Retro Curious Rebellious: The Revival

This Tuesday is the celebration of another of New Jersey’s finest. Earlier this year, Nancy P. was recognized as the individual whose nomination to Preservation NJ made it onto the state’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites list. (Read more on this at the Trials of Doris link here: Article Reference)

Since then, her own projects included, the caliber and amount of work that Nancy has given to the preservation nation is being regarded highly with an award for service at the beautifully-preserved Drake House Museum in Plainfield NJ and her work in attempts to save Duke Mansion. Nancy has worked on projects that span across the two counties over the course of many years. Her memoirs of the grassroots DORIS group have been chronicled in the latest book on Doris Duke; The Duchess of South Somerville. Despite everything, it doesn’t seem like she will ever be dissuaded from challenging the odds.

She is a seasoned historian with a passion unparalleled to others.

Congratulations from all of us at the Retro Revival! Don’t ever stop being amazing.

On the morning of May 12th, the news gave me this: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/05/12/cemetery-veteran-markers-removed/

In short, the cemetary in question, which is remarkably large in size, was responsible for removing memorial stones of acknowledgement from war veterans’ graves. Their defense for the act was that it was intended to clean up the property and remove any potential safety hazards that these memorial stones posed to visitors.

I would like to question this. How can a country whose veterans have often paid the ultimate price for our country be disrespected in their final resting place? How is this appropriate in the retro spirit of things? Even for those of our readers who are anti-war, those who have passed away in telling our story as a nation probably shouldn’t be defaced. Really, the dead shouldn’t be disrespected at all. In the ethics of yesteryear, shouldn’t it be acknowledged that these guys and gals shaped our history?

Yet we remove the last real memo of their services that they had. Morally, it’s not congruent with the sense of vintage values our website seeks to suggest (we aren’t pressuring your personal beliefs- that’s not what we are about). But it sure would be nice to show those before us that we are at least learning about their journeys and how they shaped our world.

So it captures the attention of us and our readers. What’s ever been vintage about forgetting the stories of others? Retro and vintage lifestyles preach the opposite. We will be following this story as it becomes clearer.

The 1960s are easily “the era” above all others that signifies a serious shift in social living in America and elsewhere. The tremors of these changes could be felt across an international stage, prompting one of the most radical shifts we learn about. The 1960s challenged societal norms of gender roles, war and peace, media and expressive cultures, and conservative lifestyles.

It was a time of tie-dye everything, fringed suede vests, peace protests, equality marches, integration, eliminating stereotypes of wives and women, freedom, music, and counterculture. Frankly, this decade, even in retrospect, is a challenge to keep up with for the simple reason that it is profoundly busy. I ask our readers to forgive me as I simplify and stylize the events of this decade for reader-friendliness.

The 1960’s was an era characterized by two of the greatest populist movements of its time. The buildup and further expansion of the Civil Rights Movement happened parallel with the mass social and political revolution enacted by the American youths, this time period being identified as “The Summer of Love”. The 60’s was building up to the enormous pressure that young people being shipped off to Vietnam for a way that nobody wanted to engage in, and minorities who were fighting for basic rights and social and political equality both felt. The Civil Rights Act has had elements be challenged i the last year, and we are still fighting for the preservation of these BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS.

As usual, strolling the stately property of Doris Duke has given me new inspiration to write. There is something in the air at that location that infects me with creativity. That, or I can give credit to my darling company from that afternoon. I met Kim through the Trials of Doris, and we instantly became friends. At the time, she lost her cell phone and had to get a new one, which led to quite a conversation about newfangled telephone technology and the real consequences of such devices. If you’re reading this Kim, this one is just for you!

Kim spoke of how much simpler it was when we all had to memorize phone numbers or when the only resort to maintain them was to write them down with pen and paper. So naturally, I start to pick apart the components of numerical memorization in my head and what it must have been like before texting was considered a personable method of communication. The candlestick phones, the lines at telephone boxes, and the well-loved rotary phones… Has the digital age taken away from all this? And since when can someone build up relations with others through typing on a screen. No, emojis won’t convey feelings, regardless of how candid. It was time to go retro for me.

My first step was purchasing an address book from Walgreens for $6. I spent a decent amount of time filling it out, just because of how many numbers I store in my cell phone. Starting on the week of February 1st in 2016, Kim’s honorary address book started to migrate with me wherever I went. Instead of relying on the modern conveniences of typing in an auto-fill name, I spent time trying to type in the entire number of a person to eventually remember which number belongs to whom. Upon further inspection about 10 days later, I realized the repetition of numbers came more easily to me. I wouldn’t have to reference the address book as much for area codes or the last four numbers. By suggestion, my candlestick landline was getting more exercise from this experiment too. So what exactly did it all mean?

For one thing, using a phone book and a landline is a bit less static-ridden. Even in the two minute conversations I hosted, the quality of voice is significantly different on a landline than a cellular connection. What is so appealing about sitting down and talking though? Why are people successfully selling replica vintage telephones (and even modifying originals for today’s phone jacks)? What was so minimally satisfying about remembering phone numbers?

I have a few theories. Foremost, let’s talk numbers. When numbers have relevance, like correlating them with your best friends and family, they are easily remembered. If asked to memorize arbitrary numbers in a sequence, it is hopeless! So by pairing numbers with a good reason to remember them, we are more likely to retain that information. By this cognitive logic, people who grew up using or have used address books in their lives have trained themselves to be better at number retention. Remembering someone is also one of the warmest ways we show we care. It shows that the person took interest, took effort, and that the recipient-of-recollection is valuable. Bravo, darlings!

Another piece of the puzzle is that those who have to speak in order to communicate (versus texting or other nonverbal social media) rob themselves of learning. Without excessive practice hearing others talk and reciprocating, where do we truly hone our skills to create effective dialogue? There is a natural desire for humans to be social creatures, not social media creatures. After a while, we will crave this natural, timeless method of contact. Sure, use the modern commodities, they’re fun! But don’t become dependent on them.

Finally, the charm and aesthetic appeal of telecommunications resonates throughout the 20th century. I found this absolutely chic telephone table at the forever-perfect Somerville Central Antiques store. Similar furnishings have existed to accommodate and make comfortable the telephone and its listener. Unfortunately, we don’e see enough of them!

So the moral of Kim’s address book? Pause. Don’t post all the time. Instead, grab your phone, dial your dear ones, and talk. Fill the void with beautiful chatter and the sounds of life.