Research, research, research

Writing any period piece is extremely daunting. Somehow you have to create a world that is not only believeable to your readers but actually true to the time period. Conveniences we have today, how many times do we actually stop and think when those came into existence. 1962 was the year of the first wal-mart and k-mart. There were so many things we have now that didn't exist then and I have to weed out those things. Like flavored chips. The first flavored chip came out in 1962, salt and vinegar. Then after weeding all this out, I need to recreate the buildings, the dress, everything. So here is the question, do you use an existing city, school, etc. or do you create one. I am a personal fan of adding history into my books so I like to have a real place I can base everything off of but that leads to more research. Where is "My Life at Fairfield High" take place? Bangor, Maine.