Throw a dart at any year in the over-sized target that is the 1960s and you will hit on something big in American history. Nineteen sixty-three has the March on Washington, the publication of The Feminine Mystique, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Humanity was marching ever onward with ceaseless progress in science, medicine and engineering. The first ever telecast of a live murder by NBC as Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald. With the U.S. on the eve of yet another war against communism as over one hundred fifty thousand military advisors are stationed in South Vietnam; the Cold War still creeping amidst the nightmares of millions fearing nuclear holocaust. However, for the Geis’ of Lexington, Kentucky, they will see a regression to a life much more arduous.
My grandparents, along with my mother Betty and her sisters, were about to leave the easy living and conveniences of nineteen sixties metropolitan life behind. Howard and Regina Geis had a dream that lay well away from the city life. Well away indeed. This dream lied within the backwoods of Barren County down an old country road obscured by the forest itself. An old country road that ran for a good mile down into the hollow…
Forty-four acres of farmland that--building from memory and photographs--would eventually become the epitome of rustic charm. The old homestead was surrounded by the kind of eerie, primeval wilderness that can only be truly felt by the unfiltered imagination of youth. Never more truer than when the fog would roll out of the thicket, over the rise and fall of the hills and creep up to the doorsteps.
Even though one could call upon memory to reconstruct the family farm and the subsistence farming lifestyle, to really tell this story...
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...est daughter’s dairy farm.
Before writing this I took the opportunity to venture back into those fabled woods, down that stretch of country gravel to see for myself what remained of the place where my mother grew up and so many fond memories were shared between my cousins and I. Suffice to say, no wild guess was needed to assume what to expect once the farmhouse was within view. I was not surprised when my eyes fell upon the solemn sight. That place which held a lifetime of memories shared by three generations was nothing more than a shadow left in shambles. The farm house had been swallowed up in the years passed as any sign of life and cultivation has been slowly returning to natural order. Gone away were the verdant fields, the shrill laughter of children, and the nostalgic smell of the seasons that always mingled with the aromas of Grannie Geis’ country cooking.
The Sixties, by Terry H. Anderson, takes the reader on a journey through one of the most turbulent decades in American life. Beginning with the crew-cut conformity of 1950s Cold War culture and ending with the transition into the uneasy '70s, Anderson notes the rise of an idealistic generation of baby boomers, widespread social activism, and revolutionary counterculture. Anderson explores the rapidly shifting mood of the country with the optimism during the Kennedy years, the liberal advances of Johnson's "Great Society," and the growing conflict over Vietnam that nearly tore America apart. The book also navigates through different themes regarding the decade's different currents of social change; including the anti-war movement, the civil rights struggle, and the liberation movements. From the lunch counter sit-in of Greensboro, N.C. in 1960 and the rise of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Black Power movement at the decade's end, Anderson illustrates the brutality involved in the reaction against civil rights, the radicalization of some of the movement's youth, and the eventual triumphs that would change America forever. He also discusses women's liberation and the feminist movement, as well as the students' rights, gay rights, and environmental movements.
...ed the rest of his life. My grandfather told me that the sixties were some of the best years of his life. He married the love of his life at the beginning of the decade and by its’ final few years he had three beautiful children that would all go on to live happy lives. The decade had several near disasters but none of them materialized. Overall the sixties was a great time for America. The people were happy, technology was on the move, and the economy was booming. It was also a time where it finally looked like the U.S. was finally pulling ahead of the Soviet Union. We defused a crisis that forced the Soviets to stand down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They may have beaten us into putting a man into space, but we won the final battle when we landed on the moon. The sixties no doubt had their lows, but they were outweighed by all the highs they brought with them.
Farm life of the 1930s was really hard for all the farmers. They did lots to get through the 1930s without starving. In York county they didn’t indoor bathrooms, light or, heat unlike the people who lived in the towns of the 1930s.(Reinhardt n. pag.) to feed there family’s many raised their own food like chicken which gave them eggs, cows which also gave them beef and milk to drink. They grew vegetables for there from there garden. (Reinhardt n. pag.)Which families didn’t do it alone they had help from there neighbors to help them along the way.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
The documentary “Sixties: Years that Shaped a Generation” illustrates a period in United States history defined by cultural movement. Several citizen led campaigns were developed to challenge long established American institutions and traditions. This age of defiance, cultivated a counter culture which stood against social injustice, racial inequalities, and the war in Vietnam.
