Life was better then...or was it?
I'm tired of posts claiming life was better 60-70 years ago. Here's how I remember it.
If you spend any time at all on Facebook, you've probably seen posts--usually from socialist or unionist groups--asking why things were so much better in the old days, when families had a house, car, stay-at-home mom, and could pay for their child's college. (They suggest that the answer is unionization and socialism.) Do not be taken in by these posts. They only give part of the story.
From someone who grew up in those days, here's the true scoop:
Housing
1) Yes indeed! Housing was available and cheap. That housing, though, consisted of homes that today's young adults will not consider:
Some tracts were built at 600 sq. ft, on 1/6 or 1/8 of an acre lots, built on slabs (no basement), no attic, one bathroom, two tiny bedrooms, no garage or driveway.
Higher class homes were 850-1200 sq ft, 1 1/2 baths, two or three bedrooms, on a slab with no attic. Probably had a driveway, no garage.
Painting was about the only household upgrade that was universal. My folks redid the kitchen in our 40-year-old house when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. It was unusual to rip out the countertop and floor to replace them, but my folks did it. I remember red linoleum used for both the countertop and the floor, but I do not remember if that was before or after the reno.
My mother got slipcovers for the furniture when I was about 10. New furniture? Once in a lifetime; otherwise it was just reupholstered (replacing the old fabric) or, the cheaper option, covered with covers custom-made to fit.
Our refrigerator had a "freezer" that was just barely large enough for a half-gallon of ice cream and a tray of ice cubes.
Gas kitchen ranges were lit with matches.
My aunt in Scarsdale (one of the most upscale communities in Westchester County, just north of New York City) and her husband bought a 3-bedroom home with a den or maid's room, 3 1/2 bathrooms (one what is now called en suite), eat-in kitchen, probably about 1500 sq. ft.; two-car garage, on 1/3 acre. It was considered a deluxe home on a large lot.
Automobiles
Cars, yes! Every family had one.
1, not 2 or 3. Translation: one, not two and not three.
Probably a 2-door sedan
Probably 6 cylinders
Parked on the street or, if wealthier, on a single-wide driveway. Possibly parked in a garage.
Stay-at-home moms
These lazy women didn’t have to work. They just:
Washed, dried, and put away the dishes by hand--no dishwasher
Hung laundry out to dry because she probably did not have a dryer. If she did, it was very expensive to use and was mostly used in bad weather. My dad built a rack that was suspended from the kitchen ceiling and could be lowered to hang and unhang clothes, then pulled up so the hanging clothes were not too badly in the way.
Cleaned with a broom, mop, and carpet sweeper because she probably didn't have a vacuum cleaner and almost certainly didn't have household help.
Ironed most of the clothes because wool wasn't washable, and cotton and linen came out of the washer or off the clothesline badly wrinkled. Before steam irons, everything was sprinkled with water, rolled up and set aside for the water to have time to penetrate. Cotton and linen need water plus heat to break the chemical bonds that create wrinkles. Synthetics like polyester and acrylics had not been invented and nylon was just beginning to be blended with other fibers.
Clothing
As a child I had two school outfits (three if we were lucky), two play outfits, and a "Sunday dress" (only being Jewish it was a "Sabbath" dress).
We changed into our play clothes as soon as we got home from school so that the school clothes could be worn once or twice more that week.
Most of my clothes had once belonged to my friend Lynn's cousin Toby. They were mostly brown and yellow, my two worst colors. Tough--they were free. And PS, I had to keep them in good condition so that my sister could wear them.
Prettiest party dress I ever had came from a consignment shop, where my mother was a regular shopper.
Obesity
A woman I knew well didn't like wearing hand-me-downs. As an adult, she told me that she had quickly figured that if she indulged her love of food and became chubby (as we euphemistically called fat in those days) she could have new clothes. PS, the medical examiner attributed her death at age 45 to morbid obesity.
Paying for College
The scourge that is student loans and grants did not yet exist. People went to college by paying for it each semester.
Starting around age 12 many/most kids began working.
mowing lawns
weeding gardens
shoveling snow
collecting bottles and returning them for the deposit
babysitting
selling something. John S. in my neighborhood had an uncle in the poultry business. John bought eggs wholesale from him and sold them door-to-door.
Lots of kids got regular part-time jobs as soon as they were old enough--in my community, 16; for hardship with permission at 15.
"College" was community college or state college, with the student living at home and working part-time.
Many kids went to college at night so they could work during the day. Many worked full-time and took 8 years to finish a four-year degree.
The dorms I lived in for two years consisted of large rooms shared by two or three students, with toilet rooms and shower rooms down the hall and shared by everyone. There were girls' dorms and boys' dorms and never the twain would meet.
After I transferred to another college, I shared a 1-bedroom apartment with another woman. I slept in the living room on a pull-out sofa. We shared a bathroom and kitchen, and she used the living room during the day.
Entertainment and Vacations
Vacations often consisted of two weeks camping at the nearest state park.
staying in a canvas tent from the army surplus store. It probably had a strong chemical odor from the waterproofing.
eating hard-cooked eggs and canned stew, the cans opened and stood in the campfire. Camp stoves were new and expensive, really only for the elites.
"Traveling" meant a road trip to Grandpa's, three hours away on a two-lane, twisty road that made at least one in the car car-sick.
Movie matinees (the noon or 2 pm showing) were often half-price, so that's when we went.
Bowling was a common activity
Team sports for little kids didn't exist. Competitions were rare. Mostly we played on the streets or in neighborhood yards, often creating our own rules.
Entertainment meant three black-and-white stations on a TV--if you lived in a modern, metropolitan area. Many areas didn't get television until around 1960. Cable didn't come in until much later.
Shopping
Credit cards did not exist. Store cards existed but were limited to a particular shop and had to be paid off immediately. People bought what they could afford.
Conclusion
Are you still so sure that people's lives were so much better in the old days? Words can have many meanings and interpretations, and many writers are gifted in twisting them to make you think something that is not true, or not by any means the whole truth. Before you get jacked up and angry, remember that you may well have been manipulated. Look for the whole truth, not the flashy, upsetting news provided by someone trying to sell you an idea or a product.
For this week I meant to post something about positivity and negativity in messages about learning, but due to the holiday of Shavuoth did not have time to complete it. Hopefully that will be published in my next issue of TanteHannaWrites.com/adults.
