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As far as coffee goes, it's better now because we're demanding higher quality.
I don't miss all the smoking that was literally everywhere. (the last time I encountered a lit cigarette inside a grocery store was 1997)
With the wide spread introduction (domestically) of solid state ignition in 1974, the trend towards electronics replacing mechanical functions in automobiles was firmly set. And that's a good thing. Readjusting/replacing ignition points and spark plugs as often as was necessary back then was a PITA and I don't miss it.
OMG. We had flocked red wallpaper like that. My dad installed it and was proud of it. He called it "early w*ore house". In a word, hideous.
I'm curious as to what daily life was like during this time period (roughly 1975-1984). Reading through various threads on this forum and hearing stories from relatives, I have this general image in my head, i.e., clunkier cars, lots of smoking, children always playing outside, going out to dinner was a rare treat, colorful appliances and interior decorating, etc. I knew smoking was allowed in restaurants (heck, the ban is relatively recent), but I was surprised to read that people also smoked in the grocery store. Overall it seems like it was a less sterile, dirtier, grittier time compared to the present. I mean that literally and metaphorically. How did the food taste? Was it better, worse, or on par with today? Did a cup of coffee or a cheeseburger in 1980 taste the same as it does in 2012? I'm especially interested in what was life was like in the early 80s since it doesn't seem to be discussed much for some reason. When did the 80s become distinct from the 70s? Was 1982 really that different from 1978? Was the disco era confined to the mid-to-late 70s or was there any spill over into the early 80s? I understand this was a rough time economically with high unemployment, inflation, etc. What was it like when the economy came roaring back (I ask that considering we're still in a malaise from the most recession)? Economically, politically, and culturally, how would you compare this time period in the US to the present?
I know this is a hodge-podge of both specific and broad questions, but I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to hear your thoughts.
I don't think there was such a huge difference between the mid-70s and early 80s as compared to today. Others here have already mentioned some of the differences. I was in college during this time and my freshman roommate started smoking and turned into a chain smoker in a couple months. Lot's of people smoked in the dorms. You could buy cigarettes in a vending machine for around $0.45. Restaurants and airplanes had smoking and non-smoking sections.
Most cars in the mid-70s were still American made. The leading foreign brand was Volkswagen. I had two VW Beetles from the early 60s. GM cars in the mid-70s started getting really bad with poor transmissions and bodies that would rust out in 2-3 years. In the Pittsburgh area where I live, the roads were also really bad with huge potholes that appeared every winter.
Computer and communications technology is the biggest difference between now and that time-frame. I had a job selling computers, but there was no way I could have envisioned where computer technology and the Internet would be today. The computers I sold were as large as a desk, unreliable and couldn't compare to a $400 PC today. No one could have envisioned the cell phones that exist today. Touchtone phones were not that common and cordless phones were new in the early 80s.
It would have also been hard to imagine college students being able to afford cellphones in the 1970s. Very few had cars at college. Many students who lived in apartments were sharing bedrooms and having 8 people share a house with 1-2 bathrooms. I remember many students living on generic macaroni and cheese that were 3-4 boxes for $1.
I remember many students living on generic macaroni and cheese that were 3-4 boxes for $1.
Yup, been there and done that. I can still remember shopping between the different brands of macaroni and cheese, trying to figure out if the 30 cent box of Kraft was a better deal than the Kroger Brand which was 40 cents but was a bigger box. And taking a road trip to Big Bend National Park and making peanut butter sandwiches at rest stops along the way until, after ten days of this, my friends demanded we spends a little more money and eat something better.
Those were great days, though. There was indeed a sense of hope that's missing these days (even though there was a lot of bad things going on back then, too). We had very little money but that didn't seem to keep us from going on road trips or doing other fun things. Maybe it's because I was younger or maybe we just weren't as aware, but we didn't worry all that much. There were some big issues to worry about when you felt like worrying (like, as I mentioned earlier, a fear that we'd shoot off a nuclear bomb) but for some reason that didn't permeate everyday life.
Trends didn't catch on as fast. No one really paid attention to what progressive young people were; wearing, listening to or the way they talked until it was out of style. I remember one of the presidents used the phrase "ripped off." It seem so out of character for him used such a vernacular term . Most of the dialog in TV dramas seemed almost quasi Victorian.
