Posted on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 15:38 — by Smokey38
How Much things cost in 1937(the year I was born)
Average Cost of new house $4,100.00
Average wages per year $1,780.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 10 cents
Average Cost for house rent $26.00 per month
A loaf of Bread 9 cents
A LB of Hamburger Meat 12 cents
Average Price for new car $760.00
Toothpaste 35 cents
How Much things cost in 1955
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 0.28%
Average Cost of new house $10.950.00
Average Monthly Rent $87.00
Average Yearly Wages $4.130.00
Average Cost of a new car $1,900.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 23 cents
Black and White TV $99.95
Want to know about the year you were born?
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Report BazookaJoe
Black & White TV's cost about the same.
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Report Smokey38
You mean I could get back what I paid for it?
If interested send me an e-mail. I also have an 8-track and many 8-track tapes.
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Report berlin
edit
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Report chewy
What was the price of a laptop, and Apple iPhone? One thing for sure, roaming charges must have been a lot cheaper then.
(wise guy)
Can I ask you a question? Do you belong to the Red Hat Ladies?
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Report Smokey38
Chewy, there were none of the electronic wonders of today. Life was much simpler in the 30's. Even in the 50's, we had a 6inch black and white t.v. and no phone. LOL
For the record: I belong to no-one.
But yes I am a member of the Red hat Society, along with a million other ladies in over 30 countries.
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Report roygur
Well, I was born in 1944. Our first Black & White TV was in 1950 so Dad could watch 49'er games. Barry and I just played out in the yard while that was going on. Never became a fan until the late 90's. Had Raider season tickets in the early 90's. They've been a dissapointment ever since.
Roy Gursky http://gurskyranch.com
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Report BazookaJoe
"For the record: I belong to no-one."
I'm sorry you don't belong Smokey.
No OFEC hat for you! lol
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Report chewy
My Dad, bought our first black and white in the early 50s, as did your family. My favorite show was "Time for Beany" I loved Cecil's humor. Life was good.
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Report roygur
Cecil and Beanie, wow, what memories. Howdy Doody, Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, the Lone Ranger, Lash LaRue, Flash Gordon, the Mickey Mouse Club (had a big crush on Annette), Leave it to Beaver, Ed Sullivan Show, the mind boggles....
Roy Gursky http://gurskyranch.com
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Report chewy
Flash Gordon - was must see T.V. The plot, acting, and special effects were simple as pie, but it kept me entertained and begging for more.
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Report Smokey38
Chewy, was that Buster Crabbe or was there a made for TV Flash Gordon?
Sorry bout the mistake it's sometimes hard to know the face behind the post.
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Report chewy
Outstanding. I admire your verve, humor and elan.
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Report Smokey38
You sound like a sister.
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Report chewy
No ma'am. Just an old coot who admires the Red Hats, and what they stand for.
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Report wyogrl82
So if I post up here the stuff for the year of 1982, am I going to get stuff thrown at me????
That's what happens at work when I tell my boss she's old enough to be my mom!
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Report Spell.Chic
Ah, 1982 . . . a very good year, indeed. That's the year my SON was born!
So, Wyogrl . . . do ya happen to know what a rotary phone is? (Or should I say, was?)
I loved Beanie and Cecil, but rarely had the opportunity to watch it. It only aired on Sunday mornings in my necka the woods, right when we had to leave for church. Awwwww, mannnnnnn.
"Dominus vobiscum."
"Et_cum_spiritu tuo.
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Report wyogrl82
Ahhh, so YOU are old enough to be my mom too lol
funny story about a rotary phone . . . the first place my parents rented, they rented a rotary phone from the phone company - apparently this was something you could do . . . well, when they moved out of this place, they took the phone as well . . .
I think that thing was still hanging in my parents kitchen until if finally died about four years ago. I used to LOVE to tease them about their stolen phone - I used to talk to my first boyfriend for hours on that thing because the cord was so long it could reach my room from the kitchen!!
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Report stoney4
Does anyone old enough remember the letter prefix for their phone numbers back then? In the 50's we lived at the top of Ygnacio Valley Rd & La Casa Via in Walnut Creek. Our prefix was YEllowstone 4 or 934-. When we moved down the hill to the Eichler homes in Ranch San Miguel, for the first few years we were on a party line. Now THAT was fun!!!!
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Report TinRoof
I can't remember mine, but I remember my cousin's was LA6 (526 in Berkeley), and I can't remember what the LA stood for. Now I have to call my mom and ask her if she remembers what ours was. I think it started with a T.
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Report stoney4
Berkeley has always been at the forefront of all things natural so I'm guessing that the LA was for LAmaze.
