Easy Street – Life in the 1920s
Modern inventions became part of everyday life
in the 1920s. People could buy electric stoves,
washing machines, irons, vacuum cleaners,
toasters. They didn’t look like the models we use
today. They had few automatic features. But the
homemaker of the Twenties could rely on many
of the same electrical appliances.
Home Entertainment
Evenings in many homes were spent around the
kitchen table building and adjusting the homemade crystal radio set. The problem with crystal
sets was that there was no amplification. The
listener had to wear earphones. For family
listening, big electric radios in fancy wooden
cabinets dominated the living room. Of course,
there wasn’t much on the air during the day.
There were few Canadian stations except in the
big cities. At night, though, the radio could pull
in stations from halfway across the continent –
Montreal, Calgary, Boston, Toronto, Salt Lake
City, Winnipeg. Saturday night was “Hockey
Night in Canada.” Families from Glace Bay,
Nova Scotia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, gathered at
the radio to listen for Foster Hewitt’s excited cry,
“He shoots, He scores!!”
Near the radio was the
phonograph. Which was
better, an electric or a
hand-wound model? The
new electric ones were
far less work and kept the
record turning at a
constant speed. Handwound models could be
taken on picnics for
outdoor listening.
The Automobile
Parked in front of the house was the family
automobile, probably a Model T Ford. Henry
Ford had just about cornered the market on
economy cars. He invented the assembly line. By
having each worker do a single job on many cars,
he was able to produce cars more cheaply. In
1917, the “Tin Lizzy” cost $495. By 1925 so many
cars were rolling off Ford’s Canadian assembly
line at Windsor that the price had dropped to
$424. Of course, the car was not much use in the
winter. Even if it started, the roads were too bad
to travel. Most motorists put the car up on blocks
until spring. Driving at other other seasons could
be risky business too. Many farmers make a little
extra money by lending their horses to pull
motorists out of the mud. Most country roads
were earth. Gravel was used on main highways.
In the cities, some streets were paved.
Buying on Time
With all these wonderful items in the stores, it
seemed a shame to do without. Almost anything
could be bought on the “easy monthly plan.”
Next year, or even next week, the investment on
the stock market might pay off. Then the family
could sell Tin Lizzie and buy a McLaughlin-Buick
or a Hudson Super Six.
Easy Street – Life in the 1920s
1.
5.
What are the advantages of producing
goods on an assembly line?
6.
What was the “Tin Lizzy”?
7.
What other industries will be influenced
with the mass production of the
automobile?
8.
How was it possible to own so many
wonderful new items and yet not be able
to pay for them?
9.
What is the stock market?
What “technological wonder” changed
everyday life in the 1920s?
2. List five inventions that used this new
technology to become part of everyday
life in the 1920s:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
3. Brainstorm with others and think of other
electrical items that you and your family
use in your home on daily basis.
4.
Pretend that hydro is going to reduce the
power to your home tomorrow. If you only
had enough electricity to run one item,
which electrical item could you absolutely
NOT function without. Think about it
carefully and explain why you chose this
item.