[or-roots] early to mid 20th century life

[JNCRIDGE at aol.com]

I am connected by my grandmother's stories to life in the early 20th century, 
by my parents' stories to the depression and WW II, and by my own life to 
mid-century on.  
Life was not uniformly better or worse then, just different.  
In my childhood, winter meant that turnips would show up in our diet a lot. 
Boy, did I hate that!  The root vegetables, including parsnips and beets, 
tended to store or can better, and the stores didn't have that much that was both 
fresh and affordable.
Winter also meant ear infections, and without medical insurance, we were more 
likely to get home treatment than medical science.  My family got our first 
refrigerator when my brother needed medicine that had to be kept cool, and my 
dad took a second job.  There were still places with water that could make you 
sick, as well as large numbers of greasy spoon restaurants if you ventured far 
from home.  
Early in the 20th century, there was a real fad for salt water swimming 
pools, but their use died out.  I suspect that their disappearance had a lot to do 
with polio.
   But with all that, it was still magical growing up in a small town.  I 
could roam all over town with brother and friends, feeling very safe, and kept in 
check by the knowledge that if we bent the rules, we were sure to hear the 
nearest adult asking, "Does your mother know what you are doing?"  We still 
managed to get into trouble, and one of my vivid memories is watching my brother 
hang from a tie on the RR trestle above the creek, because he couldn't get off 
the bridge in time when the train came along.  Good thing it was a short 
train, or his arms would have given out.
   We saw family a lot, and after dinner, the grownups would play cards or 
talk politics.  The Masons and other fraternal organizations were a big part of 
life... and then TV came along.  And very quickly, the social gatherings 
became less frequent.  I remember walking home in the dark, and seeing house after 
house, dark except for the flickering bluish glow coming off the screen.  I 
can't remember the name of all my teachers, but I can recall some of the 
advertising jingles.  "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth 
with ____".