"Those were the days...."

[Lcountz]

The LOGO network is running back-to-back episodes, weekday mornings, of "All in the Family" from the early1970s...

I was watching and found amusing several references to prices and costs back then.....and social subjects like gun control, political arguments between Archie (R) and Mike(D) ....

Gloria got a new job and bragged to Edith: "$40.31 ...pretty good for three day's work!"

Edith hit a priest's car with a can of peaches, on the fender AND the hood...the repair was $14.00....

And elderly couple visiting Archie and Edith lamented they couldn't marry and had to live together or their SS would be cut....his was $185.00 per month!!!

Archie ( in 1972 in Queens NY) said he bought his house ( a typical row style home in Queens) twenty years ago for $14,000....someone offered him $35,000. and he was going to jump on it-so much profit!!!!

I loved this show when I was younger ( I lived in Queens NY in one of those row style houses from 1965 to 1973).....That house sold in 2009 for $550,000.!!!!! ( Our family sold it in 1974 for $60,000.)..

Anyway....fun to look back to those simpler times.....the interior of the house and the clothing is a hoot too...

It was a funny show!

1972 was not THAT long ago (was it?!?)

[imoldernu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lcountz 1972 was not THAT long ago (was it?!?)

For some of us, 1972 is "recent".
We were on our 4th house. First one, in 1964 was in Falmouth, MA, a few blocks from the beach. Two story, 4BR, w/garage. Paid $10.3K and borrowed an extra $1K to put in a new heating system, and remodel the kitchen. Last I saw, on Zillow, $216K. 2nd house was $20K, and 3rd house $26K, and (gulp)... 4th, newer, raised ranch house in Saratoga NY, was $33K, in 1973.

1974 was the first big jump in pay, to $15K. Almost 1/2 way through 31 years of employment. I think upper middle class at the time.

Life was much less complicated, and despite 50-60 hr work-weeks, seemed to have plenty of time for family and 4 kids.

[eytonxav]

Loved All in the Family. My parents bought their house in 1954 for $14K, now valued at $793K, not Queens, Westchester County. We sold it in 1971 for something like $35K. In 68, my first full time job with NY Tel was paying me $68/week.

[braumeister]

Yes indeed.
My parents bought their house in Brooklyn for $10,000 in 1955, sold it in 1972 for $35,000 and thought they had made a killing. Last time it sold was 2008 for $350,000. It's a 1,250 sq. ft. wood frame house built in the 1920s.

[RobbieB]

I was a good show, a classic.

[Car-Guy]

Yes, a lot has changed. (especially prices and wages) but there's also a lot of things that haven't changed, which I won't comment on in this politically correct climate.

[Andre1969]

"Mark my words, Meathead! You're gonna see Ree-gan in '80!" -Archie Bunker, c1977.

One number that stuck in my mind was how Archie was making something like $5.50 or $6 per hour, working at the loading dock, and that was around 1974. My Granddad retired from 35 years of work on the Pennsylvania Railroad around 1974, and he was at $6 per hour. That doesn't seem like much to me. $6 per hour in 1974 would equate to around $29.12, adjusting for inflation.

That still doesn't seem like a whole lot to me, when you figure that's what Granddad retired at. And, he and Grandmom lived fairly comfortably, although I think he got a pretty good pension from the railroad.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Car-Guy Yes, a lot has changed. (especially prices and wages) but there's also a lot of things that haven't changed, which I won't comment on in this politically correct climate.

Politically correct wasn't in vogue then was it, ha! My dad was pretty "straight laced", and that show was not allowed on in the house. Fortunately I got to go to my grandparents frequently on Saturday evenings so I could watch it there.


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[scrabbler1]

The cable TV network AntennaTV has been airing AITF every weeknight from 9 PM to 10 PM for the last few years, so I get my fill of Archie, Meathead, and the dingbat any weeknight I am not out somewhere.


I was only a teenager (or younger) in the 1970s, so I didn't understand all the jokes at the time. In the 1980s, a local non-cable TV station aired AITF in the late morning for a few years so I caught up on the show and the jokes I didn't get the first time. Still, it is great watching the show again, including many of the guest stars who went on to bigger and better things after their AITF appearances. If I don't catch the closing credits, I look them up on IMDB.


Andre1969, I love that line from Archie about "seeing Ree-gan in '80!" But my favorite line in the series is one from Meathead, "Thank god I'm an atheist!"

[Lcountz]

I liked the way Archie mashed the language....I still say "terlet" and "kern" ( for coin) just to get a laugh....

Favorite episode? When he gets locked in the cellar, gets drunk on an old bottle of rum, and thinks the oil delivery man, who is black and who comes in thru the Bilco door, is God.

" Forgive me Lord....the Jefferson's was right!" still cracks me up no matter how many times I see that show!!!!

Glad to see so many former New Yorkers here!!!!

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lcountz I liked the way Archie mashed the language....I still say "terlet" and "kern" ( for coin) just to get a laugh.... Favorite episode? When he gets locked in the cellar, gets drunk on an old bottle of rum, and thinks the oil delivery man, who is black and who comes in thru the Bilco door, is God. " Forgive me Lord....the Jefferson's was right!" still cracks me up no matter how many times I see that show!!!! Glad to see so many former New Yorkers here!!!!

I was going to add this to my earlier post. It was hilarious how Archie would mash up the language and various concepts. Remember when he was in the hospital and got a blood transfusion from a black woman doctor? He feared that his white HEmoglobins would not accept her black SHEmoglobins. Mike's reply: "There may be a race riot!"

Best laugh of the series was his facial reaction after being kissed on the cheek by Sammy Davis Jr. as someone was snapping a picture.