Providing a hearty, healthy, nutritious lunch in a clean, sanitary lunch box or other container for both hubby and the kids was a housewife’s daily duty in the 1950s. The guidelines included the following:
“It should be abundant in amount for a hungry, healthy individual. A little too much is better than too little.”
“It should be chosen with regard to nutritive needs of the individual, and in relation to the whole day’s food.”
“It should be clean, appetizing, wholesome, and attractive.”
Food Selection
Solids and liquids were both included in the lunch plan. Guidelines urged housewives to choose at least one item from each of the following groups:
Milk — in food, such as pudding, or drink.
Bread — whole grain used in sandwiches.
Meat, Cheese, Eggs, or Fish — used in sandwich fillings, salads, or main dishes. Left over meat loaf, pot roast, and other food items were often used in sandwiches in the 1950s.
Fruit — whole or diced in salads or desserts.
Vegetables — used in sandwich fillings, salads, main dishes, or whole. Crisp, raw vegetables preferred.
Surprise – cookies, nuts, raisins, or other special treat.
What Season is it?
~ In winter, include something hot, such as soup, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate in a thermos.
~ In summer, include cool, refreshing items such as lemonade, fruit juice, iced tea, or iced coffee in a thermos.
Tips
*Remember to include utensils, napkins, and straws.*
*Provide spicier, more flavorful food for hubby and milder but flavorful food for the kids.*
*The goal in the 1950s was to keep packed lunches appetizing, varied, and balanced nutritionally.
Menus
Cream of tomato soup
Ham sandwich with mustard and lettuce
Celery sticks and olives
Fresh pear
Cookies
~
Cheese sandwich with ketchup and lettuce
Tossed vegetable salad and dressing
Pickles
Whole orange
Cake
Hot cocoa
~
(The first lunch box set was produced by the Aladdin Company in 1950 and featured Hopalong Cassidy.)
The National School Lunch Act, signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1946, provides school lunches in public schools for a fee or for free. I don’t know nowadays how many kids still bring their lunches to school. I remember kids getting teased when they reached a certain age who still brought their lunches to school. My favorite part of lunch in school was the chocolate milk that came with the cafeteria lunch. And, in high school, we used to sneak off campus and hit the local Taco Bell. Many adults eat in the company cafeteria, if one is provided, or order fast food. But some adults still bring their lunches to work.
~
Information retrieved from The American Woman’s Cook Book, 1952 and the Internet.
Dawn Pisturino
September 19, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
I was in the beauty salon getting my hair cut yesterday, and all the ladies were on fire about the current national shortage of baby formula. This shortage has been going on for a while but recently worsened with the recall of Similac baby formula products a few months ago. The news media has been reporting on the shortage, otherwise, unless you have babies or grand-babies, you probably wouldn’t know anything about it.
Similac PM 60/40 Lot# 27032K80 was voluntarily recalled by Abbott Laboratories after customer complaints about infants becoming infected with Salmonella (Cronobacter sakazakii) and after one infant died.
My husband reminded me that when the CEO of a baby formula company in China was indicted for producing bad batches of baby formula in 2008 that poisoned 300,000 Chinese infants and killed six, he was executed by the Chinese Communist Party. The formula contained melamine, a toxic substance that was used to increase protein levels.
And I clearly remember the complaints against Nestle in the 1970s when the company urged third world women, particularly in Africa, to stop breast-feeding and use their baby formula products. This turned into a huge scandal which the company is still trying to live down.
Although commercial baby formula products have been around since the 1800s, breast-feeding is still considered by pediatricians to provide the best nutrition for infants. Breast-feeding popularity has gone through phases, however. Post-World War II, breast-feeding lost some of its attraction for middle-class housewives, and more women were in the workforce, so homemade baby formulas became the norm. This held true into the 1960s, when more advanced baby formulas came onto the market. In the 1970s, women’s groups demanded a return to breast-feeding as the more desirable source of nutrition for infants. Today, breast-feeding and formula use go hand-in-hand. Some women are unable to produce enough milk naturally and must supplement with formula. Some babies have special digestive problems or allergies and require special formulas.
**Some women, frustrated with the shortage of commercial baby formula, are making their own based on a 1950s recipe that was the standard for that time. Here’s the recipe, but I am not recommending that anybody use it. All mothers should check with their pediatricians before using it. The formula may not contain all the nutritional requirements that babies need. Infants have a sensitive digestive tract and may develop digestive issues or be allergic.**
In the 1950s, a housewife would make enough for the entire day (24 ounces) and divide it into 6 sterilized baby bottles (4 ounces each). She would refrigerate all bottles until needed.
