Relax, Laugh and Remember with Reminisce Magazine. Each issue is a "time capsule" of life from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's filled with reader-written stories, pictures from the past, embarrassing moments, ads from the Old Days and much more!
My husband, Mark, and I met at the University of Toronto as student journalists. We both knew that we would pursue it as a profession. For me, it was because my brothers were reporters, and I so idolized them that I was honored to follow in their footsteps. For Mark, though, it was a calling. He grew up around Boston, and his first job was in eighth grade, delivering The Boston Globe—the morning edition, which meant rising at 5 to meet the delivery truck, folding the papers and packing them in his bag. Just before walking his route, Mark performed the part of his daily ritual that he loved best: He read the newspaper. “I don’t know many paperboys who did that,” his mother, Joyce, told me. For years, neither…
Our cover story, “Thrills By Design,” (page 40) traces the start of amusement parks, including Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in August 1961. Dan McCallum of Henrietta, Texas, offered this special memory. IN THE SUMMERS, MY brother Chris and I would visit our grandparents near Dallas. Our grandfather, Papaw, was retired, but in 1960, he started working again, overseeing the construction of a new amusement park. At 10 and 8, Chris and I could hardly contain our excitement. The next year—a long one with many nights spent dreaming of the wonderful things at the park—we attended the grand opening of Six Flags with Papaw. He walked with us the entire time, telling us things about the park no one else knew. Even now, at 67, I have fond memories…
ZIPPO LIGHTERS We’re planning a retrospective on this iconic brand, which has roots going back to the Great Depression. American soldiers carried special black Zippos in World War II. What are your Zippo memories? Label your submission “Zippo.” DEPARTMENTS Submissions for our many standing departments are welcome. Below are a few favorites. Still can’t decide where your story belongs? Send it along and let us figure it out. » Growing Up: Joys of childhood and the teenage years. » Pictures from the Past: How we lived and looked back when. Is it a fantastic picture? Send it for consideration for our Back Cover. » Keepsakes: Stories behind the treasured items passed down or kept for years. » Motoring Memories: Cruise the past by car, train, plane, scooter, bike—anything with wheels.…
Chubby Checker starts a new dance craze with The Twist. Hitchcock’s Psycho earns a fortune at the box office. Harper Lee publishes To Kill a Mockingbird. Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) boxes his way to gold at the Summer Olympics. Ohio Art Co. introduces Etch A Sketch for all the little baby boomers. Presidential politics change forever with televised debates in which the youthful John F. Kennedy shines. Four Black college students peacefully protest with a Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in. And Merriam-Webster adds these words to the dictionary. BLINDSIDE: NFL fans fear the worst when New York’s Frank Gifford, bottom right, goes down after Philadelphia linebacker Chuck Bednarik jolts him with a tackle that he never saw coming. COBOL: Computer programmers learn to code with Common Business-Oriented Language, a software…
Las Vegas usually takes our money, sure—but what if the opposite occurred? The original Ocean’s 11 became one of Warner Brothers’ most profitable pictures upon its August 1960 release. And while some movie critics harrumphed that the tale, centered around theft, was immoral, most reviewers declared it a fun fantasy romp—and quite a clever scheme. In 1958 actor Peter Lawford bought the story idea from a movie director pal, and later approached fellow members of the Rat Pack—Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop—with the screenplay about a caper set in Sin City. After he saw the script, credited to Harry Brown and Charles Lederer with uncredited help from Billy Wilder, Sinatra supposedly joked, “Forget the movie, let’s pull the job!” The film’s plot was the perfect…
Yabba dabba doo! Americans gather in front of their TVs on Sept. 30, 1960, to watch the first prime-time animated sitcom. The Flintstones will go on to hold the record for airing the most episodes of any such show, until overtaken by The Simpsons. 1 These two producers, already known for creating Huckleberry Hound, reunite for this show. 2 Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty resemble human characters from this mid-1950s sitcom. 3 Producers considered two other last names before they chose Flintstone: What were they? 4 Finish the line: “Flintstones, meet the Flintstones. They’re the ____________.” 5 What is the name of the prehistoric town where the cartoon is set? 6 Fred works as a bronto-crane operator at what construction company? 7 Who voices the characters of Betty and Barney…
