1955 Was a Very Good Year ~ by Pam Crooks

68 thoughts on “1955 Was a Very Good Year ~ by Pam Crooks”

1. I wasn’t born yet, but it was one of the quintessential decades to reminisce about because of the nostalgic music, clothing, pop culture, cars, etc…

   I have read a romance set then. It was a book my mom had given me from her youth.

   I bet your book will be wonderful.

   denise

   • You are so right about the specialness of the decade, Denise. (You weren’t born yet? Yikes! lol)

     You’ve got me curious about that old romance your mom had when she was young. Even then, eh??

     • It’s in the basement somewhere. Plus I had all of her romance books from the 60s, many were medical romance.

2. I was born in 59 so no memories. Can’t remember if i read a book in the 50’s I read so many.

   • You weren’t too far behind me, Kim. I remember the 60s better, of course, and it was a tumultous time for our country.

3. I was born in the 50s as well. I have read books set during that time.

   • Another 50s baby. Yay!

     I’m going to have to do a serious search for romances set in the 50s – which is preferable to me than written in the 50s.

4. Pam- Good morning, oh this sounds like a fun project and if anyone can pull it off, it’s YOU. Your desert sounds great. I think growing up in the 50’s would of been fun. I hear my mom talk about it and I think it was a great time for our country. New inventions, sock hops, and great music was born.
   I read a book by Dorothy Garlock set in this era one time, the title escapes me as it was over 10 years ago, but I really loved it. I can’t wait to read your book.
   Congrats on such a fun endeavor.
   Love and hugs, my sweet friend.

   • Ah, dear Tonya. You nailed it – “New inventions, sock hops, and great music was born”. Elvis Presley caused quite the sensation back then. Even I remember that. And yep, he’ll be in my book, for sure. 🙂

     I used to read Dorothy Garlock quite a bit. I’ll have to search for her book.

     • More Than a Memory by Dorothy Garlock was set in the 1950s, but didn’t receive good reviews because of the male attitude towards women.

   • This is the book that Tonya mentioned, Sherry? More Than a Memory? Boy, that title sounds familiar to me. And I’m not surprised about the male attitude. That’s the way those early books were written.

5. Good morning. I have read a few books in my time but I don’t remember any from the 1950’s. I’m looking forward to your new book.

   • Thank you, Yvonne! I’ll shout it from the roof tops when the book is ready to be released. I think you’re right in that there weren’t too many from the 1950s.

6. Since I was born in 1944 my memories of the 50’s are limited except I recall our first tv which was black and white with only 3 stations. It was what most families did each evening. We all gathered around the tv to be entertained until 10:30 when the stations signed off with the Star Spangled Banner and and a jet flying across the screen to state “that’s al folks”.

   • LOL! YES!!! Exactly, Judy! Do you remember the first show you ever watched in color? I remember it vividly Bonanza. And it was a HUGE deal to see color. We were all wide-eyed. 🙂

     • I’m with Judy, black and white, and 3 channels because we were so far from everything on the border of Mexico, we had to bring in the San Antonio stations by cable. I also remember our first color TV, Pam, and I’m going to say that Bonanza might have been the first thing we saw in color, too, but that was the mid-to-late sixties before we got a color TV. And my Dad owned a furniture store!!!
       I probably remember more of the 50’s than most, as this is a seminal year for me. I just turned 70, which is not awe-inspiring, it’s scary as **ll. LOL But I do remember a lot about the 50’s because I had a sister who was 9 years older than me, and I remember strange trivia because she was a teenager. She used to wear those puffy, net skirts, with the fitted bodice to dances. And she went as a beatnik to a costume party, so I probably remember more than most kiddos from that era because of my sister. Does anyone remember the song: “Purple People Eater?”
       I bet you’ll have a lot of fun writing this book, remember the movie, “Peggy Sue Got Married.” That movie was pretty on spot to what I remember.

   • Hebby!! So great to see you here! Thx for stopping by and sharing your memories with us.

     I totally remember beatniks and “Purple People Eater”! That was such a fun song to sing along, too, and we all did because it was easy to remember. Oh, and thank you for the reco on the Peggy Sue movie! I will totally watch it as, um, research.

