30th Reunion Yearbk-1995
Baby Boomers—consider the changes our generation has seen or brought about…
We were born before credit cards, Frisbees, panty hose, polio shots, Xerox, laser beams, and THE PILL.
We were before contact lenses, transistor radios, Polaroids, cable TV, Touch-Tone phones, Teflon and before men walked on the moon. Life was simpler before zip codes, area codes and PIN numbers. Milk and bread could be delivered to our front doors, urgent messages were sent by telegram and doctors still made house calls.
We saw ballpoint pens, clothes dryers, microwaves, frozen foods, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes, dishwashers, and electric blankets become a part of everyday life.
Five cents could buy a Milky Way; for a dime we could make a phone call, buy a Pepsi and a Dr. Pepper, or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. Movies were 50 cents. Cars started our under $2000., gas was under 25 cents a gallon and we didn’t have to pay for insurance.
We’d never heard of cell phones, CDs, personal computers, VCRs, artificial hearts, yogurt, spotted owls, the ozone layer or global warming. Time-sharing meant togetherness – not condominiums; a “chip” meant either a piece of wood or something to snack on; hardware meant tools and software wasn’t a word.
‘”Made in Japan” meant “junk”, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut weren’t on the scene yet – we had Seaton’s, the A & W and the Big O (remember the roller skating car hops?).
Back then cigarette smoking was fashionable, COKE was a cold drink, and AIDS the helper in the Principal’s office. Designer Jeans were a scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with our cousins. We thought fast food was what Catholics ate during Lent, and the Super Highway was the new interstate. And, we thought that “FAX” referred to the birds and bees.
Our generation brought about day-care centers, house-husbands, recycling, computer dating, gay rights, dual-career and commuter marriages, group therapy, nursing homes and organic foods.
We, the baby boomers, will go down in history as the generation who institutionalized ROCK MUSIC, fought for CIVIL RIGHTS, started the SEXUAL REVOLUTION, entered the AGE OF TECHNOLOGY, and drive the INFORMATION HIGHWAY!
We’re the generation not afraid to turn fifty ‘cause we know, given our record, we’re not getting’ older –we’re getting better. And world, we’re not done yet.
----Contributed by Peggy Harris and Rose Westwood Merrick