Clik here to view.
Chocolate Easter Bunnies
Vintage ad Whitman’s Sampler for Easter 1951 For some, Easter is all about the candy Candy manufacturers have all hopped on the Easter candy bandwagon by painting some pastel colors on their usual year...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mexican Mid-Century Style
“Reach for Your Sombrero…and go to your grocers pronto for this gay and colorful treat “Manana just isn’t soon enough. Surprise your family with this corn with the Latin touch tonight.” Vintage Green...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dubious Diets- The Bread Diet
Dubious diets are as American as…well…. all-you-can-eat apple pie. Relying on fad diets to shed a few pounds has been handed down from gullible generation to gullible generation willing to swallow...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Selling the Nuclear Family
Has the selling of the 1950’s nuclear family finally reached it’s expiration date? In a consumer culture of unlimited choices, Madison Avenue has long sold only one brand of the American family…and it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kitchen Garden All Year Round
Thanks to war-time research and American know how, growing up in suburban mid-century America I would be the happy recipient of a veritable bushel basket of sun-kissed, vitamin rich fruits and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Victory Gardens in WWII
Elsie and Elmer in their WWII Victory Garden 1943 In urban areas across the country vacant lots are filled with sights of neighbors pulling weeds, planting seeds and tending heirloom tomatoes....
View ArticleClik here to view.
When Good Humor Ruled the Suburbs
You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream! Growing up in mid-century Long Island, no sound was more welcome than the suburban siren call of summer – the seductive jingling bells of the Good...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plugged into the American Dream
Vintage ad “Live Better Electrically” 1965 In 1956 happy homemaker Helen Watson didn’t give a hoot about leaving carbon footprints; in fact if one were pointed out to her she’d most likely plug-in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Redskins in Heap Big Trouble
Native American Graphic by Milton Glaser Cover Life Magazine December 1, 1967 Return of the Red Man Many are on the warpath over the use of the offensive name Redskins. The debate over the Washington...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Keeping Hubby Happy the Heinz Way
Man Pleasin’ Meals – The Shortest Route to Your Man’s Heart-Heinz Ketchup 1940 ad With Valentines day fast approaching, the media is running rampant with romance tips. Forget everything else you’ve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Passover Tears Again
Like Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix produced no tears. That dehydrated marvel of mid-century cookery was a staple in my Mothers repertoire. Mom joined the legion of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Memorial Day BBQ
The Smell of Democracy in the Air Making their season debut, white shoes and Weber grills come out of hibernation as Memorial Day kicks off the beginning of summer. What better way to remember those...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Metrecal For Lunch Bunch
This once enviably svelte housewife now found herself among the masses of women who realized they needed to whittle their waists. For decades, Memorial Day has long been a solemn occasion. Besides...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Better Living Through Chemistry
“Better Living Through Chemistry” collage by Sally Edelstein Who didn’t believe in better living through chemistry? Post war Americans were eager to live out the dreams depicted in the color drenched...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who Says You’re Right in Liking Meat?
Bacon lovers are bemoaning the horrifying news that their favorite breakfast food has now been added to the ever-growing list of things that cause cancer. Vintage ad Swifts bacon 1961 Who says...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where’s the Beef?
When it comes to American exceptionalism, we Americans have long had an exceptionally voracious appetite for red meat, making us the proud leader of the free, meat-eatin’ world. In this land of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
America at Steak
Where’s the Beef Mr. Trump? More Sizzle Than Steak Donald Trump can boast about his juicy steaks all he wants but when it comes to substance and policy…where’s the beef? The Republican front runner is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Women and Food Will Win the War – WWI
Vintage WWI Food Conservation Poster Food shaming is nothing new Nearly 100 years ago dietary transgressions were darn near treasonable. Not unlike today there was a moralization of food choices but it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Pledge Allegiance – Women & Food in WWI
As America entered the Great War in 1917, Uncle Sam encouraged all his hyphenated American nieces and nephews to join him in fighting this war to end all wars. “You came here seeking Freedom,” he told...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Atomic Passion – The Utterly Unauthorized Story of My Conception
It was spring 1954. While the Cold War was frozen solid, thanks to a temporary thaw in my parents own chilly clashes, I would be conceived on a sweltering hot night that June. I would be conceived...
View Article