Wednesday, October 09, 2013

"Live in the past... it's cheaper"

That's what my high school English teacher used to say. Here is a glimpse of what life along the Oregon coast used to be like in the distant past:

A 1940 Oregon Coast Tour

Setting the mood
The year is 1940, and you are driving with your family to Astoria to begin a trip down the Oregon Coast. Along the way, you listen to the car radio, laughing at the antics of Fibber McGee and Molly, tapping your fingers to the latest Big Band hit, and shaking your head at war news from Europe. You worry that America may need to get involved eventually.

[...]

As in the imaginary journey described above, text from Oregon: End of the Trail (1940 edition) is ready to point the way as you start your online tour of the Oregon Coast.

Our version of that text includes some revisions in punctuation and spelling, as well as changes designed to assure greater accuracy in historical references.

The accompanying photographs are from a collection of the Oregon Department of Transportation, Highway Division, now maintained by the Oregon State Archives. Individual photos in the collection are undated, but they were taken around 1940, and thus depict the Coast as it appeared to writers of Oregon: End of the Trail. When possible, the images have been placed close to associated text.

We hope you enjoy your trip down the Oregon Coast! [...]
This tour is great. The pictures, the descriptions of the various towns, and their population figures... it was practically empty back then, compared to now. What a different world it was back then. And no doubt, cheaper. ;-)

     

4 comments:

Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden said...

Chas you dont' have to publish this comment but I was wondering about Patrick. I know he stopped blogging a while ago but the past month he has been in my head and the past couple weeks it's intense. Is he ok? Are you guys cool? You can send me a note saying we are cool or not,you don't have to give details if you aren't comfortable but I do want to know how Patrick is doing. Me and another blogging buddy were wondering about him today! May God bless and keep you guys.

benning said...

Yes, how is Patrick?

By the way, I like this post, but you just can't go back. :(

As the Moody Blues sang, "You can never go home anymore."

Chas said...

Pat's fine. Yes, we can't go back. My high school English teacher made that joke back when Jimmy Carter was president, and we here experiencing high inflation. It was a bit of comic relief from a situation that was very worrisome at the time.

benning said...

:)

Thanks!