For one day in April, there was quite a bit going on. We are introduced to the people of Centralia, Illinois. In 1961, Centralia, or more precisely, in the middle of a field on Fred Kleiboeker's farm 6.5 miles from town, was the center of population of the United States. A big deal was made of it, especially by politicians running for election that fall. Several local folks reminisced about Centralia in 1961. Mike Booth mused that the "in" car, the car "to have," was the '57 Chevy. He didn't have one though. The movie "Where The Boys Are" touted the fun in Florida during spring break. Walter Shupp, mayor of Centralia, disapproved of young people going to Florida and didn't much care for the music of the day either, as noted by Fred Johnson of the Marcels, whose song "Blue Moon" was popular at the time.
The cleaning product Mr. Clean enjoyed a rather snappy musical beat in the television commercials. Lester Lanin, a big name in society dance bands, recounts that people were always asking him to play "Mr. Clean." At first, he didn't know what the people were talking about. Later, he decided to make an album of "commercial" music because the Mr. Clean song was so popular While we were enjoying peace and prosperity here, there was jubilation in Russia. Sputnik had been shot into space three years earlier, and on this day Yuri Gargarin was the first man sent into space. He orbited 188 miles above the Earth and stayed aloft for 108 minutes. Gherman Tito was the back-up astronaut. Russia was quite aware of what we were doing because they read the reports in the magazines (Life,e.g.)and newspapers. When the news of the space shot was announced, the press gave newly-elected president John Kennedy a hard time because Russia had beat us into space. Our first attempts were unsuccessful. By then, our first attempt to send a man into space was pushed back to May. John Glenn described some concerns that we were dealing with: would the effects of weightlessness cause one to black out, and if so, would the astronaut be able to recover, and would weightlessness cause the eyes to lose shape and become myopic/ Elsewhere, the world's attention was directed to Israel and the trial of Adolph Eichmann who was accused of war crimes. This was the first major trial to be televised. Telford Taylor, a journalist at the trial reported that the trial had three judges and no jury. The tapes of the trial showed the judges and also Eichmann, who was sitting in a glass cubicle. A a translator at the trial described Eichmann as mousy, insignificant, and common.
In the U.S., Kennedy was evaluating his options regarding the Bay of Pigs invasion, a plan which had been thought up by the CIA during the Eisenhower administration. Eisenhower was in favor going on with the plan. Kennedy, when he finally gave his approval, insisted that no American troops would be involved. That was true up to a point. The invasion was to have been accomplished with Cuban exiles, but they had our backing. The plan was found out and fell apart before it started.
Trivia: Hit song, "Mother-in-law" by E.R. Doe; hit movie, "Exodus." Third Annual Grammy Awards: Best music, "Georgia On My Mind" by Ray Charles; Best Female Performer, Ella Fitzgerald with "Mack The Knife." Lord & Taylor Department Store windows featured Andy Warhol's first pop art display. The average federal income tax was $646.66. A Malt in Centralia cost 0.17 cents, and an Italian silk suit in New York cost $135.
The cleaning product Mr. Clean enjoyed a rather snappy musical beat in the television commercials. Lester Lanin, a big name in society dance bands, recounts that people were always asking him to play "Mr. Clean." At first, he didn't know what the people were talking about. Later, he decided to make an album of "commercial" music because the Mr. Clean song was so popular While we were enjoying peace and prosperity here, there was jubilation in Russia. Sputnik had been shot into space three years earlier, and on this day Yuri Gargarin was the first man sent into space. He orbited 188 miles above the Earth and stayed aloft for 108 minutes. Gherman Tito was the back-up astronaut. Russia was quite aware of what we were doing because they read the reports in the magazines (Life,e.g.)and newspapers. When the news of the space shot was announced, the press gave newly-elected president John Kennedy a hard time because Russia had beat us into space. Our first attempts were unsuccessful. By then, our first attempt to send a man into space was pushed back to May. John Glenn described some concerns that we were dealing with: would the effects of weightlessness cause one to black out, and if so, would the astronaut be able to recover, and would weightlessness cause the eyes to lose shape and become myopic/ Elsewhere, the world's attention was directed to Israel and the trial of Adolph Eichmann who was accused of war crimes. This was the first major trial to be televised. Telford Taylor, a journalist at the trial reported that the trial had three judges and no jury. The tapes of the trial showed the judges and also Eichmann, who was sitting in a glass cubicle. A a translator at the trial described Eichmann as mousy, insignificant, and common.
In the U.S., Kennedy was evaluating his options regarding the Bay of Pigs invasion, a plan which had been thought up by the CIA during the Eisenhower administration. Eisenhower was in favor going on with the plan. Kennedy, when he finally gave his approval, insisted that no American troops would be involved. That was true up to a point. The invasion was to have been accomplished with Cuban exiles, but they had our backing. The plan was found out and fell apart before it started.
Trivia: Hit song, "Mother-in-law" by E.R. Doe; hit movie, "Exodus." Third Annual Grammy Awards: Best music, "Georgia On My Mind" by Ray Charles; Best Female Performer, Ella Fitzgerald with "Mack The Knife." Lord & Taylor Department Store windows featured Andy Warhol's first pop art display. The average federal income tax was $646.66. A Malt in Centralia cost 0.17 cents, and an Italian silk suit in New York cost $135.