Reflections of Life in the 1950's

As a pre-baby boomer, I often find myself reflecting back to the 1950's and comparing that era with today, and am amazed as to how far we have come in the field of technology ,and how much more items cost. Today, the minimum wage is almost an hourly $7.00; while from 1950-1959 the minimum wage per hour was a mere $.75.

I can recall going to the neighborhood "mom and pop" grocery store. In fact, we had two small stores within walking distance, Stahl's and Roth's. One of my chores was to go to either store when the family ran out of bread.

After purchasing, a loaf of Sunbeam bread for approximately $.17- $.18, I would stand at the candy counter with an allotted nickel trying to decide as to what type of candy that I wanted. Did I want a candy bar for $.03, or did I want a nickel's worth of penny jar candy, such as gum drops, lolly-pops, licorice sticks, or a mixture of penny candy. Today, very few "mom and pop' stores remain.

One item that I was never sent to purchase, was milk. Milk and dairy products were delivered to the door. At that time, milk did not come in gallons, waxed cartons, or plastic containers. Milk came in glass quart bottles, and was either cream top milk which sold for $.17 a quart, or homogenized milk at $.18 a quart. I loved the cream topped milk the best. During winter, if the cream topped milk was left on the porch too long, the cream would freeze and push the top off the bottle; I enjoyed eating the cream from the top. Other products which were delivered to the door was real creamy butter for $.28 a pound, and large curd cottage cheese at $.24 a pound. At this time, margarine did not exist. By 1958, waxed cartons replaced the glass bottle, and milk came in two sizes, the quart and the half-gallon.

In the 50's meat had a better flavor, with cattle at that time being grain and grass fed; soy bean based cattle feed was unheard of. Hamburger sold at 3 pounds for $.89, and sirloin steak was $.77 lb. One of the favorites of the family was Lake Erie Perch: however, the family thought that $.49 lb, was way too much for perch, so we caught our own. (Today, try buying Lake Erie Perch at $.49 a lb.)