SECTION II
From the files of Clarke County Historian
Marie White

"WHAT A DIFFERENCE A (CENTURY) MAKES!"
From the organization of Clarke County in 1851 until 2011:

Wars: Major ones: Civil War, 1st and 2nd World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as lesser conflicts, each of which took their toll.

The Depression required adopting a different value system.

Travel: the development of flight from the Wright Brothers to jet planes and commercial use; the railroad of former days, which determined the location of communities, giving way to improved roads, larger, faster, more affordable automobiles. These contributed to the demise of towns, with Mom and Pop stores becoming Supermarkets, and neighbors who knew, dealt, socialized with and cared for neighbors, have become more individualized.

Electricity which many people lived without until the middle of the century has become a necessity to sustain normal living.

The Family Farm no longer supported the family, and many young people left to pursue other careers. Participation of every family member was important, food was grown rather than purchased, and items of clothing were made rather than bought. Moms could be home.

Field work once accomplished by the farmer pushing the plow, developed to use of horses and mules, to tractors, to more elaborate machinery, now to satellite?!

Schools evolved from rural one-room, one-teacher schools, where each child was acknowledged for his or her particular aptitude, to consolidation where bigger is better prevailed.

The Church, once the institution where there were celebrations of "hatching, matching, and dispatching" — baptism, marriage, funerals — as well as providing a community center for organization meetings and socializing, becoming of lesser importance to many families. Baptisms are regarded as more a formality than necessity, marriage lasts only in 48% of the cases, and funerals are tending toward grave-side services.

Entertainment, prior to telephones, television, and their successors, amusement was created by the participants. Games of all sorts were invented, practical jokes were sources of merriment.

Computers and calculators which were introduced mid-century as humongous machines now hand-held, and are more and more becoming necessities often replacing brain-power.

Health: From babies born at home to specialized care in hospitals for preemies, children and adults. Continuing research is resulting in remarkable advances in treatment and even cures. Laser surgery, out-patient services replace knives and lengthy hospital stay.

Space Exploration: has led to use of satellite, GPS (Global Positioning System), space travel, and a broadened knowledge of the universe.

Effects: Negative: Emphasis on the self has increased divorce rate and questionable ethics.. Credit card use has led to indebtedness and bankruptcy. Sexual emphasis has increased spread of disease, babies born out of wedlock, and general deterioration of morality
Positive: Expanded travel has resulted in acquaintance with other races, cultures, and religions. New realizations have caused additional awareness of conservation. Equal rights, the feminist movement, provisions for persons with physical and mental special needs, differing sexual orientations have caused boundaries to be torn down. Lessened physical strain has led to longevity and purposeful living beyond the formerly accepted retirement age!

Return to main page for Recipes for Living 2011 by Fern Underwood

Last Revised February 3, 2015