The religious freedom article was interesting for the historical perspective it provided, but the final sentence -- "If we start thinking of religious freedom as a superpower that enables anyone to avoid a law they don’t like, then religious freedom itself will become a farce" -- just doesn't add up. The Anderson case shows that you have to demonstrate an actual religious motive.
The 1915 article was interesting. That was 21 years before my birth, so my actual memories are from 30 years later. But I do know something about my parents' lives.
In 1915, my father was 13. It would be another 3 years before he entered the labor force. I don't really know how many hours he worked at that time: He went to work for the railroad, as his deceased father had, and the railroads had had strong labor unions for maybe two decades. What I do know is that in the 1940s he was unusual in working only 44 hours rather than the standard 48.
My mother was 11. She had already been doing seasonal farm labor for 5 or 6 years, earning a pittance to help stave of starvation. I believe it was 5 years later that she moved to the city (1940 population 18,000) to get a job as as telephone operator. I strongly suspect there were more female telephone operators than female teachers and probably more female retail clerks than either.
That figure of only 20% of households have a stove sounds odd, although it may depend on the definitions of "household" and "stove." My parents lived in boarding houses before they were married. If you define each person in a boarding house as a separate household, that pulls down the percentage. But still, most people were still living on farms. Surely almost every household would have a wood-burning stove? But it they excluded wood-burning stoves, then the figure becomes believable.
I agree with you about stoves, Bill. Stoves started to become common after the Civil War; they dramatically decreased use of firewood. Before that people cooked in fireplaces, no different than in the Middle Ages. In the cities a hundred years ago a lot of the housing stock was boarding houses, but still...
Another thought about stoves--by 1915 most in the cities were probably burning anthracite coal rather than wood. Some would have used "water gas," but I think that was predominantly used for lighting.
Bill, my heart ached when I read that your mother needed to be a farm laborer from age 5, to stave off starvation. 5 is so young! With grandchildren around that age, I can barely wrap my mind around it.
It was Chicago's 10-cent fee on plastic bags that triggered the realization that reusable cloth tote bags, of which I had a bunch, were _easier to carry heavy stuff (groceries) in_. My hands hurt a lot less during that 4-block walk now.
I have a good start on my home study penmanship course; a hundred pages in, at the beginning of Chapter 5, and that is where the pen hits the paper. Half an hour twice a day will get me through it in two months, although I have my doubts that I will be able to keep up quite that pace. Not far off my previously laid plan.
#2 Launching the 2019 Field Season tells of the reasons for taking on three projects this year...! It's all about doing vital bird surveys before oil and gas exploration can begin (now that it was made legal....GRRRR!). http://shorebirdscience.org/list-mania/#comment-32756
Around 8PM there was a very loud sound we thought was from upstairs; the house seemed to shake. Naomi was upstairs and she had no idea what it was. I walked around the house and saw the neighbors on their second floor veranda looking around; they heard it too. There were enough clouds that I suppose it could have been a single peal of nearby thunder. Nothing like it since.
I suppose that is a possibility; the local airport doubles as an Air National Guard base, and there is a Naval Air Station in the next county. But they seem to be good about staying subsonic around here. There were a lot of clouds overhead, though.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/michael-golojuch-jr/explaining-why-tulsi-gabbards-evolution-is-a-farce/10156786642754693/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan!
DeleteExtraordinarily weird.
DeleteThe teen rescuing street children in Nigeria
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-42862931
How The Politics Of Religious Freedom Got Turned On Their Head [Click]
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America in 1915: Long Hours, Crowded Houses, Death by Trolley [Click] I am surprised by how few people [households?] are said to have owned stoves.
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The religious freedom article was interesting for the historical perspective it provided, but the final sentence -- "If we start thinking of religious freedom as a superpower that enables anyone to avoid a law they don’t like, then religious freedom itself will become a farce" -- just doesn't add up. The Anderson case shows that you have to demonstrate an actual religious motive.
DeleteThe 1915 article was interesting. That was 21 years before my birth, so my actual memories are from 30 years later. But I do know something about my parents' lives.
