The white pine (Pinus strobus) was adopted as Michigan's official state tree in 1955 (Act 7 of 1955). A Saginaw eighth-grade English class wrote letters and campaigned for its official designation.

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The Space Age began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched an artificial earth satellite called Sputnik (Russian for "traveler"). The 184-pound sphere, about 23 inches in diameter, circled the earth 15 times a day. Each trip around the earth took approximately 96 minutes. Russian scientists followed its path by tracking signals from two battery-powered radio transmitters in the satellite. They announced that it passed over Detroit at 9:30 a.m. EDT on October 6. Sputnik I fell from its orbit and burned up in the earth's atmosphere in January 1958

This achievement by the USSR spurred interest in the United States space program. The United States made its first successful launch of an artificial earth satellite, Explorer I, on January 31, 1958. As a result of the growing interest in space exploration, educators, parents and the government began paying increased attention to math and science education in the schools.

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Alaska, purchased from Russia in 1867 for a cost of $7.2 million, entered the union as the 49th state on January 3, 1959. Hawaii, annexed by the U.S. in 1898, became the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

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At the start of the 1950s about three million United States families had television sets. By 1954 more than half of all U.S. households had television. TV brought world news to Michigan living rooms. Popular national TV shows during the decade included Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, I Love Lucy, You Bet Your Life, Dragnet, The Jack Benny Show, Arthur Godfrey and Friends, Gunsmoke, The Red Skelton Show, December Bride, and I've Got a Secret.

Television shows were broadcast in black and white at the beginning of the 1950s. By the end of the decade, Michiganians were watching such shows as the Mickey Mouse Club, Pat Boone Show, and Lawrence Welk in color.

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The decade of the 1950s was the "Golden Age" of the automobile. Chevrolets were the most popular cars of the fifties. Consumers wanted an American sports car--Chevrolet gave them the Corvette in 1953. The first 300 fiberglass-body production models were all white. Each cost $3,440.

Ford introduced the Thunderbird in 1954. Its base price was $2,695. A two-seater sports car for its first three years, it became a four-passenger car in the 1958 model year.

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Michigan Week began in 1954 after Don C. Weeks, director of the Michigan Department of Economic Development, together with other citizens, founded the nonprofit Greater Michigan Foundation. A former Traverse City newspaperman and Chamber of Commerce secretary, Mr. Weeks was also a founder of the National Cherry Festival and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

Each May Michigan Week celebrates the economic, cultural and natural resources that make Michigan great. The Michigan Week logo has changed many times since 1955. Michigan's state bird, the robin, was used as part of the logo for many years beginning in 1955. Learn about the most recent or next Michigan Week at www.michigan.gov/hal.

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In 1957 Detroit's Barry Gordy recorded Smokey Robinson and the Miracles as an independent producer. In 1959 he turned a family loan into a music empire when he founded "Hitsville, USA" in a frame house at 248 West Grand Boulevard. He named his company "Motown," from Detroit's nickname, "Motor Town."

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Michigan's Historical Marker Program was established in 1955. The first official Michigan historical marker was dedicated on October 22, 1955, at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The marker celebrates the founding of the school in 1855 and stands on the site of College Hall (West Circle Drive, across from the Main Library), the first building in the United States erected for the teaching of scientific agriculture.

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