57 Years Ago (1955)

r.j.dawg

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May 30, 2011
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I recently received an e-mail that had a number of comments said to have been made in the year 1955. I don?t know about the exact accuracy of them, but they are typical of the kinds of things my parents might have said around then, and typical of many of the things we might say today. The only difference is that today, the numbers are a bit different.

I thought it might be entertaining to list some of them.

  1. I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $10.00.
  2. Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one.
  3. If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit; 20 cents a pack is ridiculous.
  4. Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging 7 cents just to mail a letter.
  5. If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.
  6. When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 25 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.
  7. I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.
  8. I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas.
  9. Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $50,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.
  10. I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They're even making electric typewriters now.
  11. It?s too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.
  12. It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.
  13. I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.
  14. Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to government.
  15. The fast food restaurant is convenient for a quick meal, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.
  16. There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $2.00 a night to stay in a hotel.
  17. No one can afford to be sick anymore. At $15.00 a day in the hospital, it's too rich for my blood.
  18. If they think I'll pay 30 cents for a haircut, forget it.
 

JB

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45,907
Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

I remember those days.

The most important thing I said in 1955 was, "I do".

My income in 1955 was about $4000 (plus all the bennies of being in the Navy) and my wife didn't have to work. Civilians who made $10 Grand a year were living high on the hog, driving Lincolns and Cadillacs.

I think a true comparison would be what fraction of one's income those things really cost compared to today and what we consider essential today that didn't exist in 1955.
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

Isn't it truly amazing how things really haven't changed that much over the years. While it seems like everything cost-wise has gone up, so has our incomes too. The only real thing I think has changed is back in those days a person was embarassed to have to take any handout like it was certainly not the manly thing to do to support your family. Today so many are living from generation to generation without ever needing any job anymore and could care less how they are precieved... Americans had inventive ways to solve most anything back then. Today everybody looks to the government for all the answers... Different times then and certainly different mindsets now... Can't say these modern times are better in those respects though... :embarassed:
 

tpenfield

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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

The Ford Thunderbird was introduced that year (and so was I) ;)

It just goes to show you how transition from the present into the future is usually met with some apprehension.
 

Capt Ken

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Jul 30, 2002
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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

I'll quit driving before I'll pay .50 a gallon for gas. Remember that as clear as if it was yesterday.
 

rbh

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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

From a small town prospective-


I do not think people had as high expectations back then as now, there was a job in your little town and thats were you went for the most part.
The big city is where your long lost cousins live.

(according to my parents)

Today we need to network around the world for opportunities, life for the most part has just gotten more hectic I believe.
 

JimS123

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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

I was still in grade school in '55, but I know what my dad made back then. Compared to my salary now, the wage went up 17.8 times. This is for comparable jobs.

So, by that comparison, things today should cost:

gas - $5.16
full size auto - $29,000
16' OB boat - $35,000
3 BR house in suburbs (new) - $285,000

Most are not too far off. Sure, I hate paying $4 for gas, but compared to when i was in college I'm actually paying less percentage wise.
 

JB

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45,907
Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

The fifties was not a good time if you weren't white.

Amen to that, brother. And that is as close as we are going to get to politics. . .okay, gang?
 

colbyt

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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

There might be one or two errors in that, but then someone may have said it.
 

Jeep Man

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Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

I don't remember much from 1955. But then, at this date in 1955 I was only a little more than 2 weeks old.
 

catfish58

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Jul 17, 2011
Messages
158
Re: 57 Years Ago (1955)

I was 4 in 1955. My first job was in 1967. I pumped gas for 32.9 cents a gallon(full service). I would even bring cigarettes to the customer's car for $.40 a pack.
 
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