December 24, 1956

By the winter of 1956, Eisenhower was in the White House and the federal minimum wage stood at $1.00/hr — the U.S. was actively working to ease tensions in the Middle East, advising nations involved in the Syria crisis that it did not believe a military confrontation was imminent. On the cultural front, Dean Martin's "Memories Are Made of This" sat at the top of the music charts, while television audiences were tuning in weekly to "I Love Lucy," which remained the country's most-watched program. On the sports page, the New York Giants had just claimed the NFL championship, and American athletes had competed at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, bringing home 7 medals, including 2 gold.