The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Clyde Collins
As I am sitting here in the Quill Office looking out the window, I am remembering how things were when I was a kid.
Everybody came to town in the afternoon and parked their cars headed in toward the sidewalk on Wednesday and Saturday nights to do their shopping.
Street lamp poles were on both sides of the streets, the Salvation Army would play music on the corner and had a bucket for donations.
I looked forward to going to the "picture show" and paid 25 cents to get in as it cost 18 cents and 5 cents for popcorn and 2 cents for Kix on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
So many things have changed since then.
Of course, in those good old days, minimum wage was only 30 cents per hour which means it took more than an hour to ear enough to buy a 34 cent gallon of milk, another hour and a half to buy a dozen eggs for about 45 cents a dozen and $1 for 26 eggs.
You were lucky to buy a loaf of bread for 8 cents but many made their own breads and pies and noodles and raised their own chickens.
A lot of people had gardens, made their own jelly, and found ways to save.
Here are a few items and their cost in the 1940s:
1940:
Milk: 34 cents/gal
Eggs: About 45 cents a dozen and $1 for 26 eggs.
Bread: 8 cents/loaf
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Car: $800
Gasoline: 18 cents/gal
Move TIcket~24 cents
House: $6,550
Average Annual Salary: $1,900