School Lunches Then vs. Now: Costs and Choices Explored
Explore the evolution of school lunches, their costs, and what that means for today's families.
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The Penny Candy Store: When a Nickel Could Buy You Happiness in a Brown Paper Bag
From about 1900 to 1975, the penny candy store was one of the great sacred places of American childhood. Th...
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Doo-Wop: How a Group of Kids Singing on a Brooklyn Street Corner Invented the Sound of American Romance
From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, doo-wop was the soundtrack of American adolescence. Born on the str...
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The Sears Catalog: How a 1,500-Page Book Became the Internet of Rural America for a Hundred Years
From 1888 to 1993, the Sears catalog was one of the most influential single objects in American culture. It...
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The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air: How One Year of One Model Became the Most Beloved American Car Ever Made
It was not the fastest, the most expensive, or even the best-selling car of its time. But the 1957 Chevy Be...
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The Golden Age of TV Variety Shows: When 60 Million Americans Watched the Same Thing Every Sunday Night
From 1948 to about 1980, the variety show was the dominant format of American prime-time television. Ed Sul...
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The Corner Soda Fountain: How a Pharmacy Sideline Became the Heart of American Small-Town Life
From the 1890s through the 1960s, the soda fountain was the social center of nearly every American small to...
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Saturday Morning Cartoons: How Three Hours of TV Defined a Generation of American Childhood
From about 1962 to 1992, Saturday morning between 8 AM and 11 AM was the most sacred block of television in...
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The Drive-In Movie Era: How a Backyard Idea From New Jersey Became the Soundtrack of American Summers
From a single experimental screen in Camden, New Jersey in 1933 to over 4,000 drive-ins across America by 1...
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The One-Room Schoolhouse: Education Before Standardized Testing
Before standardized tests and sprawling campuses, there was the one-room schoolhouse.
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The Neighborhood Before Fences: When Everyone Knew Your Name
Remember when neighbors were family, doors were unlocked, and kids ran free until dark.
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Victory Gardens to Suburbia: How America's Backyard Changed Forever
From wartime victory gardens to suburban lawns — the American backyard tells our story.
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