In 1949, America is on the move. Highway systems are beginning to build and expand across the country as average Americans become able to afford an automobile. Henkels & McCoy will help construct highway banks and shoulders for the New York State Department of Public Works in Red Hook, South Bay, Silver Creek, Valatie, Fishers and Geneva this year. The scope of work ranges form 7 acres to 37.5 acres at these scattered locations in Dutchess, Oneida, Chatauqua, Rensselaer and Ontario counties.

It is also a time of leisure for many Americans and golf courses spring up across the country as war vets take up the game and duffers return from the service. Henkels & McCoy turfs and seeds eight greens and tees at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and 160 acres at a golf course in Hempstead, Long Island in Nassau County, New York. We also head for the Jersey shore and turf the Pop Warner baseball field, 74 acres of the Race Track and Inlet Field, all in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

John B. Henkels, III (above, right) joins the company as an apprentice lineman. His previous H&M experience includes digging pole holes during summer vacations. John becomes Sales Manager in the mid-1950s. Famous for his snappy bow ties and quick wit, he moves to Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1970 John is elected Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Henkels & McCoy's Western operations. He will be elected Vice Chairman in 1989 and retires in January, 2001.

January 11
Los Angeles, California receives its first-ever recorded snowfall .

January 25   And the Emmy goes to.....
The first Emmy Awards are presented. Pantomime Quiz Time earns top honor as the Most Popular Television Program. Other TV stories this year: Cable television debuts, bringing better reception to areas where the conventional television signal is weak; comedian Milton Berle hosts the first telethon, which benefits cancer research. The 1949 Philco television receiver (left) features a radio-like wooden cabinet and a generous seven-inch screen (measured diagonally).

February 10
Arthur Miller’s tragic play, Death of a Salesman opens in New York City.
February 27 – March 2
Capt. James Gallagher and USAF crew make first round-the-world nonstop flight from Ft. Worth,

Texas, and returning to same point: 23,452 miles in 94 hours, 1 minute flying Lucky Lady, a B-50 Superfortress.

March 1
World heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis announces his retirement from the ring.


March 3
The fledgling Tucker Automobile Corporation collapses. The Tucker (right) is an advanced design automobile with many innovations, including a rear-mounted air-cooled engine, the fastback, independent four-wheel suspension. Safety features include a pop-out windshield, a steerable front light to see better while turning, disk brakes, seatbelts, and padded dashboard. Most of the 51 Tuckers produced will still be functioning 55 years later.

August 5
Earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000 people in Ecuador.

September 21
German Federal Republic (West Germany) is formally established.

September 23
And then there were two. The Soviets successfully detonate an atomic bomb. As a result, a nuclear arms race, which lasts for over 40 years, is begun.

September 29
Tokyo Rose Trial
Found guilty of treason for broadcasting anti-American propaganda for Japan during the late war, Mrs. Iva Toguri D’Aquino is fined $100,000 and given a 10 year prison sentence, of which she will serve more than six years. Toguri maintains that as a prisoner of war she had no choice but to obey Japanese orders to read prepared propaganda scripts. Toguri is one of several captive English-speaking females that the Japanese used throughout the war. Toguri is later granted a full pardon by Gerald Ford as his last presidential act in 1977.

October 1
Mao Tse Tung (right) issues a Proclamation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. Red China is a fact.

December 18
Philadelphia Eagles claw the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 in heavy rain to retain NFL champ status.