What Made The 1970s A Defining Decade For Idaho?

For those who love classic rock or hair bands when they were new, it's hard to believe the 1970s were so long ago. Or as Meatloaf sings, ' long ago and far away and so much better than it is today.’

The 1970s were a time of turbulence, Watergate, free love, bell-bottoms, and, for some, lots of weed smoking. Today’s grandparents, parents, and some great-grandparents were kids when Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix were filling stadiums with thousands of fans.

And let’s not forget the birth of Disco with the Bee Gees and others during the same decade. Remember Pong? Going to the mall? Eating pizza watching the Denver Broncos play the Dallas Cowboys in the Superbowl?

Going to the Mall in the 1970s

The children of the 1970s were the early parts of Generation X, otherwise known as the latchkey generation. They grew up in the shadow of the Cold War, and most were children of divorce, some raised by watching television alone.

Kids worked fast food jobs with cash registers and no credit cards. Do you see the struggle most kids today face when they have to provide change? Cars had engines with eight cylinders.

Idaho in the 1970s was a totally different world from the one we live in today. Most of our neighborhoods and subdivisions were farmland, filled with crops and cattle. Today, farmers are an endangered species in the Gem State.

Technology is a necessity, but not in the 1970s. Television had three or four channels, phones had rotary dials, and if you were lucky, a long cord. Let’s not forget there were limited computers for businesses.

Fashion? Can you say bell-bottoms? Long hair was normal along with being a social statement.

The 1970s may be long gone, but to some, it was only yesterday.