This is my space to share my quest to collect as many broken branches as I can in my fractured family tree which resembles a bramble bush more then a proper tree. As I go forward in this blogging journey I hope to share how I have searched far & wide for family - with no regard for where they come from or if I should really want them.
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

From Birth (1926) To Death (2023) ~ How The Times Have Changed

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 12 (TECHNOLOGY)


Recently I was looking at 1931 census record for my grandmother (who was 4) & her family when I noticed they were recorded as not having a radio. In fact none of the families on that page had a radio. 

This got me to thinking about what changes my grandmother, who died last December, would have seen over her lifespan of 1926 to 2023.

This video from YouTube gives an intro to the 1920s in the United States - I'm sure Canada was not too different.

She lived in a world where a simple scratch could turn deadly. 

Grandma was almost 2 years old when penicillin was first discovered, but she was a teenager before it was successfully used in the general population.  

She was a child & teen through the Great Depression & World War II. 

She was 19 when the first atomic bomb was detonated.

Flight was in it's infancy when grandma was a child, but available as a form of commuting by the time she died.

As a child I remember grandma wearing her knee high stockings. She never left the house without them. She was a teenager before they were affordable for everyday usage.

"Nylon and nylon stockings were shown to the American public at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Women loved them!" 1 

Grandma lived in rural Manitoba, and I heard tales of how the comforts of her childhood and adult life were so different.

"In the 1940s, many Canadians lived in rural areas where most homes had no electricity, and even fewer had indoor plumbing." 2

A retired telephone operator Grandma had moved plugs on the switchboard to connect callers. At her bedside when she died every family member had a pocket sized computer that made calls. 

Photography wasn't common place, and yet Grandma and her family left behind photos for us to get a glimpse into her childhood.








And this last photo of the family (not too long before her brother died - grandma and her brother sitting graveside with their parents





Everything changes over time!!! 

 

 

This is why I search - 

 

Cause ... 

 

 

 

 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

 

 

 

 



***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

 

 

Footnotes:

1  The History of Ordinary Things: Ladies’ Stockings over Time. Written by Doris Montag. 50 Plus Life. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from
https://50pluslifepa.com/lifestyle/history/2483-the-history-of-ordinary-things-ladies-stockings-over-time

2  Canadian War Brides. History. Veterans Affairs. Government of Canada. 
Retrieved March 16th 2024 from
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/canadian-war-brides

 

Sources:

The 20th and 21st centuries. Technology from 1900 to 1945. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from 
https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-technology/The-20th-and-21st-centuries

How do penicillins work? Medical News Today. Medically reviewed by Zara Risoldi Cochrane, Pharm.D., M.S., FASCP — By Tim Newman on July 30, 2018. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from 
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216798


Photos:

Personal

 

Videos:

Virtual History: Life 100 Years Ago. Stark Art & History. Retrieved March 16th 2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAUpK_3rnEg

 

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/




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