     Hugs!

7. I wasn’t born until October 1960!

   • Ah, the tumultuous 60s for you, Teresa. Hippies, communes, riots, JFK’s assassination . . . It’s sad, but that’s how I remember that era.

     You were a bright spot, though.

     • I remember more of the early 1960s, which were a lot like the movie Dirty Dancing, girls dressed up in sweater sets and pencil skirts or full skirts with several crinolines, big hair and big cars. Lots of time spent at the playground and the skating rink. The hippies, low-rise bell bottoms and crop tops, the Beatles and other English bands, were more the latter part of the 60s and early 70s.

   • Yes, Sherry!! All those things in the 60s. You have happier memories than me – I don’t know why the tumultuous memories have stuck with me more.

8. I was born in 1955 as well. I don’t know that I have read a romance book set in the 50’s.

   • Ah!! A great year for us, right, Melanie? And I’m with you – no 1950s romance to be found for me.

     The romance genre didn’t really take off until 1972. Many of us credit Kathleen Woodiwiss’ FLAME AND THE FLOWER for really igniting the genre.

9. Good morning. I can’t think of a book I’ve read set in the 1950’s other than a book about Marilyn Monroe. I wasn’t born until 1968. I was the next to the youngest of 7 so I’m surprised I’ve never had this dessert.

   I remember having a lot of jello but not as much pudding. I probably still have some of those silver ice cube trays. I remember hating them as a kid because they were so cold and even getting them stuck to my fingers. I guess I’d come in from outside and wash my ice to fix myself something to drink and I probably didn’t dry my hands well. Lol

   This is the jello recipe I remember the most.
   Strawberry salad (my mom did layered molds or cups though) She had to make mine w/o bananas though. I believe ours was always with fresh strawberries, not frozen.

   Ingredients
   1 box strawberry jello (large box)
   1 package frozen strawberries (10 ounce pkg)
   2 bananas, sliced thin or diced
   1 cup sour cream
   2 1/2 cups boiling water
   1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)

   Directions:
   Empty Jello into large bowl and dissolve in boiling water.
   Add partly thawed strawberries and bananas. Refrigerate until almost firm.

   Pour 1/2 of mixture into dish or casserole and spread layer of sour cream over mixture. Pour remaining Jello mixture over sour cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

   If desired, sprinkle nuts just before serving.

   This blog made me look up popular 50’s recipes. I don’t have many memories of food at a young kid and out of popular 50’s recipes the only ones I remember my mom making were spaghetti, creamed tuna on rice, and pigs in a blanket. I don’t even remember meatloaf being made by my mothet or even my stepmom. Is that even possible? I think I just do not remember many recipes.

   • YES!! I remember similar recipes to yours, Steph. Oh, gosh, Mom made recipes like this all the time. We loved Jello. Had it all the time, every which way. Remember orange jello with chopped celery and shredded carrots?? I grew up on that one. Green jello with pears. The list goes on and on.

     I’m totally with you on that ice cube tray. Hated it. That lever was cold and it took alot of arm strength to pull it up and crack those ice cubes apart. No wonder they aren’t around anymore.

     Although I did find one on Ebay for $20. Sure brought back the memories, seeing it.

     • Green jello with green grapes that we had to slice and pick out the seeds, because seedless grapes didn’t exist then. My granddaughters love it when I make orange/carrot/pineapple jello, it’s one of their favorite treats!

   • Oh, I love that your granddaughters love that old recipe, and good for you for keeping it alive. My girls won’t eat Jello anymore, and I’m not even sure my granddarlings have ever had any. At least not Jello salads.

     YES! I remember what a novelty it was not to have seeds in grapes or watermelon. It was amazing!

     I’m keeping these recipes in my notes, Sherry! I want to include them in my book!!

10. I was a seventies baby (but both my parents were 50s kids) and I remember them reminiscing about cars, music, and things from their childhood. I can’t wait to read your book!

    • Oh, Kari, you’re such a baby. LOL. You’re making me feel old. I graduated from high school in the 70s, and you were probably just learning how to walk. Ha!

