POP CULTURE: Gadgets & Gizmos

As President and First Lady, Ike and Mamie were the first presidential couple to watch television in the White House. At their Gettysburg home, televisions with remote controls were a part of the Eisenhowers’ everyday life. They watched the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and enjoyed the antics of a wacky redhead and her bandleader husband on “I Love Lucy.” Eisenhower liked westerns such as "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza." Mamie enjoyed game shows and afternoon soap operas. Both enjoyed Lawrence Welk.

Plastics were also used to make premiums or prizes for cereal boxes, a popular incentive used to sell cereal and other products. Trinkets inspired by popular movie and television characters such as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, or Davy Crockett were among the popular collectibles. Figurines of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower were available as part of the President and First Lady figurine collection.