Old Timers . . . remember when . . . . . ??

[Bucky]

In another thread, a few of us were discussing some type of machines and work that was used years ago and how much technology has taken over since then. 

Since there are quite a few of us "old timers" on this forum  I thought it would be interesting to hear about jobs we use to do (whether they be as a housewife, paying job, hobby, etc.) and how we did them, and how much that same job has changed today.

As an example, I use to be a typesetter for a newspaper in the 1970's.  The way we set type and processed the news stories is soooo much different today than back when I was doing it.  Here's what I wrote in another thread: 

"Along this line - my very first paying job was a typesetter for a newspaper back in 1974.  Back then, you typed on a compugraphic machine where it punched dots in a paper that you fed into another machine that would produce the hard copy.  I couldn't "see" what I was typing, it was all by feel.  There was no spellchecking - it wasn't available. Here's a link to this kind of printing - ahhhh, brings back memories . . . http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/woverbeck/dtr5.htm

Once the copy went to the proofreaders, they could send the copy back to you to make corrections.  On occasion, they would have to re-run the whole story in a different size font as it wouldn't fit on the page in paste-up.  That would involve flipping some settings on the Compugraphic machine that you ran your tape through for the hard copy.

A very interesting job and one that made me a very fast typist.  Boy, I can just imagine how fast I could type now in that job with all the modern technology that has evolved since 1974!! Back then, they paid $2.15 an hour!!    

Can you imagine what the people who did that kind of job with all the sorts would think of the way it's done now??  It would blow their mind!!"

So, fellow Old Timers, what type of machines and jobs did you use to do that has been streamlined and advanced in today's technology?

Bucky

(You youngin's don't be laughing at us Old Timers . . . . some day YOU too will be marveling how much things have changed in your life time!!  )

[slccom]

Oh, lord, I hated footnoted papers in high school! No computers, and you had to retype the page if you found a new reference that you forgot. This was even before Liquid Paper, so I had to retype many a page for errors as well. I still have the typewriter eraser!
Sharon

[irish]

Here comes a real oldie!!!I was raised in the restaurant business and started working or 25C an hour when I was about 12 years old. I was dishwasher and washed a heck of a lot of pots and pans that were piled high in the huge stainless steel sink. Also, peeled a heck of a lot of potatoes and ran the dishwasher, scrubbed the floors, etc.

When I was 14 I became a morning full time waitress from 6:30am-3pm and sometimes til closing at 7pm. I could work any hours cause I was the owners daughter. I got 25 cents an hour plus tips and later had raise to 50 cents all through high school.

The thing that was so different is that there were no fast food restaurants around then. There was an A & W Root Beer stand, but that is about it. My dad made all the roasts, gravy, mashed potatoes, hash browns, potato salad, french fries, cakes cookies, soups, pies, etc from scratch and I don't remember there being anything prepackaged except for the breaded frozen shrimp that he would deep fry.

He made about 14 different kinds of pie from scratch and made his own crust. He also made his own home made donuts and they were so darn good. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I worked hard and didn't get to play much growing up and I can't say that it hurt me any. Now days it is almost impossible to find a cafe that cooks "home made". I sure miss all those ma and pas restaurants. You go to all the Perkins, Bakers, etc and the food all tastes the same now. Irish

[Linda196]

A topic dear to my heart!

Years ago I wrote an essay for a medical/nursing journal about the rapid changes in our careers in the relatively short time I had been practicing, and it was very well received. Although much of it would only ring bells with doctors and nurses, there were many things that others would be aware of, like the beds that went from not much more than flat wide gurneys with elevating heads to computerized, compartmentalized, conveyance systems with the capability to weigh, monitor, transport and even turn the patient.

I trained with glass syringes and metal needles we had to sharpen ourselves, at the end of every shift and then sterilize (often running over into our own time), and thouroughly enjoyed the introduction of prepackaged, disposable plastic syringes with single use needles. I even got to see the introduction of pressure injectors...no needles at all!

Basic ventilators for which nurses were responsible for the most part, because respiratory therapists were rare and valued creatures, usually only one on shift in the hospital at a time! Now entire departments of RTs with highly specialized skills are in charge of the ventilators which, like the beds, have become complex miracles of engineering.

There were also rapid advances that took specialized monitoring from the operating theater to the bedside...when I was a student procedures like the sampling of arterial blood (as opposed to the venous blood usually taken for testing) was done in the OR, and the insertion of long catheters through a vein into the large vessels near the heart was done only under anaesthetic with fluoroscopy. By the time I retired it was a commonplace bedside occurrence in ICU, and a much more valuable monitoring tool.

CAT scans, MRIs, PET scans, computer assisted surgery...all developed during the time I worked, and all required a huge learning curve!

Among the biggest changes were the social ones...away with the starchy white cutting edge (and I don't mean modern, I mean the starched edges of those dresses were really sharp!) uniforms and on to much more practical scrubs, colour optional. Although I still value my nursing cap, and the effort it took to earn it, I do not miss the fact that it was constantly in the way of cables and multiple IV lines, nor do I miss the fact of clumps of hair being pulled out when it got dislodged!  Huge changes in the "nurse as handmaiden" school of thought, and nurses began to be accepted more as colleagues and team members.