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Report Spell.Chic
Just Googled out of curiosity . . . here's an interesting website on letter prefixes:
http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html
(TENP = Telephone Exchange Name Project)
Turns out that the GE in Long Beach stood for GEneva. I'm nearly positive that my Mom's was different when she was growing up there, but I don't know which of the handful listed is the right one.
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Report Spell.Chic
"Ahhh, so YOU are old enough to be my mom too lol"
Ah, young grasshoppah . . . you bet'cher sweet bippy, LOL!
I remember party lines and letter prefixes in phone numbers. The party lines used to really upset my Dad, and I remember him chewing out other people on the line (for various reasons) on more than one occasion (that Hannibal Lecter avatar would really suit my Dad, LOL!). We lived in San Francisco when he was going to school, and that's where I remember the party lines but not the prefixes (didn't know about phone numbers yet). Shortly after he graduated, we moved down to Long Beach. One of the requirements in first grade was memorizing our phone number, so that's when I became aware of it. In Long Beach, our prefix was GE-sumthin'. I'll have to ask Mom if she remembers what it stood for. When I see GE, I automatically think of General Electric, but that's probably doubtful.
Speaking of abbreviations . . . I've been trying to puzzle out OFEC for weeks now. I give up, LOL! I'm guessing that O-F is mebbe Original Forum . . . sumthin' sumthin'. Anyone care to enlighten me? Purty pleeeeeeeeeeeease?
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Report stoney4
O.F.E.C. Old Farts Exchange Club
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Report cowboy1539
Antioch had a prefix of "PH". I remember long after the death of the rotary phone "Woody's Service Station" at 4th & "L" Street still had the "PH" phone number painted on the building. Anybody remember the "Borden's" home milk delivery. They had delivery trucks with huge blocks of ice in the back. Our delivery guy was "Sal". On hot days he would give us chunks of ice to suck on and cool off.
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Report stoney4
In Walnut Creek we had Foremost milk delivery in the orange and white trucks. Our delivery man was Bud. He tossed ice to us too and if we were lucky, we'd get a Fudgecicle. He was a great guy. Always greeted us with a big smile. I can still hear his husky voice.
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Report Smokey38
Here ya go.
How Much things cost in 1982
Average Cost of new house $82,200.00
Average Income per year $21,050.00
Average Monthly Rent $320.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 91 cents
New Car Average price $7,983.00
US Postage Stamp 20 cents
Satellite Receiver $245.95
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Report Spell.Chic
How Much things cost in 1982
Average Monthly Rent $320.00
Yowza, unless ya lived in the Bay Area!
As I recall, our rent in Pinole (apartment) in 1982 was closer to $1,000. (Yes, yes, averages, LOL!)
When I lived in San Diego County just prior to that, I lived in apartments where rent was based on income under a certain amount. Pretty sure I only paid something like $220 per month (down from $500-something after I divorced).
(OMG, I'm blind as a bat. For weeks I've been using
thinking it was a big, cheesy smile . . . when it turns out it's a mouth sealed with tape. *Sigh!* :::groping for spectacles:::)
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Report Smokey38
In 1982, Pinole was the Bel Air of Richmond.
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Who'da thunk Pinole was so upscale, LOL! We considered buying a house in Atchison Village before settling on Hercules (thank gawd).
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Report stoney4
In the late 50's/early 60's......How 'bout Commando Cody, Captain Midnight, Sky King, Sea Hunt, Superman, Fury, Rin Tin Tin, My Friend Flicka, Lassie, Cheyenne, Sugerfoot, Wanted Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Maverick, Ben Casey, Dr, Kildaire, Route 66, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone...........Where's my Bosco????
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Report TinRoof
I loved Outer Limits (no adjustment of your set is necessary, we have taken control….) and Twilight Zone. To this day, whenever SciFi channel has a marathon (usually Labor Day weekend) I try to catch some of the episodes. One of my favorites is the one with Burgess Meredith as the badgered bank teller who has all the time in the world to read after an atomic explosion. I also liked the one with the Martian and the stranded bus passengers in the diner. I also liked Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Did anyone watch Night Gallery with Rod Serling in the late 60’s early 70’s? That was another one I really enjoyed. I remember if I didn’t give my mom grief she would let me stay up on Wednesday nights to watch it.
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Report stoney4
Night Gallery was pretty good. Not on par with Twilight Zone, but still worth watching. Another one of that genre we never missed was One Step Beyond and before that (now I'm really showing my age) Science Fiction Theater hosted by Truman Bradley.
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Report chewy
Yhooo, Rinnie!! or Rinty?
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Report iLoveOakley
(OMG, I'm blind as a bat. For weeks I've been using
thinking it was a big, cheesy smile . . . when it turns out it's a mouth sealed with tape. *Sigh!* :::groping for spectacles:::)
LMAO! I thought the same thing!
