This is not my usual kind of post but I wanted to paint a picture so to speak of our 1943 history project and how we are living one year like 1943. Anyone can do this study and it is exciting to study our ancestors and what it was like for them long ago. We don't have to change our home, but we can if we want. It is the research that we learn so much from. Each of you can do your own research just like me.
I am already getting emails from some of you that are very surprised at how much they are learning. It is motivation and makes us want to clean our homes and do like our generations before us did. We can save money all at the same time. I used to go to our public library to their research room to use the microfilms but then I signed up for newspapers.com and I can sit at my computer and read the newspaper for my area from long ago. I also study census records and read diaries which I am sharing and plan to share more with you.
This study is about the home and the home front in hard times and good times. It is about living a simple life, getting out of debt and turning a house into a home.
So far, our first month living like 1943 was full of research and Charles and I have learned so much that we realize that we only scratched the surface first time around living like 1943.
So I did some serious digging since I was born in closer to the middle of the 1800s. After researching farm work, no electricity or running water, horse and wagon, horse and buggy, started searching how our town of Dothan developed so we could figure out how we ended up here in Dothan in 1943 and, I learned a lot.
Later, Charles and I met and married. The population of Dothan was only 247 around 1890 so we get an idea of what that might look like. Dirt roads in the down town area. There was a bank, a Railroad, Hardware store and a hotel. Buildings were going up all over down town. Trains would deliver ice to the ice house and then wagons would be used to deliver the ice to residents and take it into the home with ice tongs and that was a very heavy job. Central Ice Company is the first ice house that I can find with my research.
By 1920 we decided to sell the farm and buy a house in the town of Dothan. Downtown Dothan had been paved and there were new streets with new houses though still many dirt roads. We bought a simple house with the money from the sell of the farm. We would be frugal with our money that we had leftover. We saw people buying bigger houses and putting in new gadgets and electricity, running water and telephones. Our house came with a chicken house and barn because many houses had large property for a barn and horses and buggy before 1920. The next few years most people had a car instead of horses.
Charles had steady nature, the children grew up, then their were grandchildren and now great grands and here we are in 1943 with another second world war and Charles and I are getting older. It is difficult to feel too settled and sure about money after what we have seen. Charles decided to apply for a salesman job even though he is close to retirement, he saw an ad in the paper and applied for a Jergens territory route. He sat with the nice man that was a bit surprised that he was older and they discussed other possible towns he could work since the gas rationing was tight. Since Jergens was new to the area, they worked out a different route with an understanding that he would develop the route so then a younger man could come in and take over the route when it was time for him to retire. Charles just has this sense about him that people like.
End of our story.... What is your story?
We have switched from Ivory to Jergens soap now for obvious reasons. :) We purchased some Prell shampoo since we saw it in the 1943 paper. Have not smelled that in a long time. :)
The next post is going to be really interesting. It is crunch time and all about money! Income, electric bill, cost of food and more. Wait to read what our paycheck is going to be!
Grandma Donna