11. Fun post, Pam! My favorite thing about the 1950’s was the music. Even though the 1980’s was my high school decade, I grew up loving oldies music. I loved the Big Band music of the 1940’s too, but the birth of rock and roll in the 50’s was a game changer for future generations.

    • Hey, Karen! Thanks for stopping by, and you are so right about the 50s music. A true game changer, and Elvis was so scandalous. I loved how the singing groups all dressed alike with flashy outfits (nothing like the jeans and t-shirts bands wear now). Their dance moves were all coordinated – so fun to watch.

      I loved the Big Band music, too – still do.

      Ah, those good ol’ days!!

12. When I was in high school choir, we sang a 4+ part harmony version of It Was a Very Good Year. The harmonies were hauntingly beautiful. I graduated in 1972, was born in 1954. I remember all the things in your post except the refrigerator door. We often made desserts that were in the fridge, most of them jello variations. I knew the refrigerator quick cinnamon rolls existed, but they were awful and tasted more like biscuits instead of sweet rolls, in comparison to Grandma’s famous cinnamon rolls that she won Grand Prize at the State Fair in Topeka. She even sold her cinnamon rolls to the Manor Man (for his own personal consumption, not for him to sell!) when he came to sell Manor bread and rolls.

    • Hey, Sherry!! I didn’t realize we were so close in age! I graduated in 1973. And you are so right about the Jello recipes!

      I don’t think my mom ever bought the Pillsbury rolls. She would not have paid for the convenience, and being she was a farm girl and a GREAT COOK and BAKER, her homemade cinnamon rolls far surpassed anything made for convenience. Oh, to have a chance to have one of her rolls again . . .

      Wow. Your Grandma must have been a great baker, too. No doubt you’d give anything to have a taste of her rolls, too. Interesting that the quick cinnamon rolls tasted awful. LOL.

13. I think I may have read some stories from the 1950’s but I don’t remember the titles, it hasn’t been recent, ha!

    I’m a little older than you, born in 1952. I guess one of my best memories from that time was starting first grade in 1958. We did not have kindergarten then. I always wanted to do what my big brother did and going to school was one of those things.

    • Good morning, Connie! Yes, you probably did read a few of the 1950s romances, but probably not many, I’m guessing.

      No kindergarten? Interesting. I remember my kindergarten days. Taking a nap on a mat. Crying when my mom left me . . . funny how those little tidbits stick in your memories, isn’t it? And I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning. Ha!!

14. I’ve never read a book set in the 50s. That will be interesting! I’m a decade off (1963), but the fifties is my favorite. I love the music, the clothes, the cars. I have a lot of my mom’s records and a few other things as well.

    • Yay, Linda! The 50s really was an amazing decade. It’s hard not to love the changes that took place. At least, when you’re our age, right?

15. I’m a year older than you. I attended my 50th class reunion this past summer. 110/250 classmates plus 60 guests. I enjoyed reconnecting with classmates some I was close to in HS and others I didn’t hang out with in HS.
    The only book I can think of is Nicolas Spark’s sad A Walk To Remember.

    I remember more things from the 60’s. First color TV in 1964, Swanson frozen dinners and little pot pies, milk man delivering milk to our door, Dilly man coming around selling DQ dillies, green star stamps, cigarette commercials like the Marlboro Man and Camel cigarettes Hamms beer, Jolly Green Giant, Lipton tea, Aqua Velva man, Fizzies, my first Kodak camera

    • Hi, Laurie! Your mind must have been spinning from all these great 60s memories. I loved collecting S & H Green stamps! I was able to get a clothes hamper for free with them, and I had that hamper for literally decades. And oh, the Aqua Velva man!!! To this day, that’s one of my favorite aftershaves. My husband wore it many years just because I liked it so much.

      Great memories!

16. Pam, what a fun post! I love reminiscing. I’m older than you. I was born in 1948. But I remember watching Gunsmoke, Rawhide, and all of those old westerns in their heyday. I remember going to a drive-in theater to watch a John Wayne movie on the big screen. I also fell in love with Elvis in the 1950s, a love that’s lasted all my life. And, my oldest sister who was married would bring me and Jan over to her house to wash her dishes, bribing us with a ice cold A&W root beer in a mug. That was such a treat and we’d do anything for one of those. Only it was hard work because every dish in her house was dirty. I don’t think she’d washed them in a week. Such memories.

