December 4, 1976

By the winter of 1976, Ford was in the White House and the federal minimum wage stood at $2.30/hr — and the country was roughly five months away from its Bicentennial celebrations when President Ford proposed a $10 billion tax cut paired with new spending limits, signaling that economic policy would be a defining issue heading into the election year. On television, "All in the Family" remained the dominant show in American living rooms, while at the multiplex, the family adventure film "The Adventures of the Wilderness Family" was drawing steady crowds, reflecting a public appetite for wholesome, outdoor fare. That February, American athletes competed at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, bringing home 3 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals, while in professional sports the Cincinnati Reds had recently claimed the World Series title over the New York Yankees in one of the most closely contested Fall Classics in recent memory.