Leon High School
Tallahassee, Florida
Class of 1959
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August 1956 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Aug 4 - Elvis Presley releases "Hound Dog"
Aug 4 - 1st motorcycle rode over 200 mph (Wilhelm Herz-210 mph)
Aug 7 - Boston Red Sox fines Ted Williams $5,000 for spitting at fans
Aug 7 - British govt sends 3 aircraft carriers to Egypt
Aug 9 - 1st state-wide, state-supported educational TV network, Alabama
Aug 9 - South African women demonstrate against pass laws
Aug 11 - Elvis Presley releases "Don't Be Cruel"
Aug 12 - Canadian actor William Shatner (Star Trek) marries Gloria Brink
Aug 16 - Adlai E Stevenson nominated Democratic presidential candidate
Aug 18 - Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel" reaches #1
Aug 22 - Elvis Presley films "The Reno Brothers" (Love Me Tender)
Aug 22 - Pres Eisenhower & VP Nixon renominated by Rep convention
Aug 25 - To make room for Enos Slaughter, NY Yanks release Phil Rizzuto
Aug 30 - USSR performs nuclear test (atmospheric tests)
Aug 30 - White mob prevents enrollment of blacks at Mansfield HS, Texas
COUNTDOWN TO GRADUATION - AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1956
Well, that's my really meager contribution for the Fall of '56! Hope it didn't totally bore you. I'll be back in October with more chatter. If you have ANYTHING to contribute, PLEASE SEND IT ON!
Starting Our Second Year at Leon High School
I was online reading a historical review of 1956 today and they listed the top three events (in that author's opinion) as: The signing of the Interstate Highway Act, Eisenhower's re-election, and Elvis' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. I was somewhat surprised to see the Elvis event in that list, but I guess many people consider his activities to be among their more memorable recollections of that era. Three of those events are shown in the three photos above this text. I remember two of those three vividly. Guess I missed Elvis Day in Tupelo, though.
Today is Labor Day, so I decided it would be a good time to think about writing something on our return to Leon High in September 1956. As I recall, back then we started back to school on the day after Labor Day, so this would have been a busy time. We all undoubtedly had a bunch of things to do at the last minute, before returning to the grind of school. I recall often using the expression "last chance" in the waning days of summer vacation - like "it's my last chance to stay out late", "it's my last chance to go to the beach", etc. Labor Day was the final "last chance" day, so we were all probably busy doing last-minute things to finish up the vacation and to get ready for the upcoming school year.
As I recall, I really didn't dread the return to school as much as others apparently do, judging by comments I've heard from today's school-age kids. I pretty much looked forward a little to getting back to see all those friends that I'd not gotten together with during the summer. Coming back as Sophomores, we now knew our way around, so weren't nearly as apprehensive as we must have been entering the previous year. I was trying to recall today what classes I took in my Sophomore year. I know I took Latin II, Geometry, English II, Phys. Ed., and Study Hall, but I'm not sure of the sixth one - probably Social Studies. At any rate, all of these were more or less continuations of our Freshman classes, so I wasn't too concerned about getting into really unfamiliar territory. I was driving my own car to school, taking classes that weren't that much of a new challenge, and getting back together with old friends - so, what's to not like?
Looking over the headlines and top songs listed above, two things stand out to me. One is that Elvis was really getting popular - notice that his Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel record is at the top of the U.S. Top Ten, the R&B Charts, and the Country Charts! I doubt if that happened very often. The other thing that stands out is that there were several civil rights events in the headlines, in Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Looks like that's the time when things really started to happen in that area. I don't recall integration ever being mentioned at Leon High, then or in my subsequent two years there.
On the left is a Gleem ad that I found in some 1956 magazine. When I saw it, it occurred to me that I've not seen any mention of Gleem recently. Out of curiousity, I asked the dental hygienist at my dentist's office a couple of weeks ago if she knew whether they still made Gleem toothpaste or not. She said she'd never heard of Gleem toothpaste! Guess she was younger than I thought. I remember hearing about Gleem all the time back then. Click it if you want to read the ad ... not sure why .. just something I found.
I wonder how many products there are like this that were going great guns in the '50s, but have long since faded from view. And where did they go? If Gleem was so popular then, why would it go away? Is Crest that much better? I guess it's all in advertising and convincing the public that they need your product for one reason or another.
Yeah, I'm rambling. I've looked over the headlines and can't see anything else of interest to talk about. Lots of nuclear testing going on back then.
