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CLICK HERE to read more criticism from FDR's loyal opposition...

When W.W. II began and the factories reopened, the reality of having money and full-time employment made so many people giddy with excitement it proved to be too much for them - click here to read about that...

Social Differences Among the Lighter Skinned and Darker Skinned Blacks (Literary Digest, 1922)

The varying degrees of color found among American Blacks has been, and still is, a sensitive topic and it was addressed in 1922 with some wit by an African-American journalist whose work is attached. Its a good read and speaks of a social structure that, we like to think, is gone with the wind; words appear in this article that seem queer in our era - there is much talk of

"yellow gals"
"golden-skinned slave girls"
"tawny-skinned maids"
"midnight"
"stove-pipe"

-all originating from African-American verse and popular song.

During the Second World War, hair dye was not simply used by women;
click here to read about the men who needed it, too.

Click here to read a history of African-Americans between the years 1619 through 1939.


''A Flapper's Appeal to Parents'' (The Outlook, 1922)

"If one judges by appearances, I suppose I am a flapper. I am within the age limit, I wear bobbed hair, the badge of flapperhood. I powder my nose. I wear fringed skirts and bright colored sweaters, and scarves and waists with Peter Pan collars and low-heeled 'finale hopper' shoes. I adore to dance... But then there are many degrees of a flapper. There is the semi-flapper, the flapper, the super-flapper. Each of these three main general divisions has its degrees of variation. I might possibly be placed somewhere in the middle of the first class".

The Steel Tennis Racket Makes It's Appearance (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922)

Although the steel tennis racket would not know true glory until Jimmy Connors used his Wilson T2000 in the 1970s, a big splash was made by William A. Larned (1872 - 1926; seven times champion of the U.S. Open) when he designed the Dayton Steel Racket in 1922. It wasn't the first steel racket, but it was an improvement on the existing ones.


The Plot to Restore the Corset (The New Republic, 1922)

A shewed observer of fashion, Mary Alden Hopkins (1856 - 1930) noted how the Victorian dinosaurs who lorded-over the male-dominated, pro-corset fashion industry had attempted (unsuccessfully) to manipulate and coerce the shoppers of the early Twenties to reject the Chanel-inspired revolt that the young flappers were currently enjoying.

"How can I sell these styles?...the flappers won't buy them."


Ode to Feminine Knees (Flapper Magazine, 1922)

When the skirt hems began to rise in the Twenties, it was widely understood that the vision of a woman's leg was a rare treat for both man and boy; a spectacle that had not been enjoyed since the days of Adam (married men excluded). The flappers certainly knew this, and they generally believed that suffering the dizzying enthusiasm of the male of the species was a small price to pay in order to secure some element of liberty. The flappers liked their hem-lengths just where they were and, thank you very much, they were not about to drop them. Attached are some verses by an anonymous flapper who expressed her reaction regarding all that undeserved male attention her knees were generating.


The Mid-Century Look in Fashion (Pathfinder Magazine, 1950)

"Hair as short as a boy's and feathered into wisps about the face... Accented waist... Long slim look... Spread-eagle effect about the shoulders obtained by deep armholes, bloused backs, big collars or little capes... Mostly narrow skirts but still plenty of full ones."

- so begins the attached two page Spring fashion review that was torn from the Women's Page of the January 25, 1950 issue of Pathfinder Magazine. Judging from the six photographs that illustrate the column, Christian Dior continued call the tunes that other fashion designers had to dance to if they expected to attract a following. The New York designers whose efforts were singled out for praise were Lilly Daché, Hattie Carnegie, Ben Reig, Ceil Chapman and Vera Jacobs of Capri Originals.

More about 1950s hairstyles can be read here...


Daddy's Boy (People Today, 1952)

Attached is a brief notice concerning Joseph P. Kennedy (1888 – 1969), Hollywood producer, politician, adulterer and FDR's one-time ambassador to Britain - and his thwarted attempt to merge the Boston Post with the Boston Globe in order to best influence voters in the 1952 Massachusetts congressional elections.

From Amazon: Assassination of John F. Kennedy Encyclopedia

When the Word Became Flesh (Jesus People Magazine, 1973)

The Christian concept of death is contained in this article by the ancient Greek author Athanasius (296 - 373).

"All those who believe in Christ tread death underfoot as nothing and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ, knowing full well that when they die, they do not perish, but live indeed, and become incorruptible through the the resurrection. Death has become like a tyrant who has become completely conquered by the legitimate monarch and bound hand and foot so that the passers-by jeer at him."

The Camp Slaves (Confederate Veteran Magazine, 1922)

By the time this small paragraph appeared in the 1922 pages of Confederate Veteran Magazine the vast majority of their readership was living on their Confederate pensions. This article serves to remind the subscribers that there were numerous "faithful Negroes" who were also deserving of same. The author recounts a few stories of the devotion he witnessed.