Category Archives: 1960s

Flemmie Kittrell, Pioneer in Nutrition

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Lynn

Born in North Carolina, Flemmie Kittrell (1904-1980) has an inspiring story.  Read about her long career here.  She was eighth child of share croppers and had to earn her own money for her education.  After getting a BS at Hampton … Continue reading →

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Duchess of Windsor Patterns

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Lynn

Perhaps you have not heard of the Spadea Pattern Company, which put out patterns by the likes of Claire McCardell and Mollie Parnis from the 1950s to the 1970s. Read about its fascinating history in Lizzie Bramlett’s Vintage Traveler blog. … Continue reading →

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Regina Anderson Andrews and the Power of Libraries

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Lynn

As a lover of both libraries and theater, it perhaps inevitable that I discovered Regina Anderson Andrews, playwright, actress, salon holder, and librarian in New York City from the 1920s to the 1960s.  Anderson (1901-1993) was born in Chicago and … Continue reading →

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Eunice Johnson–Black Power Fashion

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Lynn

It is hard to overestimate the contribution of Eunice Johnson (1916-2010) to African American fashion in the United States.  She and her husband were the founders of Ebony and Jet.  Although she worked as secretary and treasurer for the Johnson … Continue reading →

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Meet Bricktop, International Star

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Lynn

Born in West Virginia in 1894, Ada “Bricktop” Smith gained her nickname because of her red hair. Her family soon moved to Chicago, a center of African American culture, where she started performing full time at age sixteen.  She didn’t … Continue reading →

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Christmas Tamales, 1960

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Lynn

If you are lucky enough to live in an area where people have come from Mexico or Central America, you might know about the Christmas tamale tradition.  Although this sweet or savory confection is made for many different holidays, it … Continue reading →

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Dottie Quinn–A Life in Pants

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Lynn

I love being able to follow a woman’s clothing choices from youth to age, sometimes possible when I stumble upon a family photo collection online.  That was the case for Sylvia Dorothy Quinn, known to all as Dottie.  Her husband, … Continue reading →

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Dress-Up Party, 1960s

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Lynn

This isn’t really much of a dress-up party, since the hostess isn’t wearing a costume and her guest only has on a Groucho Marx mask.  (You can still buy one!) Still, it shows older women having a lot of fun.  … Continue reading →

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A Late Sixties Wedding

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Lynn

A sixties wedding!  The puzzle is to figure out who is marrying whom. The tall couple on the right might be the best choice, since the woman’s tiara is the biggest.  Would that make the shorter couple in the middle … Continue reading →

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Ann Bonfoey Taylor—Life as a Sportswoman

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Lynn

Although Ann Bonfoey Taylor was interested in fashion all of her life, and even designed her own line of ski clothes in the 1940s, it was only in the 1960s that she achieved national status as fashion tastemaker. Vogue, Life, … Continue reading →

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