Here is some information about the year 1949. Since that was the year I entered the world, I though it might be interesting for you to see some of those facts so that you have some context for some of the memories I will relate about my life. You will need to realize that many of the things that are listed below had very little impact on me or any of the people living in a small town in Northern Arizona called Heber. Here are some facts you might find interesting.
The average family income was $2,959. A new house cost $7,450. A new car cost $1,420. A gallon of gas cost 17cents. A loaf of bread cost 14 cents and a postage stamp cost 3 cents. The minimum wage was 40 cents per hour.
President Harry S. Truman was President of the United States. In 1949 he signed a bill into law that raised the salary of the president to $100,000, and the salary of the vice president to $30,000. The U.S. and eleven other nations formed NATO and the Berlin airlift ended.
There were some interesting historical events. The first Volkswagen was introduced in the U.S. and the first Emmy awards were presented. The Mayo foundation discovered a chemical compound called Cortisone. The Air Force completed the first Around-the-World non-stop flight in a Superfortress aircraft called “Lucky Lady II”.
In the music world, some of the top hits were “Mule Train” by Frankie Lane. Other hits were “That Lucky Old Sun”, “Mona Lisa”, “Ghost Riders in the Sky”, “Candy Kisses” and “You’re Breaking my Heart”.
Wrestling became a popular new TV sport with one star named “Gorgeous George”. The card game Canasta became popular. The Pillsbury Company started holding “Bake-Off’s” and Silly Putty was invented.
In the quiet little town of Heber, Arizona, no one watched TV. There was one phone in town. Most people had a radio and so they probably heard some of the new and popular tunes. They may also have heard that the New York Yankees had won the World Series and that Joe Louis had retired from boxing. Most people hadn’t seen any of the best movies of the year like “All the Kings Men”, “The Third Man”, “Twelve O’Clock High”, “Sands of Iwo Jima” and they probably wouldn’t see them in Heber for another 2-3 years.
They paid more attention to the news about the birth of the new baby boy born to Wilmer and Zina Porter than they did to the birth of John Belushi, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen or Bruce Jenner who they’d never heard of nor would they hear of them for 20 years. Their world mostly consisted of what went on within 50 miles or so of Heber. If they had put up special tall antenna’s they might hear a little of the news from Denver, Albuquerque or even Salt Lake City if they listened to the radio at night. Otherwise their only access to news was the Holbrook Tribune which was printed once a week.
For me, 1949 was a very significant year and you will be hearing about the world I knew when I was growing up. I hope some of it is interesting to you.