    • Linda, you crack me up. I had to laugh that your sister bribed you to wash her piles of dishes!!

      Oh, A&W is another of my favorite memories, but not until the mid-70s. Our A&W was a teen hang-out, and my boyfriends (one of whom ended up being my husband) would take me there for a root beer and onion rings. Oh, I loved that combo. Back then, all the cars had bench seats, and the girls would sit hip-to-hip with the guys. When we were at A&W, of course, our orders were brought to the cars and hooked on the car windows. We could look down the row of cars and see who was dating who.

      Ahhh. Great times!

17. I love your post. My first car was a 1953 Chevy Belaire. I loved it. My siblings played marbles, jumproap, cowboys and indians. hopscotch, and cards. I remember my first tv blk and white in 1949. Watching westerns on tv. And going to the drivein.

    • Yes, Emma!! Drive-ins are another favorite memory. How sad they have fallen into near-extinction. Our parish priest called them “passion pits”, and I think he was right. LOL!

18. I was born in the early fifties so I don’t remember a lot, although I do remember Elvis. I remember black and white television. The first show I saw in color was Bonanza when I was in high school. Recently my ex gave our granddaughter the 1954 car his grandmother had bought brand new. It is a big yellow Chevy.

    • Wow, karijean!! A 1954 Chevy – what a true gift for your granddaughter! I hope she cherishes it for many years to come. That car is probably worth a small fortune. Pretty commendable that your ex and his family kept it so many years.

      Another fun memory!

19. I’m an 80s/early 90s kid. Born in 1972. But I devour history – especially what I call social history (fads, customs, manners, fashion, etc). Each decade of the 20th century has it’s own uniqueness to it. I tell my kids, 13 and 7, that there was more change in that one century than ever in history. I’ve seen one romance book that was set in the 1950s, although I’ve not read it and I’d have to do some searching to find the title. This series sounds wonderful! It reminds me of the 80s youth romance book series put out by Sunfire books – each centered upon a historical event in America and the title female character was in the middle of it. I think the latest in that series was Pearl Harbor but the earliest was the Salem Witch Trials. I strongly suspect those books (Which I still have) turned me onto my love of history as well as reading.

20. Hi, Kia! I was a senior in high school when you were born, but I loved how you thought the 20th century had more change than any other. Interesting.

    The Sunfire books remind me of the Dear America books my daughter loved. We still have a whole shelf full of them. Like Sunfire, each was set upon some sort of historical event in America, too, though they were not romances. My daughter devoured them.

    Thanks for sharing!

21. Oh my goodness–what a fun, fun post you’ve written and what great comments! First, I have to say how much I love that Frank Sinatra song. That’s probably my favorite song of his, and he had a LOT of good ones! Just a beautiful song and he was, in my mind, the “ONLY ONE” that could do it true justice.

    I was born in 1957. I did go to kindergarten, but I think it was a church kindergarten–not public school. The only 50’s romance I can remember reading is one by Sarah McNeal in her Wildings series. That’s a great time period to write a romance in!

    That recipe looks fabulous! I remember those ice trays soooo well. We had one that was broken and the lever only released the first two cubes, so you had to run some very mildly warm water over the bottom of the rest of the cubes and open the metal slats gently by hand. I was always in a hurry and hated having to do “the broken tray” for cubes! LOL You know, one thing I remember is how Mom would sprinkle laundry and put it in plastic bags in the “ice box” (what we called the refrigerator back then) until she could iron it all–and sometimes it would mildew and she’d be so irritated that that happened. We also had one of those Maytag “ironers”–haven’t seen one of those in YEARS. You could iron sheets, pillowcases, aprons, handkerchiefs, and if you were REALLY good, put creases in khaki pants. It was a huge “roller” about 3 feet long that, when you pressed the knee-operated lever, pushed it up into the another curved metal piece behind it with whatever you were ironing in between and it rolled it through. Can you imagine letting a 10-year-old operate that? I did it! I don’t remember ever getting burned, but I sure came close a few times. And back then, everything was cotton–blends had just started to be invented, and how wonderful–a LOT fewer wrinkles!