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Report stoney4
Are you sure it's not an avatar for people who are a bit, you know, "touchy" and not to be messed with?
Looks to me like it might be a little yellow Hannibal Lecter.
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Report Spell.Chic
Ooooooh, Hannibal Lecter . . . now that could be promising, LOL
I remember Bosco! (And Tiger Milk, and Ovaltine. Man, did Tiger Milk suck, LOL! Pisssed off Mom that we pressured her into buying it, and then wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole!)
Yep-yep, Sea Hunt, Superman, My Friend Flicka, Lassie, The Rifleman, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone . . . then Star Trek, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants . . . oh, and Rocky and Bullwinkle (with Boris and Natasha, and the Fractured Fairy Tales) . . .
My Mother the Car (this is when I first discovered that Dick Van_Dyke had a cuuuuute, blonde brother named Jerry . . . I was a total sucker for blondes) . . .
And another one for the annals of obscurity: It's About Time . . . anyone else remember this one? Sort of a wild, sitcom precursor to Planet of the Apes.
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Report Smokey38
Ozzie and Harriet, Car 54 Where Are You?, Your Hit Parade, Ben Casey , Wagon Train , Dobie Gillis, Peyton Place , Arthur Godfrey Show, Dinah Shore Show, Red Skelton Show, Ding Dong School, Howdy Doody, Father Knows Best, Ted Macks Amature Hour, Topper
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Report berlin
our first colored tv was a piece of plastic, which was placed in front of the tv. top blue, middle green, the rest brown.
for a phone line we had to wait 2 years.
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Report Paul Burgarino
Hello, just trying to play along.
This is Paul Burgarino from the East County bureau of the Times. I'm going to be doing some work trying to get an Antioch blog going, posting questions, writing abut Antioch stuff that doesn't make it to print and trying to interact with readers and posts. I hope this will be informational and worth checking out.
Just so you know where I'm coming from... I'm 25, I grew up in Pittsburg then made the big move to Antioch. I still live in Antioch. Any other questions, ask away.
Take care, Paul
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Report Smokey38
Paul, I'm not sure what more a Antioch blog could do that we don't already do here.A lot of us enjoy our friendships here and joining in conversations with others from different areas. Join in here and you can learn a lot about Antioch that never makes it to the news paper. Or at least sooner than available in print.
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Report 94509guy
"Tunnies"
Ok,how many of you good Catholic kids remember your mom telling you they tasted just like hot dogs when we couldn't eat meat of on Friday.
(yes a tuna dog).
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Report Spell.Chic
LOL at OFEC . . . thanks, Stoney!
94509guy, wow . . . I've never heard of tunnies (sounds like that's mebbe a good thing!). I wonder if they were a regional "goodie," or maybe just something that was a bit pricier than my parents' budget allowed for. Our usual fare on Lenten Fridays was either plain ol' fish, or fish sticks, or tuna noodle casserole . . . occasionally macaroni and cheese (as a side dish only) . . . rarely, if we kids were lucky, cheese pizza or breaded, butterflied shrimp.
I haaaaaaaaated-hated-hated regular fish (regular? — hunks or slices or whatnot, as opposed to fillets). Fish sticks were a close second (dry, fishy, icky Van De Kamps). Way back when, regular fish wasn't deboned (or maybe deboned versions were available, but too expensive). Taking a bite of fish meant getting a mouthful of itty bitty little bones . . . gak! It was like trying to chew hair, and I'd freak at the table. Mom would say, "Oh, fer Pete's sake, just pick them *out*!" Uhm, well . . . I would have tried, if I could have seen them, but then I would have risked a chewing out from my Dad for "playing" with my food, LOL! Then there was just the general issue of fish tasting like fish. Ick! Tuna casserole was muuuuuuch better, though it wasn't a favorite. *Loved* tuna sandwiches, but Mom never would have served them for dinner. Back then, breakfast or lunch for dinner would have been "wrong" . . . which is ironic, because Mom's favorite breakfast *nowadays* is anything that is leftover from dinner.
Cheese pizza or macaroni and cheese were rarely had because they were "too starchy" and "not nutritious". Pizza and the butterflied shrimp were also probably more expensive than the usual Friday offerings. But ohhhhhh, we were such happy campers when any of those three were on the dinner menu!
Ennyhoo . . . //end tome . . .
<—Cat'lick kid. Still not wild about fish overall. Whyyyyyyyy cain't it taste like chicken?
Or at least, not fishy 
. . .
