Singer, songwriter Bob Dylan insisted in 1963, “The Times They Are A-Changin.’” While he was addressing issues more profound than technology or consumerism, the lyrics still ring true. If we weren’t into his music then, we can sing it now!
Consider for starters the many differences in shopping for school supplies now versus 50 or 60 years ago. World Drug, Grant’s and Kresge’s in downtown Peoria featured shelves of back-to-school items like pencils, pens, pencil boxes, and notebooks in bright colors with coordinating folders. Now students shop in electronic departments and today’s notebook is not spiral bound pieces of paper. Classroom blackboards have been replaced by whiteboards or Smart Boards.
We can lament the loss of what was, with its simplicity and easy-to-understand features, or we can accept the reality of today’s world and enjoy a nostalgic look at yesterday. Reminiscing is enjoyable, and every generation recalls what used to be. It’s part of growing older, a way of marking time, and makes for interesting topics of conversation.
Yesterday’s treasures, if in mint condition with original box, can bring handsome prices in a collectibles’ shop. Holding on to such keepsakes can be a lucrative adventure. But whatever the financial outcome, a journey back in time delights.
Once upon a time, milk was delivered to the home. Sometimes it rather mysteriously appeared on the doorstep, like the wee small hours delivery of a newspaper, and sometimes the milkman brought an array of baked items along with fresh milk in glass bottles. Stafford’s or Schierer’s Dairies sold glass-bottled milk at their stores and provided a metal container for easy carrying. (Soda also came in glass bottles.)
The banking business of today requires different vocabulary and protocol. Passbooks are passé, and customer service can be limited, particularly in metropolitan areas. Thanks to technology, some folks haven’t visited a bank in years. Gone are the days of writing a check on Thursday, hoping it won’t clear till Monday so Friday’s payday deposit covers it. Checks now clear in seconds. Paying by check is considered obsolete in some circles. Need to know your account balance? With online banking, the answer is yours with a few clicks and seconds of time.
Today’s society does less repairing and more buying new. Sometimes that’s cost efficient, but repair and reuse had been a way of life. Recycling wasn’t named but it existed. Shoes were resoled; socks were darned; purses and bags were repaired, and fine china could often be restored.
China place settings were once coveted items on a bridal registry. Today’s brides and grooms register for outdoor tents, games, electronic devices, and certificates for a honeymoon destination. Wedding receptions were cake, punch, and coffee, and maybe finger sandwiches. Today’s weddings include out-of-state bachelor and bachelorette parties, sit-down dinners and an open bar for the reception, and morning after brunches with photo shoots enough for a movie debut.
Photographs and phonographs dramatically illustrate immense differences between then and now. Previously used were flashcubes and film, and slides and 8mm movie film. Film was taken to shops for developing, and sometimes a color photo faded to sepia through the years. Now we take infinite pictures, delete undesirables, email them to one and all, and skip the photo album.
We once bought records, 33, 45, and 78s and had to replace the needle on a record player. Now music is heard from various devices and the record, tape, or CD is unnecessary to own.
Nearly everyone is sporting a cell phone today, and change is no longer needed for a pay phone. Phone cards are obsolete as are phone booths and rotary dial phones. Party lines seem like ancient history.
Even doing the laundry is a revised task. Wringer washers are all wrung out. Clotheslines are rare, washboards really are ancient history, many kids today have never seen an iron, pants’ stretchers are novelty items pictured on Facebook, and probably no one under 50 knows about dampening clothes and putting them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until it’s time to iron. Washday is every day, not just Monday, and starch for clothes is rare.
Some items are practically extinct. Do you remember: going steady class rings wrapped in angora; gum wrapper chains; fountain pens that you filled with ink; blotters; individual glass creamers at a restaurant; women wearing gloves and a hat for church; cardboard fans from mortuaries; elevator operators (Montgomery Ward downtown Peoria); typewriters; gifts for opening a bank account; dishes inside a box of laundry detergent; cigarette commercials; penny candy; library card catalogs; metal ice cube trays; and the list continues.
Sometimes one person calls something outdated that another person is still using. For example: watches and alarm clocks (“no one uses them,” says a source. “They use their cell phones.” I must disagree.) No calendars, scratch pads, grocery lists, etc., as previous source says people use computers or cell phones instead. (Disagree even more.)
Often before the marketing promotion of an item is complete, something more advanced is available. Change is a constant in life. We can embrace it or curse it, or accept that new and improved is not always better or necessary. But the times will keep changing, with or without us.