This year, diamonds are the HBA of Greater Springfield’s best friend, in celebration of sixty years. If you have any diamonds please drop them off at the HBA office to commemorate our 60th Anniversary. Obviously that is stated in jest, but the 60th Anniversary of YOUR HBA is truly something to celebrate.
Sixty years ago, a few home builders sat down to create a membership organization that would represent high standards of professionalism in the home construction industry. Some of these individuals, that you might recognize, were Ralph Manley, John Q. Hammons, J.D. Gillenwaters, Shorty Clingan and Orville Bradley.
The goals and standards set by these founding fathers remain virtually unchanged for the HBA of Greater Springfield. Serving homeowners and the building community are still very much in play today as it was in 1954. Please help celebrate the importance of Quality Insured Home Professionals and a strong HBA of Greater Springfield throughout the year of 2014.
Display your pride in being an HBA member by posting one of the 60th Anniversary banners on facebook, your website and anywhere else you can imagine. Don’t forget to post the Home Show banners as well as the 60th Anniversary banners (click here for both).
What Else Happened In 1954?
Jan 1st – Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts
Jan 14th – The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.
Jan 17th – Jacques Cousteau’s 1st network telecast airs on “Omnibus” (CBS)
Jan 26th – Ground breaking begins on Disneyland
Feb 10th – Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam
Feb 26th – 1st typesetting machine (photo engraving) used, Quincy Mass
Mar 1st – US explodes 15 megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll
Mar 15th – “CBS Morning Show” premieres with Walter Cronkite & Jack Paar
Mar 19th – 1st rocket-driven sled on rails was tested in Alamogordo, NM
Mar 20th – 16th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley 92-76
Mar 20th – 1st newspaper vending machine used (Columbia Pennsylvania)
Mar 25th – 26th Academy Awards – “From Here to Eternity,” Holden & A Hepburn win
Mar 25th – RCA manufactures 1st color TV set (12½” screen at $1,000)
Mar 26th – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
Mar 31st – USSR offers to join NATO
Apr 6th – TV Dinner was 1st put on sale by Swanson & Sons
Apr 26th – Nationwide test of Salk anti-polio vaccine begins
May 19th – Postmaster General Summerfield approves CIA mail-opening project
May 31st – Indianapolis 500: Bill Vukovich wins in 3:49:17.261 (210.567 km/h)
Jun 14th – Pres Eisenhower signs order adding words “under God” to the Pledge
Jun 19th – Tasmanian Devil, debuts in “Devil May Hare” by Warner Bros
Jun 27th – 1st atomic power station opens (Obninsk, near Moscow, Russia)
Jun 27th – CIA-sponsored rebels overthrow elected government of Guatemala
Jun 28th – 111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record)
Jun 30th – Largest check: Internal US Treasury check at $4,176,969,623.57
Jul 5th – B-52A bomber made its maiden flight
Jul 12th – Pres Eisenhower put forward a plan for an interstate highway system
Jul 14th – 118°F (48°C), Warsaw & Union, Missouri (state record)
Jul 18th – Cards losing 8-1 to Phillies begin stalling in 5th, they forfeit game
Jul 27th – Armistice divides Vietnam into two countries
Jul 30th – Elvis Presley joins Memphis Federation of Musicians, Local 71
Aug 16th – “Sports Illustrated” magazine begins publishing
Aug 24th – Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party
Aug 24th – International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China
Aug 31st – Hurricane Carol (1st major named storm) hits New England, 70 die
Sep 11th – 1st Miss America TV broadcast
Sep 14th – USSR performs nuclear test
Sep 17th – Rocky Marciano KOs Ezzard Charles in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
Sep 18th – Cleveland Indians clinch AL pennant, beat Tigers (3-2)
Sep 20th – 1st FORTRAN computer program run
Sep 21st – 1st nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, commissioned under Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson
Sep 26th – Yogi Berra plays his only game at 3rd & Mickey Mantle plays shortstop
Sep 27th – 1st African American Supreme Court page is CV Bush
Sep 27th – Steve Allen’s “Tonight Show” premieres on NBC (Johnny takes over 8 years later)
Sep 29th – “Star is Born” starring Judy Garland & James Mason premieres
Oct 18th – Texas Instruments Inc. announces the first transistor radio.
Oct 24th – Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
Oct 26th – Chevrolet unveils V-8 engine
Oct 26th – Walt Disney’s 1st television program, “Disneyland,” premieres on ABC
Oct 28th – Nobel prize for literature awarded to Ernest Hemingway
Oct 30th – US Defense Department announces elimination of all racially segregated regiments
Oct 30th – 1st use of 24-sec shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester vs Boston)
Nov 2nd – Taiwan & US sign military pact
Nov 3rd – Nobel for physics awarded to Max Born & Walter Bothe
Nov 4th – Philadelphia A’s move to Kansas City
Nov 12th – Ellis Island, immigration station in NY Harbor, closed
Nov 23rd – For the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the peak it reached just before the 1929 crash.
Nov 24th – Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened
Nov 30th – 1st meteorite known to strike a woman (Liz Hodges-Sylacauga Ala)
Nov 30th – 20th Heisman Trophy Award: Alan Ameche, Wisconsin (FB)
Dec 4th – The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA
Dec 23rd – The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dec 26th – “The Shadow,” airs for last time on radio
Dec 26th – Cleveland Browns win NFL Championship, beating Detroit 56-10
Fun Facts About Your HBA:
- 1954 – HBA Founded in Springfield, MO. Originally only had builder members. J.D. Gillenwaters was the first president
- 1954 – First Parade Home built. Several builders worked together on this home
- 1982 – First Home Show held at Howard Johnson’s
Look for more fun facts about your HBA’s 60th Anniversary in the HBA Event Magazine to be unveiled at the 2014 HBA Home Show on January 31st (Preparty January 30th).