    Remember those pink foam curlers? HA! I had to sleep in those every Saturday night so my hair would be curled for church on Sunday! Now I’m remembering all sorts of things, Pam! Hugs, my filly sister! This is so much fun!

    • Cheryl, you have me grinning from all your memories!! Yes and yes about that darned ice cube tray. They were so annoying, and I did my share of running warmish water over that tray, too, because the ice cubes were hard to break apart.

      Gosh, my mom would sprinkle the laundry, too!! She used a pop bottle with a sprinkle plug thing, and after she sprinkled water over her laundry, she wrapped the whole pile in a big plastic bag. We never did the refrigerator – why did your mom use one? To help prevent the clothes from getting too warm and increasing the chances of mildew? I don’t remember ours getting mildew, but boy, I can sure see how it could happen.

      We never had a roller thing to iron. Your mom must have been a serious iron-er!! But I sure do remember mom standing over the ironing board and ironing handkerchiefs, etc, etc. Remember those wire stretchers that they used to ‘press’ jeans? What a pain that would be to wrestle those things into wet denim, and then pull it out again.

      Oh, fun memories, Cheryl!!!

22. Hi, Pam! I’m still kinda new to this site and signed up after an invite from Karen Kay. I was born in 1957. I don’t really remember anything about the 1950’s, but 60’s and 70’s are still fresh in my mind even now. S & H Green Stamps, helped my Mom with those alot. Peanuts in Coke. Moon pies and RC. Jump rope, jacks, pick-up sticks, Lincoln Logs. Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, Bonanza, F-Troop. Dark Shadows after school, if Mom didn’t have a favorite soap opera on. The Vietnam War front and center for years, on the news and in school. I don’t remember any books set in the 50’s, but I do remember the first book I read that made me a historical reader for life. It was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, a high school reading assignment. Then there was Margaret Mitchell, Kathleen E Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Rebecca Bryndewyne and many others. I’m looking forward to your book set in the 50’s. Love adding someone new to my growing favorite list.

    • Welcome, welcome, Valerie!! Don’t you just love Karen Kay? She’s the sweetest person.

      Peanuts in Coke!! Gosh, I’d forgotten about that. We rarely had Coke, but I would likely have been a little older when we did. Adding the salty peanuts into sweet cola (not diet – it was a while later that diet came along) and then watching the Coke fizz . . . fun stuff!

      Sounds like you cut your eye teeth on the same books I did. Those women you mentioned were pioneers in their field. Classics, and oh, how we admired them!

      I’m so glad you stopped by!

23. What a fun post and I love all of the comments. They have really taken me down memory lane! One of the things our girls and I have realized when we start reminiscing is what we remember as typical of a certain decade is usually from the middle of one to the middle of the next eg. what most people think of the 60’s is really 1965-1975,the Vietnam War era for example, and the Beatles became big in 1964 preceded by Elvis and folk music like Peter, Paul, and Mary and the Kingston Trio.
    Our girls have laughed so hard when looking through the old Joys of Jello cook book I have especially at recipes like Ring Around the Tuna. But, they have always loved their grandmother’s Orange Jello with carrots and pineapple.
    Like Cheryl, I grew up with plastic bags of ironing waiting to be done filling a shelf in the refrigerator. When I see how full my ‘frig gets and how much bigger it is than that old Frigidaire I wonder how we had room for food. Wash’n wear fabrics were such a great addition to our lives.
    Spring vacation 1955 we got a brand new 1955 Ford 660 tractor. From then on my sisters and I started learning to drive tractor to rake hay and disc fields. We were 10, 11, and 12 at the time the new tractor arrived. That gave Dad more time to work with the cows and us a way to earn money for school clothes and extras like the Elvis 45 rpm record my oldest sister bought.
    I don’t remember reading romance novels set in the 50’s but I do remember reading short stories, condensed novels and even short short stories in Good Housekeeping, McCalls, and Redbook in the late 50’s and early 60’s many of which had romantic themes.
    Thanks to everyone for brightening my day.

