The concept of wealth is a very relative one. (See "Third World", "Middle Class", "Living wage", "The wealthy", "Poverty level" in current literature) A significant portion of today's world would consider most us in America, even those considered poverty level, as wealthy. It really all depends on your personal world view.
A starving person considers anyone with a steady supply of food as quite well off. In the 30's my family was well off simply because my father had a steady job as a NYC teacher throughout the depression. We kids never knew a missed meal, never faced even a skimpy one. We attended parochial school, had "school" clothes, and "play" clothes, and even "good" clothes; we saw the doctor and the dentist as needed; Jack and I even had our own bedroom and our own radio. We went to the movies regularly and even bought occasional model kits and comic books at ten cents each. We did not have allowances so I guess we just asked for money for each specific purpose from Mom or Dad. We did not have paying jobs but some kids had paper routes, and, as a matter of fact, we were not legally allowed to be hired before we were 14 years old and had passed a medical exam. Men were regularly employed for $18-$25 a week, women even less. So we were incredibly wealthy!
My mother had the linens picked up, washed, ironed, folded, packaged and delivered. She must have had a washing machine but I cannot recall seeing one. No dishwasher, no dryer. We hung out laundry on clotheslines in the back yard, except for our white shirts for school and my father's shirts which we brought to the Kent store to be washed, starched, ironed, and wrapped for ten cents each. Dry cleaning a suit was more expensive so we often took Dad's suit to the cleaners to be "pressed" and "spot cleaned" for 25 cents. We would wait in the cleaner's for it to be done and bring it right home. A faint bouquet of "body odor" was always present in the cleaners from steam pressing well-worn but less frequently cleaned garments.
Being boys, we thought we were doing Mom a favor saving her money by wearing a school shirt more than one or two days. She was aghast sometimes when we proudly presented our shirts with a week's accumulation of neck grime forming a black ring inside the collar.
Of course, clothes were well worn before being discarded and there was no shame in accepting hand-me-downs of others who had outgrown them. Holes in socks were darned. The frayed cuffs on trousers were refolded to conceal the edges. Glue-on soles extended shoe life without the cost of re-soling. Temporary cure for holes worn right through soles was cardboard inserts. Rent for our apartment in a two-family house was $45.00 a month.
I remember a few times Mom took us in a taxi to Aunt Mae's house because Mom didn't drive. I was fascinated at how high the rates displayed on the door of the cab were. As I recall it was 25 cents for the first 1/4 mile and 10 cents for each additional 1/4 mile. My father even owned a car to get to his school.
There was no pizza in those days but, on occasion, we were treated with take-out from a local Chinese restaurant. The A&P was becoming a big thing for food shopping because they expanded from handling just packaged groceries and canned goods to selling fresh produce and meat all in a single store. We still went to separate stores for fresh produce, baked goods, pork, or fish.
In those days money pretty much meant cash which was tight. There were no credit cards; checks were suspect unless the person writing one was known.
Seeing a doctor did not require an appointment because he had regular office hours and you simply went during that time and saw him in the order you arrived. The office was frequently his home. Standard fee for a visit was $2.00 which you paid the receptionist (usually the doctor's wife) as you left. If you called him for a home visit it cost $3.00 to $5.00. I assume that immunizations and such were extra.
The usual charge for a dentist to provide a regular amalgam filling was around $2.00. Our family had Blue Cross hospitalization insurance which covered most regular hospital admissions including semi-private rooms, operating and delivery rooms. Doctors' services were paid directly to them. Before WWII,
group insurance was quite rare and, due to the scarcity of cash, any policy with a reputable company which guaranteed payment was readily accepted.
Comentarios