Andrew J. Boyd - Nostalgia: The Way It Really Was

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Copyright 2012 by www.ajboydphoto.com

ISBN 978-0-7414-7517-6 Paperback
ISBN 978-0-7414-7518-3 Hardcover
ISBN 978-0-7414-7519-0 eBook

Printed in the United States of America

Published April 2012

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Nostalgia:

A wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in ones life to ones home or homeland, or to ones family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

The way it really was.

In memory of my father.

Nostalgia
The way it really was

ISBN-978-0-7414-7518-3

Copyright 2012 by:
www.ajboydphoto.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may need to quote a brief passage in a review.

Once upon a time a girl with moonlight in her eyes Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so, But that was once upon a time Very long ago.

Once upon a hill we sat beneath a willow tree Counting all the stars and waiting for the dawn, But that was once upon a time Now the tree is gone.

How the breeze ruffeled through her hair How we always laughed as though tomorrow wasnt there, We were young and didnt have a care Where did it go?

Once upon a time the world was sweeter than we knew Everything was ours how happy we were then, But somehow once upon a time never comes again Once upon a time never comes again.

Music: Charles Strouse

Lyrics: Lee Adams

N ostalgia, there is a history lesson in that word. Laughter, tears, love and fears all contained in bygone years.

1930 1955 Who knew that this generation would live in one of the most defining times of all in America? Certainly not many, in fact it really has not been completely understood by many of the generations since such as the Great Depression. One could go on and on about innocence, courage, innovation, inventiveness, entrepreneurship and hard work. But all of that was true before my time as well. Although this book will focus primarily on the 40s and 50s you will read also about the old west back in the late 1800s.

It is important to preserve this very defining time in the history of this great nation. Im interested because I was fortunate and blessed to live in it. Was it a time as defining as George Washington crossing the Delaware, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Lincolns Gettysburg Address? Probably not, let the historians decide that.

What were the 50s like? We use to say I got a raise in pay and soon, if I stay with the company, Ill be earning $10,000. Thats per year! The pay was mighty small in comparison to the pay day of modern times, but we made it work because we consumed less and for the most part were satisfied working our way up the ladder. We rarely had instant gratification. It was a time of boomerangs, hula hoops and silly putty, simple stuff.

Dance halls were the rage as Frank Sinatra crooned and the big bands still were packing them in all over the country. Disc Jockeys competed for the top ten songs with contests and entertainer visits and drive-in restaurants had all the latest tunes playing loudly as we ate in the car waited on by a very friendly cute waitress. We had several choices of drive-in movies (otherwise known as passion pits) around town and it seemed we knew everyone in the cars around us. Great fun!

So is this book about the war? Not really. There are many great books about WWII, the battles, the miracles, the heroes. Let me just mention that this was Americas finest hour in terms of patriotism and the fight for our liberty. Many of the pages that follow will have blank years in them such as automobile manufacturing, and sports because of the war effort. That effort was realized in the manufacture of tanks, trucks, aircraft and munitions. This book will touch on military aircraft and some of the sacrifices made that our nation can always be proud of that will stand the test of time in history when America stood tall with great dignity and courage. Im able to have the freedom to write about the great years that followed WWII because of Americas brave souls. God bless all of you!

Many thanks to Terry Peacock for offering up his treasured and beautifully preserved old sports book.

Thanks too to the many friends and family members who gave me helpful suggestions and site location ideas.

Paul & Susie Bissell Innkeepers at the Columbiana Inn for their hospitality.

A special thanks to my wife and best friend Jennie (below) for all her help.

And thanks to all the models that gave their time and effort dressing for the era, having fun with it helping me provide the images inside these pages.

In 1869, Cincinnati sponsored the first all-professional baseball team, the Red Stockings. The payroll totaled $9,500. The success of the Red Stockings led to the formation of the first professional league in 1871 called the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. The National League was founded in 1876 and the American League was founded in 1901.

Although I played baseball as a kid growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio my interests were more into building small model airplanes, cars and boats but the clamor in the news about the Cleveland Indians in 1948 as they charged toward the pennant and then on to winning the World Series really sparked the excitement of baseball in me and I became a fan and player. Cleveland has come close to winning it all several more times over the years but 1948 was the last World Series win.

At the time this little Sports Almanac was written my favorite pitcher was Bob Feller who played his entire career for the Cleveland Indians and the records for him at that time stood at 348 strikeouts in 1946 and the most strikeouts in a single game at 18 against the Detroit Tigers October 2, 1938. He also pitched in the 1948 World Series when Cleveland won it all.