Older folks sometimes reminisce about the good old days. As an old-timer I can tell you they weren’t all good. I remember depression days when my family was considered hightoned because we had toilet paper in our outhouse. My dad had a 100 per cent army disability pension, but people on welfare made do with catalogues. Mother made my clothes from her old clothes and those she traded with neighbours who used her sewing machine. I thought Smith Brothers Cough Drops were candy, and did a lot of coughing trying to get one.
Jump ahead to 1951 when I came to the Cariboo Chilcotin. Few communities had indoor plumbing (most did have toilet paper.) Water came in buckets. Wood cook stoves, cozy in winter, almost cooked the cook in hot weather. No phones, radio or otherwise. Electricity was provided at night by diesel operated generators. Hospitals, big grocery stores etc. were hours away on unreliable roads. There were good things though. Neighbours sometimes disagreed, but didn’t hate each other. We respected authorities, and they respected us most of the time.
Today, most B.C. communities, even the smaller ones, have basic utilities, communications systems, better roads, etc. BUT, things used to be built to last. When you bought new cars, washing machines, whatever, they lasted for years. We had a freezer that lasted almost 40 years. If something went wonky, the man of the house fixed it. If he couldn’t, there was always a neighbour who could. Modern technology is wonderful, but machines and equipment don’t last long. Repairs nowadays require expensive experts with special tools. Necessities, including food, are transported and/or imported from somewhere else, adding to the prices.
As the cost of living keeps going up, people are more worried, unhappier and grumpier. Can the politicians fix it? How?
