Remember This? The Early 1960s

I learned to knit as a girl and made several head bands like the blue and white stripped one on the left. 

And I knit slippers like the ones below.

Pom Pom slippers like I knit as a girl

The patterns were in a green and white book of basic instructions on all kinds of needlework. Mom and Grandma were great knitters. I was awful.

"You can defer wrinkles, defend your chin line, and firm your facial muscles with these simple exercises." The October 1962 Family Circle magazine has an article on "face-saving" exercises.

In junior high we had to create a dance routine to Chicken Fat, a song for exercising that came out of the Kennedy administration. At age fourteen I did jumping jacks, sit ups, and push ups. But I never considered I needed to exercise my face!

Here is Marie Claire's yoga version of facial exercises: http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/544896/5-anti-ageing-facial-exercises-you-can-try-at-home.html

Do they work? LA Times says no. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/31/health/la-he-face-exercise-wrinkles-20110131

Hush Puppies were popular. I was perfectly glad to wear them. Mom had me in Saddle Shoes in elementary school, but I got penny loafers and Hush Puppies in junior high.

My mother-in-law was asked by her granddaughter how she kept her skin looking so young. "I never used soap" she replied. But she did always have a jar of Noxema.

Ivory had a promotion with two women who looked to be sisters but were actually mother and daughter. We were supposed to know by the hands who had spent eighteen years up to her elbows in suds. 

I miss the old phones. I truly do miss them. The wireless ones give me a headache, so I always have them on speaker phone and hold them a good 6 inches away from my ear. I'm so old I remember party lines and having to hang up when someone else was talking on the joint line.

When I went to school my sandwiches were in Waxtex sandwich bags, not plastic zip lock bags. 

Mom ordered some of these prints for my room. Now the Big Eyed kids are being rediscovered, and a movie about the artist Margaret Keane is coming out. I was embarrassed by go-go boots and Mod stuff then. I was twelve and not ready for teen stuff. I still preferred Bach, Books and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

See the posters in color here

 http://www.bigeyesart.com/Lee/Lee.php 

http://artskooldamage.blogspot.com/2011/09/kitsch-supreme-1960s-big-eyed-mods.html

How racy were these ads? Long before Victoria's Secret there was Maidenform.

Are you feeling old? Or are you thinking I am the one who is OLD!

Recipes from the October 1962 Family Circle Magazine

The October 1962 Family Circle Magazine recipe sections included roasts, meat pies and seasonal baking.

"Apples and spice make these desserts nice." Pictured is an Apple Crown Cake, Apple-Snow Souffle, a Banbury Apple Tart, and an Apple Cobbler Pie.

The Apple-Snow Souffle is "fluffy light and refreshing with a now-and-then bite of apple--and it unmolds beautifully."
Here's the recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Coat a 4-cup mold with butter; dust lightly with sugar; tap out excess.
2. Saute 2 cups of sliced, pared and cored apples in 1/2 stick of butter, stirring often, for about 20 mins or until golden but not mushy. Set aside.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour and a dash of salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in 2/3 cup of milk slowly, stirring, and add 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Cook, stirring, until it reaches a boil. Cool.
4. Beat 3 egg whites until they form peaks.
5. Beat 3 egg yolks, gradually adding 3 tablespoons of sugar. Blend in cooled sauce, then apples. Fold in beaten egg whites.
6. Pour into mold. Set mold in baking pan filled with water and place on oven shelf. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes,, or until puffed and firm and in the center when touched.
7. Remove mold from pan of water. Let stand, away from drafts, until cool, about 15 minutes, and it will hold its shape when turned out.
8. Loosen edge with knife; cover with serving plate; turn mold upside down on the plate and lift off. Spoon 2 tablespoons of Grenadine syrup over and ut into wedges.

Roasts were a special dinner in my household. This magazine offers 5 roast recipes making 10 meals. It also included meat pies, like the Continental Veal pie in the photograph below. Other meat pies included Beef and Kidney, Canadian Pork Pie, Crisscross Chicken Pie, and Clam Digger's pie.

Here is the recipe for the unusual Clam Digger's Pie:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Prepare a package of pie crust mix, or make your own, to create two 12" rounds to fit into a 9" pie plate. Place one crust in the pie plate.
2. Drain two 11 ounce cans of minced clams reserving 2/3 cup of the liquid in a bowl. Add the clams, 3/4 cup of milk, 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup unsalted soda cracker crumbs, 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Spoon into shell and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter.
3. Roll out other pie crust and cover pie. Cut slits to let steam escape. Trim overhang to 1/2" and fold under flush with rim and flute.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 30 minutes, or until golden.

Carolina Rice advertising photograph

They caught the dreaded bacon-snitcher in the act! Bacon has had a revival today.

What would be served for "casual get-togethers" in 1962? One menu plan included Sea-food Lasagna, Savory Green Beans and Romaine-cucumber salad, a fruit and cheese tray, bread sticks, and Expresso with lemon peel. Sounds healthy enough.

Here is the recipe for
Seafood Lasagna
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cook a 1/2 pound of lasagna noodles in boiling water with olive oil added to prevent sticking. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water.
2. Thaw 2 cans of frozen condensed cream of shrimp soup in a large saucepan, stirring. Stir in 2 7-ounce cans of king crab meat. Heat until bubbly.
3. Blend 1 pound of cottage cheese and 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese with 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 beaten egg, 2 tsps of basil, 1 tsp of salt and 1/3 tsp of pepper.
4. Lightly oil a 13"x 9"x 2" baking dish and line with a layer of noodles. Top with half of cheese mixture, another layer of noodles, and all of the crab sauce. Arrange four sliced ripe tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with 2 tsps of sugar. (Casserole can be chilled for later use at this point, just let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first.)
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes; Sprinkle with 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese and bake 45 minutes longer, or until crusty brown. Cool for 15 minutes and cut into 8 servings.

