What 20th Century Life Was Like - LIFE https://www.life.com/lifestyle/ Tue, 02 Jul 2024 18:43:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://static.life.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/02211512/cropped-favicon-512-32x32.png What 20th Century Life Was Like - LIFE https://www.life.com/lifestyle/ 32 32 When It Was “Swimsuit or Jail” at Myrtle Beach https://www.life.com/destinations/when-it-was-swimsuit-or-jail-at-myrtle-beach/ Tue, 02 Jul 2024 18:43:23 +0000 https://www.life.com/?p=5380073 Myrtle Beach is one of the great tourist beach towns that dot the East Coast, and it has only become more popular since it was written about in LIFE magazine in 1952. Back then the magazine estimated the local population to be about 6,000 people, whereas today it can seem as if Myrtle Beach has ... Read more

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Myrtle Beach is one of the great tourist beach towns that dot the East Coast, and it has only become more popular since it was written about in LIFE magazine in 1952. Back then the magazine estimated the local population to be about 6,000 people, whereas today it can seem as if Myrtle Beach has nearly that many holes of golf available for play.

But in 1952, as a resort destination on the rise, Myrtle Beach was looking for attention-getting ways to open up its beach season. Before that year the town had kicked off festivities with a beauty pageant. Then in ’52 Myrtle Beach decided to stage “Bathing Suit Day,” and the rules were simple: Wear a bathing suit, or go to jail.

Although the word “jail” is being used loosely—no one was actually doing hard time, as the photos from LIFE staff photographer Robert W. Kelley attest. And while the town had officially moved on from a beauty pageant, the event still managed to include a batallion of young women in swimsuits.

Here’s how LIFE described the workings of Bathing Suit Day in its June 23, 1952 issue:

“Everyone in town and every visitor would have to wear beach attire from 6 a.m. until noon under pain of fine or imprisonment in an impromptu stockade. Three businessmen served as judges, 32 town ladies acted as attire inspectors, and convict suits were borrowed from the superintendent of county prisoners—who himself was thrown in jail and made to wear one when he came to Myrtle Beach in ordinary garb to see whether the suits have arrived.”

The day went well, and the weekend also included a parade and contests on the beach. LIFE reported that $650 in fines were levied to those not in swimwear, with the proceeds going toward the construction of a new hospital, and that the 1952 vacation season at Myrtle Beach “had opened with the biggest attendance ever.”

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day’ in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Patrolman Charles Edmonson on duty during ‘bathing suit day’ at Myrtle Beach, 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A violator of the “must wear a swimsuit” rules and a law-abiding dog left the impromptu jail set up during Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

One of the enforcement offices for Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Men buried women in sand for a contest held on Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing suit day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing suit day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bathing Suit Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 1952.

Robert W. KelleyLife Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Hey, Wanna Hot Dog? https://www.life.com/lifestyle/hey-wanna-hot-dog/ Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:30:38 +0000 https://www.life.com/?p=5379704 In 1972 LIFE magazine ran a story which announced that “hot dogs are on the grill both literally and figuratively these days.” The problem with hot dogs, the story said, was that they were full of fat and water and not very much protein. The article included a quote from consumer watchdog and future presidential ... Read more

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In 1972 LIFE magazine ran a story which announced that “hot dogs are on the grill both literally and figuratively these days.” The problem with hot dogs, the story said, was that they were full of fat and water and not very much protein. The article included a quote from consumer watchdog and future presidential spoiler Ralph Nader calling hot dogs “among America’s deadliest missiles.”

And yet all these decades later, even as Americans have only grown more health- and diet-conscious, hot dogs remain a favorite. In 2023 the cookout staples were an $8 billion market, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

The numbers reflect a basic truth, which that health is not always at the forefront of consumer’s minds, and that is especially true when they are heating up the grill or enjoying an afternoon at the ballpark. Those are the situations for which the concept of the cheat day was invented. For every person who finds a hot dog revolting—that same LIFE story quoted New York consumer affairs commissioner Bess Myerson as saying “After I found what was in hot dogs, I stopped eating them”—there are others who gravitate to its simple pleasures.

During the original run of LIFE magazine, hot dogs frequently popped up in settings both surprising and expected. Frank Sinatra was seen munching on one in his tuxedo after performing in Miami. Hall of Fame baseball executive Bill Veeck was photographed enjoying one in the stands. Perhaps the most humorous photo in this collection features actress Buff Cobb, who would go on to marry TV journalist Mike Wallace. Cobb and LIFE staff photographer Martha Holmes collaborated on a 1946 photo shoot that was a parody of a Hollywood puff piece. In one photo Cobb was on the beach, being attended by a butler as she roasted a hot dog over an open fire. The caption mentioned how Cobb loved to rough it and cook from “old family recipes.”

