Were you alive in ‘55?

It was a great year — especially if you lived on the South Coast of Oregon.

The war had been over for a decade and the region’s booming economy was drawing families here.

The timber was tall.

Jobs were plentiful — and they were family wage jobs.  Residents  had money in their pockets and plenty to spend it on.

Down at The Hub, you could get a White Stag jacket with quilted lining, in assorted parka colors, for $8.95.

At Purkey’s Furniture, you’d pay $39.95 each for a Simmons BeautyRest Mattress and Box Springs.

Joe Fitzpatrick Real Estate was advertising its home of the week: a 3-bedroom, 2-story home in North Bend, with fireplace, full basement, dining room, on a corner lot, for $17,500.

Pot roast was 55 cents a pound. Ground beef, 29 cents.

Down at the Coos Bay Armory, you could get in to see tag team lady wrestlers for just a buck; $1.50 ringside!

And to see a double bill at The Egyptian, featuring Virginia Mayo in “The Silver Chalice,” and William Holden and Grace Kelly in “The Bridges of Toko-Ri,” you paid a quarter.

And if you happened by Broadway Motors to take a look at the new ‘55 Deluxe Dodge V-8, four-door sedan, you’d see a window sticker price of $3,067.

The Dodgers won the World Series that year, and the mobile chest X-ray unit visited the Bay Area. Evans Products was celebrating its 27th year and Keizer Hospital in North Bend was expanding. Ground was broken for a new elementary school in Coquille and work began on the Small Boat Basin in Charleston.

And a new fire station opened in downtown Coos Bay.

Years have passed — more than 50. The economy has gone down. Prices have gone up. Keizer Hospital — and McAuley Hospital — closed to make way for Bay Area Hospital, and Evans Products disappeared.

But in Coos Bay, 53 years later, firefighters still are operating out of the same downtown station. The old building is showing its age and offers cramped quarters to the city’s firefighting personnel and volunteers. And the building doesn’t meet current seismic codes, either.

This week, the city of Coos Bay announced it will ask taxpayers for nearly $7 million to build a new fire station.

There are some here who will say that’s a lot of money — and it is. Coos Bay residents are going to want to be sure the bond measure is necessary and that the proposal for a funding a new facility will be money well spent.

The plan is to put the request on the ballot for the May primary election. That means residents here have more than enough time to check out conditions at the old fire station downtown. Fire Chief Stan Gibson said folks can call the station at 269-1191 and arrange a time to come in and tour the station, “at their convenience.”

If you want to take a step back in time, go on down to the fire station. You can reminisce about the good old days and marvel that the weathered old building still houses a functioning fire department.

And ponder what it’s like to work there.

Then make up your minds about supporting the city’s request to build a new one.