Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

Fads. As I grow older, I continue to be amused by some of the fads and trends that our students experience. The following discusses some of the trends and fads I lived through when I was a boy and teenager:

· Rock and roll music. This craze really influenced everything at school – how we dressed, hair styles, how we talked, and what we listened to on the radio. The big battle among teenagers was whether we preferred Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, or Ricky Nelson. We also liked Dion, Fats Domino, Fabian, the Temptations, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, and Connie Francis.

· Cars – Every boy admired the 1949 Ford, 1949 Mercury, 1957 Chevy, the 1956 Thunderbird, the 1962 Studebaker Hawk, the 1956 Corvette, and the 1965 Mustang and the 1966 GTO. We loved Hollywood mufflers because of the incredible sounds they made. The sound is somewhat comparable to the ones made by pick-up trucks. Your car had to have mud flaps, long radio antennas, and fender skirts. It was also cool to customize the car by removing all chrome. Back then any car that could do 0-60 in ten seconds or less was considered very fast. Most teens did not have their own cars. If we were lucky, we got to take our parents’ cars. I got my first car in 1964. It was a 1956 Dodge and had no reverse gear. I had to park it so I didn’t have to back up. I paid $350 for it and had it for a year before the engine blew up on the New York State Thruway.

· Dress – Boys and girls often put their collars up in back like Elvis. Boys often rolled up their shirt sleeves to show off their muscles. We wore jeans most of the time. None of our clothes were baggy. We wouldn’t think of wearing jeans with holes in them at the knee. We did have our mothers stitch a line down the front of the pant legs. I didn’t even begin to wear Bermuda shorts until I went to college. Where I came from, that would have been considered “sissy.” Girls wore big skirts and lots of sweaters. Dresses were common. Wearing slacks to school was unusual for girls. They tended to use a lot of hair spray and little cosmetics. Pony tails were popular. Boys had to smell good, or at least we thought. Old Spice and Canoe were popular for the boys. Girls had a limited choice of perfumes.

· Hair styles – Most boys either had a ducktail to imitate Elvis, or we had crew cuts on the top with longer hair to brush back on the sides. If we had the ducktail, we spent a lot of time in the lavoratory making sure it was just right. A ducktail required hair long enough to be able to comb it back on the sides and then collect at the back of the head. We had big waves on top. We used a lot of Vaseline or gel to get that “shiny” effect. Nobody had long hair. The first time we saw the band, “The Beatles” in the early 60’s, we were just shocked at males wearing their hair that way.

· Dancing. We either jitterbugged, twisted, square danced, or waltzed. Chaperones at the dances watched us closely. Most of our music was by records. CD’s and cassette tapes were not invented. A live band was unusual. We had dances at least twice a month. They were called “sock-hops” because we had to dance in our socks in the gyms. I loved to go.

· Movie stars. Going to the movies was a special treat. I use to ride my bike four miles to attend on a Friday night. Our favorite actors were Rock Hudson, Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, Steve McQueen, and James Stewart. Westerns and war movies were popular. Our favorite actresses included Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rita Hayworth, and Debbie Reynolds.

· TV. My family didn’t have a TV until I was about 8 years old. I can remember going to a neighbors to watch special shows. Most TV sets were 17 inches. We only got one station. All shows were in black and white. My favorite shows were Combat, Ed Sullivan, Name that Tune, Sky King, Howdy Doody, Wagon Train, and American Bandstand.

· Sports – Baseball was king. Football and basketball were popular in high school but they was not at the pro level. Every Friday night, Gillette Blue Blades sponsored Friday Night Boxing. My father never missed.

· Commercials – There weren’t many television commercials for kids back then. I did have to have “Wonder Bread,” “Cheerios,” ”Wheaties,” and “Oval tine” because the ads said it would make me strong.

· Fun. Kids didn’t have as many toys and games as they do now. Every boy had to have a bike, a couple of toy trucks, cowboy gun and holster, baseball bat and glove, BB gun, and sled. I begged my parents every year to get a record player for Christmas but never got it.

· Work. I grew up on a farm with 65 cows. Once I reached 11 years old, I had to work every morning and night helping my dad. I earned an allowance of $2.00 a week.

The following are some of the current fads that I just couldn’t do if I were in high school today:

· Body piercing. I wouldn’t have the nerve to do it.

· Earrings for males. My father would have whipped me even if I had wanted to – which I wouldn’t.

· Long hair – My father would have gotten out the cow clippers and gone to work on me.

· Wearing the baseball cap backward. This is a perfect example of kids adopting a stupid fad. Check it out. Which way looks best? Start wearing it the right way to be different, and before you know it, you will have started a new fad.

· Wearing trousers low. I am glad this has come and gone.