"Help me henceforth, O God of grace,...
1953. Dwight D. Eisenhower became President. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare was established. The Korean War ended. NTSC color standard was adopted. CATV system used microwave to bring in distant signals. Elizabeth II was crowned queen in England. Sir Edmund Hillary and his party climbed Mt. Everest. Dag Hammarskjold became U.N. Secretary General. Stalin was succeeded by Malenkov and Kruschev. The Calumet Expressway and southern part of Tri-State Expressway opened. Fritz Reiner conducted his first concert as Chicago Symphony music director. At Bethlehem, communion registration cards were first used. The P.T.A. picnic cleared $1734.00, with which 60 new school desks were purchased. The PTA also bought a deep-freeze for the school. New gowns were bought for the choir.
1954. The U.S.S.R. launched Sputnik. Sporting events were broadcast live in color. Radio sets in the world outnumbered newspapers printed daily. Transistor radios were sold. Nasser seized power in Egypt. Brown vs. Board of Education ended legal segregation in schools. Disneyland opened in California. Dien Bien Phu was taken by the Vietminh. The Congress Street Expressway opened. The Lyric Theater of Chicago (later known as Lyric Opera) was launched, ending the city's seven-year operatic drought with its "calling card" production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni." The interior of Bethlehem church was decorated. $100 was set aside as a drawing account for the Walther League. A Pastor's car fund was set up. A part-time secretary was engaged for the Pastor. The bowling alleys were dismantled and sold by the foot.
1955. Music was recorded on tape in stereo. Salk vaccine brought polio under control. Elvis Presley had his first hit record. On December 1, Ms. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger and was arrested for violating a Montgomery, Ala., law against desegregation. The state slogan, "Land of Lincoln," was adopted by the Illinois General Assembly, giving the State of Illinois a copyright for the exclusive use of the slogan. In Evanston, Mikdosh El Hagro Hebrew Center was founded by the union of two congregations. At Bethlehem, A trophy case was given to the congregation for the school auditorium. The former bowling alley room was remodeled for the Primary Department of the Sunday School.
1956. Ampex built a practical videotape recorder. Bell tested the picture phone. First transatlantic telephone calls were transmitted by cable. The Hungarian Revolution was suppressed by Soviet troops. Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal. The first nuclear power plant was built in U.S. The Joint Commission on Lutheran Unity was formed. The Lutheran Laymen's League broadcast on television. The final section of Calumet Expressway was completed. McDonald's hamburgers competed with the Chicago area's many hot dog stands. At Bethlehem, Mr. Richard Graudin, graduate of River Forest, was assigned to the school as teacher. By resolution of the congregation the number of floral pieces at a funeral in church was limited to six.
1957. Federal troops were sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, to insure the integration of Central High School. FORTRAN became the first high-level computer programming language. The term "Beat" was introduced by Jack Kerouac in On the Road. Mau-Mau revolted in Kenya. Federal troops enforced integration of Little Rock, Arkansas, public schools. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod was started. The first Chicago Tribune food section appeared, as did convenience products, such as brown-and-serve rolls, instant mashed potatoes and cake mixes. Jewel sold three 46-ounce cans of Hawaiian Punch for $1 and a 2-pound package of Swift's Allsweet for 59 cents. Goldblatt's sold ready-to-eat hams for 49 cents a pound, and eight 14 -ounce cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk for $1. A fifth of Three Feathers blended whiskey cost $2.69. The Midwest supermarket sold homogenized baby food (six jars, 57 cents) and Northern bath tissue, 4 rolls for 35 cents. At Bethlehem, the 85th Anniversary of the congregation was observed in two services. It was decided to buy the vacant lot and house on the northeast corner of Greenwood and Wesley, and to move the old parsonage onto the vacant lot, and then trade it for the house and lot to the south of the church. This together with the old church lot gave the necessary site for a new church building.
Questions, comments, etc. are welcome.
Send them to Marilyn
Gardner at MFGardner@aol.com