ctually had trouble buying food at times. Now, Carol also worked, but a few years later she stopped working when we had our first child. We both wanted her to be a stay-at-home mom. Now to give you some perspective, in 1968 a new home cost, on the average $14,950, gas was 34 cents a gallon, a new car was $2,822, going to the movies cost $1.50, and the minimum wage was $1.60. And, while I'm at it, here are a few other facts from 1968: Viet Nam was still going on; President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act; Sen. Robert Kennedy was assassinated; the Pope banned Catholics from using "The Pill" (How'd that work out?); 911 assistance code was started; the Big Mac went on sale for 49 cents; the musical "Hair" opened in London featuring on stage nudity and drug use; The Beatles record "Hey Jude" and was the 1st single they recorded on the Apple label; Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis; the Boeing 747 made it's maiden flight; air bags were invented for the automobile; the Apollo 8 orbited the moon and was the first manned space mission to do that; Dr. Christian Barnard performed the 1st successful heart transplant; popular movies were The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, The Odd Couple, Rosemary's Baby; popular musicians were Rolling Stones, Supremes, Grateful Dead, The Monkees, Beach Boys, Doors, Moody Blues; favorite TV shows were Route 66, Monkees, Ironsides, Fugitive, Columbo, Hogan's Heros, Benny Hill, Brady Bunch, Peyton Place, Get Smart, Mr. Ed. Oh yeah, in 1968, 50,000 people participated in "The Poor Peoples March" in Washington, DC. Somehow I missed it! Definitely should have been there, but couldn't afford to take off to go. Well, Carol and I survived 1968, and eventually my salary increased. Eventually, being a teacher wasn't just for the person who wanted to do good for humanity, but for the person who could make a decent living as well as do good for humanity. Even though we barely got by for years, we now look back on those times and appreciate what we now have! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The "How Did We Live On That?" Story
It was an ordinary day. Going through my filing cabinet and trying to clean out all the unnecessary items that have accumulated over the last 40 or so years. You ever do that? Seems like I have really accumulated plenty of stuff. Matter of fact if I had done this 10 years ago, I would have saved the cost of a second filing cabinet. Well, one of my many finds was my first contract with the Manheim Township School District. Dated September 25, 1968! I graduated from MTHS in 1962 and entered Millersville State Teacher's College in the fall of '62. Got my first teaching job with York Eastern School District in the fall of '66. Teachers were in such demand that I started with an emergency certificate, since I hadn't graduated from Millersville yet. After one year at York I started teaching at my high school Alma Mater. I was almost finished with my classwork, but was still on an emergency certificate. The contract that I found was my first official contract after graduating from Millersville in the summer of 1968. The amount was $6,414.00!! Holy Cow! That's $102.79 a week. How did we ever live on that? Didn't go out to eat many times. Actually had trouble buying food at times. Now, Carol also worked, but a few years later she stopped working when we had our first child. We both wanted her to be a stay-at-home mom. Now to give you some perspective, in 1968 a new home cost, on the average $14,950, gas was 34 cents a gallon, a new car was $2,822, going to the movies cost $1.50, and the minimum wage was $1.60. And, while I'm at it, here are a few other facts from 1968: Viet Nam was still going on; President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act; Sen. Robert Kennedy was assassinated; the Pope banned Catholics from using "The Pill" (How'd that work out?); 911 assistance code was started; the Big Mac went on sale for 49 cents; the musical "Hair" opened in London featuring on stage nudity and drug use; The Beatles record "Hey Jude" and was the 1st single they recorded on the Apple label; Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis; the Boeing 747 made it's maiden flight; air bags were invented for the automobile; the Apollo 8 orbited the moon and was the first manned space mission to do that; Dr. Christian Barnard performed the 1st successful heart transplant; popular movies were The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, The Odd Couple, Rosemary's Baby; popular musicians were Rolling Stones, Supremes, Grateful Dead, The Monkees, Beach Boys, Doors, Moody Blues; favorite TV shows were Route 66, Monkees, Ironsides, Fugitive, Columbo, Hogan's Heros, Benny Hill, Brady Bunch, Peyton Place, Get Smart, Mr. Ed. Oh yeah, in 1968, 50,000 people participated in "The Poor Peoples March" in Washington, DC. Somehow I missed it! Definitely should have been there, but couldn't afford to take off to go. Well, Carol and I survived 1968, and eventually my salary increased. Eventually, being a teacher wasn't just for the person who wanted to do good for humanity, but for the person who could make a decent living as well as do good for humanity. Even though we barely got by for years, we now look back on those times and appreciate what we now have! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
ctually had trouble buying food at times. Now, Carol also worked, but a few years later she stopped working when we had our first child. We both wanted her to be a stay-at-home mom. Now to give you some perspective, in 1968 a new home cost, on the average $14,950, gas was 34 cents a gallon, a new car was $2,822, going to the movies cost $1.50, and the minimum wage was $1.60. And, while I'm at it, here are a few other facts from 1968: Viet Nam was still going on; President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act; Sen. Robert Kennedy was assassinated; the Pope banned Catholics from using "The Pill" (How'd that work out?); 911 assistance code was started; the Big Mac went on sale for 49 cents; the musical "Hair" opened in London featuring on stage nudity and drug use; The Beatles record "Hey Jude" and was the 1st single they recorded on the Apple label; Jackie Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis; the Boeing 747 made it's maiden flight; air bags were invented for the automobile; the Apollo 8 orbited the moon and was the first manned space mission to do that; Dr. Christian Barnard performed the 1st successful heart transplant; popular movies were The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, The Odd Couple, Rosemary's Baby; popular musicians were Rolling Stones, Supremes, Grateful Dead, The Monkees, Beach Boys, Doors, Moody Blues; favorite TV shows were Route 66, Monkees, Ironsides, Fugitive, Columbo, Hogan's Heros, Benny Hill, Brady Bunch, Peyton Place, Get Smart, Mr. Ed. Oh yeah, in 1968, 50,000 people participated in "The Poor Peoples March" in Washington, DC. Somehow I missed it! Definitely should have been there, but couldn't afford to take off to go. Well, Carol and I survived 1968, and eventually my salary increased. Eventually, being a teacher wasn't just for the person who wanted to do good for humanity, but for the person who could make a decent living as well as do good for humanity. Even though we barely got by for years, we now look back on those times and appreciate what we now have! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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