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.