In that instance the hot dog was the punch line to a culinary joke. But if you substitute “old family recipe” with “old family favorite,” that caption would be a perfect description of the hot dog’s place in the American diet.

Tony Bennett was out with Frank Sinatra after a performance in Miami, 1965.

John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

TV comedienne Dagmar took her siblings to a hot dog stand while visiting family in Huntington, West Virginia, 1951.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bill Veeck, owner of the St. Louis Browns baseball team, 1952.

Ed Clark/Life Picture Collection/Shuttertstock

In a shoot that was a parody of the life of a Hollywood movie star, actress Buff Cobb was said to be ‘roughing it” and cooking from an old family recipe as she prepared a hot dog on the beach while a butler attended to her, 1946.

Martha Holmes/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cooking hot dogs, Mattar uses homemade stove which slides forward into the back seat from trunk.

This 1952 story about “a car that has everything” included this image of owner Louis Mattar, a California garage owner and tinkerer, making a hot dog in his tricked-out Cadillac, 1952.

Ed Clark The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People crowded a hot dog stand on the boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., 1941.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A barefoot hot dog vendor waited for customers near a police headquarters in Guatemala, 1953.

Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A dog nibbled on a hot dog, 1972.

Ralph Morse/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The All-American Hot Dog 1972

Portrait of a hot-dog eater, 1972.

Ralph Morse The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The All-American Hot Dog 1972

Portrait of a hot-dog eater, 1972.

Ralph Morse The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The All-American Hot Dog 1972

Portrait of a hot-dog eater, 1972.

Ralph Morse The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The All-American Hot Dog 1972

Portrait of a hot-dog eater, 1972.

Ralph Morse The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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The Dawn of Rock: America Finds Its Thrill https://www.life.com/arts-entertainment/the-dawn-of-rock-america-finds-its-thrill/ Tue, 11 Jun 2024 14:34:12 +0000 https://www.life.com/?p=5379831 In its April 18, 1955 issue LIFE magazine reported on—with a fair amount of concern—the onset of the defining evolution of popular music in the 20th century. The story was titled “Rock ‘N Roll: A Frenzied Teenage Music Craze Kicks Up a Big Fuss.“ Here’s how LIFE described what the “big fuss” was all about: ... Read more

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In its April 18, 1955 issue LIFE magazine reported on—with a fair amount of concern—the onset of the defining evolution of popular music in the 20th century. The story was titled “Rock ‘N Roll: A Frenzied Teenage Music Craze Kicks Up a Big Fuss.

Here’s how LIFE described what the “big fuss” was all about:

The nation’s teenagers are dancing their way into an enlarging controversy over rock ‘n roll. In New Haven, Connecticut the police chief has put a damper on rock ‘n roll parties and other towns are following suit. Radio networks are worried over questionable lyrics in rock ‘n roll. And some American parents, without quite knowing what it is their kids are up to, are worried that it’s something they shouldn’t be.

But like it or not, rock and roll was here to stay. Standing in the heart of the moment, LIFE saw dancing as a big part of the new music’s appeal. The magazine, grasping to connect this revolutionary moment to the recent past, described rock and roll dancing as “a combination of “the Lindy and the Charleston, and almost anything else.” The story, shot by staff photographers Walter Sanders and Loomis Dean, had more pictures of kids dancing than of musicians performing. One of the shoots took place at the dance studio of Arthur Murray, where kids demonstrated their new moves.

LIFE acknowledged the roots of this new music, saying “The heavy-beat and honking-melody tunes of today’s rock ‘n roll have a clearly defined ancestry in U.S. jazz going back to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith of 30 years ago.” The broader market was now turning to a style of music that first became popular in the Black community because record companies had been focussing on “mambos and ballads,” and as a result “the country’s teenagers found themselves without snappy dance tunes to their taste.”

Some adults fretted over lyrics that seemed to be laden with innuendo and double meanings. But even as the LIFE article adopted the tone of a worried parent, the pictures in the magazine told another story. The photos showed exuberance and joy. And by today’s standards, everything looks extremely proper. The main concert photos feature the great Fats Domino, who is wearing a suit and playing a grand piano. The young fans are dressed as if they were going to a formal occasion, without any jeans or T-shirts in sight.

It’s mind-boggling to think that a mere 14 years from when this story ran, rock fans would be mucking around in the mud at Woodstock. But there was no stopping it at this point. The revolution was on, and it was coming fast.

Teenagers demonstrated their rock music dance moves for Arthur Murray and his wife, in background, at Murray’s dance studio.

