For the longest time it seemed I was no more than vaguely aware of changing seasons.Everything I recall seems to be in the warmer months,at least in the first few years of life.I was still very young,but I still don't recall any real snow memories,where there was snow all over the ground.But summer ended and autumn came.It grew cooler and all of the machinery being used to build our neighborhood disappeared.There was no working all year around there and then,like they do today in Alberta.I don't even recall that anyone really worked on any of the houses being built around us then either.One day all the machines and the men running them were just not there any more,but the neighborhood was still far from finished.
It grew cooler though,before all the machines left.My father and I would still walk about in the neighborhood sometimes,going even as far away as Killiam Drive,which seemed very far away to me.All of the streets were still lined every few feet by those pot bellied kerosene lanterns which were lit up at night.But my father showed me if I placed my hands on the bottom part of the lantern,the metal was cool,and had frost on it.Car windows would frost up too,and one time we went for a walk through a piece of woods,I believe it was on Whitney Street,for that street did not go all the way through then.There were a lot of huge puddles and they were covered over with just the thinnest covering of ice.The moon was full and very pale with a white ring around it.It looked very cold.I don't remember anything about the leaves changing colors that year,but Halloween came and I can recall that people my mother called spooks came to our door,once it had gotten dark out.The Kerosene lamps were still on the ground and gave the streets a surreal sort of a glow,so it was very spooky.I still had no real Idea what Halloween was all about though,except that when the spooks came to our door,we gave them candy and they would go away.Then some more would come and you would repeat the procedure.This went on all night it seemed,until I fell asleep.Because we had lived in the country,Halloween had never really happened before.Well,it may have happened,but no one ever came to our door when we lived in the country,as far as I can recall.
So summer and fall of my third year came and went.Christmas must have happened,but I don't recall much about it,except that we did go out into the woods and cut down a tree.My father took an axe and after some time walking in the woods he cut down a tree and put it in the trunk of the car.We took it home but I don't recall decorating it or even bringing it into the house,or much else about that Christmas.
And so 1964 turned into 1965.In a couple of months I would turn four years old,and I recall that birthday quite clearly.It was the beginning of a time which I recall with increasing clarity.
1965.In 1965,the average cost of a new house was $13,600 and the average yearly income$6,450.There were a lot of new house being built around us,and people for the most part were likely very close to the average income in our part of town.Gas cost about $.31/gallon,a loaf of bread about $.21 and the average monthly rent about $118.
A person born in Canada had a life expectancy of 68.76 years at birth.Canada ranked seventh in the world in that respect,while Sweden ranked first at just under 72 years. The list of popular names remained unchanged for boys over 1964(1.Michael,2.John,3.David,4.James,5.Robert).The most popular names for girls in 1965 were,1.Lisa,2.Mary,3.Karen,4.Kimberly,and 5.Susan.The name Albert rounded out the top hundred names for boys,while the name Melinda was the 100th most popular name for girls.
On the world scene,Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States,and Harold Wilson was Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom.Here in Canada,Lester Person defeated John Diefenbaker to become the Prime Minister of Canada.
In August,1965,rioting broke out in Watts and 34 people were killed.The Gateway Arch was completed in St.Louis,and Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit the United States.The voting Rights Bill guaranteed the rights of African Americans to vote,Hindi became the official language in India,and Rhodesia declared it's independence.In 1965,the Iron Lung was replaced with the respirator.Canada received a new flag in 1965,the Maple Leaf,which my father would sometimes call "Pearson's bastard flag."The mini skirt appeared in 1965,and what my father would say about that is unprintable.America sent it's first troops to Vietnam.
Winston Churchill died in 1965,as did Nat King Cole and T.S. Eliot.Malcom X was shot to death in Harlem.
Born in 1965 were Sarah Jessica Parker,Ben Stiller and J.K.Rowling.
Popular films of 1965 were "The Sound Of Music",Gold Finger","Mary Poppins" "Cat Ballou"and "My Fair Lady",which won an Academy Award for best picture.
Lastly,The Oxford English Dictionary introduced 368 new words,including Shake and Bake,Motown,biohazard,grunge,jet lag and Zamboni.Likely no one noticed the extreme irony of the term jet lag and Zamboni being introduced in the same year.
