HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Well here it is another year in history about to unfold in front of us.  Last year was so interesting with the elections of the new Wheat Ridge City Council and reelection of the Mayor. Remember the storm July 20th in the evening.  Some of us shall never forget it. Remember to send your storm stories to us. 

We look forward to this year at the museum.  Charlotte will have two new knees this year and will be running circles around the rest of us.  She had her second knee replacement December 18th and is doing well.  Still tires easy but was at the museum this first week of the New Year already barking orders.

At the request of a gentleman in the State of Washington I copied 2 Oral History CDs and as I was listening to the one by a well loved member who has since left us .  It occured to me that we should feature Oral Histories at our 2010 meetings. After a short business meeting,  we will begin on Jan. 12th with the Oral History of the Post Office presented by Mr. Ted Erickson a long time Post Master in Wheat Ridge.  He recorded this history at a meeting of the Historical Society in 1983.  Please come and join us for this lovely program presented again to the members at our next meeting.  

Remember we meet the 2nd Tues of the Month at 7:30 P.M. at the museum locted at 4610 Robb St.  We are looking forward to a full house.

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                                                   THE YEAR 1909

This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine. 

 The year is 1909. One hundred years ago.

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1909:

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000  cars and only 144 miles of unpaved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world wa the EIFFEL TOWER!

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year.

Adentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME

Ninty percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead theattended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as "substandard".

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

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

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and infulenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American Flag had 45 Stars

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent oa all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said. "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health' (Shocking?DUH!)

Eighteen percent of households had at least One full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

(Mainly because there was a firarm of some sort in almost every home! An armed society is a POLITE society!!)