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Arthur Murray and wife (in the background to the left) enjoyed a demonstration by teen-agers of rock`n roll dancing, 1955..

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Young dancers from a 1955 story on rock music.

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A couple dancing from a story on rock music, 1955.

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A young couple danced to rock music, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life PIcture Collection/Shutterstock

Pioneering rock DJ Allen Freed did a show from a studio in Boston, 1955.

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A sign for an early rock show presented by pioneering DJ Allan Freed, 1955.

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenagers danced to rock music being spun by DJ Al Jarvis in the parking lot of a Los Angeles supermarket, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Audience members enjoying Alan Freed’s Easter show at Brooklyn Paramount Theater, 1955.

Walter Sanders/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Saxophonist Herbert Hardesty (center), a member of Fats Domino’s band, let loose at 54 Ballroom in Los Angeles, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fats Domino’s band performed in Los Angeles, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fats Domino’s band rocked out in Los Angeles, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fats Domino in concert in Los Angeles, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fats Domino and his band performed in Los Angeles, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Young dancers from a 1955 story on rock music.

Walter Sanders/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A show from the early days of rock and roll, 1955.

Loomis Dean/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Heartland Cool: Teenage Boys in Iowa, 1945 https://www.life.com/history/heartland-cool-teenage-boys-in-iowa-1945/ Fri, 24 May 2024 12:47:38 +0000 https://www.life.com/?p=5379503 In its June 11, 1945 issue LIFE photographer Nina Leen went to Des Moines, Iowa to document the world of teenage boys during World War II. What she found was a reassuringly normal slice of heartland life. The headline announced: “Teen-Age Boys: Faced With War, They are Just the Same as They Have Always Been.” ... Read more

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In its June 11, 1945 issue LIFE photographer Nina Leen went to Des Moines, Iowa to document the world of teenage boys during World War II. What she found was a reassuringly normal slice of heartland life. The headline announced: “Teen-Age Boys: Faced With War, They are Just the Same as They Have Always Been.”

What did that mean, exactly? It meant that these teenage boys, much like their counterparts in more peaceful periods of 20th century America, were chiefly concerned with playing, eating, sleeping, and dating. This was true despite the reality that “The most important fact in the lives of American teenage boys is that they may have to go and fight Japan.”

LIFE elaborated further on what was on the minds of these youngsters:

The old skills are still admired—the ability to swim well, to memorize the names of football heroes, to have a quick wisecrack for the day’s every small event, to be popular. The ancient foibles are still pursued—homework is done in ten minutes. Mother is looked upon as a lovable servant, home is only for eating and sleeping. The greatest talent is an asset for endlessly happy skylarking.

The main way that the war impacted these young men was gas rationing, because it put a crimp in their fascination with cars, although they found ways to get around that. LIFE wrote, “In an almost gasless society, U.S. boys still have their old jalopies. They have found that a half-hour’s fast talking will usually net them an A coupon from dad and that their motors can often be made to run on a kerosene mixture.” The story put forth that the boys clung to their old cars because it helped with another chief interest of teenage boys is Des Moines, which was dating teenage girls in Des Moines.

Three months after this story ran, Japan surrendered, bringing an end to World War II. This meant that these boys were not only staying home but would have plenty of gas in those cars before too long.

Tom Moore, 17, examined the results of his first shave, Des Moines, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy reached for a comb as he checked his reflection, Des Moines, Iowa, 1945

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenage boys attempted to infiltrate what LIFE called “a hen party,” Des Moines, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenager Richard Burns of Des Moines liked to have a cola and half of a box of Cheez-Its before going to bed, Des Moines, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenage boys checked out the comic books and magazines at their local drug store, Des Moines, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenage boys and girls enjoyed milkshakes at the drug store, Des Moines, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenage boys on a Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Entering through windows was an initiation ritual for a club which called itself “the Molesters,” Des Moines, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenager worked on a smashed fender in a garage in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenaged boys worked on their 1927 Ford Model T in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Teenage boys in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy received a haircut, Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Boys in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A teenage boy in Des Moines, Iowa, 1945.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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LIFE Said This Invention Would “Annihilate Time and Space” https://www.life.com/lifestyle/life-said-this-invention-would-annihilate-time-and-space/ Mon, 20 May 2024 14:23:57 +0000 https://www.life.com/?p=5379373 In September 1944, World War II still had a year to go, but that didn’t stop LIFE from looking ahead to peacetime in its Sept. 4, 1944 issue. The magazine ran big story on the new technology that it predicted would reshape life after the war. The story was headlined, “Television: The Next Great Development ... Read more

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In September 1944, World War II still had a year to go, but that didn’t stop LIFE from looking ahead to peacetime in its Sept. 4, 1944 issue. The magazine ran big story on the new technology that it predicted would reshape life after the war. The story was headlined, “Television: The Next Great Development in Radio is Ready Now For Its Enormous Postwar Market.”

