My 1950s Tumblr

Hi guys and dolls, if you want to follow my 1950s blog on Tumblr, please be sure to go to this link ♥ The 1950s

Hope you all enjoy! :)

Vintage Life Network has moved!

Hey pallies, just a quick note that Vintage Life Network has moved to http://vintagelifenetwork.socialparadox.com/ I hope you all will join me there. And remember, we are the official network of all things vintage & retro :)

Tv's Greatest Housewives

Here is my tribute to television's greatest housewives. I have compiled a few of my favorites and sorry if I missed any.


Well we definitely must start with Lucy Ricardo America's favorite redhead and housewife!




June Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver. The archetypal suburban parent and housewife of the 1950s.






Edith Bunker from All In The Family. I think Edith Bunker had a great personality. I love her character. She was always so cheerful and so happy. Sometimes I wish I was more like her and I didn't let things phase me as much and I could just be happy all the time lol.


Roseanne Conner from the sitcom Roseanne, the bossy, loud, caustic, overweight, and dominant housewife.


Debra Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond the emotional, nagging wife of the title character and the most sensitive of all the Barones. However, most of it isn’t so obvious until some of the later seasons. She is often seen stressed out as a housewife, not only because she has to put up from Ray’s corny jokes and little assistance, but also because of Ray’s obnoxious, intrusive family members who often barge in uninvited and harass the later couple, leaving emotional havoc in their wake.


Harriet Nelson housewife from The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.


Margaret Anderson housewife from Father Knows Best.


Laura Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show. Rob's wife. A stay-at-home mom and former dancer in the U.S.O. (where she met Rob).


Samantha Stephens from Bewitched. A witch that pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife.


Morticia Addams from The Addams Family.


Peggy Bundy from Married With Children. The lazy, self-indulgent wife. She refuses to cook or clean the house, and prefers purchasing new clothes to washing the old ones. She refuses to consider taking a job.


Marie Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond. Is the main antagonist of the sitcom, wife of Frank, and matriarch of the Barone family.
As a housewife, she excels in household duties, including cooking, cleaning, taking care and providing for her family and any other businesses that include keeping and maintaining a good household. Marie is shown to be very narcissistic, arrogant, conceited and snobbish throughout the series, particularly towards her daughter-in-law Debra and other strangers including her friends Lee and Stan, Robert’s dates and people whom Ray works with. She has very high self-esteem and proclaims herself as a positive example of what every wife, mother and woman should be.


Florida Evans from Good Times.


Alice Kramden from The Honeymooners. The deadpan housewife.


Marge Simpson from The Simpsons. The well-meaning and extremely patient mother of the Simpson family.


Lily Munster from The Munsters. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is an undead vampire.

And those are all of my favorite TV Greatest Housewives. To join my new forum dedicated to them go to http://tvgreatesthousewives.proboards.com/index.cgi?

ENJOY! :)

The 1950s Drive-in Movies

The drive-in's peak popularity came in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in rural areas, with some 4,000 drive-ins spreading across the United States. Among its advantages was the fact that a family with a baby could take care of their child while watching a movie, while teenagers with access to autos found drive-ins ideal for dates. Revenue is more limited than regular theaters since showings can only begin at twilight. There were abortive attempts to create suitable conditions for daylight viewing such as large tent structures, but nothing viable was developed.
In the 1950s, the greater privacy afforded to patrons gave drive-ins a reputation as immoral, and they were labeled "passion pits" in the media. During the 1970s, some drive-ins changed from family fare to exploitation films, as a way to offset declining patronage and revenue. In fact some producers in the 1970s would make exploitation films directly for the drive-in market. Also, during the 1970s, some drive-ins began to show pornographic movies in less family-centered time slots to bring in extra income. This became a problem because it allowed for censored materials to be available to a wide audience, some for whom viewing was illegal, and it was reliant upon the whims of local ordinances controlling such material. It also required a relatively remote location distant from populated areas such as towns and cities. This was one aspect of concern about the availability and uncontrollability of adult-centered media in the general public. The drive-in was open to abuse, such as the smuggling in of viewers in the trunks of cars to avoid paying for individual tickets. This had been a common ploy for younger patrons for decades, and eventually led to a per-car admission rate at many locations.