DeleteIn 1915, my father was 13. It would be another 3 years before he entered the labor force. I don't really know how many hours he worked at that time: He went to work for the railroad, as his deceased father had, and the railroads had had strong labor unions for maybe two decades. What I do know is that in the 1940s he was unusual in working only 44 hours rather than the standard 48.
My mother was 11. She had already been doing seasonal farm labor for 5 or 6 years, earning a pittance to help stave of starvation. I believe it was 5 years later that she moved to the city (1940 population 18,000) to get a job as as telephone operator. I strongly suspect there were more female telephone operators than female teachers and probably more female retail clerks than either.
That figure of only 20% of households have a stove sounds odd, although it may depend on the definitions of "household" and "stove." My parents lived in boarding houses before they were married. If you define each person in a boarding house as a separate household, that pulls down the percentage. But still, most people were still living on farms. Surely almost every household would have a wood-burning stove? But it they excluded wood-burning stoves, then the figure becomes believable.
I agree with you about stoves, Bill. Stoves started to become common after the Civil War; they dramatically decreased use of firewood. Before that people cooked in fireplaces, no different than in the Middle Ages. In the cities a hundred years ago a lot of the housing stock was boarding houses, but still...
DeleteAnother thought about stoves--by 1915 most in the cities were probably burning anthracite coal rather than wood. Some would have used "water gas," but I think that was predominantly used for lighting.
DeleteBill, my heart ached when I read that your mother needed to be a farm laborer from age 5, to stave off starvation. 5 is so young! With grandchildren around that age, I can barely wrap my mind around it.
DeleteGrocery store urges customers to rethink plastic with embarrassing bags [Click] Embarrassing? I want to collect them all!
ReplyDeleteHow Tokyo's suburban housing became vast ghettoes for the old [Click]
The populist right is forging an unholy alliance with religion [Click] “From Salvini to Orbán, ethno-nationalists are hijacking religious themes to fuel their agenda. Progressives need to fight back.” But how, the authors do not say.
It was Chicago's 10-cent fee on plastic bags that triggered the realization that reusable cloth tote bags, of which I had a bunch, were _easier to carry heavy stuff (groceries) in_. My hands hurt a lot less during that 4-block walk now.
DeleteBEST POLITICAL COLUMN OF THE DAY, PERHAPS OF THE YEAR:Want to beat Trump? Learn from workers in Republican states [Click]
ReplyDelete'Not particularly radical': Sanders previews major socialism address in POLITICO interview [Click] “The Vermont senators intends to own a label his rivals are using as an epithet.”
ReplyDeleteI have a good start on my home study penmanship course; a hundred pages in, at the beginning of Chapter 5, and that is where the pen hits the paper. Half an hour twice a day will get me through it in two months, although I have my doubts that I will be able to keep up quite that pace. Not far off my previously laid plan.
ReplyDeletePhD*Son is back in Alaska and the posts have begun!
ReplyDelete#1 List Mania tells of the large amount of preparation that went into helping ensure a safe and successful season.
http://shorebirdscience.org/launching-the-2019-field-season-in-the-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-our-most-important-field-season-to-date/?fbclid=IwAR12Cvs0yvo6pm6dr0-InwTECyG13kbQ5sYSLyIdCLtlBiy2kQTkCVU8GHM#comment-32750
#2 Launching the 2019 Field Season tells of the reasons for taking on three projects this year...! It's all about doing vital bird surveys before oil and gas exploration can begin (now that it was made legal....GRRRR!).
http://shorebirdscience.org/list-mania/#comment-32756
Pete has some vague ideas about foreign policy. [Click]
ReplyDeleteTrump gives away copy of secret Mexico “agreement” [Click] Good for a laugh.
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Around 8PM there was a very loud sound we thought was from upstairs; the house seemed to shake. Naomi was upstairs and she had no idea what it was. I walked around the house and saw the neighbors on their second floor veranda looking around; they heard it too. There were enough clouds that I suppose it could have been a single peal of nearby thunder. Nothing like it since.
ReplyDeleteSonic boom from a supersonic aircraft?
DeleteI suppose that is a possibility; the local airport doubles as an Air National Guard base, and there is a Naval Air Station in the next county. But they seem to be good about staying subsonic around here. There were a lot of clouds overhead, though.
ReplyDelete