Turn back our clock 50 years? Bring. It. On!

[Jackpine Radical]

Milwaukee was the most prosperous city in the nation, having had a succession of socialist mayors.

Bill Proxmire was the junior Senator, famous for not spending anything on his re-election campaigns.

Wisconsin had the cleanest government in the nation.

Gaylord Nelson, inventor of Earth Day, was governor.

Wisconsin was at the forefront of the environmental movement.

The state paid most of the cost of a resident's education at the University of Wisconsin.

And a whole lot more I could come up with in that vein.

[TBF]

1. There were jobs too -

my dad and uncles worked in factories (unionized) and had piece-rate jobs. They were able to buy homes, cars, and some even sent their kids on to college (UW was inexpensive as noted above - even when I matriculated in the 80's it was only $800/semester).

[lib2DaBone]

2. Well said. Remember when Democratic Politicians backed the people?

...backed the people they were elected to represent? What a novel idea.

We can only hope.. or, we can start a 3rd party.

[joshcryer]

3. But we'll keep the civil rights advances.

:hi: :D

[Jackpine Radical]

5. Of course.

[truedelphi]

4. Did we even have an environemnetal movement back in

1961?

We have one now but it has been so heavily co-opted, I do most of the things they tell us not to. (I will not put those mercury containing new fangled lights in my house, no matter how bad they say the old style ones are.)

Anyway, back in 1961, Wisconsin was the dairy state, and didn't have industrial pig farms. People were able to work at various factories, making things Americns needed at a decent wage.

The AMC was still a glint in the car driving public's eye. And of course, the British invasion had not happened yet, so if we did have a time machine to take us back, I wouldn't be really happy with the music.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. John Muir. Aldo Leopold. Sigurd Olson.

All Cheeseheads.

And this:

When Gaylord Nelson was Wisconsin governor (1958-1962), one of his chief priorities was to create a mechanism by which the state could protect land from unrestrained development. His draft bill, the "Outdoor Recreaction Act Program" of 1961, took the proceeds of a penny a pack sales tax on cigarettes to fund the acquisition of lands needing preservation, the expansion of state parks, and other environmental initiatives.

[saras]

7. Yep, we've had one for over a hundred years

And it's been being co-opted for just as long. I've recommended the book "The Polluters" a handful of times here on DU - it's a good summary of the last century of bought lawmakers and junk science in America. I can't recall the title, but I read a different book that quoted a bunch from 19th century environmental investigations, where they repeatedly observed unsafe working conditions with well-known materials, and were simply ridiculed by everyone in power, whether management, media, or government. Straight out of Dickens, but that's the way they really were.

And if the British Invasion hadn't happened, but YOU knew it was going to, you could make some really good investments. Maybe even write some songs.

re the mercury lights - they make trouble lights that are encased in high-temperature silicone rubber or something similar, so they don't shed glass and/or electrocute you if you break one. If they covered the CFs with this stuff, they could at least keep the mercury inside if you knock a lamp over or something. I don't know why they don't - could be they're just cheap, or maybe it's a plot to poison environmentalists, who got the bulbs before anyone else did.

[truedelphi]

10. very good to know about the book "The Polluter"

I am about to order some books and will include that one in the order.

With mercury being lawfully phased out of use in thermometers, the big industrial concerns have all this surplus mercury. If they put it in a container and haul it off to a Super Fund site, they are charged a huge rate, so instead they throw it into products we are encouraged to buy through advertising.

[misanthrope]

11. There was plenty of good music in 1961...

...Jazz was near its zenith, most of the American blues masters were still alive, soul was humming along and rock was still young but starting to stretch its legs.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. AMC

was Nash, in Kenosha.

Here's a 1955 model:

[truedelphi]

9. Didn't know too much about the history of that fine automobile.

Thanks for the pictures.

I had several friends that worked at factories turning the things out in the mid seventies.

Of course, a lot of people made fun of them, as they sure were not luxury autos, but they were dependable and fun.