Wednesday, December 26, 2012

1954 Mary Maria Miles

Mary Maria Miles
The year is perhaps 1954.

What was happening?

Dwight David Eisenhower was elected President the previous November and warned of becoming embroiled in a land war in Vietnam. The French who colonized both Vietnam and Algeria were in for a tough year.

Roger Bannister ran a mile in under 4 minutes.
Ten years later in 1964, Jim Ryan would be the first high schooler to break the 4 minute mile mark at East High in Wichita, Kansas.

The Supreme Court handed down the landmark Brown vs Topeka Board of Education decision. The Tonight Show starring Steve Allen debuted. And the comic strip Peanuts is first shown in print.

Somebody owned a 1949 - 1954 series Chevrolet truck, but the owner is unidentified. Studebaker was the leader in trucks. Unlike Chevy and Ford, the Studebaker 1949 2-R Series featured vent wings, dual windshield wipers, right and left sun visors and arm rests, a cab light that operated automatically with the door, along with dual foot-controlled ventilating air scoops.

Somebody (probably not Mary for she is not dressed for the occasion) caught a big catfish. The Kansas record is 123 pounds, but we don't know how much this one weighed.



The summer of 1954, Mary and her mother Maria made a trip to France on board the S.S. United States.  The two of them would first visit relatives in Paris, France before traveling on to Bone, Algeria to visit other relatives. Mary is rescued while swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. The Algerian revolt broke out in November of that year. Her relative who saved her from drowning is killed during the war.

Mary Miles married Robert G. Van Huss in December of 1954.


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