Big Name Buttons and Hula Hoops

If you were born in 1946, as I was, you were born in the first year of the baby boon generation. When I started school in 1951, there were 60 children in my kindergarten class. Sister Antoinette, our teacher, was a postulant, which means not quite a nun yet. She must have been about 19. Another Catholic school opened nearby later that year, and some of my classmates transferred there. So for the next eight years, there were about 40 children in my classroom at each grade level. In the 6^th grade, something new and exciting swept the school and the nation-brightly colored plastic hoops that you could twirl around your waist, arms, legs, even your neck. The hula hoop became one of the biggest fads of the 1950's. Kids begged their parents to buy them. There were several different sizes. I remember having some smaller ones, which I would twirl around my wrists and ankles, and some larger ones to twirl around my waist. We had contests with each other to see how many we could keep spinning at one time. There was even a pop song that went something like: "Hula hoop, hula hoop every body's playing with a hula hoop..."

It was a catchy tune and pretty popular back then. If you want to listen to it, go to: http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/DP/2007/07/184_24_Georgia_Gibbs_-_The_Hula_Hoop_Song.mp3

Another fad that appeared at about the same time was wearing "big name buttons". Unlike hula hoops, which are still around today, big name buttons have faded into obscurity. They were actually pins, not buttons, about 3 or 4 inches in diameter, kind of like campaign buttons that you would wear to support a candidate. But these buttons had your name on them. They were so popular at one point you were totally uncool if you didn't wear one. I remember driving my parents crazy looking for one, because I have a rather unusual first name. At least it was unusual at that time. There were loads of "Patty" and "Cathy" buttons, but none for me. I was happy and relieved when I finally found one-now I could go to school without feeling like I didn't fit in. This was crucial for a pre teen girl. Some boys wore them too, but not very many. It was mostly a girl thing. Like hula hoops, big name buttons also gave rise to a popular song. A group called "The Royal Teens" had a hit song titled "Big Name Button" in 1958. The lyrics went something like: "Big name button, ah ah, Why don't you wear a big name button, ah ah..." If you want to listen to the whole song, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhs7mJkn-1Q.

The Royal Teens big hit around that time was a song called "Short Shorts", which came back to life recently in a commercial for hair remover. Bob Gaudio, later a member of the "Four Seasons", was an original member of the Royal Teens.