Notes from the White County Historical Society as they appear in "The Carmi Times."

Copyright ©2000 by "The Carmi Times" Permission to reprint granted to Cindy Birk Conley and the ILGenWeb by Tammy Knox, editor, "The Carmi Times."

Here are some statistics from the book "When My Grandmother Was A Child"
by Leigh W. Rutledge:

Only eight percent of American homes had a telephone. A three-minute
call from Denver to New York City cost $11.

There were only 144 miles of paved roads in America. The maximum speed
limit in most cities was 10 m.p.h.

The average wage was 22 cents an hour, and the average U. S. worker made
between $200 and $400 a year.

The average life expectancy in this country was 47.

Sugar cost four cents a pound, and coffee cost 15 cents a pound. Eggs
were 14 cents per dozen.

Most women washed their hair only once a month and used borax or egg
yolks for shampoo.

The three leading causes of death in the U. S. were (1) pneumonia, (2)
tuberculosis and (3) diarrhea.

The population of Las Vegas, Nev. was 30--just a few ranchers and their
families.

There was no Mother's Day nor Father's Day.

Only six per cent of Americans had graduated from high school.

According to one ad, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to
the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels and is in fact a perfect
guardian of health." Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available
over the counter at corner drugstores.
........

The weather has been perfect for reading tombstones. We hope all
volunteers have been out working on their respective cemeteries. On some
of the old stones I couldn't read this week, I went back this morning
and used chalk. I found it was a tremendous help in bringing out those
names and numbers.
........

The Genealogy Library is open from 11 to 5 Wednesdays.
 

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The Coordinator for the White County, Illinois ILGenWeb page is Cindy Birk Conley

Copyright © 2000 by Cindy Birk Conley, all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercial use of the information contained in these pages is strictly prohibited without prior permission. If copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information.