The year was 1948. Gandhi was assassinated. The Soviet Union began jamming Voice of America broadcasts. NASCAR was founded. So was the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang. Gentleman’s Agreement won the Oscar for best picture. Popular songs included Peggy Lee’s “Manana,” Bing Crosby’s “Now Is the Hour,” and Pee Wee Hunt’s recording of Euday Bowman’s “Twelfth Street Rag.” And readers of the Fort Worth Press read these ads:
The grand Westbrook Hotel had twenty-one more years to live before it became a retirement home and then a pile of rubble.
Leonard’s Department Store would sell you a two-piece living room suite for $79.95 ($776 today).
Milk in square bottles! Local dairies included Vandervoort’s and Oak Farms. Note the five-digit telephone exchange.
The Cats were in first place in the Texas League. The Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. Washington still had the Senators. And Philadelphia, Boston, and St. Louis had teams in both American League (Athletics, Red Sox, Browns) and National League (Phillies, Braves, Cardinals).
Panels on the comic page included “Out Our Way” and “Our Boarding House.”
On the local AM radio stations in those days before television, WBAP-WFAA offered The Green Hornet, Red Skelton, WBAP Jamboree, and The Guiding Light. KFJZ offered Captain Midnight and the news with Porter Randall. KRLD, meanwhile, aimed at diversity, offering Edward R. Murrow and wrestling. KXOL offered Blue Barron and music from the Skyliner and Rocket clubs on Jacksboro Highway.