My colleagues often remark that we were lucky to work through what is looking more and more like the "golden age" of nursing; so many changes and advancements but still with the underlying basis of nursing as a calling or vocation. I'm sorry to say that, with changing education methods, nursing now seems to be just another job.

[Joe S.]

My first full time job was repairing projectors, amplifiers, and tape recorders for 75 cents per hour. I rode my bike to and from work. My shift was from noon to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 5pm on Saturday. There was not overtime pay on the job. I could work extra hours and I often did to bring home more money so I could borrow mom's car to go on a date with my girlfriend. I could not afford the traditional dates but a group of us would get together and pile into mom's Rambler station (with rape seats as they were called) and head to the local drive-in for a double or more feature.

My girlfriend and I were living at home and saving our money to get married. She had to pay for our wedding herself so we had a double wedding with her twin sister. With the help of her dad, I made her a big hope chest. My savings when for dishes, silverware, some small appliances and collapsible furniture for our first hoped for apartment.

It seemed to take forever to raise the $300.00 for her wedding dress. I picked out her dress and the dresses for her bridesmaids. The girls did not like the dresses until they tried them on. They were able to wear the dresses to other events after the wedding.

[Scottietottie]

Hi 

My first job ever was as a chauffer and general dogsbody for an ancient member of the British Aristocracy. I had to drive, clean, cook, garden and read stories to her and prolly some other stuff beside. I was paid a pittance, which I refused to pay tax on because she refused to pay the bit that employers were meant to pay. I was hauled down to the tax office aqnd when they heard what I'd been expected to do and how many hours a day I'd been working they didn't ask me for any money.

My first proper job (not holiday) was as a potter.

I've also worked as a kitchen assistant in a hotel, a puppeteer and a facepainter before the job I've just been made redundant from.

Take care - Scottie 

[aussie mum]

I have been lucky enough to have many relatives that have lived to a ripe old age and have enjoyed talking to them about their lives.

My great grandmother lived to see things from electricity and telephones to your home, washing machines, radio, TV, car & aeroplanes. The one thing that impressed her the most was when man walked on the moon.

Just before she died at 96, my grandmother told me about her family's camping trips when she was young. Amongst other things, they took their chickens with them, so they could have fresh eggs. If they stopped laying.... they had chicken for dinner.

My kids, now 25,22 & 20 can't imagine life without mobile phones, computers, internet, dishwashers, microwave ovens, air-conditioning.

[A66eyroad]

When I was in college I worked as a switchboard operator in a small county hospital in New Jersey. There were two operators on duty until the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift when there was only one.  This was a for-real switchboard with plugs and cords and a wall of little holes, one for each room.

It was all very Lily Tomlin.

Just the other day I was talking to my daughter-in-law about how much I miss being able to pick up the extension at the house when my husband calls his mom so we can all chat together.

My 11-year-old grandson was listening to us could NOT picture a phone attached to the wall, let alone one that had extensions. We tried to explain party lines to him, too, to no avail.

[Bucky]

A66eyroad,  I too had a job once as a "for real switchboard operator with plugs and cords".  It was a temporary job (Kelly Girls).  Actually, it was kinda fun!

I also grew up in the "party line" era.  I remember being over at my girlfriends house several doors down from my house and we'd very quietly pick up the receiver of the phone and listen in on the conversations . . . . until, we'd hear, "girls, get off the phone!" as we would be sitting there giggling, etc.   

I always hated when you needed to make a call and you'd pick up the phone and there would be Miss Miller there gabbing and gabbing away and you couldn't make your call.  On occasion, I remember people would call the operator and have them break into the line saying there was an emergency so they would clear the lines.

Growing up, we had a milk case on the front porch and the "milk man" would deliver glass bottles of milk to your home, complete with icing the milk in this insulated milk case.  Then, you would return the used bottles back to the milk case and he would pick them up on next delivery.

You know, a person could make a little business out of that today - delivering milk and bread to homes.  If you lived in or near a sub-division you could make up little fliers and have deliveries twice a week.  I know for myself, IF I had someone that would bring that to my home, and I had to pay a little extra for it over making a trip to the store, it would be worth it. 

Thank goodness for the invention of a garage door opener - I always hated having to get out and open or close the garage door in the pouring rain, snow, heat, etc.

Bucky

[irish]

Bucky, I remember the milk man also. The bottles were glass and they had heavy paper lids that you pulled off. I think there were other types of lids also. I remember having lids that had some type of writing on them cause you would save them and get a prize or something.

My son and his wife have a milk man that delivers. They leave the house open and he puts the milk in the refrig. I don't think I could be that trusting. They have been doing this for 20 years I think. Irish

[Bucky]

Irish - wow, I can't believe your son leaves his house open for a milk delivery.  I wouldn't do that.

From what I remember - our milk bottles had cardboard with a tab in the neck opening of the bottle that you pulled to open.  I wonder if we replaced this each time after using the milk to put it back in the refrigerator?  I don't know.

