1957

Do you remember the year 1957? Neither do I. I've never really thought about 1957 as a year of it's own. If I think of it at all, I think of it as a part of the Fifties, or perhaps as a chunk of the second term of the Eisenhower Administration...but, in most cases, 1957 doesn't really stand out in my head for any reason whatsoever....it's simply part of a blur of history.

Although it was the year of Sputnik, and the '57 Chevy; it is not a seminal year, like, say 1776, 1492, 1789, 1929, or 1968. 1957 is simply a transitional year- a step on a journey from one place to another- and yet, it's almost because of this sense of ordinariness that I found the following Pathe Newsreel so interesting to watch. Because it reminds me that, no year, indeed, no moment in time is truly "ordinary"- each moment is unique and perhaps worthy of note from time to time.

I stumbled across it completely at random- and found myself caught up in the details of a year that was lived, just as all others have been: A Dog in space, A prince in school, rebellions, riots, ticker tape parades, races, games, bomb tests...little of which the world has noted, nor long remembered, and yet each event is an integral piece of the edifice of history.