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February & the ’50s

February is typically known as the month of love. But February is not only about valentines and sweethearts, but so much more. Here is a flashback to the 1950’s, a time when lifestyles were changing and agriculture was changing too.


• A 1 lb. box of chocolates cost $1.86.
• A movie ticket was 46 cents.
• Gas cost 18-25 cents per gallon.
• The average cost of a new car was $1,500 in 1950.
• TV dinners were introduced by Swanson in 1953.
• The median price of a home was $7,354; the average size of a home was under 1,000 square feet.
• The average size farm in 1950 was 200 acres.
• In 1951 RCA broadcast the first color TV episode.
• The first McDonald’s opens in Des Plaines in 1955; the price of a burger is 15 cents.
• The average corn yield was 40 bushels per acre in 1950 and the price of corn was $1.50.

The Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb