Living in the Fifties

Posted on 12/02/2025 by Grumpa Joe

A friend sent me this video and said I might be interested. Of course, I opened it and watched it immediately. He was right, I was interested, and I loved it. It is hard to imagine that a person in 2025 has the discipline that it takes to live a 1950’s lifestyle. The young woman in the video is impressive. Her attitude is that of a disciplined marine. Imagine not having the internet, a cell phone, panty hose, and a modern car. Although I believe the car she drives has been updated mechanically and is the equivalent of a modern one, except that it is better looking than any modern auto.

Another service that is different from the fifties is medical care. I’m positive that if her husband was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack, she would not resist modern treatment. However, her kids would be better educated and pass minimum math and reading standards if they attended 1950s-level public schools. Her house is large enough for her family but lacks a 2025 theater room with only a single bathroom. The taxes on her house are affordable even in 2025.

She might have a valid point and become a trend setter. I grew up in the fifties, and agree that life was good then.

Filed under: Aging, family, Memories | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

I Need a Drink

Posted on 11/07/2012 by Grumpa Joe

Frankfort Tavern, aka “Gracie’s”

When I was a kid back in the nineteen fifties Mom often sent me to look for Dad. It was always on a Sunday afternoon. I knew exactly where to look for him. At the end of our block just a half-dozen houses away from home was a tavern. Dad enjoyed nursing a nickel draft while watching his White Sox play ball. Taverns were a big part of neighborhood life. In my book, Jun-e-or, Reflections of Life in the Nineteen Forties and Fifties I tell a few stories about taverns.

As I grew older, I began to notice that there were taverns in every town we traveled through. My Grandfather spent a lot of  time in a small country store tavern in Michigan. Taverns were places where people went to meet other people. The need for social contact is strong especially when you work in a field by yourself and never see a soul. In my Dad’s case his need to watch a baseball game drove him to seek out a TV. In that era, taverns were ground breakers and used a TV set to draw customers. It worked.

The other day, as I walked through Frankfort, I recalled those early days. I wondered what life was like in this tiny country town of German immigrants. How many taverns did they have? For certain, there was one. It is still in business and doing well. Currently called the Frankfort Tavern, it went by the name of Gracie’s for decades. Why? Because a woman named Gracie owned and operated the place. On the same street, there are three more taverns. All three are inside a place of business. The second oldest is the Frankfort Bowl. No self-respecting bowling alley would be without a bar. The other two are in modern restaurants.

Frankfort Bowl

The number of bars grows as one leaves the historic district. Three blocks North is the Stray Bar. It is only three years old. The adventurous owner started his business just as the bottom fell out of the economy. The bar is doing well, and is my favorite. Next door to the Stray is another restaurant bar. After that the closest is a mile away in either East, West, and Northerly directions.

When I moved to Frankfort, the population was about three thousand souls and the few bars in the historical district served our needs. Today, we are sixteen thousand strong and we need more bars to soothe our stressed souls.

Smokey Barq, aka Kansas Street Grill, aka Tavern on the Green

 

Francesca’s Fortunato, aka Bier Stube

Filed under: economy, family, Society | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »