1950's God Bless America

In the 1950’s when I began kindergarten at El Rincon Elementary, we all began by singing God bless America. The pledge of Allegiance to the flag with its new stanza “Under God,” was recited and then started our day of learning and play. Sometime around that time, I told the kids in the class that Lincoln was no longer the president and when ask who was? I told them, “I don’t know but he is some old guy without any hair.” (Eisenhower). As I walked home from the Pulio’s house (babysitter) in the dark I looked to the sky to see if I would be able to spot “Sputnik” as it rotated the earth with its beeping signal. Such was my life in that era. My family were Democrats, my mother a Republican. My father drove a black Ford Fairlane 500 and we spent most weekends living out of that car as he fished up and down the California coastline. Our family friends, Cherry Ross (Grand-daughter of Chief John Ross of the Cherokee nation), Wyoming Pete Cody (100 year old cowboy who rode with Reno Benteen into the Big Horn post Custer’s last stand) and his sidekick Jesse James, Jr. accompanied the family on these outings. I would sneak listening late into the night, stories of the old west and the bygone eras. I handled William Bonney’s (Billy the Kid) rifle at an early age and learned that I was born 100 years to the day after he was born. I was little Billy the Kid. As school years progressed we would begin each day singing, the National Anthem, America the Beautiful. Something has been lost today by children not enjoying music and patriotism practiced each day.