Lögberg-Heimskringla - 18.02.1994, Blaðsíða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 18. febrúar 1994 • 5
We survived
by Krlstlana Magnusson
Those of us who are seniors
have seen tremendous changes
in the world. We have seen
changes in our lifestyle, in the price
of goods, in products we use and in
our entertainment. We were born
before television, penicillin, polio
shots, plastic products, laser beams,
pantyhose, air conditioners and the
pill. We are survivors because we
somehow managed to to survive
without products and inventions that
are so commonplace today.
Do you remember what your
lifestyle was like during the I930s?
Most of us ladies were probably, at
one time or another, sewing up the
very versatile flour sack into dish
towels, bibs, diapers, dresser scarves,
sheets, tablecloths which we deco-
rated with bias tape and embroidery,
as well as scarves and blouses. It was
a time when you got married first
and then lived together. Having a
meaningful relationship meant you
were getting along well with all your
cousins. The term “making out”
referred to how well you were doing
on your exams. We were born before
pampers, before sex changes, in-vitro
fertilization and surrogate mothers.
We were probably the last generation
to be so dumb as to think you need-
ed a husband to have a baby.
Most of us remember a time when
we could buy an ice-cream cone for
5e. That was the ultimate treat on a
Correction re:
Family tree with a
difference
very
my article in the paper but I must
apologize for submitting one narne
The wife of Petur Stefan
Guðmundson of Arborg should
been Guðrun
It was an error on my part but if
possible could you piease put in a

FAMILYl
COUNSELLORS
hot summer day. I remember a won-
derful old gentleman who owned a
General Store in our town.
Whenever we had a nickel to spend
(which wasn’t very often) he would
fill up a bag of candy for us. My hus-
band bought our first home, new but
unfinished, for $550 and a lot to
move the house onto for $50. He fin-
ished it himself and when we moved
into it as newlyweds we felt it was
the most beautiful place anywhere.
When we were growing up we had
never heard of pizzas,.Big Macs or
Chicken McNuggets. We had never
heard of frozen foods and fast food
was something you ate during Lent.
If we had a nickel to spend we could
ride a streetcar, see a Saturday after-
noon movie at Macs Theatre in
Winnipeg, make a phone call, buy a
soft drink or mail a letter. You could
even buy a brand new Chevy Coupe
for $600 — but who could afford one
then?
How did we ever manage to wrap
up Christmas gifts and parcels before
scotch tape came into use? I think of
that every time I wrap up parcels and
gifts. Somehow we survived that
ordeal. We had never heard of word
processors, fax machines or of guys
wearing earrings. For us, time-shar-
ing meant togetherness, not owning
a share of a condominium in Hawaii.
A chip meant a piece of wood, hard-
ware was something you bought in a
store and the term “software” was
unheard of. A mouse was a small
creature of the wild, not a part of
something called a computer.
During our early years we loved to
dance the polka and waltz to the
beautiful strains of a Strauss waltz.
We had never heard of disco, reggae
or hard rock. Rock music referred to
a mother singing a lullaby to her
baby. Coke was a cold drink and Pot
was something you cooked in. We
had never heard of F.M. stations, a
tape deck, home videos, Nintendo or
a V.C.R. We thought the radio was
the most wonderful invention ever
made. George Burns, a famous
American actor who recently turned
98 years of age, once remarked, “It’s
hard for me to get used to these
changing times. I can remember
when the air was clean and sex was
dirty.”
No wonder we are all so confused
today. We have seen tremendous
changes in our lifestyle, in the price
of goods, in the products we use and
in our entertainment. We HAVE sur-
vived in spite of all these changes.
What’s more, we are all probably the
better for it.
Winnipeg’s General Stríke of 1919
After more than seven decades,
an air of mystery still sur-
rounds some aspects of the
Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.
Who, for example, were the mem-
bers of the Citizens’ Committee of
1,000? Their names remain virtually
unlcnown to this day. We know they
opposed the strike, but how, and
were their activities effective?
And what of families who experi-
enced the loss of a family member
because of the strike? In one case, a
Winnipeg man recalls that his grand-
father’s brother disappeared: round-
ed up with a crowd of bystanders,
deported without trial, and never
heard from again.
Historian J.M. Bumsted of the
University of Manitoba is preparing a
book entitled The Illustrated History
of the Winnipeg General Strike. It
will consist of narrative text and a
large number of illustrations, both
visual and verbal. The visual material
will include contemporary pho-
tographs, portraits of the key actors
and the reproduction of artifacts such
as placards and posters. The verbal
illustrations will include quotations
from contemporary documents, and a
selection of eye-witness accounts and
family stories.
Watson and Dwyer, as publisher
of Dr. Bumsted’s book, would like to
Choices...
How will you make the choice that is right
for you and your family?
Ask us.
949-2200
hear from anyone who has informa-
tion or material on the General
Strike: snapshots, photographs or
artifacts, extracts from family letters
or diaries, and family stories.
Those who would be willing to
share information or photographs are
invited to write to: Watson and
Dwyer Publishing, P.O. Box 414, 905
Corydon Avenue, Winnipeg, MB,
R3M 3V3.
Sincerely,
Gordon Shillingford
Watson and Dwyer Publishing
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