On This Day… | Mark’s Remarks

On July 19, 1967, the first air-conditioned subway car started rolling in New York City. Amazing. I wonder what the ride was like before that? I’ve never ridden a New York City subway, but I know how stuffy small spaces like that could be.

There were race riots going on in Durham, N.C., and Explorer 35 was launched for lunar orbit. “Windy” by The Association was the top song on July 19 that year. “Laugh-in,” “Dragnet,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Mannix,” “Ironside,” “The High Chaparral,” “The Prisoner,” “Gentle Ben,” and “The Mothers-In-Law” were all top television shows.

The Cubs beat the Braves, 7-2. Joe Torre and Bob Uecker were playing back then, as was Ernie Banks. The Cardinals beat the Reds that day, too, with Lou Brock, Roger Maris, and Mike Shannon on the roster.

The Jerry Lewis film “The Big Mouth” had the top spot at the box office that day, vying for the number one slot with the “The Dirty Dozen” with Lee Marvin. “In the Heat of the Night” and “Bonnie and Clyde” would come along soon and perhaps that’s the reason “The Big Mouth” is a forgotten film. Poor Jerry Lewis.

“The Arrangement” by Elia Kazan was the top book and remained so, off and on, throughout most of the summer, vying with Thornton Wilder’s “The Eighth Day.”

Several men died on that day in Vietnam. Our president was Lyndon Johnson, and he had submitted a bill earlier in the year that brought the current total of the war to $46.2 billion. Anti-war protests and civil unrest were everywhere.

With an average income of $7,300, husbands could provide for their families and could build a new home for a little over $14,000. You could buy a new car for about $2,750 and could fill its tank for about 33 cents a gallon. You could go to the movies for $1.25.

Twiggy became the new sensation as she modeled the latest trendy fashions of the day, cropping her hair short and wearing miniskirts and go-go boots. Discotheques and singles bars spread across cities. For a short time, paper clothing was in style and you could get a dress in the mail for a little postage and some box tops from Breck.

That summer was called “The Summer of Love,” and there was a lot of emphasis on the hippie movement and smoking something called marijuana.

To me, these things seem a little archaic and hard to imagine. I mean, can you fathom putting gas in your tank at 33 cents per gallon or going to the movies for $1.25? I don’t remember much about Twiggy, but I can picture her. I’ve watched re-runs of a lot of those top shows from July 1967, and I remember when “Mannix” was a popular favorite at our house, going off the air in 1975.

In my own small hometown, things were going along like many small towns.

Our town had a fairly new hospital, a medical clinic, and some great schools. There was a radio station and we listened to Gil Wallace every morning on WFIW radio. There was a drive-up Dairy Queen, a Dog-N-Suds, a movie theater and a bowling alley. We had a neat main street with a soda fountain at Keen-Norris Drug Store, a placed we called “Sophie’s” where you could get an old fashioned soda made with carbonated water and sugary syrup. We had a dime store where you could get a little white sack filled with a scoop of chocolate stars and then go to the back of the store and look at the fish tanks.

I’m mentioning all these things and this particular date for my own historical benefit, and also to try and understand the passage of time. All of the things I mentioned were part of our world on July 19, 1967. This was the day I came into this world.

I’m not writing this elaborate story to be dramatic or solicit birthday gifts. I’m not trying to call attention to myself, nor am I trying to bemoan the passing of 50 years, as I certainly don’t think it’s an ancient age or anything.

I suppose I’m just writing this all because it seems a little more real when I see it in print. 50 years. Five decades. Half a century.

I won’t completely rule out turning 100, but do 50-year-olds still refer to themselves as middle-aged?

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Mark Tullis

Mark is a 25-year veteran teacher teaching in Columbia. Originally from Fairfield, Mark is married with four children. He enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with his family, and has been involved in various aspects of professional and community theater for many years and enjoys appearing in local productions. Mark has also written a "slice of life" style column for the Republic-Times since 2007.
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