1950s Standard Baby Formula
13 ounces evaporated milk
20 ounces water
2 tablespoons Karo corn syrup
Heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.
The 1950s doctor would prescribe liquid vitamins and iron for the baby to ensure that he or she was getting the proper nutrition. **Consult your pediatrician before giving vitamins and iron to your infant.**
Feeding Schedule
The normal schedule was to feed the baby every 4 hours, at 6 am, 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 10 pm, and 2 am. I don’t know when Mom got to sleep! But the breast-feeding schedule can be even more rigorous, with baby getting fed every 2 to 4 hours.
The evaporated milk in the formula contained Vitamin D to prevent rickets. To prevent scurvy, baby was started on a solution of orange juice at 3 weeks, with the typical ratio being 1 tablespoon orange juice to 1 tablespoon water. Baby received this solution at least once a day. **(Please consult with your pediatrician before giving your infant juices and solids. The current recommendation is to wait until a baby is one year old before giving him or her orange juice.)** In addition, mom was expected to offer baby boiled, cooled water in-between feedings to prevent dehydration.
A typical baby schedule in the 1950s:
The term “hold out” is confusing, but it apparently means to hold the baby out to facilitate with passing urine, feces, and gas. Fresh air and sunshine were important components of the baby’s day, something which still holds true now. Don’t forget the sunscreen, sun hat, and clothing! I don’t know if anybody puts their baby outside to sleep anymore. I would certainly suggest that mom or another adult stay with the baby, if they do.
The importance of a schedule is to teach kids regular habits, discipline, and responsibility, but later parenting methods called for a looser lifestyle for both baby and parents. Of course, babies are all individuals with their own likes and dislikes. Some babies willingly go along with a schedule, while others don’t. And that’s okay!
Dawn Pisturino
May 12, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
**REMEMBER TO CONSULT WITH YOUR PEDIATRICIAN BEFORE CHANGING YOUR INFANT’S FORMULA, USING HOMEMADE FORMULA, AND CHANGING THE FOOD INTRODUCTION SCHEDULE (WHAT TYPES OF FOODS AN INFANT SHOULD EAT AT WHAT AGE). THE BABY’S DIGESTIVE TRACT CANNOT TOLERATE SOME FOODS AT AN EARLY AGE OR MAY DEVELOP ALLERGIES.**
Although afternoon tea is not an established tradition in America as it is in the British Isles, women in the 1950s would often get together in the afternoon for card parties, tea parties, and luncheons in order to share gossip, recipes, husband advice, child-rearing suggestions, fashion, hairstyles, make-up, current affairs, and plans for vacations and interior decorating. These social events broke up the boredom and mundane routine of household chores, encouraged bonding and friendships, and strengthened neighborhood cohesion and security. Neighbors knew one another back then and turned to each other in times of trouble. On the flip side, there was the usual rivalry over who was buying the newest car, the biggest house, the most expensive television set. People gossiped about each other shamelessly, with everyone knowing each other’s business. But, shhhhh, don’t talk about it out loud! That would be bad manners.
Afternoon Tea Menu
Assorted sandwiches (see suggestions below)
Toasted Sponge Cake
Small cakes (like Petits Fours – see recipe below)
Sweet wafers (vanilla wafers)
Bonbons, such as nougat candy and fudge
Cookies, such as assorted macaroons or French macarons
Nuts
Tea with sugar, cream, and sliced lemon
Tea Sandwiches
“The tea sandwich is seldom made of meat, though such things as minced chicken, lobster, or crab meat, and sardines beaten to a paste, are sometimes used for it.”
Thinly-sliced bread, with or without the crust.
Fillings may include lettuce, mayonnaise, chopped olives, nasturtiums and other edible flowers, watercress, cucumbers, cheese, Vienna sausages, jam, preserves, butter, and almond spread.
Buttered hot biscuits with cream cheese and preserves provide a delicious alternative.
Recipe for Petits Fours
2 cups sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Fondant (can be bought pre-made)
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cream shortening, vanilla, and sugar together until fluffy. Add sifted ingredients and milk alternately. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into 2 greased (9-inch) pans. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees F.) about 25 minutes. Cool, then cut into 2-inch squares or triangles or use cookie cutters. Brush off crumbs, arrange on wire racks, and place racks on waxed paper. Melt fondant slowly over hot water (using a double boiler), tint with food coloring, and pour slowly over cakes. Decorate with nuts, candied fruit, small candies, coconut, or ornamental frosting pressed into flower shapes with a pastry tube. Makes about 30.
