History from the Middle of the 20th Century
By Tom Morrow
By the time I reached my teen-age years it was 1953. It was a pivotal year in many respects. Among the many noteworthy events taking place was on Jan. 20, 1953. Dwight D. Eisenhower began his first term in the White House, and what followed marked the beginning of historic events, matched with innovation that would take us well into the rest of the century.
The year 1953 marked the 50th anniversary of Henry Ford’s automotive production. His cars led the way for a number of companies competing for the American road. My first car was a 1953 Ford Custom 2-door sedan, although I didn’t actually take the wheel of that wonderful chariot until 1958.
On March 5, 1953, the Soviet Union’s iron dictator Joseph Stalin died of a stroke. The world took a sigh of relief because his goal was to take over the world. With Stalin’s death the threat of a Russian bomb being dropped on America had been a worry for all of us. We thought the threat was over … it only got worse.
As young people, our one singular worry was contracting Polio. But, 1953, brought an end to that worry when Dr. Jonas Salk introduced his life-saving, miracle vaccine. By the end of 1955, most everyone, in particular children, received the vaccine and the disease all but disappeared … at least from the worry of most of us. The disease has nearly been eradicated around the globe.
North Korea released 64 American POWs on April 21 and three months later there was a cease-fire agreement signed calling a halt to the Korean War. Ironically, 23 U.S. soldiers refused repatriation, but all eventually returned to the United States. More than 25,000 Americans died in battle during the three-year conflict.
On May 4, of that year author Ernest Hemmingway won a Pulitizer for his novel, “The Old Man and the Sea.” On May 18, Aviatrix Jackie Cochran became the world’s first woman to break the sound barrier. Six days later Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and his guide were the first mountain climbers to reach the top of 29,000-foot Mt. Everest.
Great Britain crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2. and on June 19, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for spying and delivering atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union.
On Sept. 11, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy married fashion photographer Jackie Bouvier.
In 1953, black & white television sets were readily available and for sale at an affordable price. Our General Electric 21-inch TV set cost my Dad about $425. As a meatcutter, he had to sell a lot of hamburger to pay for it.
On Oct. 31, NBC telecast the first full-color program, “Carmen.” Color TV sets, however, weren’t available for general sale until the next year. When they did become available in 1954, you could buy a Westinghouse 17-inch compatible color TV for $1,150. (“Compatible meant it worked on both black & white as well as color … if you could afford it). The picture wasn’t very good.
There were five national TV networks: NBC, CBS, ABC, Dumont, and the Westinghouse Network. Dumont’s top-rated programming was “Captain Video” which was popular fare weeknights after school, and “Wrestling from Chicago” on Saturday night with Jack Brickhouse.
The “Ozzie & Harriet Show” was the most popular TV program of all, but it wasn’t long before “I Love Lucy” took over the top spot in the ratings and would remain there for a number of years.
One of the pieces of history from 1953 that continues to this day was the film “The Wild One,” starring Marlon Brando. It depicted a Fourth of July 1947 weekend invasion when a gang of motorcylists raised havoc in the small California town of Hollister.
To this day ‘cylist riders often are dubbed “The Wild One” in reference to that movie. Of the many movies Brando made, that film will always be one of his most memorable. The ’53 Brando movie perpetuated motorcycle gangs in general such as the “Hell’s Angels.” Another tag was/is “Bronson,” referencing a popular TV show of the early ‘60s, starring Michael Parks.
The year 1953 was a big year for the music … Kay Starr, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Percy Faith, among the many. But, a year later a former disc jockey by the name of Bill Haley and his band, the Comets, recorded “Rock Around the Clock.”
The Country and Western musician was looking for a “new sound” and settled upon what he dubbed “rock ‘n’ roll.” It wouldn’t be until 1955, before Haley’s recording broke onto the pop charts as the first “rock” song. Haley reportedly adopted the rhythmic beat from African-American musicians which had been playing the rock sound for several years. Today, guitarist Chuck Berry is considered one of the true pioneers of the ‘rock’ sound.
1953 – it was a very good year.