MDN at 130: 1949: Baby Boom, post-war prosperity gain momentum

Excerpts from the Jan. 1, 1949, edition of The Daily Democrat-News. [Order this photo]

Three million babies were born in 1949, the third year of what has come to be called the "Baby Boom." Born between 1946 and 1964, the Boomer generation was the product not just of G.I.s returning from the war that ended in 1945, but also of the slightly older mothers who had delayed childbirth during the Depression. It was a powerful combination of circumstances that eventually produced 76 million babies, and in 1949, it was just getting started.

With World War II behind it, the U.S. was brimming with confidence and optimism, and with good reason. Unemployment, which had risen to as high as 20 percent during the Depression, was then less than 4 percent, and jobs were plentiful. The minimum wage nearly doubled, from 40 cents to 75 cents.

Harry S. Truman, "the man from Independence," wrested the 1948 election from Thomas E. Dewey to win a term on his own, and began to call his administration the "Fair Deal."

After serving as Truman's vice president, Alben Barkley returned to Washington as the junior senator from Kentucky and served about a year. He was participating in the "Mock Convention," an election year event at Washington and Lee University in 1956, and had just addressed the group, saying "I'm glad to sit on the back row, for I would rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty," when he suffered a heart attack and died.

On the world scene, three new countries were born when Israel was declared a state, the British government recognized the Republic of Ireland and the People's Republic of China was declared by Mao Tse-tung.

Although World War II had ended, a new war, dubbed "the Cold War" was in full swing in 1949. On the one side stood the USSR and its satellite countries and on the other, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed in April by the U.S., Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Canada.

Herbert Philbrick, a Massachusetts advertising executive, testified in the trial of about a dozen Communist Party leaders in April. Philbrick, who volunteered to be a double agent for the FBI, carried out his work over a period of nine years. He later wrote the book "I Led Three Lives," which was eventually made into a movie and then a successful TV series.

It was a good year for comedians and singers. John Belushi, Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Johnson) and Andy Kaufman were all born in 1949, along with rockers Billy Joel, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, all four members of ZZ Top and country singer Hank Williams Jr.

Actors Richard Gere and Sissy Spacek were born in 1949, too.

Blues singer Huddie Ledbetter "Leadbelly" died and so did tap dancer Luther "Bill" Robinson, better known as "Bojangles." Robinson starred opposite Shirley Temple in several movies, but despite his earlier fame, died penniless.

"South Pacific" opened on Broadway, took all four Tony awards for acting and six more, for a total of 10, out of 10 nominations. The show closed on Broadway in 1954, after more than 1,900 performances and then toured for five more years across the country. Based on James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific," which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948, the play won its own Pulitzer for drama. The 1958 movie version was nominated for an Academy Award.

In February, golfer Ben Hogan was critically injured in a car accident that nearly ended his career. After only 11 months in recovery, however, Hogan was back on the tour. In 1953, he became only the second man to win the four "majors" -- the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championships -- in one year.

Joe DiMaggio had a very good year, becoming the first baseball player to be paid $100,000 for a single season. He wasn't paid that much for long; DiMaggio retired after the 1951 season.

The Daily Democrat-News of Jan. 1, 1949, proclaimed that 1949 would be "another good year" for the 8,850 residents of the city.

"Most shortages to end," says another headline.

"The new year is likely to bring the end of all shortages of consumers' goods, including most automobiles. Low-cost housing, either to buy or rent, probably will remain in the hard-to-get class.

"'Normal times,' with a prosperous flavor, seem finally to be at hand.

"This raises an important question: Do we continue at the present boom speed, do we drop back a bit and continue at a lower but still high level, or do we dive into a recession or depression? Most authorities say the second track is the one we will ride for at least a good part of 1949."

Economic collapse in China is the subject of another story. Wesley M. Smith, a Methodist missionary in China for many years, wrote a letter to Cary Huston of Wood & Huston Bank, in which he described the effect of inflationary pressures.

"All of a sudden after prices soared to the stratosphere you saw merchants packing away their goods. Stores were open -- at least so one could enter -- clerks and proprietors were to be found, prices for some things would be quoted, but when you reached for your bale of money -- you could not carry enough in your pocket or brief case to buy a nail -- you were told that none was for sale."

Missouri Valley College's football coach Volney Ashford was reportedly pleased with his players, who were in Tampa, Fla., ready to play the St. Thomas Tommies in the Cigar Bowl. Democrat-News reporter Steve Murphy, with the team in Tampa, said the game was a toss-up, "according to the sports writers who have watched both teams work out."

Another story details preparations for the game in Marshall, including the receiving and amplifying apparatus installed at Marshall High School for the long-distance report of the game. A model gridiron, consisting of a football field drawn on a 55-foot length of blank newsprint, was hung on the folding doors in the gymnasium, "high enough so that it can be seen from any part of the auditorium."

The game's progress would be tracked on the model field with the use of a football on a pointer, "and downs and first and tens will be marked with a downs marker and model line sticks."

Newspaper staff members participating in this exercise were T. A. Reid, A.W. Dooley, Leonard Stark and John W. Johns. Ray Hayob would be doing the reporting.

Florida officials of the Peninsular Telephone Company of Tampa, the story continues, were "eager for Ray Hayob's report to be a success," and gave personal assurances that good service would be provided "by constant checking of the line." Participants were expected to contribute 50 cents to the cost of the event, and arrangements were made for the sale of refreshments.

Valley had defeated West Chester 26-7 the previous year, but the sports writers called it correctly. Valley couldn't break the 13-13 tie with St. Thomas. Valley played again in 1954 and finished again with a tie, this time with Wisconsin State -- LaCrosse.

Contact Kathy Fairchild at marshallhealth@socket.net

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