Many drive-ins devised very elaborate and sometimes quirky modes of comfort. Some drive-ins provided small propane heaters, attempting to entice their patrons to come in colder months. Some drive-ins provided a heating or air-conditioning system via underground ducts to heat or cool patrons. Audio systems varied greatly during the era of drive-ins. Some used portable speakers on trucks during the early days but this proved ineffective since the people in the front were blasted with sound while the people in the back could not adequately hear what was being said. One solution came in the form of small speakers which could be hooked onto the side window of the car. These caused damage to the window if one forgot to remove them before driving off, also they had a problem with sound quality and did not provide stereo sound. Later still, as in-car stereos became standard equipment, broadcast of the audio track on particular radio frequencies permitted the most efficient means of delivery.
During their height, some drive-ins used attention-grabbing gimmicks to boost attendance. They ranged from small airplane runways, unusual attractions such as a small petting zoo or cage of monkeys, actors to open their movies, or musical groups to play before the show. Some drive-ins held religious services on Sunday morning and evening, or charged a flat price per car on slow nights like Wednesday. The price was a dollar per car during "buck" nights in the 1950s and 1960s.



Over time, the economics of real estate made the large property areas increasingly expensive for drive-ins to operate successfully. Land became far too valuable for businesses such as drive-ins, which in most cases were summer-only. Widespread adoption of daylight saving time subtracted an hour from outdoor evening viewing time. These changes and the advent of color televisions, VCRs and video rentals led to a sharp decline in the drive-in popularity. Drive-ins were subject to the whim of nature as inclement weather often caused cancellations. They eventually lapsed into a quasi-novelty status with the remaining handful catering to a generally nostalgic audience, though many drive-ins continue to successfully operate in some areas.
Many drive-in movie sites remain, repurposed as storage or flea markets sites, often after residential housing or other higher value uses came to the lightly populated or unpopulated areas where the drive-ins were located. The largest drive-in theater in the world, the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop, doubles as the world's largest daily flea market. Former drive-in properties in Michigan, for example, have become industrial parks, shopping centers, indoor theaters, and even churches (as with the Former Woodland Drive-In in Grand Rapids, MI). Another example of a drive in-turned-flea market is Spotlight 88 in North Sewickley Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, which ended business as a drive-in after an F3 tornado destroyed much of the property on May 31, 1985. As a joke after the tornado hit, the owners put up in the "now-showing" sign Gone with the Wind.



The year 2001 marked the inception of the "Do-It-Yourself" Drive-In, which utilized contemporary tools such as LCD projectors and micro-radio transmitters. The first was the Liberation Drive-In in Oakland, California, which sought to reclaim under-utilized urban spaces such as vacant parking lots in the downtown area. The following years have seen the rise of the "guerrilla drive-in" movement, in which groups of dedicated individuals orchestrate similar outdoor film and video screenings. Showings are often organized online, and participants meet at specified locations to watch films projected on bridge pillars or warehouses. The content featured at these screenings has frequently been independent or experimental films, cult movies, or otherwise alternative programming. The best known guerilla drive-ins include the Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In in Santa Cruz, California, MobMov in San Francisco, California and Hollywood, and most recently Guerilla Drive-In Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia. A pseudo-drive-in has been launched where the cars are provided by the organizer. In the UK the Volvo's urban Starlite Drive-in will be held inside the Truman Brewery in hip East London where the urban population will get the chance to watch classic films in a fleet of convertibles served by roller-skating waitresses.



