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SPOKANE, 22ND STREET AND THE FIFTIES, is story about life in the fifties in America, as well as in Spokane. Spokane was chosen as the special city
because it represented what many mid-size American cities were experiencing in growth, and development during the golden age of the fifties.
The author wanted to show what life was like for the World War II veteran who was returning home to America after spending three to four years away from the American soil, while waging war in the South Pacific and Europe.
Marilyn Newkirk believes that life in the fifties represents the greatest time in the nation’s history for growth and prosperity. For the first time in America’s history the Interstate Highway system under the Eisenhower Administration was being constructed. A new
GI Bill was passed that allowed the returning vets to further their education. New homes were being constructed in record numbers as families were growing and expanding. This population explosion placed heavy demands on the public school system. New schools all across America were being built. During this period, Christian denominations believed the government was allowing the classrooms to be too crowed, there were not adequate teaching supplies and not enough teachers. Private Christian Schools began to spring-up.
The manufacturing industry was growing at a rapid pace as new technologies were being developed within days of one another. The auto industry created the swept-wing look in all of its automobiles, families were purchasing televisions and children had their own special TV shows. The fifties was the beginning of the rock-n-roll era, and innovative fashions and hair styles were seen on the runways of the fashion world.
The Cold War existed so families built bomb shelters, and entire cities practiced evacuation drills.
The way Americans did their shopping was also changing ":mom and pop": stores were becoming a dying breed as big grocery stores were being developed. In the late fifties,
shopping malls were springing up throughout America and Americans discovered that not having to pay for parking in the hub of down-town was great for the pocket book.
Families enjoyed spending time with one another, attending musical concerts, playing at grand amusement parks like Natatorium Park, or dining at elegant historical landmark hotels such as the Davenport Hotel, in Spokane. Girls played with paper dolls, and boys played Cowboy and Indian games, everyone played kick-ball in the streets, and parents did not have to lock the doors to their homes or worry about where their children were.
Marilyn believes the fifties era was filled with hope, excitement, and creativity. An era
that she fears many Americans will never see again. She says her book was written for all generations to enjoy. Her hope and wish is that the young people of today will acquire knowledge as to what it was like to live in the greatest era of all, the golden age of the fifties.
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