The topic for this week’s 1960’s class we are attending was “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll”, the counter culture of the 60’s.
So we dressed the part. I’m not sure turtleneck sweaters were part of the dress scene but I did put a flower in my hair…not a daisy like my original debut in 1967. Gary wore a bandana around his longish, gray hair. That’s about as ‘hippy’ as we get!
It is a very interesting class and we are really enjoying the discussions.
Hand-made Valentine’s Day cards made by students at the ALC.
***On a different note: The previous week our 1960’s class fell on Valentine’s Day. Before class three high school students from the Alternative Learning Center, which meets in the same building, came into the classroom and handed out hand-made Valentines to “the seniors.” It was sweet, however, for some reason it made me feel old. But, I guess I am considering I was alive in the 60’s! HA
The Peace Sign, brought to light for me in the 60’s.
My husband and I signed up for a class through Elder Collegium entitled The 1960’s – A Shared Experience. A friend of ours teaches the class, and has taught it several times. We always thought it sounded intriguing, so now was the time to sign up.
The 1960’s was a tumultuous decade, and the hippie generation. I was just 7 years old when it began and ten years later I was in high school. Sorry to say, I was pretty oblivious as to what was happening around me at that time, outside my own little idyllic (perceived?) world of childhood memories living in a safe, wonderful neighborhood. Now I am ready, and excited, to learn more about this time period.
The class is interactive. After introductions during the first session, our task was to each share a few memories about how the 1960’s impacted us. Of course, there are the top events that we all remember from that decade… the assassinations, the civil rights movement, the Viet Nam War, and themusic!!! The words people used in describing their experiences brought back even more memories for me as we shared around the room. For instance, the draft, Control Data and the first super computer, the Labor Temple in Minneapolis, roller rinks, hitch hiking, the Twist, the space program, muscle cars and so much more.
This photo of me in a field of daisies was taken in Upper Michigan in 1963. My mother had it enlarged and framed for us. Four years later, in 1967, I wore a daisy in my hair in San Francisco.
When it was my turn, I told my experience of being a flower child. I rode in an airplane for the first time 1967 and I was 14 years old. I flew with my mother to visit her sister in San Francisco. (A side note: at that time you were expected to dress up on airplanes.) The songSan Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) was a popular song at the time, so I put a daisy in my hair when we landed in San Francisco. Not really knowing what it meant, I was a flower child for a short time! The class laughed (and no, I don’t have a picture).
I look forward to the next 8 weeks…learning history in a way that is meaningful.