    • It’s been a fun day for me, too, Alice! Those 45 rpm! Oh, I loved playing those over and over again. They came a little later for me, but I had a stack of them with my favorite songs.

      We could understand the words, couldn’t we? And the music had a beat everyone remembered. Much different than many of the songs out there these days.

24. Pam, by putting the clothes in the ‘frig they stayed moist (sprinkled) longer and you didn’t have to iron everything in one day. Also like Cheryl, my mom wasn’t happy when she left them too long and had to re-wash them to get rid of mildew. I really should say when we girls didn’t do our job and they got left too long 🙂

    • Thanks for clarifying, Alice. I figured as much, but boy, I don’t remember mom putting her bag of clothes in the refrigerator. We had a chest freezer (which came later) and a refrigerator in the kitchen, so I can’t imagine she’d have a spare shelf with her large family.

      Maybe I just don’t remember. Or maybe she ironed quickly enough that she didn’t need to keep the clothes in the ‘fridge.

      And doesn’t that sound hilarious????

25. Hi, I was born in the 50’s , I don’t remember reading a book from then. We did have a black and white TV with an Antenna of course. (the bunny ears). There was great music then. Thank you for taking us to back then. Your book sounds like it is going to be a great read!! Have a great and a great rest of the week.

    • Thank you, Alicia. Always great to see you here.

26. great reasons to like the 1950’s. 😉 I love the 50’s also. my husband was born in 56 and I was born in 58. one brother born in 59. yes we had a black and white tv with bunny ears also. and we loved it.

    • I tell you, Lori, TV has gotten so complicated these days. Our DirecTV has gotten so expensive, and it took me three days to learn about streaming and antennas and Fire Sticks . . . there’s a lot to be said for only having 3 channels and everyone watches the same shows! Ha!

27. I was born in 1956. I have one memory of Christmas Eve getting ready for bed, and we got to sleep in a big bed all 3 of us kids together, and we were all giggles. I was in the middle, I was the baby and I didn’t want to fall off of the bed! Daddy read the story of Jesus being born AND the Night Before Christmas to us while Mama kissed on us and tried to get us all sleepy. And, I also remember taking nasty green liquid medicine for allergies and that we ate lots of tuna sandwiches. But, we loved them, because my Mama made the best of everything!!

    • Awww, Lana, sure sounds like you had a happy, happy childhood! Your mom is smiling at your memories.

28. It looks like I maybe the second oldest one here. I was born the beginning of 1947. We had a small black and white TV with probably a 12 inch screen. I remember watching Captain Kangaroo and the early westerns. Some time in the mid-50’s or so, Rin Tin Tin, the Lt., and the boy Rusty came to our town. I remember it being a really big deal. I recently read an old Harlequin and have read a few my grandmother had that were set in the 50’s or early 60’s. They are so politically incorrect it was laughable or infuriating depending on one’s mood. The poor, weak, clueless, and often dumb female they often depicted would never be accepted today. Not to worry, the strong, more intelligent man will rescue and take care of her.

    • I meant to mention that the recipe you shared sounds delicious. I will have to try it. I may add a swirl of strawberry and pineapple sundae toppings and add cherries to the topping to make it even more like a banana split.

      • Oh, great idea to add the sundae toppings, Pat!! I’m going to include this recipe in my book since it’s authentically 1955, and I will make a note of your idea.

        One thing I will do next time is use Cool Whip instead of the whipped cream. Softer and quicker to thaw.

    • I think many of us who cut our eye-teeth on those old Harlequins would agree with you, Pat! I remember the heroes were always angry about something. Very domineering. But the women of the mid-century were much more submissive than they are today and didn’t question the way the heroines acted, but they loved those happy endings.

29. Great post. This old gal was born in 1951. Such a golden time to grow up. The best music in the 50’s and 60’s. My memory bank is on overdrive.

    • Aw, Winona! You’re not that much older than me. It’s fun to look back on happy times – and yes! Best music, for sure.

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