It's time to close the book on the FReepathon.
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They had MORALS.
Not having writing material cheaply available, they had better memories. Not having TV they had longer attention spans.
They knew fewer people and had better attachments to them. They had a sense of community and knew their neighbors.
They knew how and when to fight.
I’m 70. Except for making lace...I’ve done all those things....and I’m female.
Yes...every desk had an inkwell and we learned to write beautiful script in the second grade.
It was part of our lessons...writing essays or our spelling words or writing "I will not talk in class".....100 times.
What disposable diapers in the 1930s? My children were born between 1960 and 1965, and there were NO disposable diapers that worked. We “wore out” 9 dozen cloth diapers for 4 children. They saw the end of their useful lives as shoe shine cloths and furniture polishers.
There was plenty of “behind the barn” stuff going on.
Of course, the reason most today don’t possess those skills is because there’s no demand.
Making lace? I know several people who do. It’s a hobby now, because the everyday demand isn’t there.
Calligraphy? Again, several hobbyists. It might look beautiful, but it’s painstakingly slow, can be messy, is costly, and there are easier ways to write a letter now.
And that brings up writing a letter to begin with. Now that the Post Office has said that the ~400 bulk/junk mailers they do business with are far more important than your first-class mail, why would anyone bother to use them? There are faster, cleaner, and more-interactive ways to communicate.
There are still PLENTY of people out there who know hunting/fishing, butchering, and field-dressing, at least in the free areas outside the liberal enclaves known as “cities”. And more than a few of those also know enough about bartering and haggling to conduct an exchange of the fruits of their labors with each other. They probably also know a thing or two about lighting fires without matches or a lighter.
And darning socks? Sure, it was useful when socks were actually expensive or hand-made and therefore worthy of preservation. A lot of folks back then knew how to drive a horse-and-buggy too, but I note that particular skill didn’t make the “list”. Likewise using an outhouse, drawing water from a well, walking 5 miles each way to town, or freezing your ass off in the winter because there was only one woodstove in the house to keep it warm.
This article is little more than rose-glasses nostalgic twaddle that conveniently ignores all the inconveniences that these skills masked. Ink-and-pen writing was the *only* means of communication for everyday matters, because there weren’t many telephones. Many folks also did without things like electricity, indoor plumbing, or modern medicines, and few people today would willingly go back to such a standard of living.
I can’t make lace. Other than that I can and have done those things.
I’m 64 and I’m really glad I was not born 100 years ago.
Not exactly prepping but it is interesting. I’ll let you judge the ping worthiness.
I’ll take life with air conditioning, microwaves, indoor plumbing, and all the rest of the goodies of modern living.
Who wears lace anymore anyway?
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Growing-up in the 50’s & 60’s ,I lived most all these things. .
The authors unfortunately forget to mention one skill, at least, that all moderns have that the Oldsters never did: scamming the taxpayers.
THAT at least, has been elevated to an art form.
I recently found out that my great grandfather worked for the railroad in northern Michigan. One tragic day his leg was crushed by a train car and the leg was amputated on his kitchen table...........
Time marches on.
1. Courting
2. Hunting, Fishing, and Foraging
3. Butchering
4. Bartering
5. Haggling
6. Darning and mending
7. Corresponding by mail
8. Making Lace - This is the only one I haven’t done.
9. Lighting a Fire Without Matches
10. Diapering With Cloth
11. Writing With a Fountain Pen
There’s a lot they didn’t have either including cheap international travel, cheap nationwide travel, access to information, cheap medications, etc.
There’s good and bad with progress. Nothing new.
It's over-rated. Flush toilets and indoor running water are pretty darn nice to have.
I have the skillsets to live a mid-1800s lifestyle. I chose not to.
/johnny