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"Those Fabulous 50's and
60's"
The centerpiece of the 50’s and 60’s exhibit is a reconstruction
of the counter at Cozy Corner, with bigger than life cutouts of
owners Ed “Bazz” Modrzynski and his wife Clara. The restaurant
at the corner of First Street and Orchard in Rogers City was the
community’s most popular hangout for teenagers and young adults
during the 50’s and 60’s.
Music was one of the
defining characteristics of the 1950’s and 60’s, and people in
the Rogers City area listened to an interesting assortment of
music. WHAK, the local radio station that broadcast from
sunrise to sunset was playing a mix of big band music,
country-western, and polkas, but shied away from the rock and
roll that the younger set wanted to listen to. When the sun
went down, their radios were usually tuned to WLS in Chicago, or
some other powerful “clear channel” station playing the latest
rock and roll music.
Elvis takes to the
bandstand in our exhibit, surrounded by records, record players,
radios, and tape recorders from the period.
American automobiles
changed dramatically during the 50’s and 50’s, and in doing so
they changed our lives. The exhibit celebrates cars with a
major collection of diecast models representing each year from
1950 through 1969. Mixed in with the models are automobile ads
and license plates from the period. Other period automobile ads
are playing on a television set in the center of the exhibit.
As cars played increasingly important roles in our lives,
drive-in theaters and drive-in restaurants became popular. In
the Rogers City area, the first drive-in restaurant was “Pat’s
Drive-In,” located on US-23 in the building that currently
houses Chi Chi’s restaurant. We celebrate Pat’s Drive-In with a
unique display featuring the driver’s door from a Volkswagen
Consumer products grew
exponentially during the 1950’s and 60’s and we pay homage to
both the new products and those that became reached new heights
of popularity during the period. You’ll find samples of food
products, toys, games, electronics, clothing, and much more. A
highlight of the consumer products section of our exhibit is a
candy counter similar to the one at Jack’s Bakery during the
50’s and 60’s, stocked with nostalgic candies from the period.
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As great as the
1950’s and 60’s were, there was also a dark side to the
two decades. At the end of the exhibit, a small display
provides a measure of balance by pointing out some of
the tragic aspects of the period, including the wars in
Korea and Vietnam, the civil rights movement, the
increase in the use of drugs, and the sinkings of the
Carl D. Bradley and Cedarville. |
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Military Uniform
Exhibit
The Larke
Bedroom
Country Store
The Bertram
Sisters
Millinery
The Native
American
Room
Pioneer
Tools
Dining Room
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