"The Last of the 60s!"

 

The Sisters in the '60s

   


Yesterday was the last day that the four "Nicklet girls" could all honestly say that their age was sixty-something. We were four daughters who grew up together in a small town in Ohio and then all went our very separate ways for the next 40-some years. One by one we have now reassembled in Cincinnati and live close to, but not with, each other. So on this last day that we could all claim to be in our sixties, we celebrated with a "Last of the 60s" party.

The Sisters in Their 60s

If you've done the math, or if you are from our era, you know that we all spent some of our youth during the 1960s. Our menu, therefore, was based on '60s food favorites and products that were introduced during the decade. You may be surprised to know how many products were launched in the '60s and are still going strong (as we are, of course!).

Appetizers

Lipton French onion soup and sour cream dip

Ruffles potato chips (1964)

Pringles (Proctor & Gamble, 1969)

Bugles (General Mills, 1964)

Easy Cheese (Nabisco, 1966)

Carrots, celery and radishes (the only fresh vegetables we ate regularly)

Stuffed eggs

Main Course

Tuna casserole with frozen peas (introduced by Green Giant in 1961), Mikesells (local brand) potato chips, and of course, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup

Heart-shaped Jello fruit molded salad on lettuce leaf

Crescent rolls and refrigerator biscuits (Pillsbury, 1959)

Dessert

Apple crumb pie (Pet-Ritz Frozen Pie Crust, 1962) with Granny Smith apples (introduced in the USA in 1960) and topped with Cool Whip (launched by General Foods in 1965)

Beverages

Ocean Spray Cran-Apple Fruit Juice (1965)

Diet Pepsi (1965) and Sprite (1961)

(both in tab-opening aluminum cans, first sold in 1962)

Tang (General Foods, 1964)

Taster's Choice freeze-dried coffee (Nestle, 1966)

Cremora (from Borden in 1963)

I tried very hard to find 3.2 beer, which was the only beer that we would have drunk in the '60s if we drank anything alcoholic at all, which we didn't. Research told me, however, that 3.2 beer disappeared from Ohio in 1982.  Fortunately, one of us had a "leftover" bottle of champagne, and that was enjoyed by all.

This party was  made even more fun by reference to The Food Timeline, http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html#60snewproducts.

We appreciate the good cheer and support shared by our husbands and brothers-in-law, Phil Henry and Johannes Bjorner.