I'm curious as to what daily life was like during this time period (roughly 1975-1984). Reading through various threads on this forum and hearing stories from relatives, I have this general image in my head, i.e., clunkier cars, lots of smoking, children always playing outside, going out to dinner was a rare treat, colorful appliances and interior decorating, etc. I knew smoking was allowed in restaurants (heck, the ban is relatively recent), but I was surprised to read that people also smoked in the grocery store. Overall it seems like it was a less sterile, dirtier, grittier time compared to the present. I mean that literally and metaphorically. How did the food taste? Was it better, worse, or on par with today? Did a cup of coffee or a cheeseburger in 1980 taste the same as it does in 2012? I'm especially interested in what was life was like in the early 80s since it doesn't seem to be discussed much for some reason. When did the 80s become distinct from the 70s? Was 1982 really that different from 1978? Was the disco era confined to the mid-to-late 70s or was there any spill over into the early 80s? I understand this was a rough time economically with high unemployment, inflation, etc. What was it like when the economy came roaring back (I ask that considering we're still in a malaise from the most recession)? Economically, politically, and culturally, how would you compare this time period in the US to the present?
I know this is a hodge-podge of both specific and broad questions, but I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to hear your thoughts.
1975 to 1984 -
My rent in 1975 had just gone from $125 to $135 per month and it was time to buy my first house for $30,000. Rule of thumb on groceries was that a full paper bag of good groceries (including meats) cost between $7 and $10. Swordfish and Codfish were cheap and common, both fresh and frozen. Coffee was almost universally horrible - bitter, overcooked, and tasting of stainless steel. Powdered milk was the same, almost undrinkable. Cheeseburgers had a lot of variation. Many of them were liberally laced with TVP (soy extenders) making them dry hockey pucks. Others were juicy and good. Some generic canned sodas and cheap beers still didn't have any pop-top and required a church key. Bottles were mostly glass, including sodas. Pizza joints, like Shakeys, were popular and often had live music. Howard Johnsons were still doing good business both as restaurants and motels. Lums was all about German food, and IHOP had some odd menu items as well. Chinese and Mexican restaurants were not ubiquitous. If you had to use a bathroom while traveling, you used a gas station restroom instead of stopping at a fast food place and using theirs.
CB radios were popular for a while. Drive-in Theatres were still pretty common, but beginning to die out. Movies were experiencing a peak, and creative films were much more common. The foreign films were even more so. Bowling was big. Boating and fishing was big. Hikers were still somewhat rare. Photography was popular and 35mm was about at a peak. Some of the films and processes are astonishing to this day. Video games were just becoming popular. Pong was the first home game I had, and within a year or less it was out of date. The first affordable ($30) Casio calculators had come out. (The C=64 didn't come out until the end of the period). VCRs were allowing us to build libraries of movies and shows, but at $20 per blank tape, only the favorites got kept.
Smoking was not as popular as it had been in the 1950s and 1960s, but $5 or less would get you a carton of Marlboros. Diners always had smoke, but a few places had no smoking areas. Pipes were popular some places, cigars others. It was getting harder to find free advertising matchbooks.
Birkinstocks, Earth Shoes, Dexters were inching out Thom McCann. Athletic shoes were much rarer. Polyester clothes were still first generation. Any knits pulled, some shirts were slick and seemed to be impossible to remove underarm odor from. Many people stunk or used deodorants that could kill a horse.
Cars were junk compared to today. I had a Datsun B210 that rusted out side panels the first year, and about three years later was completely rusted through. The Chevy Nova I had threw engine rods. A car was doing good to make it past 40,000 miles. Sears had great tools, and small engines lasted forever.
There was a crash of expectations after the last moon landing, as if a peak goal had been met briefly, and now technology was sinking back. I distinctly remember thinking that there was a likelihood I would never see another man on the moon and that there was a strong possibility of that being the last manned moon landing ever.
clunkier cars - bigger.. bulkier.. not sure they were necessarily clunkier. I do know that we NEVER wore seat belts.. never. WE had a station wagon and me and my brother rolled around the back area playing on most trips.
lots of smoking - both my mom and dad smoked.. I was oblivious to it to be honest. They smoked anywhere they wanted as did most smokers. It was not considered to be harmful to anyone except the smoker themselves.
children always playing outside, - we didn't have any video games or computers to play on and TV was really only good for kids on Saturday mornings so yea, we were outside everyday it was not raining. I remember going to the park and coming home before supper most every day. Way out of sight from my mom.
going out to dinner was a rare treat- I can't remember every eating at a fast food place like McDonalds or Wendys with my parents. I bet I could count on one hand the number of times we ate out... no pizza delivery either.
colorful appliances and interior decorating, etc. - as a kid i paid little attention to the color of our appliances. I wasn't really allowed in the kitchen unless it was supper time..