(Photo from Land O’Lakes)
Preparing the Tea
Avoid metal when preparing the tea! Glass or earthenware pots make the best tea. (Of course, every 1950s hostess had her favorite China teapot.)
Heat the teapot by filling it with boiling water. Empty it. Add the dry tea leaves (1 teaspoon of tea per 1 cup of hot water is a good guideline) and refill the pot with fresh boiling water. Cover and allow to brew for 3 to 5 minutes in a warm place. Serve immediately.
Tea may be served with sugar, cream, milk, lemon, cloves, candied cherries, orange peel, rose leaves, or mint. Cream should be used with black tea.
Mate and herbal tea may be substituted for traditional tea.
All menus and recipes from The American Woman’s Cook Book, 1952.
Dawn Pisturino
March 1, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
After World War II, Hollywood struggled to re-define itself. Box office revenues stagnated, and Hollywood needed new markets to keep going. The teenage market was an obvious choice.
Post-war prosperity in the 1950s made it possible for the middle-class to own houses, cars, and the latest work-saving appliances on a widespread scale. After the fear and deprivation of the war years, Americans wanted to enjoy their new-found prosperity. Television invaded American homes, bringing new entertainment and exposure to the latest products. The consumer economy had begun.
Teenagers had unprecedented pocket money and leisure time. While their parents climbed the social ladder and hung out with friends at the country club, teenagers necked in the back seats of cars and danced to the latest rock and roll tunes. Hollywood targeted teens to become the new movie-going generation (Lewis, 250, 255).
The upbeat world of the 1950s cringed under the shadow of nuclear war and an increasingly aggressive Soviet Union. Beatniks mourned the impending death of humanity in coffee houses and cafes. The McCarthy years dragged on, and the fear of Communism ran rampant throughout the country. At the same time, a new kind of socially-conscious movie was being made to highlight problems in American society (Lewis, 228). Juvenile delinquency became a hot topic.
Nicholas Ray’s 1955 movie, Rebel Without a Cause, explores the alienation and delinquency of “upper-middle-class white suburban teenagers” (Lewis, 253). The movie was filmed using Cinemascope widescreen technology and Warnercolor. Starring James Dean, Sal Mineo, and Natalie Wood, this tense melodrama was meant to serve as a wake-up call to parents: take care of your children, or they will go down the wrong path (Lewis, 253).
When the movie opens, it is Easter in Los Angeles, California, 1955. Jim Stark (James Dean) is lying on the pavement, drunk, playing with a mechanical monkey. It is a poignant scene that shows a lost character who is torn between childhood and adulthood.
Jim Stark is hauled off to jail and becomes aware of John/Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood). The three troubled teens are required to speak to the juvenile officer, who tries to understand them.
Judy cries about her father, who pushed her away when she reached puberty, and complains that she feels unloved by him. She craves his attention, runs out of the house, and wanders around alone after dark when they get into a conflict over wearing make-up and grown up clothes. Judy is trying to grow up, but growing up means losing closeness with her father (fear of incest). She cannot understand why he is pushing her away because nobody has talked to her about it. Her anger and despair lead her to hang out with the tough high school gang, The Wheels, and the gang’s leader, Buzz.
John/Plato is an abandoned and neglected rich boy whose black maid is paid to raise him. It is his birthday, and he is angry because his parents are divorced, his father is not involved in his life, and his mother stays away on vacation. He has been picked up for shooting some puppies, a deviant behavior that is considered nowadays to be a precursor for sociopathic/psychopathic serial killers (Siegel, 353). Although his black maid appears to sincerely care for him, calling him “her boy,” she is powerless to help him. John/Plato appears to be emotionally unstable, starved for love, rejected by his peers, vulnerable and gullible, and physically and emotionally immature.
While waiting to see the juvenile officer, Jim Stark annoys the other police officers by wailing like a police siren, making obnoxious comments, and exhibiting a negative, sarcastic attitude. In one scene, a deep-focus camera shot captures the three troubled teens through windows: Judy sitting in the office with the juvenile officer; John/Plato waiting in the office next door; and Jim sitting on a chair in the background. The viewer understands that these three troubled teens will eventually get together, connected by their common suffering and antisocial behavior.
Jim’s mother and father show up at the police station wearing a mink coat and a tuxedo. They have been at a party at the country club. Jim’s father laughs and minimizes his son’s drinking. After all, the family has just moved to Los Angeles, and Jim has not made any friends yet. The parents bicker, blaming one another; and Jim’s father says to him, “Don’t I buy you everything you want?” Jim covers his ears and cries at his parents, “You’re tearing me apart!”
