Based on Betty's experience with the auto mechanic, when the milkman DOES make an appearance, I expect enough "churning" to produce butter.

I agree that they could add some 'atmosphere' with all of these. But, they're doing a great job already.

Most likely, the ice cream vendor would be driving a Good Humor truck instead of Mr. Softee. Where I grew up, the Mr. Softee type trucks plied the beach areas and the Good Humor trucks plied the more upscale neighborhoods. God, I'm sound stuck up, aren't I. So, if they show Good Humor trucks in Ossining, they've got it nailed.

Hope the penny loafers and white/dusty bucks show up with the kids, too. And then, of course, maybe we'll see them in Keds sneakers.

Then, of course, there would be dancing school other than ballet. Ballroom dancing was the norm for kids where I grew up. And, I don't see little Bobby queuing up for ballet, without giving Don and Betty even more to think about.

By the third season of Mad Men, Bobby should be ready for this ~ at the Country Club. Which, by the way, would be another great place for action. Perhaps Don will join one soon.

The egg man, the bread man, the milk man (who sometimes doubled with the egg man) the vegetable truck, the dry cleaner, etc. were all common fixtures, although they started to dwindle during the latter part of the '60s.

And, here's one for ya! In my childhood the toy store even made home deliveries. My last year in high school, I even got to drive the delivery truck when I was working in a toy store in Westport for a summer job. It was an old 1913 White delivery truck that could climb the side of Mt. Everest in first gear. We used to assemble the 'tangle towers' and gym sets at the store, then deliver them.

Most dads who had been harried by business during the week, didn't want to hassel with these things on the weekend. Growing up, I heard my first swear words during these exercises in futility at friends houses. I had quite a vocabulary by the time I was 12. (Wonder at what age Bobby Draper will come out with his first word in this time-honored lexicon)

I loved the scenes where Don was assembling the play house for his daughter's birthday. Hope they show him assembling a 'jungle gym' or 'tangle towner' in a later episode. And to be accurate, Don would open the box, view the instructions, look very puzzled ~ then crumple up the instructions and throw them away. They were always useless ~ as any parent of the day can tell you.

I especially liked the family photo sequence with Don and family. That was SOP in my childhood ~ and it continues today. In Mad Men, it was certainly easier for Betty and the kids to come into the city and meet Don for the photos ~ since he usually only took time away from the office to meet with Midge and Rachel.

A Gentleman from NY used to drive up to our home in Connecticut once a year, while we children sat for our portraits in stiff collars and starched shirts. The way my sister would fidgit, I swear that my mom had starched her underwear, too.

The Gentleman, a Mr. Nagle, will always be remembered by us for his gentle manner and pleasant way with getting us to smile for the camera.

Yesterday, I discovered an old photo of me sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap at the department store.
No pictures of me and Santa, though! Hmmm...is that a comment on my childhood behavior?
Perhaps these can be integrated for 'seasonal' atmosphere.

And, I'm going to vote for the Scotch cooler again. Perhaps at a beach scene with the kids ~ or when they launch Bert Cooper on his final cruise with the "Club Dead" send-off. Or, if that's bad for his kharma, they'll choose something more oriental, like a large fortune-cookie shaped raft. I hope that doesn't happen until the last episode (season 5 or 6)..

Oooopppss! Forgot another detail. At what point in the series will we see those Margaret Keane wide-eyed waif prints on some of the office walls?

These were big in the 60's, and I think she had started doing these in the 50s).

Perhaps Sal could do these style caricatures of all the SC staffers. And then get fired for doing so.

Actually, I wouldn't wish that on Sal.

yeah but in Manhattan???

maybe where peggy's family lives

Or course in Manhattan. They were sold in print shops there.

Perhaps Midge will give one to Don ~ and that will totally freak him out.

I can't see them hanging on the walls at the Palm Court at the Plaza, but, perhsps in Peggy's office or the telephone switchboard.

Milkmen delivered ( milk, eggs, even cheeses ) very early in the AM; even in Manhattan. So there's no reason to show them.

I have to agree with wryter1, even at the chance of sounding "snobby", that it would be the GOOD HUMER truck, if one were to been.

Photographers came to one's home, to take the yearly or twice yearly pictures of the kids, in Manhattan, as well.

I think that Betty takes the kids to Don's office, for the pictures, because the company photographer is the one doing it....gratis. And if you recall, she is not happy with them; snippily saying something to the effect that considering who Don IS, they should have been better.

