But Then Came New Inventions

"The two most important days in your life were the day you were born and the day you find out why." Mark Twain

https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/   Spanish Flu and WWI--1914-1919

      Covid-19   October, 2019 continuing through 2022 Most Likely

          But then came new inventions. . . . .  Domestic Diva's                                                                       Rejoice

  

     "It is almost impossible to realize what a changed and wonderful world we live in today."     
                             Opal Amsler, Indiana   Circa 1921

                         (WWI-- July 28, 1914 to Nov. 11, 1918)

   

Eleanor Arnold writes "Tremendous changes had occurred in the mechanics of housekeeping. In the past, almost all housework was done through sheer muscle power. 

Water was pumped from wells, lifted and carried in the house, used and carried out again. Each piece of laundry was handled four or five times in the process of scrubbing, rinsing, wringing and hanging out.
Food was available only in unprocessed form. It had to be grown, stored, peeled, cooked and served for every meal of the year. The modern housewife of the late 1800's almost never left the house.

Clothing was a bolt of yard goods and a treadle sewing machine, if you could afford such a luxury. Sometimes even the fabric had been spun and woven. Socks and scarves often had a short journey from sheep to homemaker's needles to the wearer.

Cooling was by running water or an icebox, lighting by kerosene lamps, heating by wood stoves, and plumbing was unavailable.
With the coming of electricity, all that changed. Those long stretches of wire running down lonely roads and into farmhouse lanes brought light, water and labor-saving appliances to hard working homemakers."  Voices of American Homemakers- Eleanor Arnold, Editor 1988

The above quote was gleaned from an oral history project of the National Extension Homemakers Council, on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary. This chronicle is an unusual collaboration of interviews in 37 states and processed over 200 oral histories of women who devoted their lives to the unglamourous but elemental task of raising families and managing households. Here we learn what life was like from the late 1800's to the late 1980's when the book was published. 

      "We never worried about calories. Calories is something new--you know, since Home Economics Class. (Laughs)
We worked, we didn't have to worry about calories. Everybody worked, from the oldest clear down to the littlest one. As soon as they could understand, they had their chores." 
                              Edna Winter, 84, Indiana 

            "To get to school on time, we got up at four o'clock in the mornings. We children helped Mother prepare breakfast, which was a huge meal consisting of meat, gravy, oats, apple butter, biscuits, milk and coffee. My sister and I washed the dishes while my mother prepared our lunches, which we carried to school in small buckets."  
                                  Violet Davis, 79, Indiana

I remember my own dear mother telling me of her one room schoolhouse when as a youngster, as I visualize the ambient warmth radiating from the cast-iron, potbelly wood stove in the middle of the classroom. She tells, "at about an hour before lunch the teacher collected our lunch pails and placed them on the wood stove to heat. At lunch time we all had warm meals for our lunch." 
                 Bette Whiteman, circa 1939, Nova Scotia, Canada

 America is on the precipice of monster change, what if the economy fails from this coronavirus and it's societal mandates? The world's economy and businesses may come back on-line but only for a short time. Worker shortages are having a huge effect on businesses and I have also heard rumors of the Apple Corporation pulling a two year old design out of mothballs to revamp. They will sell this new design with no new technology because they make these things in China, and China is still offline, so to speak.  At this stage of this game, anything is possible. Will humanity friendly technology follow this crisis? Can we compare this present day crisis to that of our grandmothers?


            I have great encouragement and hopefulness!

Hubby and I have been craft show and farmers market type business people for many years. Back about a decade ago, we were selling preparedness gear and freeze dried food. However, after Y2K, there was very little  incentive to prepare, so our business really never took off. The public as a whole, just wasn't interested. Y2K was a bust, nothing could persuade them to open their minds to the idea that something else in the world could change. I was of the mind set we were just too early to that party. At vendor or craft markets, people would take a free sample of prepared freeze dried food we offered, thank us, then just keep on walking.

One older lady with conviction in her voice, demanded,  "What good is that freeze dried stuff you're selling if the power is out? You can't cook it on an electric stove?"

It had been a long grueling day at the lawn and garden trade show. Hubby, being the snarky bastard that he can be, looks her in square the eye and with a straight face says, "Well, that's when you grab the kitchen chairs and take them out to the backyard and bust them up. Put them in a pie in the backyard and set 'em on fire. There, now you can cook."  

With a totally exasperated look on her face, she let out a discussed grunt, turns on her heel and stomps away. 

Last year, hubby and I became members of our local farmers and artisans market. We gave up freeze dried food shortly after the lawn and garden fiasco. My heart has always been with plants. So, I followed my heart and began selling veggie and herb plants, seeds, herbal products and handmade crafts. It was the most fun I had ever had. I learned more about people than I could have ever imagined. The atmosphere at Farmers Markets are so friendly and people love to ask questions and I can be a bit loquacious when talking about herbs and remedies. Just ask me, I'll tell ya'. 

I was most impressed, however,with the many young women (and men) with children that stopped by my booth! The glass ceiling having been pretty much breached, women are returning to the family structure. We are coming full circle and I couldn't be happier. The young women were interested in feeding healthy, nutritious food for their brood. We often discussed growing your own kitchen garden, kids health, herbal remedies and so much more!

When this coronavirus stay-at-home order went into effect in so many states, I became worried about how we as a civilization could/would get through it.  Those in power began tightening the societal noose. More laws and rules for you to live by while they sit in their Ivory towers of affluence. It's how it has always worked throughout history. Create a crisis, tighten up and make more laws and rules, offer a solution, then hammer down any loose ends. Funnel the sheep through the choke hold. 

If I was a gambling guy, however, I'd place my money on some of the younger people I met at the Farmers Markets. These folks are becoming aware and don't mind getting their hands dirty playing in the dirt with their children. Many didn't want their children exposed to technology too soon and they fed themselves and their offspring organic food when possible and they knew the value of herbal remedies. I was so impressed! Most noticeably, they were very guarded about their lifestyle and political opinions. It wasn't like they were being secretive, it was that they just didn't bring unwanted attention to it. After taking the time to get to know this population, I believe this is where new inventions will come from for our changing world. Not just the young people of America, either, but the young folks from all around the world who see this as an opportunity to contribute, to change the world for the better. This is not a time to live in fear, but to embrace an opportunity to shape the next phase of human history. We were born for this! 

So, to answer the question of survival of the next phase of the great American undoing. Yes, people survived the Spanish flu during and after WWI, they made it through WWII and the great depression. I am optimistic that we have a fighting chance but not like you think. It will be different for us because of the technology we are used to. We may end up living like our great-grandmothers day for awhile. https://peninsulapeasant.blogspot.com/2017/11/hide-behinds-and-silent-winters-night.html  So get ready to play in the dirt and share what you know. Any way you fry it, we human are going to have to get through some really agonizing situations first, just as they did. I am looking forward to the new things theses young people will invent for a kinder, gentler world.

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