Through Love and War: The Korean War Story

Through Love and War: The Korean War Story

Freddie’s Market during the early 1950s would be the host of much gossip and change. The Corsica Café would lend itself to long political debates and chats over coffee. Meanwhile, the Korean War would be blasting through the decade of the 1950s. The fashions, the fads, the prices, the music, the art, and the infamous Korean War tell the story of the decade we call the fabulous fifties.

“I remember working at Freddie’s Market in Corsica, SD. I would sack candy, and do other sorts of jobs to earn a little money to live on. I recall that I made one hundred and fifty dollars a month, and worked every day for at least eight hours,” (“Van Zee”). This is a memory my grandma has shared about work throughout the 50s. She did not make a lot by our standards today, but it proves that people who lived during this period of time worked hard to make a living. Working in a supermarket was just one of the many ways people in a small town earned money to get by, while fighting a war overseas. Over the years, as with everything else, fashions changed. During the 1950s, women wore high heels and cotton dresses, while men wore knit pants and cotton tops. People made a lot of their own clothing and would make a lot for their children also. My grandma recalls making and wearing circular skirts, which form a circle when laid out flat (“Van Zee”). Along with clothing, jewelry has also changed. During the 1950s it was common to see ladies wearing clip-on earrings if they did not have pierced ears. Nowadays, adults, as well as children, have pierced ears. This proves that technology and customs have changed throughout the years.

Style not only changed in the clothing category, but it also changed in t...

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...o see his son. Life would eventually return to normal although everything abnormal, like the war, would be forgotten.

The fifties, a time of fads, fashions, and a forgotten war, will always stand out as a pivotal point in American history. The cars of the fifties rolled in and out of view, the inflation rates grew, and the minimum wage would be raised. Certain pieces of music would yet be passed on through time. Although one major event, The Korean War, would be considered forgotten, sandwiched in between the events of history.

Works Cited

Dowd, Alan W. (2000, September). As It Happened. The American Legion, 66-69.

Sauter, Jack. (2000, September). Why Korea Was Forgotten. The America Legion, 8-11.

Young, Steve. (2002, May 26). A Soldier’s Solemn Homecoming. The Argus Leader, pgs. 1A-4A.

Van Zee, Mary Ann. (2004, March 17). Personal Interview.