Shopping Saturday

When my grandparents were youngsters, their parents probably shopped at an establishment something similar to this one...

Goods were few in comparison to today.

Since my grandparents lived on a farm, their parents probably only came to town a couple of times a month, if that, to buy staples needed to get by on. The rest of their foodstuffs were home grown.

Items like salt, sugar, flour and coffee were considered the staples.

Everyday items like meat, milk, eggs, cheese, and vegetables, were grown on the farm.

The visit into town would usually cost them anywhere from .50 cents to $1.50 a trip. You've got to understand, that was big money in the day!!!

Sugar was .08 cents a pound in 1860; salt cost $1.25 for a 25 pound sack [or .05 cents a pound]; flour was $7.14 a barrell [can you imagine???] and coffee was king at .20 cents a pound.

Today, we shop in mega markets like the one seen below

where we can purchase items from every continent of the globe. And where we go at least on a weekly basis, and sometimes on a daily basis!

Our average spending today is nearly $200 a week for a family of four. And the cost is rising higher every week.

I often wonder what my great-grandparents would think if they could walk into a market today?

How many items would they even recognize from the past?

The next time you are going marketing, take a look around you. Try to see through your ancestors eyes, and feel the amazement that they would have felt!

It's a pretty amazing feeling!