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Report stoney4
The thing that uaually makes fish taste "fishy" is when it's past its prime. Fish doesn't have a very long shelf life so if it's been sitting around too long in the case or in your fridge it's going to get that off flavor and smell I think you talking about. My advice to try and get over this is to go to a good restaurant that specializes in seafood and order some kind of fish cooked in a simple way without an overpowering sauce of any kind. that way you'll see how delicious fish can be if it's fresh and cooked right. I'd recommend going to Walnut Creek and trying either Scott's or The Walnut Creek Yacht Club. Don't bother with Humphrey's. Sorry Humphrey's fans. Sure it's over the hill and it's not exactly bargain fare but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Oh, and BTW, for your best chances of getting REAL fresh fish at any restaurant, don't go on Sundays and Mondays.
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Report Spell.Chic
Welllllllll, I do hafta confess that after much kicking, screaming, and general caterwauling, I've been duly converted to certain types of sushi, including some with bits o' raw fish . . . but I like it better when it's cooked. And one of the main reasons I enjoy sushi is just because there's so much rice to balance out the fish, LOL! I hate plain ol' slabs of sashimi . . . yeck (it's a texture thing).
Same thing with meats . . . not a fan of anything rare or undercooked just from a texture standpoint, if not ptomaine potential, LOL!
We rarely buy "fresh" fish because it's not especially fresh (OMG, and walking into grocery stores that reek of fish at the *entrance*, when the fish case is at the rear of the building . . . ga-ross; you couldn't pay me to bring home fish from those stores). My husband loves fish, though, and fixes it for himself regularly (he buys it frozen from Costco). My only requirement is that it doesn't stink up the house and make *my* dinner taste like fish, LOL! (I found a recipe for poached fish for him that pretty much eliminates the odor.)
One time, he opened up a can of scallops that stunk up the house to high heaven . . . for three solid days! Ack!
I don't mind cod . . . that's pretty mild. Every now and then, I'll eat salmon, but have to be in the mood for it (smoked is pretty good).
My favorite overall is still tuna sandwiches, LOL!
We haven't been to Humphry's in years'n years. We get out to Scott's every now and then . . . I'll try the fish next time and see how that rates. :::crossing fingers:::
Oh! A sudden memory from long ago . . . one summer when I was a pre-teen, our stove/oven died. A neighbor was kind enough to invite us over for dinner one night, but she was going to be serving fish. I spent several hours beforehand coming unglued, wondering how I would manage an unobtrusive, fishy meltdown at her dinner table. Well, it turned out that they'd managed to get fresh-caught tuna (I think Mr. Neighbor may have caught it himself, or was on the fishing trip where it was caught by his buddies). Mrs. Neighbor wound up cutting thick slabs of tuna steak for us, and it was absolutely wonderful. It didn't hurt that I already liked canned tuna, but I was soooooooo relieved in the end. And . . . sumbuddy filleted it . . . no bones. *Whew!*
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Report BazookaJoe
I went to Humphreys to eat a few weeks ago and you what I was really disappointed in? There were no booths by the water.
We sat right by those beautiful scenic windows but the chairs have very little lower back support so I had to kind of sit sideways in them to get half-way comfortable. It's such a nice setting and I've always thought of it as more upscale dining, but I wish they had more comfortable seating because that's important to me. Maybe I missed the booths and they were hidden, but I kind of looked around and didn't see any. I can handle chairs if they are ergonomically friendly, but now that I'm older I prefer a booth. I still haven't made it out to Qin's, but their booths look real comfy.
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Report Smokey38
Interesting. I will have to remember this in the future. Ha Ha!(inside joke).
Would it be embarrasing for an OFEC to start carrying a pillow to restaurants?
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Report stoney4
A pillow or a Whoopie Cushion?
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Report BazookaJoe
I finally went to Qin's Bistro tonight. They have really comfortable bar stools. Very EC (ergonomically correct). Stoney was there also and he seemed to be enjoying his, but he sat in the one with the pole blocking the TV, so he couldn't see the Angels and Red Sox game. I had the best unobstructed and ergonomically correct seat in the house.
Hey, how about old popular furniture? Remember those Bean Bag chairs that would split at the seams and little styrofoam balls would go everywhere? And how about those wobbly TV dinner trays?
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Report stoney4
How 'bout when waterbeds were all the rage? Remember those commercials with that slimy Tom LaBrie character? I think his company was called Tom LaBrie's Waterbed Warehouse and he hosted a latenight show on channel 40 called Night Comfort Theater. Whatever happened to old Tom? Maybe he and Paul from the Diamond Center are hanging out somewhere polishing their mood rings and listening to disco music with that guy who did the Furniture USA ads. He kind of had a mush-mouth quick delivery so it came out "Fudge USA".
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Report 502PIR
The Prefix on the telephone starting with LA in parts of Berkeley and Albany stood for Landscape.