Generation Jones Corner

[Amethyst]

I see it your way. The phrase "post-war baby boom" (which included my sister and me, but not my brother, born during WWII) was used a lot when I was a child through young adulthood. I always thought it was funny, because I came along when my parents had been married almost 17 years and the war was now with Vietnam.

Anyway, by the late 1980's I was seeing and hearing just "baby boom."

As I understand it, the date range was supposedly based on population increases that were seen in 1946, and did not drop off until the early 1960's. So you could call it a "census boom."

I agree. But I never accepted whatever authority decided boomers were through 1964. To me that suggests that men coming back from the war in 1945 were still fathering children at an unusually high rate 21 years later. The math just never worked for me.

 

[CaptTom]

So you could call it a "census boom."

Yes, I do understand how the meaning has evolved. I accept the fact that language changes and, if you want to understand and be understood, you need to use the same language everyone else does.


But I don't have to like it.

 

[JoeWras]

I agree. But I never accepted whatever authority decided boomers were through 1964. To me that suggests that men coming back from the war in 1945 were still fathering children at an unusually high rate 21 years later. The math just never worked for me.

Well... My father served in WWII and is a decorated veteran (Purple Heart, Battle of the Bulge, I'm lucky to exist). He was in the 99th division known as the "Battle Babies." They were young. Dad was 20 when he was injured. I was born in 1963. It works out.

The fact that my mom and dad were the old parents is a whole different matter. (Dad was 39 and mom 38 when I was born.) Mom and Dad were depression kids ("Greatest Generation") while the other parents were Silent Generation. I remember mom grumbling about not always connecting with the young moms.

 

[CaptTom]

...The fact that my mom and dad were the old parents is a whole different matter. (Dad was 39 and mom 38 when I was born.) Mom and Dad were depression kids ("Greatest Generation") while the other parents were Silent Generation. I remember mom grumbling about not always connecting with the young moms.

You are living proof that children were still being born to soldiers who fought in WWII up until the early 60's. But the peak of the bell curve (the actual baby boom) was far behind us by that point. The vast majority of soldiers demobilized in 1945 didn't wait until 1963 before, er, resuming normal activities.

I guess I'm being pedantic, going back to the original definition of a "baby boom." The term "Boomers" has now come to mean something very different. And I have to admit I have a lot in common with those born 15 years earlier than me, even if I never counted myself among them.

 

[JoeWras]

. But the peak of the bell curve (the actual baby boom) was far behind us by that point.

Which is why much is what is talked about with Boomers does not connect with me. That's why I like the Generation Jones microgeneration idea.

 

[38Chevy454]

I tend to agree that the Gen Jones is really more of the late 50s at earliest, even going so far as to say Gen Jones could start at 1960. The baby boomers start in 1946, and 14 years is a pretty good run for the parents having kids when back from WWII. I think Gen Jones can even be extended to around 1968 or so as those kids still grew up in the 70s with all the society things we have mentioned, albeit at the younger ages than many of the 1958-1964 kids.


I think all of this is fun for discussion, but we are all defined by how we grew up. For instance a youngest child of the family born in 1964 has a lot different influences than a first born child in the family born in 1964. The youngest kid would tend to be more boomer-like since the siblings were all older, whereas the first born kid would be more like Gen-X.

 

[jollystomper]

I think all of this is fun for discussion, but we are all defined by how we grew up. For instance a youngest child of the family born in 1964 has a lot different influences than a first born child in the family born in 1964. The youngest kid would tend to be more boomer-like since the siblings were all older, whereas the first born kid would be more like Gen-X.

I would agree with this from my experience. My youngest sister is born 1966, the rest of us fall within the "baby boomer" range, so she feels more like a "boomer". Her husband was born the same year, but he is the oldest of 4, and relates more to "Gen-X" experiences. For example, my sister can relate more to the Vietnam War since older siblings and their friends had to deal with it, while for BIL that war is much more abstract.

 

[JoeWras]

I would agree with this from my experience. My youngest sister is born 1966, the rest of us fall within the "baby boomer" range, so she feels more like a "boomer". Her husband was born the same year, but he is the oldest of 4, and relates more to "Gen-X" experiences. For example, my sister can relate more to the Vietnam War since older siblings and their friends had to deal with it, while for BIL that war is much more abstract.

It goes both ways, though.

My older cousins were burned out on drugs and did the whole hippie thing. To my young mind, they were obnoxious and I wanted nothing to do with them. They acted very strange (LSD) and smelled (Pot). I had no desire to follow that madness.

(Sidenote: one married an entrepreneur and retired at 43. Ha ha! Retired for over 30 years now.)

And most crucially: DW's older sister (1949 baby) loves "YMCA". Her daughter loves YMCA (the disease passes down generations). DW (1963) along with me, both have a hard time getting into it. It came out at an age where everyone is a dork (age 16) who are not my exact age. Therefore, DW's sister is a dork for liking YMCA and disco in general.

 

[Gumby]

Everybody knows that "In the Navy" was a far better Village People song.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I agree. But I never accepted whatever authority decided boomers were through 1964. To me that suggests that men coming back from the war in 1945 were still fathering children at an unusually high rate 21 years later. The math just never worked for me.

You know, there was another war. My dad served in Korea (heavy combat, highly decorated); he came home, got married, and mom popped out rug rats in a steady stream. I am the youngest (1963), and the eldest (1956), and the 5 in between all fit somewhere in late Boomer/Gen Jones.

 

[JoeWras]

Everybody knows that "In the Navy" was a far better Village People song.