The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
Children growing up in the 1950s had vastly different lives compared to today. It was less common for married women to work. My mom spent many hours cooking and baking for us and we had lots of family potlucks. I remember fondly my mother, grandmother and aunts standing in a line at the kitchen sink happily visiting while cleaning up.
There was little spare money for treats like cinema trips and vacations. Families played board games rather than computer games. My dad took me fishing and taught me how to row his little rowboat on the local lake. My neighborhood gang spent many hours outside—playing hide and seek, kick the can, Annie-Annie Over, and wiffleball games. I can still see in my mind’s eye my brother catching wiffleballs using his baseball cap instead of a mitt.
There was a large-scale expansion of the middle class in the 1950s with consumerism on the rise. By the end of the decade most American families had their very own television. Sitcoms and comedies were among the best shows on TV, i.e. I Love Lucy and the Honeymooners. Later in the decade, Westerns became the most popular, i.e., Rawhide, Bonanza, and the Lone Ranger. I personally remember the opening to my favorite program, “Out of the blue of the Western sky comes Sky King!”
The biggest dangers for kids in the 1950s were: being dragged by the merry-go-round on the playground or being dumped off the seesaw. Infractions at my elementary school were for chewing gum, running in the halls, or writing notes/talking in class. We feared being sent to the principal’s office—girls for wearing their skirts above the knee—or boys not tucking in their shirts! We also could expect to be disciplined by our parents when we got home.
Authority figures invested in our character by holding us accountable for our actions and following through with serious consequences for disrespect and bad behavior. In response we submitted our strong wills and eventually transferred our obedience to God—willingly receiving His wisdom and instruction. That’s the way things were.