The Delmarva leader and the Seaford news., 1958-04-18
zXS
Dear Wright

il they realize what they are say
ing. | heard an ION the street
program on radio some time ago
on this subject and. believe it or
not. several said they wished to
20 back to the Good Old Days
Well. in some respects, it would
be great today to go to the store
and buy a steak for 25 cents a
pound, hamburg for 8 cents, coffee
for 10 cents, and barrel of Hour
for five dollars. Remember when a
suit of good clothes sold for. ten
dollars and the best pair of shoes
nfor three dollars? Wheat sold for
So to II cents a bushel, corn Is
TO 81, tomatoes for 10 cents bas-
ket, and | might also add, you
could drop a penny or two in the
collection on Sundays and not feel
bad about it.
BUT was everything really so
GOOD" in the Good Old Days?
The average worker received a
dollar per day and farm help ran
from IL to Is dollars per month.
A days pay on the farm, from
sun-up to sln-down, was just fifty
cents and your board. The average
good house rented for not over
eight or nine dollars per month.
and some a lot less than that.
There were no hours of service.
Practically everyone worked ten
and twelve hours a day regardless
of position. But, to my mind, the
women were the real sufferers
There was no electricity; that
meant that there were lamps to be
cleaned and filed daily. There
were no washing machines; all
washing was done the hard way
with the scrub boards and tub, and
no hot water except what was
heated on the old wood stove in the
kitchen. This same wood stove was
used for all the canning during
the hot summers. Most all. the
clothing was made by hand, espec-
tally for the children, and on the
old treadle sewing machine. Many's
the time / have seen my mother
sit rocking the baby in the cradle,
singing, and doing the sewing. She
seemed very happy, at that. No,
there was no refrigerator or ice,
only a few farmers who used to
nut ice in their ice houses in win
ter. Water was drawn from open
wells, and butter and a few other
perishables were hung down the
well to keep cool.
The old wood stove in the kitchen
was the most important thing in
the house, it seemed. The children
usually got in the kindling, to keep
the wood box filled, and the Dad OF
the House got up long before light
and started the fire, followed by
Mother who most always baked
hot bread, sliced thick pieces OF
ham and fried potatoes for break
fast There were no bakeries where
you could get "store bread. The
kids always scurried from zero
bedroom, clothes bundled in their
arms, and dressed by the warm
fire in the kitchen, then washed
their faces from a basin of warn,
water. Then later the children had
to be off to school, and believe me.
there were large families, too. II
the weather was bad, Dad hitched
up the horse and took them some
times two or three miles to the
schoolhouse, over roads that would |
be unbelievable today.
That's enough of unhappy days
What we did have in abundance.
were GOOD NEIGHBORS. the kind |
that Jesus spoke of just before his
crucifixion. Neighbors, in those |
days, would sit up with the sick,
and go out and work their fields |
and farms to keep them going, |
just as they would their own. They |
cooked for the sick and were every
thing neighbors should be. They
all went to Church together on SUM-
days regardless of weather and
worship2ed God together in a real
Christian way. Possibly a few of
these things would improve our
way Of life today, and those are the
things that are remembered when
neople wish for the Good Old
Days" Of yesteryear.
No. they had no electricity, gas,
automobiles. radios or television,
or any of the things that would be
termed by them as new tangled
things, but people seemed happy
and contented with what they had.
Their Church socials meant lot
10 them. and the old organ that sat
in the corner of the parlor was
not just an ornament.
I'm taking up a lot of your time.
Wright, but got this off my chest.
and in conclusion / agree with a
lot of others, that they were Good
Old Days" and perhaps we could
help make these days seem good
to look back on. if we put to more
use LOT Of the old friendly ways
of bygone times.
Miss 1900
We hear through grapevine that
Seaford's hevy Of golf enthusiasts
who have been spending several
davs IN the "stmny'' south enjoy I
ING a few rounds Of the game. have