the good old days

My uncle recently passed on a gold mine of old correspondence and miscellaneous papers that somehow survived for generations. I’m slowly scanning and transcribing them for personal genealogy purposes. Some of them, however, are quite funny.

This one is from some nephew of my great-great-great-grandfather.

Ottawa
Franklin County
Kansas
Febr’y 4th 1866
Mr. Andrew J. Smith

My Dear Uncle,

I will try and converse with you silently, but through asking medium (the sew) Etta has gone across the street to meeting to hear the old minister at Kastmison [??] deliver one of his good Sermons. But I am alone and did not nor do not feel very much like going to church. And I thought I could make it a very interesting moment to write to you.

In the first place, Dear Uncle, let our Conversations one to the other be strictly Confidential, uttering truth and veracity, being honest and true to our trust, treating every Subject that may come before our observation or hearing with Justice and Prosperity to all. Too doubtless are our Correspondence comes to “finish” it will be interesting to both.

In the first place I wish to give you my Position and Circumstances in life, what they have been and what they are now and what I would wish to be in the future. As a young man in Business I am considered by those who have tried my facilities to be very good, honest, and prudent, and an eye to Business. My Circumstances when I cam out of the army were good. I had the means to have gone right along with anything. But my mother disappointed me Sadly and almost left me with poverty staring, staring me in the face. My wife when I first came here became very sick with Bilious intermittent fever and almost died. But medical aid restored her to very good health again, and when her Doctor Bill and my Bill of Expense in the Law Suit for my mules, I had 15 cents in Currency. I sat down and looked at the world and then at my wife and myself, and I concluded work was no disgrace, however talented, and I went to hard labor at a saw mill here. From that to clerking and now I have just finished a small building here on Main Street at an expense of $202. The lot I built upon is to be paid for within a Year from the time I came upon it, as for $150, I am to pay yearly $20.00 for rent of said lot. I have a choice to buy at what town lots are selling for or pay 20 a year for the lease of it. I desire to go into the Grocery Business and Tobacco & Cigar Business as I am a cigar maker by trade and also a Barber by trade. And I think by discreet management, I will in 40-50 years come out all right. My means are all in my house now. But if I can fill it by labor I will do so, and by the way if I should wish any of your assistance could you give it to me. I do not think I will need any assistance at present But in the Spring I may want more means than I will then have and if I should need ask it of you I will give you security if you desire it. But if I Borrow from you I will want 2 years time and pay the last cent on the money you furnish.

I may wish to Borrow $200 and with what I will then have I can open a good Business. But if I draw the $200 bounty the 161 [61?] soldiers or those who received only 100 I will need no assistance and if you know whether that Bounty Bill has passed let me know. I heard it had passed the house. I am working at my trade now and am doing very well considering I save about $5.00 per week a living beside. But I am going to make money faster soon if I have good success. I understand Mr. Donnbergh is agoing to move to this place but he can’t do any better than I. one consolation at least his money does not trouble him any I guess. I am well and Etta also. She sends love to you and Aunt Mary. Have you any cousins to me left. Don’t read this line only in the dark. I have no family left and a slim chance of if ever I have. Accept my love &c

Your nephew Henry

Ex-soldier, counting on an inheritance but ending up with a bilious wife and lien on his mules, ends up building a house in Ottawa Kansas and going into random business as a grocer/tobacconist/barber.

At least this man can spell; Andrew Smith’s brother-in-law wrote many letters home to his sister, and spelled everything phonetically. Arrrrrgh…

It’s been a looong day of useless work and it is only going downhill. So here’s a little rant:

If you have just complained about gas hitting $4.00 per gallon (and haven’t we all?) don’t follow up closely thereafter with any of the following…

• Talk about how you think alternative fuel proposals (e.g. wind power) are a load of bunk
• Brag about how you drive 20 miles to this great gas station in the middle of nowhere which charges $0.05 less than anyplace in town (thereby losing three dollars or so)
• Laugh at my hybrid and tell me how long it will take to pay itself off
• Extol the virtues your brand-new SUV or RV (seriously, man, you bought that NOW?)
• Smoke (a bigger budget-buster than high fuel prices)
• Leave the engine running while you sit in the drive-through lane at McD’s during the lunch-hour rush
• Leave the engine running while you run into the store
• Leave the engine running AND LEAVE YOUR PRESCHOOL CHILD IN THE CAR while you run into the store

I am sick of this behavior anyway, but when you prelude idiocy with crying about the price at the pump, I have no pity for you at all.

