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

[Robert L. Casebeer]

Pepsodent! Bob Casebeer
-----Original Message-----
From: JNCRIDGE at aol.com <JNCRIDGE at aol.com>
To: or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us <or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 10:27 PM
Subject: [or-roots] early to mid 20th century life


>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 ____".
>
>
>
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