Lastly a correction from last month. I said that Buzz and Tod were tooling around the country in their 1956 Corvette. Well, any fool can look at the photo on the left and tell that's a 1960 Corvette. I checked it out and, sure enough, Tod's dad died and willed him a new Corvette in 1960. So, what's all this got to do with 1956? Absolutely nothing! Since it wasn't a 1956 Corvette, the whole thing was just a big mistake on my part.
Click the route 66 Corvette on the left to read more about the TV show, or the ROUTE 66 sign for some great photos. And, I promise I won't bring it up again.
September 1956 Headlines
(courtesy of http://dmarie.com/timecap/)
Sep 2 - Washington-Jackson cable line replaced by bus service
Sep 3 - Tanks deployed against racist demonstrators in Clinton, Tennessee
Sep 7 - Goethe Link Obs. discovers two asteroids
Sep 7 - Bell X-2 sets manned aircraft altitude record 126,000'+
Sep 8 - Harry Belafonte's album "Calypso," goes to #1 for 31 weeks
Sep 9 - Elvis Presley appears on national TV for 1st time (Ed Sullivan)
Sep 9 - K Reinmuth & I Groenevel discover asteroid #1691 Oort
Sep 10 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga Australia
Sep 10 - Louisville Ky public schools integrate
Sep 11 - Cin Red Frank Robinson ties rookie record with his 38th HR
Sep 11 - Vladimir Kuts runs world record 10k (28:42.8)
Sep 11 - Yanks Yogi Berra ties career record for HRs (236) by a catcher
Sep 12 - Black students are barred from Clay Ky elementary school
Sep 14 - 1st prefrontal lobotomy performed, Washington DC
Sep 17 - Black students enter Clay Ky elementary school
Sep 17 - Yanks clinch pennant #22 on Mantle's 50th homer of the year
Sep 24 - 1st trans atlantic telephone cable (Newfoundland-Scotland)
Sep 28 - "Johnny Carson Show," TV Variety; last airs on CBS-TV
Sep 28 - RCA Records reports Elvis Presley sold over 10 million records
Sep 29 - "I Love Mickey" by Mickey Mantle & Teresa Brewer peaks at 87
Sep 29 - "Oh! Susanna," debuts on CBS-TV
Sep 29 - Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #3447
Top 10 Hits of August 1956
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You/My Baby Left Me - Elvis Presley
2. Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
3. I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
4. My Prayer/Heaven On Earth - Platters
5. More/Glendora - Perry Como
6. Whatever Will Be Will Be - Doris Day
7. Be Bop A Lula - Gene Vincent
8. I'm In Love Again/My Blue Heaven - Fats Domino
9. Allegheny Moon - Patti Page
10. Born To Be With You - Chordettes
US R&B chart toppers this month:
Rip It Up - Little Richard & His Band
My Prayer - Platters
Honky Tonk (Parts 1&2) - Bill Doggett
US Country chart topper this month:
I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash
Top 10 Hits of September 1956
(First week of the month)
(courtesy of
US Top Ten (first week of the month):
1. Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
2. My Prayer/Heaven On Earth - Platters
3. Whatever Will Be Will Be - Doris Day
4. Flying Saucer - Buchanan & Goodman
5. Canadian Sunset - Hugo Winterhalter
6. Allegheny Moon - Patti Page
7. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - Elvis Presley
8. Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent
9. I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
10. Tonight You Belong To Me - Patience & Prudence
US R&B chart toppers this month:
Let The Good Times Roll - Shirley & lee
Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
US Country chart topper this month:
I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash
Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
Elvis started shooting The Reno Brothers (later renamed Love Me Tender) on August 22nd. Click photo to read about more Elvis Aug-Sept 1956 events.
I received an email recently, listing some interesting facts about 1906, to show how things have changed in 100 years. Since I've got little to say about 50 years ago, let me bore you with some facts from 100 years ago : The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower! The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour. The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year . A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year,? a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.? More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME. Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard." Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were Pneumonia and influenza, Tuberculosis, Diarrhea, Heart disease, and Stroke. The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!! Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." ( Shocking? DUH! ) Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. ! The only easy comparison I can make between that list and 1956 is that in 1956, eggs were 79 cents a dozen, up from 14 cents in 1906, and now they're what? About $1.50? Interesting? ... maybe not.
Elvis appeared on Ed Sullivan's Show (from the waist up) on September 9th. Click photo to see a larger version.
Elvis appeared on Elvis Presley Day in Tupelo, September 26th. Click photo to read about more Elvis Aug-Sept 1956 events.
