Research

So, as I sit at my desk job, that I have 5 days a week, 4 hours at a time, writing a bit here and there. I realize I am a bit disheveled. I have a good grasp on my character from filling out a character analysis the other day, that I found online. However I do not have a good grasp on the decade it takes place in. Now my book actually spans a good 70 years. But the meat of the story and where we really get to know the main character all take place in the 50's. It starts with the character (Sarah) as an 8 year old girl in 1953. Now, I have her birthday in May, and I was going to start her in the 4th grade at age 9 in September of '53. However, what books are they reading? No idea.
I think before I continue writing myself into a hole, I'm going to get some research on the time period, see what major events could effect my character's life, and ask a few resources I have that would know better than I.
Creating another world is a lot of work, especially when it has to be so long. And my style of writing I'm using for this book (journal entries) does not make it any easier...