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| Ralph Waldo Emerson |
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote:
"Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays."
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| New Home |
Have you ever given thought to how people actually lived in
the not too distant past? Most of us are
unaware of the vast differences in the lives of people who lived just one
hundred years ago. Many of those folk found
it necessary to work long hours to earn just enough to provide food and shelter
for their families. Until relatively
current times, few people had enough time or money to take any sort of holiday. Starvation and homelessness was a reality for
many who were unable to work. Many homes
in the United States still had dirt floors, no indoor plumbing [running water
and bathrooms], no electricity and no central heating as we know it today.
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| Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Campaign Poster |
Perhaps the three most common changes were state involvement
in everyday life, the role of women in society which occurred due to military
issues and an increase in free time and income which fueled the leisure
industry.
Rising prices along with poor pay resulted in revolts which
led to strikes during the 1920’s. As a
result of these dark days, there were shortages of almost everything including
food and shelter. A young “Welfare State”
emerged… By the 1940’s, it was the government’s aim to provide the people with a
service from the cradle to the grave. The Government taxed the rich heavily and
allowed the wages of the poor to rise more quickly. The 20th Century saw a marked
narrowing of the divide between the very rich and the very poor. The motor car, mass production and domestic
machinery made life earlier for most people.
As the new century began, gas lighting replaced candles.
As the 20th
century progressed, more types of leisure activity was available to ordinary
people. Each generation added more to
the list as inventions evolved to become necessities.
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| WWI Trenches |
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| WWI Gas Masks on Soldiers |
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| WWI Gas Mask For Dogs serving on Front Lines |
1900-1925
WWI
Airplanes used by military
Automobiles
Road
improvements needed for motorized vehicles
Women
acquire the right to “Vote”– 18 August 1920
Working
men’s unions and clubs
Tea dances
Dance – The
Charleston
Music –
Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey, etc
Pubs –
people met to play dominoes and darts or to singing around a piano
Cinema
–Silent films
Movie Stars:
Greta Garbo, Max Linder, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks,
Rudolph Valentino, Lillian Gish, William S.
Hart, Buster Keaton, Louise Brooks
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| Dust Bowl |
1925 – 1950
WWII
Airplanes become larger
University
education made possible by G.I. Bill for veterans
Banks offering
home mortgages which make home ownership possible for most people.
Dust Bowl in
mid-western states
Radio - almost
every family owned one
Cinemas –
Talking films and newsreels
Community
swimming pools
Seaside
holidays
Movie Stars
– John Wayne, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Judy
Garland, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Jane Russell,
Frank Sinatra
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| Patsy Cline | | | |
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| Patsy Cline's Plaque |
1950 – 1975
Clubs for
political and social meetings
Gramophones
became small enough to owned by individuals playing 33 1/3, 45 and 78 rpm
records
Birth
control
Television
in almost all homes
American
Bandstand – Rock and Roll – Bill Haley and the Comets – “Rock Around the Clock”
Elkton's own, Miss Patsy Cline, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
Cars owned
by most families
Sports
centers offered activities for almost everyone
Movie Stars
– Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Ben Johnson, Fabian, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Jeanne
Craine, Glenn Ford, Ronald Regan, Richard Gere, David Niven, Elizabeth Taylor,
James Dean, Ricky Nelson
1975 – 2000
Longer
holiday seasons result in more travel within the United States, some
beginning to take cruises or to travel abroad
Theme Parks
Dining out
Clubbing
Computers
for business and also for the home