No reason to show them? That's kind of absolute.

If a scene is taking place at the time and it could use some extra atmosphere, it could add an extra bit of 'humanity' to the scene. Something like this would also be a great 'time anchor'.

Our home deliverers came anywhere between 6:30 AM and 9:00 AM.

And don't forget that Don commutes. He's moving out the door in Ossining during that time frame.

Showing the milkman arriving, used to be a staple of movies made in the '30s and '40s, to depict the fact that the usually drunk person/couple were coming home in the wee hours of the morning. It turned into something so hackneyed, to the point of being "camp" ( "camp", a '60s term, originally only used by homosexuals, which made it into the mainstream vocabulary sometime around '64 or '65 ), so it was dropped.

Okay, so my statement was an "absolute", but we've already seen Betty grocery marketing and going to the bathroom, but do we have to see every bit of minutia of everyone's life? If it doesn't move the plot.....I think not; just MHO. :-)

No we don't. But we also don't have to deal in absolutes. And we're not talking about moving the plot. It's atmosphere, background. You seem to be trying to control any debate on the boards, rather than letting people make suggestions ~ and these are only suggestions.

We all appreciate your thoughts and insight, but ~please keep the door open for others to contribute.

If you had any sense of writing, storytelling or movie making, you'd know that sometimes the minutae of life are what add atmosphere ~ and sometimes, substance.

How about giving us a 'for instance' of movies where the miklman arrives, just so we can get a fix on how hackneyed or camp it was. A list of titles would be nice. And, perhaps, a letter from one of the studio heads giving the order. I like to see proof of these things.

And, to paraphrase Pete Campbell, "You're not the only one with ideas. I have ideas...." And so does everyone else who contricutes to these blogs. :>)

heh how about tv dinners ... I am watching "The Apartment" tonight with Jack Lemmon and Shirley McLaine (my alltime fav movie) and it really reminds me of Mad Men

Good idea. Sounds like what Roger may be living with if he doesn't straighten out and fly right. His agency expense account won't be able to handle that many dinners at the Oyster Bar, The Russian Tea Room or Lutece before he's reduced to this.

Shall we order him a case of Swanson's?...with a note from Bert?

"THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK", several, of THE THIN MAN movies, "THE YELLOW CAB MAN", are a few that I can think off, just off the top of my headx.

But have at it.....I'll refrain from commenting on any all further cockamammie comments. :-)

Good. But just naming titles doesn't add proof. I will not comment on any of your further cockamammie comments. :>)

But, you still haven't shown me proof. Only your opinions. Which you are entitled to ~ as long as you don't pawn them off as fact.

You asked me to name the movies; I supplied a few.

Do you want me to now supply plot outlines? Okay, In "THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK", Betty Hutton comes home, at the crack of dawn, but doesn't realize how late it is until she sees the milkman and yes, she is kinda out of it. But I won't say anymore, so as to not spoil the movie, for anyone who wants to see it.

The other movies I listed, especially the ones from THE THIN MAN series, were the same sordt of scenes.

These scenes were pretty ubiquitous, in movies, until the mid '50s.

Early T.V. shows ( IIRC, MY FRIEND IRMA ) used the milkman showing up too.

My first post was an opinion and yes, just as cocammamie as everyone else's. :-)

Dear Peggy Sue:

End of dialogue between you and me. It's really becoming pointless and only serves to placate your ego and desire to always have the last word.

I will no longer comment on any of your posts on this web site. And I ask that you no longer comment on any of mine.

The Mad Men boards deserve better than this.

I now return our viewers to Mad Men.

Thanks, wryter1 for standing up for all of us!!

Can we please bring the milkman back, pleeeeaaaasssse!! And milk in glass bottles instead of plastic?
Did your milkman bring extra "free samples" like chocolate milk? One day, my sisters and I brought the milk crate in and there was a sample labelled "Buttermilk". Wow, we thought, sounds good! It must taste like butter! One sip each, our eyes widened and the buttermilk ended up in the sink. Lesson learned.

You made one egregious error in the first season (which I just saw on dvd): When Roger was in the hospital he was hooked up to cardiac telemetry via 3-pin, color-coded electrodes.
You're about 20 years early for that.
Otherwise, the versimilitude is fantastic--for all us baby boomers.
I was a child, but that's how I remember things.
Anyway, next time, talk to some of the old-time docs before you show a medical scene.
It's a fantastic series in every other way--worthy of The Sopranos.