Jim loses control, punches the juvenile officer, and bangs on the desk. He is in danger of going to juvenile hall. His parents admit that they have been moving frequently because of Jim’s behavior in order to protect him and their own reputations. It becomes clear that Jim’s father is weak and cowardly. His mother is a nag.
On the first day of school, Jim is bullied for being the new kid. He tries to befriend Judy, but she smokes cigarettes and hangs out with the tough crowd. John/Plato looks up to Jim and tags along behind him, calling him “my best friend.” During the field trip at the Griffith Observatory, the teens are exposed to a presentation about the universe and a nihilistic commentary about the insignificance of earth and human beings. Jim and John/Plato can both identify with this.
Jim gets into a knife fight with Buzz, the leader of The Wheels. At the end of the fight, they agree to compete in a “chickie run.” Jim doesn’t know what this is, but he agrees to do it as a matter of honor. When he consults his father, his father cannot give him any worthwhile advice. Later that night, Buzz is killed when his jacket gets caught on the door, and he is unable to escape from the car. His car goes over a cliff, and all the members of the gang take off. Jim confesses to his parents what happened. His mother wants to move. His father tells him to keep quiet.
Jim wants to do the right thing and confess to the police. The police ignore him and tell him to go home. Gang members think he has squealed and go after him. A live chicken is hung up over the door of Jim’s house, scaring his parents. Jim and Judy hide out in an abandoned mansion. Parallel to this, the gang attacks John/Plato, and his black maid chases them off. In his mother’s room, he finds a child support check from his father, gets angry, grabs his mother’s gun, and takes off for the abandoned mansion.
At the mansion, the three teens pretend that they are a nuclear family, bemoan the presence of troublesome children (they should be drowned), and isolate themselves from reality. After John/Plato falls asleep, Judy and Jim go off by themselves. The gang shows up, and John/Plato goes nuts when he finds out that Jim and Judy have left him alone. He shoots one of the gang members. The police show up. John/Plato runs off to the nearby Griffith Observatory, and he shoots at the police. Jim and Judy get into the Observatory, take the bullets out of the gun, and escort John/Plato out of the Observatory. John/Plato does not realize the gun is empty and points it at the police. The police shoot and kill him.
At the end, Jim breaks down and cries “Help me!” His father finds renewed strength and courage and promises to be there for him, no matter what happens. Jim’s mother finds new respect for her husband. The family is saved.
The importance of a strong family and good communication are highlighted throughout the movie. No matter how much wealth a family has, wealth cannot give a child what it needs to be happy, secure, and well-grounded. Parents are responsible for raising good citizens who contribute to society. Nicholas Ray sent this message loud and clear when he made Rebel Without a Cause.
Dawn Pisturino
Thomas Edison State University
February 13, 2018
Copyright 2018-2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
Works Cited
Lewis, Jon. American Cinema: A History. New York: Norton, 2008.
Ray, Nicholas, Dir. Rebel Without a Cause. Perf. James Dean. Warner Bros., 1955.
Siegel, Larry J. Criminology. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2012.
The Cold War split the world into two opposing camps. East against West. Democracy against Oppression. The threat of nuclear holocaust prompted terrified Americans to build bomb shelters in their basements. In South Vietnam, civil war began. In the United States, the House Un-American Affairs Committee raged on, issuing “contempt of Congress” citations to any citizen accused of anti-America activities.
Beatnicks howled in coffee houses hazy with smoke.
And in the midst of all of this, I was born. Rebellious, angry, contentious, afraid, confused, seeking social justice and equality for people I did not know, condemning the status quo, rejecting old values and mores, fighting for something new and things I did not understand . . .
Chaos and confusion. Inner turmoil and ambivalence. Foggy, drug-induced dreams. Sweaty, free-loving sex.
The fear-mongering fifties bounced into the free-wheeling sixties, the violent, clashing Age of Aquarius. Poetry and politics became my royal couple, my release, my escape. Anger ruled the world into the seventies and beyond.
And all of this shaped me as a person, as a writer, as a thinker. Nature vs. nurture. Environment DOES take its toll on our psyche and well-being.
We may not understand the world, but we are part of it, and we are caught up in its rhythms and flow whether we want it or not.
I did not choose to be rebellious and angry. I merely reflected the world around me.
And it took many years and a lot of heart-rending experiences to teach me to look inward, inside myself, for the peace and rationality that I craved.
Copyright 2012 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
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