American Cultural History

[JerryNumbers]

American Cultural History

I came upon this web site seeing what the average age was for a sermon, it has that along with other interesting things, thought I would share it. You might learn something from days gone by. starting in 1910 to 1990 I believe.

[John81]

No doubt America prior to WWII was a vastly different place than what she became after WWII.

As a young child, the closest neighbor we had was an elderly woman who lived alone. Her house had no indoor plumbing...no running water, no bathroom. Her son offered to have all that put into her house in later years but she refused. She said whe wasn't about to go to the bathroom in her house! I can still recall her walking to her outhouse or pumping water from the handpump well outside her back door or sitting in a rocker on her front porch. She lived like that until she was near 100 in the late 60s when she passed away.

The house we were living in at that time didn't have any indoor plumbing when we first moved in. My Dad put all that in himself and it was the first time either my Mom or Dad lived somewhere with an indoor bathroom.

[JerryNumbers]

There is a house across the road from me that did not have running water nor a bathroom in it till the early 90's. it was put in them because the lady was 90 + years old, and no longer able to make it to the outhouse nor draw water from the well on the back porch. Haven't we been spoiled with conveniences?

I think I would have loved the old way, yet it would be tough going to them after being so spoiled.

I still remember the round wash tub, in the middle of the kitchen floor in the winter, in the backyard in the summer. If I remember right, in the back yard was lots of fun for me.

[John81]

The elderly lady who lived in a house a block from my Dads had no running water. There was indoor water from a pump in a well. A few years ago when she died the people who bought the house had water run into the house. That family ended up separating, failed to make the house payments and now the bank has reclaimed the house and it's up for sale. If I had the money, and the bank were willing to accept a reasonable offer rather than their highly inflated asking price, I would buy the place myself.

[JerryNumbers]

Yes, prices are inflated on most everything, and rising. There is still some around building newer, better, and larger houses.