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May 1937. "Mrs. Herman Perry in her home at Mansfield, Michigan. She is the wife of an old-time iron miner who worked in the mines before they were abandoned." Photo by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
I was surprised to find that by Purchasing Power, or Standard of Living adjustment, $40 in 1937 would be worth $649 in 2014, while one like this recently sold on eBay for $650. Pretty well at par!
Nearly hidden behind the potted plant is a brand new 1937 model year Zenith 5-S-127 radio. These were about $40 new, but due to their attractive cabinets and big black dial, are considerably more valuable today.
My long-departed grandmother wore such shoes for at least the 30 years I knew her. Her preferred brand was Natural Bridge, which presumably afforded good arch support.
Standing 5'10" and weighing in at around 210 lbs., she was obviously not a candidate for platform wedgies. Under today's relaxed standards, women of a certain age seem to favor something by Reebok or Nike with their mall-walker suits. Certainly, even fashion doyennes among the over-60 crowd seem to abjure Jimmy Choos.
Such informality would not have done for Granny, however. She belonged to the generation that donned gloves, hat, and furs to go out for the mail.
I, too, was amazed to see that this old woman with the bun and thick ankles and granny shoes is the same age as my dear wife. When I pointed this out to her, I was lucky to escape with just a mild chiding.
This woman in the picture and I are roughly the same age now( but I would've' sworn she was in her mid-late sixties here) I have had the same bafflement in looking at old pictures of my grandmother in the same time era (late 30's) when she was even younger than me-and she also looked about 10 years older! (those buns,frumpy dresses and odd shoes REALLY didn't help, sorry ladies)
Everything neatly in place, and what a green thumb she has.
What my cats would do to those curtains.
Are those tomato plants in tin cans outside the curtains? And can identify a Christmas cactus, mother in law tongue and a poor ivy in the window? There's a lily but I can't identify it...amaryllis ?
Marie Perry died in 1955. She has a link on Findagrave. There's a link on there to her husband, Herman, who lived to age 90.
I think she would have gotten along very well with the Tuttles of Minnesota.
Patterns Galore!
Yet, we imagine these old photos depict a less complicated time.
I'm guessing that is a remembrance card under the baby photo on the wall.
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