Well I want to see Sally be either a Brownie or Bluebird, and I'd like to see Bobby be a Cub Scout soon. Could you see Betty being a "den mother" leading the cub scout meeting at her house? Somehow, I can't.

Also, what about the paper? Even though I suspect Don gets his at the office, wouldn't an ad man also be getting one at home, just to look at the competition? We looked at our competition (the morning paper) all the time to see who their advertisers were and what they were putting out.

@wryter1: you have a great sense of humor.......please keep posting in the future! I'd miss your observations and comments!

I could see Betty as a Den Mother or Brownie leader. My mother was both. And it would be great to see some accurate period details if any of those scenes were included.

As a kid, you take these things for granted and don't even think about the time involved. Other moms in the area did the same thing when it came to Cub Scouts and Brownies.

Like Betty Draper, my mother stayed at home, but she probably worked as hard or harder than my dad. When I think back at what she did: taking care of us each day, packing school lunch, washing, ironing, grocery shopping ,taking us to little league, making meals 3 times a day, etc.

My mom also had her own greenhouse and was president of the garden club. She did have occasional housemaid service come in to clean. But, she did one incredible amount of work.

Betty Draper has so many details to contend with in her life ~ no wonder she had to see a shrink.

Glad to see Betty is taking more control and not letting the details wear her down as much.

As to other details: When will little Bobby get hold of his first copy of Playboy? Probably around season 4, I would suspect. That would be a nice atmospheric enhancement.

wryter1, the Playboy magazine for Bobby shouldn't take long. Wasn't it Don who told the MM group that the "Lemon" Volkswagon add was in the Playboy mag. he was reading?

I believe that it was in Playboy, which, of course, men like Don and the rest of the male population only bought for the magazine articles and ads.

I particularly liked the monthly fold-out ad. I suspect that will be Bobby's favorite, too.

wryter1: I'll tell you one thing, after taking care of my stepdad before his death, I have ALOT of compassion and respect for mothers and wives!.

It's hard work! I don't know how they do it without cracking up! Shopping, preparing, and cooking the meals for my stepdad just about sent me over the edge. Talk about stress! Trying to dream up a menu for the week.......awful! Cleaning I can handle . Cooking? Forget it! Bring on that microwave or let's go to the drive-in!

Would Betty be too high-class to have a Tupperware party?

I was a Brownie, but does anyone know what happened to Camp Fire Girls? Or their Bluebirds? Are they defunct now? Personally, I thought my Brownie dress, orange tie, brown beanie & belt, with brownie logo ankle socks were cooler than Bluebirds (blue skirt, white blouse, red scarf). I still have my Brownie pin!

Hi jamm54!

I think the Camp Fire girls became defunct after the great marshmallow famine of 1969. Or, at least that's what I read on Wikipedia. My mother may have also mentioned something about it to me, but I wasn't really listening at the time.

At to the Tupperware party. It's my guess that Betty's divorced neighbor (whatzername) would be more likely to go that route. Betty might attend, but I think her sights are set higher.

The marshmallow famine? haha - are you serious? oh god, you're funny!

Actually, when someone mentioned "The Apartment" it struck me as kind of funny that Roger doesn't belong to some men's club. Or Don for that matter. It seemed to be the excuse for the wives' "where were you" inquiry in a lot of movies.

Remember Fred MacMurray couldn't take Shirley MacLaine there for New Year's Eve, and he didn't have use of the apartment, but he did have a club he was staying at because his wife had booted him out.

Even tho the timeline is 1959-60 for "The Apartment", were men's clubs on the wane by 1962? Did they have them? Or is that just a Hollywood invention?

jamm54
Men's clubs have been in existence for a long time and are still going strong. Once exclusive to men only, professional women have been allowed membership as a civil right - except the Freemason orders which are secret and male only and provide separate clubs for women (Eastern Star), teens (Rainbow, Demolay and Jeune Fille) and elders (Shriners)..

But I never thought of the Shriners or Eagles or those type of clubs as having "rooms" for use by members as "stay overs". Only the YMCA comes to mind for that (hardly where Don & Roger would stay over).

What other kind of ice cream trucks where there besides Good Humor? Did they sell just ice cream or could you buy Popsicles too?

Good Humor was the most predominant franchise in the Ice Cream category in the Westchester/Fairfield County area at the time the show depicts. Good humor sold a lot of different ice creams, from bars to sandwiches to multi-colored popsicle (frozen flavored water) treats.

