An interview with my sister done during the early days of the world wide interweb tube thing…
Back when I first started doing websites and learning about how to put stuff on the web, I thought it might be a cool idea to do a quick few questions with my sister. She grew up during the turbulent days of the 60’s and was around for a lot of the big events…well all of the big events of that era. Here’s a quick 16 with Linda Middaugh Bodemer. (She’s the one in the glasses.)
1. The quintessential 60’s question , do you remember where you were when JFK was shot?
Absolutely. I was just outside my home economics class. I still cannot see anything in movies or articles about that day that I don’t shed a tear. It was absolutely devastating. Everyone spent the next two days in their homes glued to the TV. I can still see Jackie standing there with Johnson while he took the oath and little John John saluting his dad. When John Kennedy, Jr. died in the plane crash with his wife, I just sat down and cried. I’m sure everyone from the 60’s did.
2. I know you didn’t go but what where your feelings on Woodstock?
Very cool! I had a couple of hippie friends who went and they loved it.
3. First man on the moon, did you watch it?, What was it like?
It was a strange feeling watching that happen. When I look back on it, it was sort of surreal. At that time, no one would think that anyone could land on the moon?
4. What sort of music where you into?
Diana Ross and the Supremes (big time), the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Cream, Gracie Slick, Bob Dylan, Opera, Theater Music. All types really. I was kind of an artsy-fartsy type.
5. During the civil rights movement, are there any events that you distinctly remember?
When the riots were happening in Plainfield, I was at the Plainfield Edison movie theater with a friend and another couple. Over the speaker they were paging a police officer and my date knew him so he went to see what happened. He was told that the riots were really getting tough in Plainfield and they were calling in all police officers. We left the theater and couldn’t get home. We had to go way out of our way because the whole area of Plainfield was barracaded. It was a very scarey night.
6. Hairstyles… Did you have a beehive? Nope, but I teased my hair in a pageboy or a flip in the early 60’s – very big (depending on the mood). I also wore it long later in the 60’s and pulled it up all the time (back to artsy-fartsy).
7. What do you feel is the moment that defined what you thought of as the 60’s?
Actually, two things: The death of John Kennedy. After that the 60’s became incredible. Martin Luther King was shot, the Kennedy’s had one misery after another, the race situation got really into full swing. Also, the Vietnam War. It was a terrible time for my male friends. Everyone was getting conscripted. I still have a letter written to me by a friend on letterhead with a Vietnam map on it. They were all too young. When we were kids it was a big deal if you had a boyfriend in the service. Sort of made you cool.
8. Favorite toy(s) growing up as a kid.
Crayons, coloring books, paper dolls, and Ginny dolls (worth lots of cash today if you have any originals). We had a lot of fun in the summer sitting in the backyard on a blanket coloring. Also, the hula hoop. That was such a big deal when we were little. We had baseball card matches where you throw the cards at the wall and the one that leans the card wins. I’d like to have some of those cards today. Kids get so easily bored today unless they have Play Station or a computer.
9. Was there still live TV going on?, and what do you consider to be the best show or shows of that era?
Sure! I loved the Sonny & Cher show and Laugh-in. I also watched a soap opera every day called “Dark Shadows.” It was really interesting in the beginning. I was in high school, and we’d go home every day after school to watch it. It was about vampires. It’s now a cult classic. I didn’t watch a lot of TV when I was young. Now I couldn’t live without it.
10. Did you actually run, duck and cover, like those nuclear war drills, and did you realize that if that were to happen, you were screwed. (I guess that wasn’t funny at the time)
I don’t remember that. That was more in the 50’s I think. I do remember having to get under the desk when I was in the first/second grades, though, but I’m not sure I knew why we were doing it.
11. How many kids graduated in your class at Dunellen High School?
I’m not sure. I guess about 80-100. Long time ago.
12. Now that you are a grandmother, what thing or things would you like to see changed to make things easier for you grandkid?
Peer pressure – I’d like to see that end. But it never will. Other than that, I think that kids have it way too easy now. Everything comes to them the minute they want it – instant gratification. There isn’t too much that could be easier. In fact I think a little more discipline wouldn’t hurt any of them. (Boy do I sound like a grandma.)
13. What thing do you wish was still around for your grandkid to experience?
Winters where she could ice skate on ponds. We had a ball – frozen to death, but fun. It never gets cold enough long enough anymore. Also, being able to go outside and play baseball in the street or hide-n-seek like I did with Patty, Robbie and the gang. Kids can’t do that anymore. You have to worry every minute about where they are and what they are doing. Children today don’t just have good, energetic fun.
14. What was going to “The Shore” like before the GSP and the Raritan bridge?
Well the Parkway was there, but I always went down Route 9 through Toms River. There wasn’t as much traffic then, of course, but the Parkway was still rough on summer weekend mornings.
15. NYC, better now, or 30 years ago?
30 years ago definitely. Not as crowded and theater seats only cost $8.00 for an orchestra seat (but that was a lot of money in 1966.) The theater was a bigger deal then than it is now. Plus now it’s very expensive ($45 – $90 a seat). More ambiance and everyone DRESSED UP. No jeans and sneakers, ever. More exciting.
16. Last one. What piece of advice given to you by one of your relatives, do you use to this day? Never lie, you’ll always get caught and if you don’t you’ll have to live with it anyway. I grew up in the 60’s and I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up in any other time frame. It was a dynamic, beautiful, frightening period of time and it changed the way the world sees a lot of things today – race issues, outer space, music, and on and on. I was a lucky person to have had lived my 12-21 years during that time. But, Brett, as you get older, you look back on things when you were young like you are seeing them in a time warp. You see things from your youth better than you see things that happened last week. (You’ll find out one day).
[I would just like to thanks my sister for taking the time to help me out with this little “60’s Survey”. When I went to see the movie “Saving Private Ryan” I gained a little more respect for my father than I had previously, because there were pieces to him that I could never understand, but that really woke me up to the fact that my parents and siblings are not “old people”, not “out of it”, they are history. We stand on the sacrifices and actions of those who have come before us and should always be happy to lend and ear, when the ….stories start flying. So I hope you found this little bit of insight into the 60’s by my sister……grooveadelic]
Thanks, Lin Here’s more to Peace, than pot and microdot!
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