Henkels & McCoy Timeline: 1953

1953

BENCHMARK PROJECT
Henkels & McCoy installs the nation's first Community Access Television (CATV) system in the small town of Lansford, Pennsylvania. Three channels are made available to viewers, with an eventual expansion to five channels. Henkels & McCoy is in the delivery room as Cable TV is born... Henkels & McCoy installs outside telephone cable plant for US Government facilities, including the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, in Virginia and at Fort George G. Meade, in Maryland.

Henkels & McCoy aligns with Ford Motor Company
In the early 1950s, recognizing our growth, H&M Equipment Manager James F. Lafferty (Senior) started to expand fleet operations by purchasing and rebuilding used equipment. By the end of the decade, he would establish a relationship with a major manufacturer. By 1963 H&M had done just that through a financial relationship with Ford Motor Company that would make Henkels & McCoy a major Ford fleet. Mr. Lafferty's career would last for over 50 years.
Short Intro PowerPoint I     1 animated slide, about 0:15 seconds (1.2 MB)
Short Intro PowerPoint II    1 animated slide, about 0:15 seconds (1.2 MB)
Full PowerPoint Show       40 animated slides, about 5 minutes   (14.4 MB) photos from 1953 through 2003

January 20
Dwight D. Eisenhower takes office as US president.

January 31
Massive flooding kills over 2,000 in Netherlands and Britain.

February 5
Split me infinitives! Walt Disney's animated movie version of Peter Pan opens in theatres.

February 18
The first movie in 3D is released.

February 28
The chemical structure of DNA is unlocked.

March 5
Joseph Stalin dies, ending almost 30 years of cruel, autocratic rule in Soviet Union. His body will be on public display alongside that of USSR founder Lenin in Red Square, Moscow. His body will be removed and buried outside and to the rear of Lenin's Tomb when he is denounced and discredited by Communist Party apparatchiks.

March 18
A massive earthquake in Turkey kills over 200.

March 26
Jonas Salk announces that a vaccine for polio has been developed.

March 28
Jim Thorpe, one of the world's greatest athletes dies. Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, small towns in Carbon County, Pennsylvania merge and rename itself as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania in honor of the great athlete who was buried here and immortalized with a monument. Jim Thorpe had no direct connection to the area, having been born in Oklahoma Territory. The Native American was proclaimed by King Gustav in Stockholm, Sweden as the "Greatest athlete in the world" during that city's hosting of the 1912 Olympiad. Thorpe won nine of ten gold medals in the decathlon.

June 2
Queen Elizabeth II is crowned in Westminster Abbey, London, England.

July 27
Armistice agreement is signed to cease hostilities in Korea.

October
UNIVAC 1103 computer is first commercial computer to utilize random access memory.

December 8
President Dwight Eisenhower proposes "Atoms for Peace" which would allow for international control of stockpiles of nuclear materials for energy production.

December 30
First color TV sets are available for purchase.

Also in 1953:
Soviets announce possession of a hydrogen bomb.
IBM introduces its first mainframe computer.
The first successful open heart transplant is performed at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.
Karl Ziegler discovers metallic catalysts, which greatly improve the strength of polyethylene polymers.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed by electric chair for treason and espionage activities benefiting the USSR during World War II.

PLUS:
Wide screen CinemaScope debuts in effort by motion picture industry to stave off runaway growth of television... Holy Hannah! The US National Weather Service, the federal agency that tracks hurricanes and issues warnings and watches, began using female names for storms... The name is Bond. James Bond. Penned by author (and former WWII British Intelligence operative) Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel is published. Bond's fictitious Cold War exploits, his license to kill, and his winning way with women, will propel actor Sean Connery to international stardom a decade later. The real life James Bond is a Philadelphia ornithologist and sometime acquaintance of the author.

What's on TV?
TV Guide commences publication... First non-commercial educational TV station begins broadcasting in Texas. NBC's comedy The Life of Riley, with William Bendix is a top ranked show at number 14, but America still loves Lucy.

Births
Tony Blair, current Prime Minister of Great Britain

Deaths
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Athlete Jim Thorpe
Author Dylan Thomas

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