As the 1960s dawned on America, the bald eagle faced unprecedented threats from afar while facing a new internal struggle. As America continued their battle with the Soviet Union, it also saw a clash amongst its people. Terror was brought to the hearts of many as America was on the brink of a Nuclear Holocaust. The 60s conveyed an exploration of the universe beyond earth. A race between Superpowers America and the Soviet Union, led to the first man to ever walk the moon. Not all was bad in the 60s, people would rejoice in many new dance styles that were on the rise. With technology becoming more advance, many TV shows that portrayed American life were being aired. Life in America seemed great as it was disciplined by a great leader, John F. Kennedy. Sadly, with the loss of a great leader Americans became distraught. During the 1960s in cultural and political movements and musical movements, Americans were rebellious, enterprising, and impulsive.
He described the fields of Ohio’s villages in autumn and their beauty. He described the “apples ripe”, the “grapes on the trellis’d vines”, “the sky so calm”. so transparent after the rain”. He made us feel as if we were smelling the grapes, the buckwheat and touch them. He made us hear the buzzing of the bees.
The 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time that eternally changed the culture and humanity of America. It was a time widely known for peace and love when in reality; many minorities were struggling to gain a modicum of equality and freedom. It was a time, in which a younger generation rebelled against the conventional norms, questioning power and government, and insisting on more freedoms for minorities. In addition, an enormous movement began rising in opposition to the Vietnam War. It was a time of brutal altercations, with the civil rights movement and the youth culture demanding equality and the war in Vietnam put public loyalty to the test. Countless African-Americans, Native-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, women, and college students became frustrated, angry, and disillusioned by the turmoil around them.
It was a village on a hill, all joyous and fun where there was a meadow full of blossomed flowers. The folks there walked with humble smiles and greeted everyone they passed. The smell of baked bread and ginger took over the market. At the playing grounds the children ran around, flipped and did tricks. Mama would sing and Alice would hum. Papa went to work but was always home just in time to grab John for dinner. But Alice’s friend by the port soon fell ill, almost like weeds of a garden that takes over, all around her went unwell. Grave yards soon became over populated and overwhelmed with corpse.
Although 1969, was the end of a significant decade, it held possibilities and hope for a new prosperous 10 years. Still in the midst of what was seen to many as the most pointless American war, the young generation especially was desperate to enforce a change. Change was a common theme of the 1960’s, deriving from movements such as the civil rights movements, the second feminist wave, a social revolution, and the anti-war movement. In addition, technology in America was at one of its highest peaks. Events such as the Space Race against the Sov...
During the 1930s many families were encouraged to move into the Southern plains and begin farming. This push for more farming and even new methods of farming came from the government’s efforts to get past the depression, produce more crops, and boost the economy. Farming would help these families...
When Willy and Linda purchased their home in Brooklyn, it seemed far removed from the city. Willy was young and strong and he believed he had a future full of success. He and his sons cut the tree limbs that threatened his home and put up a hammock that he would enjoy with his children. The green fields filled his home with wonderful aromas. Over the years, while Willy was struggling to pay for his home, the city grew and eventually surrounded the house.
Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of these things. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fight against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.
We slowly crept around the corner, finally sneaking a peek at our cabin. As I hopped out of the front seat of the truck, a sharp sense of loneliness came over me. I looked around and saw nothing but the leaves on the trees glittering from the constant blowing wind. Catching myself standing staring around me at all the beautiful trees, I noticed that the trees have not changed at all, but still stand tall and as close as usual. I realized that the trees surrounding the cabin are similar to the being of my family: the feelings of never being parted when were all together staying at our cabin.
By this account, one may better understand the helpless feeling of the farmer. The pressures are there, both economic and social, to expand. When the farmer is conscience of this drifting away from a more direct contact with the soil, as Meyers' father was, the sadness may be greater, but even farmers who are not alert to what is happening will suffer. This is ...