As with indoor cinemas, the concession stand, also called a snack bar, is where a drive-in earns most of its profits. As a result, much of a drive-in's promotion is oriented toward the concession stand. The typical snack bar offers any food that can be served quickly, such as hot dogs, pizza, cheeseburgers, popcorn, soft drinks, coffee, hot chocolate, ice cream, candy and french fries. To send patrons to the concession stands, trailer advertisements called snipes were projected before the feature and during any intermissions. Some drive-in theater managers added children's playgrounds between the screen and the first row of cars. Others even went as far as adding miniature railroads, merry-go-rounds, and miniature golf courses. Concrete patios for lawn chairs were available at some drive-in theaters, as well as indoor seating for the concession stand. Due to the outdoor setting of drive-in theaters, movies were shown in the evenings.

Living My Life As A 1950s Housewife And Mother

So I recently started a new blog on Tumblr dedicated to the 1950s. And I got to thinking, there is nothing I want more than to raise my son in a 1950s home. Now, I am not just talking about furniture and stuff like that. No, I'm talking about morals, beliefs and totally differen't from the way most kids nowadays are being raised. We are living in such sad, tragic times. With kids starting to do drugs at a young age, and getting into all sorts of trouble. It just doesn't feel like a safe world out there anymore for our kids to be raised or to be living in. But even though I can't do much to change what's out there, I sure have control of how my home is run. And I choose to raise my child in a good home with Christian values and I get most of my inspiration from the women of the 1950s. Things might have not been perfect back in the 50s but they sure were way better than they are now. So I hope that one day my son and future children will look back and thank me for the way I raised them. And will learn to appreciate the wonderful era of the 50s as I do. And understand why it is that we are differen't from everybody else. And I think that makes us unique. Especially in a world where everyone nowadays will just follow the crowd and go with the flow just to "fit in". Well my family will be the one to make a difference. A differen't way of thinking, a differen't way of living. All in all, a better life. What could be better?

Lucy's Salad Recipe

Ok gals so I found this gorgeous rare article of Lucille Ball's salad recipe. It sounds very yummy and I think I am going to try making it myself. Make sure to click on the picture for a larger view so you can be able to read the recipe. ENJOY!

Inspire Your Inner Housewife.

1. Change Your Thinking

This is most important. Think of your duties in the home as something that is pleasant, creative, and fulfilling a great purpose. Not as drudgery, which is how I usually viewed it. But, with an attitude adjustment, I began to look at taking top notch care of my home in a totally different way. So, stop thinking that it's beneath you to get on your knees and scrub your floor. There is actually a lot of satisfaction from cleaning and maintaining your home. There is a sense of accomplishment with tackling projects in your home, and having a tidy orderly home for your husband to enjoy coming home to after a hard day's work.



2. Wake Up Early And Get Ready

If you're a housewife or have children at home, you need to try to wake up before they do to tackle your chores. But, first, take a shower, and get dressed down to your feet. It's amazing what I can get accomplished and the renewed sense of purpose that I have when I have showered and dressed. I look presentable, and I am ready to do what I need to do for the day.

While the kids are asleep make a list of your to-do's that you want to accomplish for the day. Try to read from the Bible and pray to help center you and keep you in a wonderful mood.



3. Create weekly menus.

It's such a lifesaver to have menus planned in advance. You can grocery shop around your menu and already know what you will be cooking. If possible, try to do most of the prep work for your dinner by lunchtime. Then you won't be as frazzled as the day progresses.



4. Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals.

Set your cleaning goals, project goals like sewing, knitting, and other hobbies, and child rearing goals. Maybe you want to be sure to teach your toddler how to count to ten by the end of the month, and you have
incremental goals in place to help you
achieve it. Maybe you want to have the garage cleaned out by the end of the month, and you set weekly goals to get it done.

5. Read websites and books for inspiration. The books that are great and inspire you to enjoy your duties in the home are : The Happy Housewife by Darla Shine, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacey McDonald, Fascinating Womanhood by Helen Andelin and A Woman's High Calling by Elizabeth George. My favorite website for homemaking inspiration is Ladies Against Feminism.

Becoming a domestic goddess takes time, hard work and dedication. But, it brings so many rewards and great satisfaction. Choose today to create a home that your family will love coming home to.