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Welcome to Retroville! It’s 1944!
IN THE NEWS:
- Explosions at the Port Chicago naval base on the Sacramento River in California leave more than 300 American naval personnel dead
- Allies invade Normandy on D-Day
- GI Bill of Rights is enacted
- Bretton Woods Conference establishes the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
- Dumbarton Oaks Conference between US, UK, and USSR proposes to establish the United Nations
- Battle of the Bulge turns the war against Germany
ON THE RADIO:
- Charlotte Greenwood Show
- Chick Carter, Boy Detective
- First Nighter Program
- Information Please
- Jungle Jim
- Kraft Music Hall
- Life of Riley
- Boston Blackie
ON TELEVISION:
- Networks continue limited news broadcasts
- England continues to ban television broadcasts due to war
FADS & FASHION:
- Rationing of food and gasoline
- Women at work in munitions factories
- Long, full skirts with tight waists
WHAT THINGS COST:
- Car: $1,220
- Gasoline: 21 cents per gallon
- House: $8,600
- Bread: 9 cents per loaf
- Milk: 62 cents per gallon
- Postage Stamp: 3 cents
- Average Annual Salary: $2,600
- Minimum Wage: 30 cents per hour
ACADEMY AWARD – BEST PICTURE:
- Going My Way – a comedy by Leo McCarey starring Bing Crosby and Rise Stevens
TONY AWARD – BEST MUSICAL:
- The Tony Awards begin in 1947 (look ahead to 1949 to see the first winner)
PULITZER PRIZES:
- Journey in the Dark by Martin Flavin (novel)
- The Growth of American Thought by Merle Curti (history)
- The American Leonardo: The Life of Samuel FB Morse by Carleton Mabee (biography)
- Western Star by Stephen Vincent Benet (poetry)
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE:
- International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, founded in 1863
TOP SONGS:
- Swinging on a Star by Bing Crosby
- Twilight Time by Les Brown
- Besame Mucho by Jimmy Dorsey
- It Could Happen to You by Jo Staffor
