The Year 1919....

The year is 1919 now past ... over "One hundred years ago."
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1919:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower .
The average US wage in 1919 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
A dentist earned $2,500 per year.
A veterinarian between $1,500 and 4,000 per year.
And, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4 Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars ...

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and, only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" (Shocking?)

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself. From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD all in a matter of seconds! It is impossible to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

We've come a long way....OR have we?

Garry-

My grandfather was born in 1919. He passed in 2004.

My father in law was born in 1901 and can remember seeing his first airplane.

*** Register early to Vote ***

They left out that you could go to prison and lose everything that you own for criticizing Wilson's war policy like my Great grandfather.
That was a year earlier, but who's splitting hairs?

It must have been amazing to have lived back then.

Interesting that18% of households had servants but only14% had a bath tub.I wonder what the overlap is in those two stats ??

Good post.

Except for the "only 47 years old part."

I would guess that the 'average' 47 years old is misleading somewhat, due to the much higher rate of infant mortality a hundred years ago.

Unreal

The youngest any of my grandparent died was 52 (1940), and that was my one grandmother that died from a heart condition. The average age of the death of my grand parent going back to my 3rd great Grandparents was 82. My grandmother was 98, her brother was 98, and their mother was 93. I guess I was lucky to have such longevity in my family. This goes back into the 1780s.

The sad thing about longevity now days. is that it is not respected by the younger generations. Now days older people are not respected for the knowledge they have and the hardships or anything else. I believe living longer now, is not an honor as it once was, but an annoyance to the younger generations. And I believe this has been caused by the lack of education of historical facts. This is another Liberal Socialist indoctrination method, that each person today is more important anyone else.

We can only hope that one day the younger generations will wake up and understand what has happened in the past, is what has shaped this country into the greatest place on earth to live, and the freedoms they have to be jerks, if they so desire... is the direct actions of those that have lived and died to make things this way.

Garry-

I would guess that the 'average' 47 years old is misleading somewhat, due to the much higher rate of infant mortality a hundred years ago.[/quote]

Plus the fact that the European royal families and the most of the rest of the worlds elite ruling class had just orchestrated the deaths of an entire age class of young men, called WWI.

great post thanks

My grandad told me about his dad (my great grandfather) buying a new car in 1915. My grandad was 12. It came to Wiley CO on the train and gas for it came that way also in 50 gallon barrels. It came during wheat harvest so Great Granddad sent grandad to town to get it. He bought it through the hardware store and the store owner and grandad figured out how to drive it from the manual, then grandad drove it home and showed his dad.

Well said

There is no "wake up" unless they are taught. allowing your kids to be raised by the public school system and cable tv is where apathy ignorance rudeness and laziness are coming from

great post,i 'm reworking and live on the family farm that family started in the late 1880's

I agree, very well said!


Yes, and this is where it comes from. Everyone has to be a bigger "hot shot" to show everyone how "cool" they are. See that here on the forum quite often!

Thats crazy Danny

330 trapper I dont know what year driver license was required but I remember getting mine. Granddad hated them. Told me when it started the real purpose was not hidden. There was a 50 cent fee. no test, no birth certificate just another tax. i dont know if tags appeared at the same time before or after. Granddad really hated the state saying driving was a privilege. Granddad said if you own a vehicle and are forced to pay taxes that provide roads for that vehicle you have a right to use both. Made sense to me then and still does today

I can only imagine if a person was living in 1919 and read a report of the year 1819. The individual may say we are living in amazing times compared to 1819.

J found one thing somewhat amusing reading these posts, especially Danny Clifton's. Not in a funny way, but a rather ironic way. I'll be 48 this month, and it seems from what i've read Danny is older than that by a fair amount. My Grandfather was in the Navy in WW1. He passed away in '74 when I was two, so I never knew him. Sure would have liked to. From what Grandma and Dad used to tell me, I'm a lot like him. I've never met anyone else my age who had a Grandparent in WW1. Most of my age group, it seems, had grandparents in WW2. Grandpa was born in the late 1880;s, early 1890's. I'd have to look it up to say exactly. My Greatgranpa came here from Norway, if I remember the records research correctly in the early 1870's. An interesting history, but difficult to research.

Back in the 1930's my grandmother had 7 children of which only 3 lived to be adults. It was a tough life for some folks.

Very cool stuff. My Grandfather was born in 1900 and passed in '87. I can't imagine the changes he witnessed.

My DAD was in WW1. He celebrated his 17th birthday in France. He began his military career in 1912 at the age of 11. He was a stable boy in Pershing's army, chasing Pancho Villa on the Mexican border

My Grandmother was born in 1910 and passed in 2000. I remember back in the late 90's I was down visiting and we were watching the news. They were talking about some new computer virus that was launched and warning people about it. She turned to me and said, "How can people get a virus from using a computer?" I realized seeing change and understanding change are two totally different things.

I think the lack of respect for older generation today is not because young people need education. It is because they see how well old people live with their fifth wheelers, side by sides and $70,000 trucks they drive down to their vacation homes in Arizona, while the younger generation struggle to pay for the fun. I don't believe the older generation had it so good in 1919 and were probably struggling right along with the younger generation.

lotta truth to that Dirt.

I would agree with the last sentence.

My Grandpa was born in 1890 was drafted into WW1 and fought in France in the AA division. Helped build the Alcan highway and so much more. Was a true outdoorsman and got me off to a good outdoors life. What I would give for one more day with him even if we just talked about 1919..

My grandpa was married in 1919, after coming back from WW 1.

I was lucky enough to live with him and grandma from when I wad about 3 until I got a place of my own when I was 19.

He would tell about the first car, boat motor, radio, tv and all sorts of firsts to arrive in town. Musta been a great period of time to see advancements in one's life.

My grandad was too young for WWI and 41 when pearl harbor was attacked. During WWII he worked for boeing here in KS. He and gramma both had brothers in WWII. I had at least one great uncle in WWI. Pete. He came home blind.

My great grandpa Henry (hard face in the center) marched across France in WW1.

My dad said he left his belly button printed all across France. I believe he meant in the mud.

Anyone else on here feel like they could have lived in 1919 and been quite content?

Henry told of smoking/burning the lice off their coats at night around the fire and surviving off turnips for much of the march.

happier i think

Yup, a lot less BS and stress. Although the stress most of us have today is of our own making. After all, we could still live like it's 1919 except for inflation.

1919 was boomtimes just before the depression.

I do. My GG Grandpa was born in 1860 and got caught up in a brush fire he set to clear more land, died a week later, that was in 1953. I always thought that he lived in a great time. He never had a DL, his son my G Grandpa didn't either. He had mules, lived up in a holler and life never changed for him but he got to see things once in a while, like a car or a plane fly over. My G Grandpa was born in 1896 died in 1985, he lived just like his Dad, neither one ever left that holler all their lives except when he got busted moonshining and extradited to Frankfort, once.

Murders in US in 1919 was WAY more than 250!!
Not homicides, murders.
Easily checked, so wonder what else is wrong??

All my grandparents born in the late 1800s.

I think The Beav was born in 1919

How about the Spanish Flu? It was rampant throughout the country in 1918 and 1919. It killed whole families off. My mother was 2 in the year 1919. Quite a few people in her area died from it. I believe worldwide it killed over 40-50 million people. Imagine the equivalent numbers if the same % of folk died off now!

10mph in most cities

They can't keep it that slow in most parking lots now