In 1965,I turned four years old and had a birthday party at our house in Moncton.
Sources:www.wordorigins.com
www.thepeoplehistory.com
www.babycenter.com
It grew cooler though,before all the machines left.My father and I would still walk about in the neighborhood sometimes,going even as far away as Killiam Drive,which seemed very far away to me.All of the streets were still lined every few feet by those pot bellied kerosene lanterns which were lit up at night.But my father showed me if I placed my hands on the bottom part of the lantern,the metal was cool,and had frost on it.Car windows would frost up too,and one time we went for a walk through a piece of woods,I believe it was on Whitney Street,for that street did not go all the way through then.There were a lot of huge puddles and they were covered over with just the thinnest covering of ice.The moon was full and very pale with a white ring around it.It looked very cold.I don't remember anything about the leaves changing colors that year,but Halloween came and I can recall that people my mother called spooks came to our door,once it had gotten dark out.The Kerosene lamps were still on the ground and gave the streets a surreal sort of a glow,so it was very spooky.I still had no real Idea what Halloween was all about though,except that when the spooks came to our door,we gave them candy and they would go away.Then some more would come and you would repeat the procedure.This went on all night it seemed,until I fell asleep.Because we had lived in the country,Halloween had never really happened before.Well,it may have happened,but no one ever came to our door when we lived in the country,as far as I can recall.
So summer and fall of my third year came and went.Christmas must have happened,but I don't recall much about it,except that we did go out into the woods and cut down a tree.My father took an axe and after some time walking in the woods he cut down a tree and put it in the trunk of the car.We took it home but I don't recall decorating it or even bringing it into the house,or much else about that Christmas.
And so 1964 turned into 1965.In a couple of months I would turn four years old,and I recall that birthday quite clearly.It was the beginning of a time which I recall with increasing clarity.
1965.In 1965,the average cost of a new house was $13,600 and the average yearly income$6,450.There were a lot of new house being built around us,and people for the most part were likely very close to the average income in our part of town.Gas cost about $.31/gallon,a loaf of bread about $.21 and the average monthly rent about $118.
A person born in Canada had a life expectancy of 68.76 years at birth.Canada ranked seventh in the world in that respect,while Sweden ranked first at just under 72 years. The list of popular names remained unchanged for boys over 1964(1.Michael,2.John,3.David,4.James,5.Robert).The most popular names for girls in 1965 were,1.Lisa,2.Mary,3.Karen,4.Kimberly,and 5.Susan.The name Albert rounded out the top hundred names for boys,while the name Melinda was the 100th most popular name for girls.
On the world scene,Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States,and Harold Wilson was Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom.Here in Canada,Lester Person defeated John Diefenbaker to become the Prime Minister of Canada.
In August,1965,rioting broke out in Watts and 34 people were killed.The Gateway Arch was completed in St.Louis,and Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit the United States.The voting Rights Bill guaranteed the rights of African Americans to vote,Hindi became the official language in India,and Rhodesia declared it's independence.In 1965,the Iron Lung was replaced with the respirator.Canada received a new flag in 1965,the Maple Leaf,which my father would sometimes call "Pearson's bastard flag."The mini skirt appeared in 1965,and what my father would say about that is unprintable.America sent it's first troops to Vietnam.
Winston Churchill died in 1965,as did Nat King Cole and T.S. Eliot.Malcom X was shot to death in Harlem.
Born in 1965 were Sarah Jessica Parker,Ben Stiller and J.K.Rowling.
Popular films of 1965 were "The Sound Of Music",Gold Finger","Mary Poppins" "Cat Ballou"and "My Fair Lady",which won an Academy Award for best picture.
Lastly,The Oxford English Dictionary introduced 368 new words,including Shake and Bake,Motown,biohazard,grunge,jet lag and Zamboni.Likely no one noticed the extreme irony of the term jet lag and Zamboni being introduced in the same year.
In 1965,I turned four years old and had a birthday party at our house in Moncton.
Sources:www.wordorigins.com
www.thepeoplehistory.com
www.babycenter.com
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