If I sent a CQ, I would tune the entire band on my Hallicrafters Sky Buddy receiver hoping to hear someone answering my call. I used a knife type switch to change the antenna from the transmitter to the receiver. By the time my license arrived in 1940, DX on 40 meters with 15 watts was the East Coast. World War II started in 1939. In this sense I feel that amateur radio went through a similar romantic period until air travel shortened the far-off distance to hours instead of months, and television brought the current events into our living rooms as they were occurring.
Cost is another factor that favors the present.
A 250-watt rig would require a desk high rack and panel and cost perhaps the salary earned in a month or more. The only walkie-talkies I heard of were in the military. The license periods were three years and the FCC was much more active in monitoring the bands for out of band signals, and signal quality. It s a great hobby regardless of the time frames. There is also a fully equipped MARS station on board.