Our Rotary Club is celebrating its centennial, and during this week’s meeting, Ted Jones gave some comparisons between today and 100 years ago. Being over a half-century myself, the early part of the 20th century is familiar to me, partly from studies, but more so from the stories told to me by grandparents, who I remember clearly because they both lived well into their 90’s, and who were both 12-years old in 1913. Yes, times have changed.
The average income today is $26,364; in 1913, it was $800, about the price of the new Honda Lawn mower I looked at last night at Home Depot. The unemployment rate today is 7.6 percent; 100 years ago, it was 6.6 percent.
There were 4.52 people per household in 1913, while today there are only 2.59 under one roof. I met a few of those .59 types on my way home from work yesterday; they aren’t good drivers.
In 1913, people got married at an average age of 23.35; these days, we wait a bit longer, to 27.05 years. Today, the divorce rate in America for first marriages is 41percent; it jumps to 60 percent for the second marriage and 73 percent for the third.
I couldn’t find out how many people got divorced in 1913, but you’d think with all those people living in the house, it would have been pretty high. My grandparents were married over 65 years.
The most popular boy names back then were John, William, James, Robert, and Joseph. Today, they’re Aiden, Jackson, Ethan, Liam, and Mason. For girls in 1913, there was a good chance you’d be called Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret or Ruth. Today, they are Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Isabella, and Ava.
The population in the U.S. was 97,225,000; today it is 311,591,917. Then, in percentages, 88.8 were white, 10.7 black, and .5 fell under “other.” We’re more diverse today, with 63.4 whites, 13.1 blacks and 23.5 others.
Then, we lived an average of 52.65 years, while today, we make it to 78.2.
One hundred years ago, 59.2 percent of school-aged children were enrolled in school; today, that number is 85.4 percent. That was probably a farm thing.
A mere 12.8 percent graduated from high school back then, while today, 85.4 are handed a diploma. Of those, 28.2 percent go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, while in 1913, only 2.3 percent graduated from college.
The top-grossing movie in 1913 was “Traffic in Soles.” (I’ve not seen it.) It brought in $413,000 (around $9.4 million in today’s dollars). “Iron Man 3” has grossed $340 million so far.
In technology, 1913 saw the invention of the all-purpose zipper, stainless steel, and the moving assembly line. The first crossword puzzle also made its debut. Now we have Windows 8 and 60 million people playing “Words with Friends.”
In 1913, women were marching for the vote and the 16th (income tax) amendment was adopted. Today, terrorists bomb marathons and kill children in schools.
Both Harvard and Chicago claimed the college football national championship. These days it begins and ends in the south – specifically, Alabama.
My great-grandparents did their shopping at Woolworth’s, Montgomery Ward, and J.C. Penny. Today, it’s McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and Starbucks.
The most powerful companies were General Electric, Westinghouse, Hudson Motor Company, Dutch Boy Paint, and Campbell’s Soup. Now, GE has moved from first to fifth, behind Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Exxon, and Wal-Mart.
KM came in as I was writing this and said her mother (Margaret, the same name as my mom) once told her they had much less when she was young. She said they expected less, and that they appreciated it much more.
That’s something to think about.