My father told me in the old days homes used to have wooden windows. (vinyl, glass)

[LifeIsGood01]

and I don't mean instead of vinyl that they have now, he meant instead of glass. and I'm like what? Then I realized that I saw some old shows with older homes in Italy in the country and instead of glass windows they had wooden shutter type windows that open.

[TrapperL]

The settlers of the USA had the same thing. Most had a wooden "shutter" that hinged at the top and locked from the inside. The window was to keep animals out as well as Indians yet provide fresh air. I imagine it got pretty dark in the house with all of the windows closed and the only light burned kerosene. It's a wonder any of them made it thru life.

[djmilf]

The other thing I recall is that in the olden-times they used to stretch a piece of greased paper over a window opening in order to provide some light but still keep flies, small animals and the prying eye-balls of small minds away. Wiki Link - Greased paper window