However odd it seems today to speak of television as a “great development in radio,” LIFE was dead-on in assessing how big a deal the combination of sound and moving pictures would be:

Within the first postwar decade television will be firmly planted as a billion-dollar U.S. industry. Its impact on U.S. civilization is beyond present prediction. Television is more than the addition to sight to the sound of radio. It has a power to annihilate time and space that will unite everyone everywhere in the immediate experience of events in contemporary life and history.

After getting readers excited about the new technology, the story then went on to detail its mechanics. The photos by Andreas Feininger are beautiful and fascinating in the way they contrast the machinery of the tubes and plates with the resulting image they produce of a female model whose presence is a kind of siren song. All that glass and metal, dear reader, will magically bring this woman into your living room.

At the time this LIFE story ran, very few Americans owned television sets. In 1946, the first year the government has data for television ownership, the total number of sets in American households was 8,000. By 1951, though, the number had ballooned to more than 10 million.

The LIFE story correctly predicted that TV would give Americans the new power to witness history live, and that was transformative. Part of the immense power of the signature moments of the original run of LIFE magazine—whether it be triumphs such as the moon landing or tragedies like the assassination of John F. Kennedy—was that Americans experienced those moments together, huddled around their televisions, seeing the same things at the same time.

The lens, at right, focused its image onto a plate in an RCA television camera tube, 1944.

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

This “dissector camera tube” was part of a 1944 story in LIFE on the brand new technology of television. Here’s how the magazine described the tube’s function: “Image is focussed on light-sensitive plate (left). Electrical field transforms visible image into extended electronic image…Electromagnetic field pulls this extended image back and forth in front of scanning finger mounted vertically at front of tube.”

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Schmidt projector threw this image of a model onto a screen. A 1944 article in LIFE on the new TV technology stated that “projection screens will be part of postwar home receivers.”

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A 1944 LIFE story on how television worked showed an image of girl being focused through a lens, 1944.

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A color television camera, 1944.

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

An image from LIFE’s look at the technical side of the emerging technology known as television, 1944.

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In a 1944 story about emerging television technology, this demonstration photo illustrated how lines came together to make a picture.

Andreas Feininger/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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A Boat with “Live Ballast” Required https://www.life.com/lifestyle/a-boat-with-human-ballast-required/ Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:25:48 +0000 https://www.life.com/?p=5379137 If you were looking for a relaxing afternoon on the water, the log canoe would not be the boat for you. In its Aug. 9, 1954 issue, LIFE magazine wrote about a temperamental and demanding form of watercraft that was popular in the Chesapeake Bay area. The magazine described the log canoe as ‘fast, easily ... Read more

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If you were looking for a relaxing afternoon on the water, the log canoe would not be the boat for you.

In its Aug. 9, 1954 issue, LIFE magazine wrote about a temperamental and demanding form of watercraft that was popular in the Chesapeake Bay area. The magazine described the log canoe as ‘fast, easily flipped, and tricky to handle.”

Tricky sounds like an understatement. In a log canoe the crew members had to place their body weight on boards that were propped up in the boat and extended out over the water. They did this in order to keep the boat from tipping. What’s worse was that if the winds shifted, the crew would have to dismount and move the boards to the other side of the boat and then mount them again, all without capsizing the boat in the process.

Here’s how LIFE put it:

It requires a crew of nimble-footed gymnasts whose chores are as precarious as a tightrope walker’s. Because the slightest breeze will capsize it unless the towering masts and a 1,000-square-foot expanse of sail are counterbalanced by human ballast, the crew extends boards out from the windward side and scrambles out on them to maintain the delicate equilibrium. When the wind shifts or the easily tipped craft comes about on a different tack, the boards must be shifted from one side to the other in maneuvers that require precise teamwork and add an exhilarating touch to the ancient art of sailing.

The log canoe may have required expertise to sail, but it was also picturesque, as evidenced by the photos taken by LIFE staff photographer George Skadding. And as impractical as these boats may seem, they continue to be part of the local flavor in the Chesapeake area today, with log canoe regattas running through the summer.

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picutre Collection/Shutterstock

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picutre Collection/Shutterstock

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

A log canoe sailboat sailing in the sea, during the race at the Chesapeake Bay, July 1954.

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Log Canoe sailboats racing on the Chesapeake Bay, 1954; crew members needed to hang over the side to keep the boats balanced.

George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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