept up with new technology and fashion.
In other states Pennsylvania, McCadoo a small town was also able to keep up with up to dates technology. For example fashion was popular. Women wore mostly long dresses or skirts that covered the knees. They also wore button down shirts or a blouse. Most outfits we collared shirts or solid color. The men wore suits with a hat or the young men wore the preppy style. The preppy style included a sweater and jeans or pants. Young adults were often known to be fashionable.
Fashion and technology were not the only important events that happened in the 1950’s. Families were often together all the time and divorce was very uncommon. Women were mainly stay home mothers who would often cook, clean, and make sure everything looked nice for the husband. The men were the ones working all the time and providing for their family. The kids would be a school; they often walked to school or took the bus. At the time segregation was still around until the Brown v. Board of Education became involved. The schools changed over time and all black and whites were able to get the equal education. Public schools were more common than private schools because there were more students coming home from the wars and wanted to get an education.
Drivers narrowly avoiding a stalled race car: Daytona Beach, February 1952. Today on this exact corner the restaurant is called Racing North Turn. There is a museum about the North Turn and how it all started on Daytona Beach.
Easter Service at the Daytona Beach Bandshell, April 1953. Today this area is now used for concerts and even plays. Today they still provide Easter Service at the Bandshell every year.
Daytona Beach 1950. This picture is popular because Daytona Beach became one of the few beaches that allowed cars to drive on. Today cars are still allow to drive on the beach.
Walt Disney, City Planner. Disney World is one of the world’s famous theme parks. This picture is a picture of Walt Disney planning City Walk in Orlando Florida. Today it has full of restaurants and shops.
Winter Park, Florida is well known for the shopping, restaurants, and even the school Rollins College. Park Avenue is a popular place for families to get together and to enjoy the plaza.
This picture is a picture of a newspaper that was from Tallahassee, Florida. Headline from the Tallahassee Democrat reporting the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown case (May 17, 1954).
This picture is a picture of one of the well-known grocery store Publix. Publix is an American supermarket chain based in Lakeland, Florida. Publix only operates in the Southeast.
Lake Eola is a well-known park in Downtown Orlando. In this picture, Lake Eola has more land than it does today. Today Lake Eola is full of events and known for the community to gather and celebrate important events.
Governor LeRoy Collins in his library at “The Grove” in Tallahassee. “The Grove,” built around 1840 by Florida’s territorial governor Richard Keith Call, is currently being restored and repurposed as a museum by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources (1954).
1953 in Pennsylvania, McCadoo. 1950 Chevrolet Styleline Special
The lower priced Styleline Special series sold well against comparable Fords.
1950s Fashion, what we wear tells a lot about a culture. The Fifties was fundamentally a time of conformity.
Families did sit down to eat together. Yes, the whole family. Mom cooked because that was her job. In 1950 there were 40,174,705 employed males and 15,559,454 employed females.[3) Employed being the key word as Mom worked her tail off in the home for which she wasn’t materially compensated.
In the 1950’s men were known to wear suits and hats. Some men wore sweaters or vest. In this picture this gentleman is wearing a sweater with jeans. This was very common for young men to wear.
Women often wore long dresses because of modesty. Women didn’t wear bright neon colors or short skins. Those didn’t arrive until the 60’s-70’s.
Schools in the 1950s consisted of individual classes for each grade and was the starting point for the end of segregation in schools. Due to a large increase in the number of school-age children in the United States following the post World War II baby boom, more teachers became necessary, and more schools were built.
- 1950s Family Life.” Fifities Web. Accessed November 28, 2016. http://fiftiesweb.com/pop/info-family/.
- “What Was School like in the 1950s?” Reference. Accessed November 17, 2016. https://www.reference.com/education/school-like-1950s-eb5e60b06351577e.