However, when I see something like this, it always brings to mind the prominent saying, "In the good old days...". Yes, housing may have been much less than today, along with everything humanity needed in order to live a decent life. But what we sometimes fail to think about is, the cost of living was not what it is today, either. The average income was MUCH less, along with the cost of housing.
I can remember an ice cream cone costing around $.10, when I was a kid, and bread was under a dollar a loaf. Gasoline was $.29 a gallon, and we thought that was high! (Compared to today, that would mean we would be paying $3.03 per gallon.) I was still a kid in the 50's, so I have no idea what mom paid on her once a month trips to town for the staples needed to cook and clean. Salt, sugar, etc... Food was no problem because it had all been canned and stored up from the previous summers harvesting. I'll never forget our large apple field!
What all these postings fail to report is what the average income was for the working man/woman. Actually, the "normal" household was supported on only one income. That may come as a shock to some. Women haven't always worked in corporate America. The wife stayed home to care for the children and to see to everything that would create a "welcome home" atmosphere for the husband at days end, since he was the bread winner. It was an expected thing. The woman held the family together, while the man provided the income to do so. It was a different world...
Back to the cost of housing...
Just how long would it take to save enough money to purchase a home that cost $7,450, in the 1950's? A luxury two bedroom, 1 bath house that had a screened in porch? Well, the average income in 1955 actually rose from what it was the year before, coming in at a whopping $3,400 as the hourly wage increased from #1.00 an hour, to $1.15 per hour. Nice! Does this sound anything remotely as a good old day? How would you like to go back to that time, now that you know this?
Are we wishing for the good old days yet? Many say it was a simpler time. I don't know about you, but there was nothing simple about working from 4 AM to 5PM, tending cattle (this would take 3 pages explaining, by itself), working in the fields, shoveling cow manure, falling trees for logs to be hauled to the mill, then sawed for either selling, or used for fire starting, harvesting crops of vegetables, preparing them for winters food, nor all the various other duties that life on the farm demanded. Oh yeah. The pigs and chickens also had their own needs...
Maybe some people sat in rockers on blissful porches, with neighbors, as they shot the breeze and drank sweet tea. Sorry, I just don't ever remember that happening on the Prater's watch. We had to get to bed so we had the strength for the next day. I always loved school. I think it was, in part, because I got to sit and learn from books and play with school kids. We, okay I, never liked summer break. It meant all day work. Maybe that's why I don't like summer now? Hmmmm...never thought about that before. Nope. It's just because it's too dang hot, and there are just toooooo many bugs, spiders, snakes, scorpions. Varmits! And "WORK" is not a dirty word to me. It's what keeps me sane, keeps me feeling a bit useful, and maybe needed.
Anyone that has read any of my blogs probably knows I came from a rather large family. We worked the land to provide for ourselves. The home I grew up in had only 2 bedrooms, no indoor plumbing, no HVAC system. Just a bunch of boards nailed together for shelter, mostly. We did have an awesome pot-belly wood burning stove, in the living room, where, on any given winters night, you could find us warming our bed blankets and bricks that would be used to help keep the toes from freezing during the night. On occasion, we shared the space with new piglets that had been brought in out of the cold to prevent the possible accidental death by the big momma rolling over on them. Summer months, we depended on the big window fan to cool us down. Does anyone remember getting really close to the fan and letting it talk back to you as your voice flowed through its fast moving blades? That was our entertainment back then.
Side note: Mom also cooked the family's meals on a wood burning stove. We felt well taken care of. 😁
Even though there were 10 of us kids, I don't recall more than 6 living in that house. The older 4 were grown and married, or serving in the military, not long after I was born. In fact, the oldest of the clan had married and had her own daughter before I was born. The first time I remember meeting my older sister, was when I was 14 years old. She lived in Tennessee and I in Oklahoma. I think I need a sit down visit with the only known surviving brother I have. He could fill in some of those gaps for me, I'm sure. I do remember the bedrooms were small, just like the rest of the house, but with window fans. One was just large enough for 2 regular sized beds to be butted up together at the head of each, so 2 girls could sleep in one and 2 boys in the other. The older two sisters got the 2nd bedroom that was large enough for just one bed. I think possibly, there was also a small dresser in each bedroom, for storage. Mom and Dad slept on a small bed in the living room.
I get off track so easily, it seems. Too many memories wanting freedom. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that any day one is healthy, and able to provide food and shelter for their loved ones, should be considered a "good old day". It's all relevant, right? And every day has a down side, as well. Right?
Back in those days, consequences were expected to be given out immediately, or "as soon as your dad gets home." It was never something we took lightly, because, hey! Those peach tree limbs were very limber and wrapped around the legs with a force that felt like your skin just might catch fire. Now, before you start feeling sorry for us, our parents loved us. It was the method of discipline they were taught to keep their children from becoming a liability to society. We were trained to be independent, yet respectful of those who had authority over us. It's no easy task being a parent. My Dad used to say, "This hurts me more than it hurts you." I never understood that, until I became and adult.
To wrap this up, let me just say I think we throw out terms much too flippant..."The good old days" have, in my opinion, been over used, abused, and downright misinterpreted, kinda like the Bible. We just pull out segments we agree with and love to think about, and sweep the rest under the proverbial rug and then yearn for something that really wasn't that great. Unless of course, it was that great. Let's just let life interpret life and the Bible interpret the Bible, shall we? Still love me? 😉🤣
As always, here you will find me...in Mary's World, possibly sipping sweet tea on the screened in back porch.
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