Butch Tells How Some Things Have Come Full Circle

   I have a daughter-in-law who is very selective about the types of food she consumes. She prefers the organically grown foods, and I think that’s great, except for the fact that they are usually higher priced. Back in the day, I never realized it then, but almost all foods were organically grown. Herbicides and pesticides for plants had not been invented, and the same held true for antibiotics and supplements used on farm animals. My folks always planted a large garden, never using any chemicals, and all of the farm animals were free range instead of being cooped up like the ones in those confinement “animal factories” today.

    When my wife and I go to the grocery, we see employees pushing large carts around, filling orders for customers waiting outside. This started with the COVID scare and continues even today. But the same service was commonplace many years ago at the smalltown Mom and Pop grocery stores. Our great-grandparents called in their order, and the owner or a delivery boy brought the order to their homes. The bill was put on their “tab.” Now the bill is put on a credit card.

   When your great grandparents purchased gas for their Ford Model A, they likely pulled up to a general store, which had one gas pump, and filled up their tank themselves. But along came the “full service” stations that most of us remember. While you remained in your car, the owner pumped the gas for you … and checked your oil, battery, windshield wiper fluid, transmission fluid and all four tires. But now … guess what? We are back to the old days. We insert our debit card, select the octane level and pump our own gas.

   My family never went to the hospital unless it was a very serious injury or sickness. Mom and Dad had hundreds of “homemade cures” instead. If a hospital or doctor visit was required, the bill was never very high. Many expectant mothers had their babies at home, sometimes with a midwife present. When our first child was born in 1971, our doctor was present for several hours, and a specialist was called in to assist in the delivery. My wife spent a total of three days in the hospital. The total doctor, specialist, and hospital bill was $565. Today that same delivery could well be over $75,000 or more. Because of the ridiculously high prices now, many families have reverted back to those homemade cures, treatments and using a midwife.

    Our early ancestors built their own homes, perhaps a log cabin, and then later on, simple frame houses. During the Great Depression many people, instead of building a new house, bought older houses and remodeled them to suit their needs…all by themselves or with the help of family and friends. After WWII, however, as wages increased, companies like National Homes put up thousands of prefabricated houses, and many people had custom homes built by skilled carpenters and tradesmen. Because the price of homes is now sky high, many people are doing much of their construction and remodeling again on their own. “Barn-style” homes have also become quite popular, and are much cheaper to build.

   I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Yes, “what goes around comes around.”

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.