Also from my childhood, I remember my mom and grandmother collecting S & H stamps and filling booklets and redeeming them for different products.  Every time they shopped, based on the total of their sales, they would get these stamps to keep, lick and stick in a booklet, and then redeem them.  I think I've seen some old stamps laying around my parents house in recent years when I've been home visiting.

I just googled S & H stamps and find that they are still being redeemed, but now they are called green points.  I doubt you would get the great deals you did back in the 60's, and it probably requires a lot more "points" to redeem them, but I thought that was interesting.

I also remember my late MIL's stories of the items they would get in their laundry detergent boxes in days gone by.  Many times it would be a kitchen towel or a drinking glass.  It wasn't something you had to send away for, it was included in the box - much like the little toys in cereal boxes of today. 

Both my MIL and SIL would collect box top points and redeem them for items - such as Oneida silverware.

My MIL also told of all the feed sack dresses and towels that were made in her day from the sacks that feed came in.

Bucky

[Joe S.]

@A66eyroad I have two of those switchboards in my garage. More are stored for the MN Telephone Pioneer Museum. We have a coin phone from 1910. We also have a lot of equipment that represents the history of the industry. I even have a couple of bell acid phones. The company has forced our museum into storage.

The Museum in West Fargo at Bonanza Ville is a working museum and very interesting to go through. Bonanza Ville is a small community that is attached to the fairgrounds. Old houses that are furnished and provided with tour guides. An old steam engine, Log cabins, Vehicles, hotel, and many other exhibits. It is a treat to tour. The memories that it brings back.

[Sooki]

I remember writing computer programs in FORTRAN on punch cards.  It seemed so normal then, but I guess punch cards were used for a relatively short time.  I remember sitting in the computer center at Stanford in the early 80s late at night (program code never worked until the wee hours) writing lines that were then punched into cards.   The vending machines sold bunches of cards with rubber bands around them, no candy.  The room was filled with huge sorting machines that looked ancient even then (Whatever happened to them?) 

When we were done with a large program, we'd carry our punched cards in a thick cardboard tray over to the main computer area and set them into the computer entry tray for reading.  If anyone tripped and dropped their box of cards, there was another machine to sort them back into proper order.

If you wrote the code wrong and inadvertently set up an infinite loop, the green-striped connected sheets of paper would shoot out of the printer into huge stacks until someone could run over and turn it off.  One of my friends shamefacedly admitted he would build a wall dispenser for scrap paper from his mistake.

I remember when we got our first lab personal computer with XY printer and cassette tape backup.  Yowza.  We had to program the printer when we wanted to graph something - pen up, send pen to these coordinates, pen down, go to these coordinates or follow this equation, pen up, etc.  It knew letters, but we had to program the axes and tick marks.

I met someone who had just graduated with a PhD in linguistics.  Being in the hard sciences, I wondered what kind of a job she'd be able to get.  It turned out she was hired by one of the big silicon valley companies to help invent the terminology for the new computer industry.  Bits, bites, loops - all invented with the help of linguists. 

Pretty exciting time.  Now it's all I can do to sync my phone with my computer. My husband still has some DOS programs running on his iMac (with difficulty). 

[Sleepy In Seattle]

I am only 44 but that's old enough to remember vinyl records, phones that were only in your house or business and were attached to the wall with cords (and even had dials!), and I had to do all my high school papers on a Selectric typewriter with carbon paper and White-out - I feel like a real fossil describing that stuff to my 14-year-old daughter! 

In my job, though, we mostly use 19th-Century technology - I teach riding and train horses for a living, and not much has changed there in a couple of centuries. It's part of why I love it!!!! (though I will admit to riding around the property until I get to the corner of the back pasture that has WiFi so I can check Facebook on my iPhone every now and then....  )

[Joe S.]

@Sooki, I remember repairing vacuum tube computers when I was in the eighth grade. My first programming language was FOCII. My first assembly language was BAL. I wrote in FORTRAN, SNOBOL, COBOL, Pascal, Basic, Ratfor, and C. I taught GPSS to statistics classes. It was requested that leave the college when I was programming in COMPASS because I brought down DARPA NET and SAC. I got to meet Admiral Grace Hopper and discuss the merits of PL1. She gave each of us a wire that was 11.7 inches long (one Nano Second). I remember programs on paper tape and loading programs with switches.

PDP8, IBM360, Univac1130, 1700. A friend reprogrammed the 1700 in COBOL to move the terminal to a CRT to save paper. Then he reprogrammed the CRT so he could play video games.

4004, 8008, 8080, Z80, 6800, 6502 and my favorite microprocessor the 1802 which was configured as an 8 bit IBM360

I hated punch cards with a passion. I wrote thousands of pages of code before the TRS80 Model 1 came to the market. I have had a distaste for Apple since it ate my first project. The Commodore 64 was interesting but the Amiga was much more interesting. CP/M, and DOS were interesting to optimize with MASM programs. Pcode was essential to interpreters. Forth allowed for self modifying code as a threaded interpreter. I thought it worked better than LISP for programming Artificial Intelligence.