I think it’s the last two that get to me the most. Even if you don’t care about the gas you’re wasting, it’s a big advertisement that you want your car (and/or child) stolen. I have to really fight the temptation to just reach in and turn it off.

I skimmed today’s Popular Science scan at Modern Mechanix blog: The Steel of the Future. I have to admit, a foundry is seriously cool. I was able to visit one while interning with Timken in Canton, Ohio; they make their own steel there for use in roller bearings. The sheer scale of the processes involved is awe-inspiring — the equipment is just huge — and gives you a deep appreciation for the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. (It is, however, incredibly dirty, smelly, noisy, and hot. Fun to visit, less fun to work there daily.)

What intrigued me most, however, was not the discussion of alloys and industry and innovation, it was the closing paragraphs.

There are three pivots on which civilization turns—food, clothing and shelter. Once all three were scarce. Weapons and plowshares made of iron then made food abundant. The cotton gin, the loom and mechanical weaving have supplied us with plenty of clothing. But we still live in houses of wood and brick and stone—the identical materials which have been used for hundreds of years.

One of the next great tasks of iron and steel is to make shelter for mankind as easy to obtain as food and clothing. It should be as easy for an American family to own a home as to own a car. Iron and steel have made it possible for the average family to own a car and iron and its alloys can make it possible for the same family to possess a home with more comfort and conveniences than the modern home today, and at a fraction of the cost.

Uh… no. While iron and steel made it possible for an automobile to exist, it was mass production which made it affordable. It was easy to own a car in 1936 because there were tons of them being made. “Wood and brick and stone” are effective building materials, easily available everywhere. You can just chop down a bunch of trees and put them together in a house shape — voila.

Besides, you can get a house for about the same price as a car. Either buy a prefab mobile home, or be willing to live in a small shack in the middle of nowhere — either way, they’re available. You just have to accept that you can’t live in a large metropolitan area

Get Rich Slowly, a blog about personal finance that “makes cents” (hehe!) recently posted some thoughts on Newsweek’s A Penny Saved Is a Penny Spent.

Conant’s article in Newsweek basically boils down to this:

As talk of recession and belt-tightening makes headlines, I wonder where and how I lost my grandfather’s sense of thrift. Like many young professionals (I’m 36), I embraced the lessons of my seniors about hard work. Yet my generation racks up debt the way our grandparents used to squirrel away pennies…. My generation grew up just as home-economics classes were being phased out and credit cards were being ushered in.

I’ve condensed it a lot, obviously. Please do go read the whole thing, it’s good stuff.

In his analysis, J. D. Roth points out that griping about the wastefulness of modern society is hardly new.

For decades — centuries, even — people have complained that younger generations haven’t inherited the financial wisdom of their elders. During the 1750s, Benjamin Franklin bemoaned the lack of money skills among the American colonists.

However, the current state of affairs does indeed go far beyond that. J. D. includes a scary graph to demonstrate that: between 1940 and today, consumer debt rose from around zero to OVER THREE TRILLION DOLLARS. That is trillion. With a “tr”. The one with twelve, yes, count ‘em, twelve zeros. 3,000,000,000,000.

The thrift of the good old days wins hands down over the spending glut of today. Seriously, people, THREE TRILLION? Do you REALLY need that much CRAP?

I’d also like to add, however, that advocacy of thrift should not translate to being a stingy bastard. Buy good quality — it will be less expensive in the long run, since you don’t have to replace the cheap crap that keeps breaking. Tip people — if you can afford to fly on a plane, you can afford a few bucks for the nice skycap who’s helped your wife and two small children struggle to check in with four suitcases (YES, Buzz, I’m talking to you). Thrift isn’t about only spending as little as possible, it’s also about spending your money wisely and well.

Please, people, spend wisely and well. Three trillion is just batshit insane.