The Good Old Days: The 1970's Experience According To My Mother

Photo of author's mother(right) and her sister(left). Source: Boice, Pamela.

The 1970's are a very popular era for stereotyping in movies and media(Lerner). The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about that time is hippies in tie die shirts smoking marijuana driving around in a Volkswagen. As with most decades, it is branded with that one idea and few people care to look at the rest of life during that time. For this reason, I interviewed my mother, Pamela Boice, who was eighteen years old and just graduating highschool in 1970. This is a perfect age to get the full perspective of what the 70's were all about, and after the interview I learned an awful lot. While the 70's did consist of the stereotypes weve all heard, I plan to show one young ladies perspective, and how the time period affected our culture of today.

Background
At the start of 1970 Pamela Minietti was a senior at Glastonbury High School in Glastonbury Connecticut. At this time she started dating Jim Boice, whom she has since married and had four children. In high school Pamela was a cheerleader and Jim was the schools best track athlete. Pamela graduated from GHS and moved on to Eastearn Conn State University in Willimantic Connecticut. She commuted fourty five minutes every day for four years to school. In 1974 she graduated from college and in 1975 got married to Jim Boice. She was given a piece of land by her father and started building a house, the house that I grew up in and the house they still live in today.

High School Fun
Pamela Minietti was a senior at Glastonbury High School in 1970. A typical day would be driving to school, then all the seniors going to C.I. which stood for Current Issues. It was a class that all seniors had to take together in the auditorium. That was a tough course for her. She really was not into news and events. One of the big projects for C.I. was the final project, where everyone is given a real life scenario. They told you how old you were, how much money you made, if you had any kids and your house mortgage or rent. You had to figure out all your expenses as if it was your real life. Pamela did not take it very seriously, but looking back on it today she said “it was a real wake up call” since today she is doing the very same thing(Boice, Personal).

The rest of the day would be spent going to classes, and socializing at lunch. Every Friday and or game day, the cheerleaders would wear their uniform to school. She said it was hard work, but one of the best parts of High School. They worked out everyday practicing their cheers, and then at the game they would perform the cheers, and excite the crowd. Pamela could not wait to tell me that one of the best parts of being a cheerleader was the pep rallies, and bon fires. The pep rallies would be before the start of every season for each sport. The school would meet outside at the end of the day. The cheerleaders would lead the school in chants, and get the school spirit excited for the games to come. One of Pamela’s favorite moments was when they had a bonfire. It took place outside on school grounds in a big open field in the evening. The students were outside around the pile of wood and it was lit by a teacher and of course the fire engine was there as a precaution. The students would be singing and the cheerleaders cheering, it really got the school spirit going. However, there was also a lot of drinking going on at these events and Pamela commented, ‘Too bad they did away with those events. A few people ruined it for everyone”(Boice, Personal).

Photo of author's mother circa 1970.
Source: Boice, Pamela

Hippies
Hippie (often spelled hippy) is a term originally used to describe some of the rebellious youth of the 1970s. Hippies were often associated with drug use and free spirits. This widespread view of hippies often made them outsiders in the community(Lerner). Pamela Minietti recals the popularity of experimental drug use in high school and college and said "Everyone was doing it, it was no secret"(Boice, Personal). However, she does not literally mean "everyone" because she claims to have never tried a single illegal drug in her life. I know it is my mother, but I believe her one hundred percent. This is a point that most people often over look; that if you grew up in the 70's, you automatically must have used or atleast tried a handful of drugs. This just shows that no matter how much the media tries to stereotype the decade, people still lived normal lives if they chose to, same as for any era.

The Dating Game
Pamela Minietti and Jim Boice started dating in high school. The High School hosted several talent shows, and Pamela and Jim went out for their first date to one of the talent shows. A short time after that, Pamela got a rose left in her locker. Pamela and Jim would watch T.V at Pamela’s house and go to the movies. When they would get together with their friends they would play Trivial Pursuit. Mostly they would play the boys against the girls. Some popular movies they went to see were Airport, Patton, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Towering Inferno, Grease and Jaws. Several of Pamela's friends, and her boyfriend Jims friends had cottages by the beach. As often as they could they would take day or weekend trips there to hang out and party. While in college Pamela continued to date Jim Boice. She visited Jim a few times at college. While visiting they would attend hockey games. Pamela did not like hockey very much, but would go just to spend time with Jim. She recalled that they were “Loud, rowdy, and cold”(Boice, Personal).

Photo of author's mother and husband on
wedding day, circa 1975. Source: Boice, Pamela

Media
Pamela Boice liked listening to the songs Y.M.C.A. from the Village People, Indian Reservation by The Raiders, Half Breed by Cher, and Grand Funk Railroad, and Billy Joel. One of her favorite songs of all was Piano Man by Billy Joel. Pamela’s favorite movie was Pretty Woman. When asked why, she stated “Richard Geer was very good looking”(Boice, Personal). It seems that she was not alone in her opinion. Music from this era was very much part of the culture, and not just the hippie culture, as is the traditonal thinking. Pamela Boice and her friends were not into the drug scene and still enjoyed music of this time just as much. Even today, I am a collegiate athlete and enjoy listening to Billy Joel; not something you would predict if you only looked at stereotyping.


Works Cited
Boice, Pamela. Personal interview. 20 March. 2011.

Lerner, Max. "AMERICAN AGONISTES." Foreign Affairs 52.2 (1974): 287-300. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 May 2011.

"From Hippie to New Ager." Crystalinks Home Page. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.crystalinks.com/hippies.html.>

"YouTube - Billy Joel: Piano Man." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 5 May 2011. .