Life in New York City, c. 1920

City life compared to country life

The following paragraphs are excerpted from World Geographies: Second Book, Kentucky Edition (p. 74) by Ralph S. Tarr and Frank M. McMurry, published in New York by the MacMillan Company in 1922.


Life in the Great City

"Heart of New York City," about 1908.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,

Detroit Publishing Company Collection

"Heart of New York City," about 1908.
City Hall Park in foreground

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,

Detroit Publishing Company Collection

The contrast between life in New York City and upon a farm is striking. On some of the streets scarcely anything but stores can be seen for ten or twelve miles, many of them being small, but some occupying enormous buildings, and employing many hundreds of clerks.

Families whose homes are in the city do not usually occupy a whole house, but often hundreds of people live in one building. Such a structure, called an apartment building, may be from six to eight stories high, and some are from fifteen to twenty. They are so arranged that one family occupies only a small part of one floor, called an apartment, or flat. Other families live above and below, as well as on each side, being separated by only a few inches of brick or boards. Since land is so valuable, sometimes costing scores of dollars a square foot, there is usually neither front nor back yard.

In the poorer sections of the city the people are even more densely crowded. Some of the children have never seen the country, and scarcely any birds, trees, or grass, except possibly in one of the city parks. In these crowded sections, there are many foreigners from all the nations of the earth.

To escape such a crowded city life, tens of thousands of men live in suburban towns, or country homes, from ten to forty miles from their places of business. Every day they spend from one to three hours traveling back and forth. Some ride upon elevated railways built in the street, two, three, and four stories above the ground and supported by iron columns. Others go by train in the subway, which extends for many miles underground, and even crosses under the rivers to Brooklyn, Jersey City, and Hoboken.

How different all this is from the country, where only two or three houses may be seen at a time! Where sunlight and fresh air enter one's home from all sides of the building! Where there is plenty of room to play, with green grass, large trees, and singing birds in the yard! No wonder that people living in great cities are anxious to visit the country, the mountains, the lakes, and the seashore, during a few weeks in the summer.

Monday washday in New York City tenements, c. 1910.

Library of Congress, Prints &Photographs Division,

Detroit Publishing Company Collection

Sees Family Portrait, c. 1904

George and Elizabeth Sees of Gordon, Nebraska

I drove over to Murray yesterday afternoon to deliver some textbooks to our son Isaac who is a college senior in that fair city. He ordered them through Abebooks last weekend. Several of the books arrived quite promptly, so I wanted him to have them. We are still waiting for a couple more to arrive.

My cousin Alta, who lives in the general vicinity of Murray, drove over and had supper with Isaac and me. We went to the Sirloin Stockade and enjoyed a nice meal together. I had not seen Alta since last spring, so I very much enjoyed visiting with her and catching up on some of the family news.

Alta gave me an amazing gift -- a scanned portrait of my great-grandparents George and Elisabeth Sees, and their five children. The older little girl (Elva) was Alta's mother, and the youngest of the three boys (Harry) was my mother's father.

Hilda, the little girl sitting on her mother's lap, was born in 1902, according to my mother's papers. Hilda looks like she is at least 18 months old -- possibly 2 years old -- in the photo. Based on this, the photo can be dated to about 1904.

George Sees was born in 1865, and Elisabeth Sees was born in December of 1866. Thus, George was probably about 39 years old and Elisabeth was probably about 37, at the time of the photograph.

The photographer took a sharply-focused, well-organized photo. It's also a little off-center. On the right side, it doesn't show all of  Elisabeth's shoulder or her long dark skirt, but on the left side, it captures all of George, even the tip of his bent elbow, with room to spare.

The off-center composition, the curlicues on the ornate wicker chair and the column of drapery in the background all pull the eye to the head of the family. George looks relaxed, but strong and confident, ready to take on whatever comes his way, with his oldest son behind him to back him up.

George sits in his chair unemcumbered, but Elisabeth holds baby Hilda on her lap as little Elva leans against her. (This is probably rather symbolic of their lives -- he was free to come and go as needed to earn a living, while she had the daily, ongoing responsibilities of house and family.) It is interesting to see that Elisabeth's hair was quite dark. The shape of her mouth reminds me of my mother.

Alta's brother Clifford has the original copy of this photograph. Alta said she saw the photo for the first time that she can remember when she went to visit Clifford last spring. Clifford was surprised that she didn't remember it or have a copy. (Thank you, Alta, for making a copy of it for me.)

If you are my family member and you want a higher-resolution copy of this photo that is suitable for printing, please e-mail me and I'll send you a link where you can download it. (I hope to have Keely or Taurus upload it for me, because it's quite a large file and I have a limited allotment of bandwidth.)

Related:
My German Ancestors, George and Elisabeth Sees
Dellfeld and Nünschweiler

Sonic of Hopkinsville

Space-age drive-in on the Boulevard

Sonic Drive-in on Fort Campbell Blvd., Hopkinsville, KY

I enjoy the 1950s-futuristic look of our Sonic Drive-in. I think George Jetson could fly his little space car into a parking place at Sonic, and it would be so totally in sync with the architecture that no one would give him a second look.

Our Sonic has Happy Hour from 2 PM. until 4 PM. When I work mornings, I sometimes go to Sonic after work and treat myself to a Route 44 (extra large) Diet Limeade for half price. They're good, and I like them even better after learning that the Route 44 Lime Slush has (gasp!) 680 calories in it, but the same size of Diet Limeade has only 16 calories.

A Trip to Patti's 1880's Settlement

Porkchop and pie highly recommended

On the porch of one the Patti's 1880's Settlement shops

I was supposed to go up in a hot-air balloon last Friday with my 84-year-old neighbor Miss M. and her daughter Sally. This was going to be a birthday celebration for Miss M. However, because of the very hot weather, the balloon ride is postponed until October. We went to Patti's 1880's Settlement at Grand Rivers (KY) for a birthday lunch, instead.

Grand Rivers is located just north of Land Between the Lakes and just below the dam that creates Lake Barkeley. Patti's 1880's Settlement is a restaurant and more. The Settlement includes a half-dozen  log-cabin gift shops, set into a nicely landscaped garden under tall trees. In keeping with the 1880's theme, all the employees who serve the public in the Settlement wear 1880's garb. And beyond Patti's, the village of Grand Rivers has more shops where a tourist can buy antiques, gifts, and souvenirs.

Patti's 1880's Settlement has such good food that it has even been featured in Southern Living magazine. My son has been to Patti's a time or two, and I've heard plenty of talk about the place, but this was my first visit. My lady friends were aghast at my lack of experience in fine dining -- but that's not new. They're always shocked at the restaurants I haven't visited. They enjoy educating me.

Idea for a Cute Birthday "Cake"

No-bake birthday cake!

My friend at work, Lisa, made this birthday "cake" for a lady she knows. Lisa said she has made several of these, but this is her best one yet. The individually-wrapped pieces of candy are hot-glued to a styrofoam base. Pretty cute, huh?

The recipient of the cake was an older, single lady who probably wouldn't want a big cake all to herself, anyhow. She can enjoy this cake a little at a time, over a period of time.