I knew smoking was allowed in restaurants (heck, the ban is relatively recent), but I was surprised to read that people also smoked in the grocery store. Like I said early, i didn't really notice it but yea, you smoked where ever you wanted to.
Overall it seems like it was a less sterile, dirtier, grittier time compared to the present. I mean that literally and metaphorically. - I don't think it was dirtier.. probably in a global sense but not in a smaller home environment. I know my mom cleaned more in 1 day than I probably do in a week! But globally, I have to believe it was much dirtier.
How did the food taste? Was it better, worse, or on par with today? - 95% of what I ate was what my mom cooked and it was very good compared to what gets made at my home today.
Did a cup of coffee or a cheeseburger in 1980 taste the same as it does in 2012? I didn't start drinking coffee until around '94 so I can't really say but a cheeseburger hasn't changed in the last 50 or so years.. IMO!
I'm especially interested in what was life was like in the early 80s since it doesn't seem to be discussed much for some reason. When did the 80s become distinct from the 70s? Was 1982 really that different from 1978? A good question and hard to answer. NO doubt 1980 was very similar to '79.. for me the distinction came when I started High School in '81.. I think the most obvious line of separation for me would be Michael Jackson's Thriller album, late '82..
Was the disco era confined to the mid-to-late 70s or was there any spill over into the early 80s? There was some spill over but the beginning of the end was in '79 and it ended almost OVERNIGHT! .. by 1980, disco was a taboo word.
I understand this was a rough time economically with high unemployment, inflation, etc. What was it like when the economy came roaring back (I ask that considering we're still in a malaise from the most recession)? Economically, politically, and culturally, how would you compare this time period in the US to the present? I was still in school by the time the 70s ended and the 80s began so I didn't really feel the economic crunch.. we were poor before and we were poor after to be honest. culturally there was a huge shift from the end of the hippy era to the beginning of the new wave, valley girl, punk era.. etc. I didn't care about Politics one iota for basically the entire decade of the 80s but i suspect it hasn't changed much. both sides blaming the other for the woes of the country..
Went to work, drank, slept. Went to work, drank, slept. Went to work, drank, slept (do you see a pattern?). Went to work, got layoff notice, drank more, slept. Rinse, repeat.
As for music, there were plenty of other groups around in the late 70's that were good, and not disco. I never hated on disco, it was just "have fun" music that never had anything serious to convey. If I had to say the last pure disco group to linger on into the early 80's, it was the Pointer Sisters pushing that neutron dance way past it's prime. I liked groups like Supertramp, Little River Band, Bob Seger, Steely Dan, Atlanta Rythem Section, Alan Parson Project, Billy Joel, The Cars.....to name a variety of my favorite late 70's groups. It's funny how a group like ELO was able to escape the disco backlash, even though they sounded dangerously close to disco, but just different enough to squeek by.........I liked ELO.
My hubby is still a huge ELO fan. Myself, I love the Moody Blues.
I remember TMI, we lived in the southeren part of Cumberland County and people wanted to come stay with us. I also remember all the talk of Centrailia burning, my family is from up around there originally
I PMd you with a couple of TV show suggestions- Electric Dreams (BBC Reality / Documentary which sends a family 'back in time' to the 1970s) and The Supersizers Go Seventies.
Well I was around 10-15 in the time period you're asking about, so keep that in mind with my response.
I remember being outside ALL DAY LONG, playing jumprope, hopscotch, tag, that kind of thing. We never hung out in the house in front of the TV when it was nice outside. And we didn't 'check in' with the parents either. They just knew we were out somewhere in the neighborhood (we knew our boundaries) and we would get called in for dinner and then after we'd be back out. Doesn't seem to be lots of that going on today. It seems like kids need constant entertainment from adults. What kind of childhood is that anyway? So glad I chose not to have kids.
I remember going to Burger King was a BIG deal, maybe once a month or so.
Going to the movies, ditto.
We went to one summer trip to the amusement park, IF we got all As and Bs on our report cards. (the local grocery store would give discount tickets if you brought your report card in - can you even IMAGINE!)
We were NOT involved in a million different activities and sports and all the stuff that kids nowadays are into. Our parents didn't chauffeur us from one activity to the next. We just played. I don't understand why kids are so overextended these days. It seems like a lot of pressure at such a young age.
Let's see, what else, things just seemed more real I guess, like I think of this whenever I look at magazines these days, everything is so FAKE. TV too for that matter.
Oh, yea, and people smoked, and it was NO BIG DEAL. Imagine THAT!
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What was life like
