A Look Back on Mother's Day in 1959 - 60 Years Ago

Happy Mother's Day!  We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as we look back in time to the fifties and at what life was like. In 1959 the U.S. President was Dwight D. Eisenhower. An average car cost around $2,200 and a gallon of gas cost about $0.30. A typical house in the suburbs cost about $20,000 to $30,000. A Bulova clock radio cost $64.95.

If mother worked, the most common job back then for women was secretary, followed by cashier then teacher. The median income for her was $3,193 per annum*.

The advent of suburban lifestyle meant many folks now bought groceries at supermarkets instead of farms for meat and vegetables. Families visited the neighborhood shopping malls for household appliances and electronics.

You would have been able to order Ford's new Edsel for under $3,000 to get you there. You would have driven on one of the numerous new highways and turnpikes that criss crossed across the USA.

The advertisement tagline boldly pronounces, "Makes history by making sense." Probably the greatest half truth ever told about a car.

So celebrate Mother's Day with a blast from the past. Chances are, classic AM radio stations anywhere in the USA are still playing oldies favorites. Set the alarm and (kinda) wake up back in 1959!

 * US Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor and Statistics: BLS Bulletin no. 1256, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c3323767