Here are some of today's versions of Seafood Lasagna:

Cooking Light's Seafood Lasagna uses canned crabmeat and fresh shrimp, low fat cottage cheese, and no-cook lasagna noodles. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/seafood-lasagna

The New York Times version uses fresh seafood and half-and-half. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/474-seafood-lasagna

Stoneyfield uses Greek yogurt and adds lobster and has less fat. http://www.stonyfield.com/recipes/seafood-lasagna

And Eating Well has an even lower fat version with almost no cheese. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/seafood_lasagna_lasagna_di_pesce.html

October 1962 Home Decorating: When Turquoise Was King Continues

The October 1962 Family Circle magazine's feature story was on furniture arranging. The photos show a nice overview of decorating styles in '62.

I love this cover arrangement with the wonderful MCM settees, the console, and the octagonal coffee table. The blue, green and gold fabric on the settees is way cool. That antique gold/green carpet is an unusual color.

The next photo is their "conversation sparking" arrangement, an area adjacent to the dining area. Very traditional, but with an aqua/turquoise color in the upholstery, drapery, and even the table runner.

The "interest wall" was the focal point in the room below. If you don't have a fireplace or window as a focal point, they suggested creating one. Here walnut boards are supported by metal keyhole strips and brackets.

The colors of blue and green are more primary in tone, but the rug and chair appear a deeper turquoise in the original photo. Can you find the television? It's almost a Where's Waldo moment, the television is so tiny compared to today's monstrous ones. Who needs a "focal point" when the television has taken that role?

In the next photos the windows are the focal point of the rooms. The upper photo has "no wall-hugging sofas or chairs," a definite turquoise color scheme, and is quite informal with floor pillows and a window seat.

The lower photo shows a room with two focal points, the fireplace and the window. They suggest alternating the placement of the sofas: at right angles to the window in summer, and in front of the fireplace in winter. The couches, wall, and drapes are turquoise in the original photo.

Dual purpose study/guest room includes a day bed. The bed covering is a turquoise and brown floral print, and the drapes a deep brown in the original photo.

The photo below shows more great MCM furniture in turquoise with a matching rug. Notice the great wall unit with shelves, drawers, and flip down desk. Is that is asphalt tile flooring, or perhaps linoleum? In 1963 Dad redid our bedroom floors with linoleum tiles.

A traditional Colonial look with a brown couch in the foreground and chairs across from it. The paneling on the walls was quite the rage. Our 1966 house has wood paneling in the family room and Dad had installed it in the basement in 1972.

And last of all, a sleeper sofa in a turquoise print has matching chair and lamp, a turquoise and golden colored rug, and  a painting with deeper blues. The table has a magazine are, and is to the side for easy opening of the sofa bed. On my monitor the turquoise is showing up green. :(

A nice article on fall flower arranging has some great photos.  

The Latest in Kitchen Design...Circa 1962

The May 1962 issue of Family Circle featured six pages of kitchen ideas. Many of the design elements are popular again today, including the hanging pendant lighting, colorful clear glass, bright colors in kitchens, and open shelving and hanging utensils and pots and pans. We see islands with eating areas and integrated refrigerators. Plants hanging in the kitchen are also being seen now. Our 1962 kitchen looked nothing like this! but our kitchen remodel, still  in the planning, might have some of these features.

Today we have desks for computers in the kitchen,

I love the double sinks

1962: What's Cooking?

 The March 1962 issue of Family Circle had lots of ads for processed foods. My mom was a big processed food user. It was the culture of the time.



Remember that pudding cheesecake with a graham cracker crust? I think they served it everywhere.

Luckily the only time I had SPAM was when the Girl Scouts went on an overnight camping trip. We each had to bring our own can of SPAM to grill over the fire at breakfast

Just open the can. Make some Biscuit biscuits. Dinner served.

A typical lunch: packaged sliced cheese and canned soup.

I never had waffles for breakfast growing up. These ginger spice ones look GOOD. 

 Meat was standard fare for all meals.

 Vegetables were offered on the side, kind of like pickles or rolls.

Well, even the applesauce had a traditional colonial theme going on. Pennsylvania Dutch.

Guide to Traditional Decorating, 1962 style

The March 1962 Family Circle magazine offered ideas for decorating in the 'traditional' style that the women in my family favored. I think that the cover of this magazine influenced Mom's decoration of the dining room of the house we moved into in 1963.

Mom chose a blue and white wall paper with a repeated eagle motif  and outfitted the hutch with blue flow plates from her great-grandparents. She had Dad install a chair rail and painted the wall beneath it blue. Mom had a braided rug too, just like in this picture.

 I loved that room.

Mom's hutch with the blue flow in my home.

Another dining room idea offered in the article was more elegant and traditional and less colonial.

 Living room ideas included this wild gingham check motif! Love those toile' fabrics.

The couch and chair and even the tables look similar to what I grew up with. We even had a white painted fireplace for a while.

This more elegant room has drapes similar to ones Mom had in the later 60s, a Jacobean influence. I always loved the camel back rolled arms sofas and owned one for many years.

 We have had wing chairs for many years. Again red and blue but with a deeper red, paler blue and creamy beige.

Bedroom ideas in red, white and blue

My mom bought Family Circle and Women's Day at the grocery store, and would get me a Golden Book. She once said that had she had her health and worked she thought she would like to have been an interior decorator.