At the end of 2024, with so many disturbed by the political events of the last year, and fearful of what is to come, comparing what we faced in the past may be in order.
In 1970, when this writer was a college senior at UNH and the national and local student strikes were taking place, and at UNH, three of the “Chicago Seven” defied stated rules and spoke at a tension-packed event, I asked UNH President John W. McConnell if the world was coming apart.
“Brad, in my 60-plus years, I have seen the world come apart several times, and it always seems to put itself back together,” McConnell said. Those fearing 2025, while not putting their heads in the sand, should remember that.
On Nov. 22, our oldest grandson had his third birthday, a joyful event. That event made me reflect on what he faces, at age 3, and what I faced, on March 3, 1951, my third birthday, and whether the comparison shows real progress or not. Consider a few examples:
In 1951, when Harry Truman was president, the U.S. had recently won a world war, and the soon to be elected president was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would lead the nation through eight years of peace and prosperity as the American Century peaked. Eisenhower was the first president we remembered. Today’s 3-year-old was born under Biden and faces a second Trump administration.
The 1951 child lived in a country where 75% or so of the people went to church regularly, often seated with grandparents and even great-grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, often two or three times a week. Today’s toddler is far less likely to attend, and lives in a world where churches are closing or certainly losing influence.
In 1951, our family had one car, a 1950 Chevy coupe, without seatbelts, padded dash retractable bumpers, computers, and in which a heater, AM radio and outside rearview mirror were options, or not available, and the fuel had lead in it. Children could sleep on the shelf behind the back seat, and child seats had metal steering wheels on them. The Chevy probably cost around $600 new! Today’s child sits in a child seat seemingly more complex than the 1951 car was, and in a family typically having two cars costing at least 20 times what the 1951 did, each.
Our family moved from VA housing in a converted grammar school to a four-bedroom house in 1951, and that house cost about $13,000. The house had no air conditioning, no dishwasher, a coal shoot for receiving fuel, and was painted with lead paint.
Today’s 3-year-old likely lives in a residence costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, with all of the things the 1951 house lacked. In New Hampshire, the property taxes are likely more than half of what the 1951 house cost, each year!
The 1951 family had the father going to work (in my case by train to New York City) every day and mother staying home to raise the 3-year-old, getting together with other mothers each morning to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes. Today’s child has two working parents, costly day care from a very early age, and a family schedule that makes grandparents tired, just by observing.
The 1951 child looked forward to walking to school each day, not particularly worried about safety, hundreds of games of whiffle ball in the gravel driveway for summer entertainment, perhaps a week or two at summer camp, and one or two weeks of vacation per year, which is what the father’s employment provided.
Today’s typical child has multiple sports activities, seemingly constant activities, screens of all sorts to view and use for communications, and pressures unknown and inconceivable to the 1951 counterparts. Expectations for what “needs” to be provided so children are not underprivileged have changed significantly.
The 1951 3-year-old, born in the largest year for births during the baby boom, looked forward to public schools that were safe and secure, opportunity to go to college in the most competitive year for high school graduates (l966), at a relatively affordable cost. I believe my first year at UNH as an out-of-state student was about $1,000 for room, board and tuition, and that rose to around $2,000 four years later. Today’s youngster looks forward to public schools under stress, and higher education costs that for some private institutions are above $75,000 per year, at least looking at the sticker price.
Finally, the 1951 child looked forward to seeing a man on the moon, assassinations, substantial technological advances, and other unimaginable changes no one could anticipate at his third birthday party. At the recent birthday party, I tried to imagine what my grandson would see.
What was normal in 1951 compared to what is today has changed in astounding ways. However, in comparing the situations in all of the examples above, how many of them indicate a real improvement rather than a technological or material advance?
Happy New Year. Do not despair, and remember what is important.
Brad Cook is a Manchester attorney. The views expressed in this column are his own. He can be reached at bradfordcook01@gmail.com.
