What Was it Like in the 1940s? |
| Music |
"Chattanooga Choo Choo", Glenn Miller
"White Christmas", Bing Crosby
"Sentimental Journey", Les Brown, Doris Day
"Pistol Packin' Mama", Al Dexter
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| Literature |
Animal Farm, George Orwell
All of the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren
Commonsense Book of Baby and Child Care, Dr. Spock
Native Son, Richard Wright
The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
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| Entertainment |
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Frank Sinatra makes his singing debut in Indianapolis with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Walt Disney's second feature-length movie, Pinocchio, premieres in New York. The Pulitzer Prize is awarded to John Steinbeck for the Grapes of Wrath. Captain America appears in a comic book. The first United States commercial FM radio station goes on the air in Nashville, Tenn. Joe DiMaggio breaks Willie Keeler's 44-game hitting streak. Little Golden Books begins publishing children's books. Elvis Presley makes his first public appearance. South Pacific opens at the Majestic Theater.
 Best Pictures: How Green Was My Valley, Mrs. Miniver, The Lost Weekend and Casablanca
Best Actors: Gary Cooper for Sergeant York, James Cagney for Yankee Doodle Dandy, Laurence Olivier for Hamlet and Paul Lukas for Water on the Rhine
Best Actresses: Joan Fontain for Suspicion, Greer Garson for Mrs. Miniver, Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce and Jennifer Jones for The Song of Bernadette
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| Average Salary: $2,890.00 |
| Cost of Living |
| Loaf of Bread: |
.11¢ |
| Gallon of Milk: |
.65¢ |
| Dozen Eggs: |
.64¢ |
| Average House: |
$10,491.00 |
| Average Car: |
$1,295.00 |
| Gallon of Gas: |
.23¢ |
| First Class Stamp: |
.03¢ |
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| World Events |
Most of western Europe and Scandinavia attacked by Germany. Winston Churchill becomes Britain's PM. Germany invades Russia and escalates killing of Jews and  ethnic minorities. Over one-million people die of famine in India. Warsaw Ghetto uprising against Nazis. Soviets defeat Germans. US invades Italy; Mussolini surrenders to Allies. D-Day at Normandy. France is liberated. Six-million die in concentration camps. Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - WW II ends. Nazis tried and condemned at Nuremberg. Division of Palestine rejected. After gaining independence, millions die in India during partition, including Gandhi, who is assassinated. Israel created. Hammurabi's Code deciphered, Dead Sea Scrolls found. Berlin Airlift breaks Russian blockade. South Africa enacts racial apartheid. Mao Zedong leads newly-formed People's Republic of China. NATO founded.
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| U.S. History |
First-ever peacetime military draft adopted. Pearl Harbor attacked by Japanese. US joins Allies and enters WW II. Japanese-Americans interned. Wartime rationing initiated. Manhattan Project established to build atomic bomb. GI Bill of Rights passed. FDR dies and Harry Truman becomes president. Cold War policy set by Truman Doctrine. Jackie Robinson is first Black player in Major Leagues. CIA and Defense Department formed. Racial segregation abolished in military. Planned Parenthood founded by Margaret Sanger. Invention of transistor leads to TV boom. Truman promises all a "Fair Deal."
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| At Salem Teachers College |
The first freshmen dance takes place during the 1940s. Students are drafted into the Armed Services. In 1942, students enroll in first aid courses and organize the Collegiate Defense as a means of staying in contact with Salem servicemen. An extra hour, known as "defense period," is added to the daily schedule. Students and alumni who fought in World War II are honored across campus.  During this period, students experience air-raid drills with mock casualties and are able to practice first aid training.
Toys and Games
Silly Putty, Candy Land, Slinky, Magic 8 Ball, Scrabble, Legos, Cootie and Chutes and Ladders.
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