I don't recall any Popsicle brand trucks, but you could buy Popsicles at the local grocery stores.
Remember 'Popsicle Pete'? We used the popsicle sticks to make lots of different things.

Three cheers for the homemakers/domestic engineers! My husband mentioned to me once he'd read that my "worth" in dollars would be $80,000. I replied that I'd take it. I guess we do cover a lot of different areas.

BTW, where is that guy that went around the neighborhoods with the shetland pony and set the kids on it and took their pictures? Doesn't every kid from the '50's have one of those pics? Seems like Sally and Bobby would have been sat on that poor pony and had their pics taken by now, right?

Um, if Betty's driving a nice Ford Country Squire station wagon, I wonder what Don would be driving?
I think Don would be driving a '62 Lincoln Continental convertible. So would his boss, Roger!
I'll bet all the youthful "New Frontier" executives of the time wanted a "Continental". JFK had several. A Continental convertible cost around $7,000 in 1962. I think Don could afford that!
Maybe Sterling Cooper would buy it for him!

jamm54, nice to meet a fellow Girl Scout! I was a Brownie and I think then it was Cadet? I remember a "fly up" ceremony where we went from Brownie to the next step. We had green uniforms and earned badges. I still have my badge sash, what a weenie I am!
I seem to remember that Girls Scouts thought we were better than Campfire Girls.
As far as the Tupperware parties, I think Betty could climb the corporate ladder. Was Mary Kay cosmetics around then? She would be a natural to win the coveted Pink Cadillac!

Season One had Don driving a '60 or '61 Buick. I don't think there's been an external shot this season

OMG, I was wondering the same thing when we were discussing the family photographers. Every neighborhood had the guy with the horse/pony. Cool pictures too - you'd get to dress up in the cowboy/cowgirl outfit. I wonder how many of those pictures had the kids crying though.... I know I was. Even though I love having that picture now, I must have been afraid at the time.

caprice, et al

I think the Country Squire is the 'family' car: the status car for the not newly minted nouveau rich; but a nice quality symbol of the upper middle class.

Don's car might not be the latest fashion, because on occasion (as in episode 3) he does drive it into New York City. On weekdays, he drives it to the R.R. Station. So, it could be any one of a number of decent Big 3 brands - but nothing that will stop traffic. It's good to remember that the "Ding Fairy" lives at unattended parking lots. The DF may also be Betty's co-pilot, as we saw in a former episode.

For most of my commuting years, a lot of people like Don drove the 'clunkers' to the R.R. station ~ because it got you there. Same thing when you had to drive into the city on weekends because the railroad schedule didn't match up with your estimated arrival and departure times. I used to drive a '40 Ford Woody as my 'station car'.

And, it seems to me that Don and his counterparts were not all for show and glitter as many people are today.

Maybe the next time the Drapers get a new car, Betty will take some of the neighbors for a ride to show it off. That was always part of the goings on in my neighborhood when growing up.

We didn't have the guy with the pony in my neighborhood, although that would have been a nice thing. Usually, this person, would have shown up at the Dogwood Festival or the local Grange Fair.

A neat part of childhood, though.

@wryter 1 thanks for letting some other people on several of the threads of these blogs that they are no the know al, tell all. I also agree with Frighgigh that the Daper's nice car is the Buick from season one. Now last night in episode 3, I think from what I could see, it looked like a Buick. Which was a status synbol to drive as well. As far as showing the milkman and others, it's about the charactors. The backgrounds and the scenery is secondary. I can imagine it is all in development. Just last night in #3 we saw how S&C shot commercials. There was nothing like that in Season 1. Now I believe we'll advance with Harry developing one of the newest ways to advertise with the Television and bring it into every home in America, not just the paper or your favorite magazine. Oh boy Bobby and the Playboy mag, isn't he just a bit too young. I remember my brothers being interested in the nudes when they were around 10 to 12. Help do I have too much Granny thinking going on. On a quiet note we all have our memories of the times when we grew up. I was a kid of the 60's myself. Let's try to play with respect and simply share with each other rather than use the control button.
See ya MM Fans

@60schild: I think it's cool that you have your sash and badges! "Fly up" ceremony, I remember that phrase - haven't heard it in years. LOL. I am a drop-out after Brownies :( Don't know why that happened. I'd love to still have my beanie and tie, I did after HS/college - must have lost it in all the moves. Shoot!

Thanks jamm54! I dropped after 6th grade. And I sold Girl Scout cookies door to door @ 50 cents/box. Oh am I old!