Prices in 1950

[franek80]

Prices for 1950

House: $14,500
Average income: $3,216
Ford car: $1339-$2262
Philco model 1403 TV: $199
Admiral "home entertainment" TV system: $549.50
12" records: $4.85
10" records: $2.85
Milk: $.82
Gas: $.20
Bread $.14
Postage stamp: $.03
Pumpkins : $.02 cents a lb
Campbell’s Pork & Beans - (2) 1 lb. cans: $.25
Sirloin steak: $.77 lb
Kraft Mayonnaise - quart jar: $.62.

[franek80]

Charmed Life Bean Recounters Those were the days.Girls were girls and men were men


For 20 years, the last of the bean pickers and their descendants have gathered at the Polish Home, a social hall in Fells Point, to eat the food of hardship and strife and to dance the merry polka.
The affair may be billed as the "Bean Pickers Dance," but music and merriment aren't the star attractions. The substance that made this annual affair a bona fide tradition sits simmering on the stove, nurtured by a half-dozen women and one man, ranging in age from their 40s to their 80s.

"A lot of people come and ask how we make the bean soup, but even if we tell them they'll come back and say it doesn't taste like ours," one of the cooks, 79-year-old Anna Cwalina, says. "I think we have some extra ingredient that we just throw in there," the 79-year-old adds mischievously.

Behind every tradition, there's the food that goes along with it. Thanksgiving has turkey. Passover has matzo. Halloween has candy. The Bean Pickers Dance has its bean soup, a reminder of when Polish East Baltimore experienced its own version of The Grapes of Wrath.

During the Depression, when many Americans lost their jobs, road bosses would round up crews from East Baltimore neighborhoods and take them out to Baltimore County and Pennsylvania to pick seasonal crops for a half a cent a pound or 75 cents per 100-pound bag. Back then, even the smallest income meant something, and in the '30s, kids and the elderly and anyone else who wasn't lucky enough to have a job went to small towns such as Pennsylvania's Stewartstown and High Rock and Maryland's Hickory. The workers lived in shacks, slept in beds of straw, and bathed in streams.

After string-bean season came the harvests of tomatoes and corn, which kept families in the fields into October. Some kids were taken out of school and never returned, and none thought of summer as a vacation. Picking vegetables seven days a week required "hinges in your back," says Antoinette Clark, who was 12 years old when her mother and seven siblings went to "Bean Country." Cold pre-dawn mornings would turn into blazing hot afternoons spent enduring the bites of insects and encounters with the yellow goo that worms leave when they cling to vines.

"These people came home from working all day in the sun continuously on one knee stooped over--it was pretty rough," Carter says. "I took care of my two brothers and sister, when [the rest of the family] went out in the field. I cooked, cleaned, washed clothes, everything. My mother did not have to do nothing."

When they returned from a hard day's work, they supped on bean soup. Beans they had stuffed into their pockets or in spare lunch bags went into the pot. So did fresh cream from the cows, stock bones, dill, potatoes, and pickle juice--the same ingredients the folks at Polish Home put together some seven decades later. And for a dish born of hardship and strife, it tastes pretty darn good.

"The pickle juice was what gives it its oomph," 84-year-old Gertrude Jankowiak says as I wolf down a cupful.

Although the bean pickers like to remind listeners about the hardships they endured, their Depression saga is spiced with fond recollections.

Ed Lemis, 76, who picked his beans in New Windsor, points out that Baltimore in the 1930s was saturated with industry. A city kid's idea of a swimming hole was the harbor; one kid would jump into the water and push the filth out the way so the rest of the gang could follow. Steam engines would turn laundry on the line black with soot.

Then, suddenly, an industrial slump pushed families out into the country, where these urban urchins built dams out of sand-filled burlap bags, swam in clean streams, and, after a day in the field, felt the cut of a cool breeze even on hot nights. Someone would break out a harmonica or an accordion, Carter recalls, and "we'd dance in the dirt."

Until 20 years ago, those country memories were just stories told around the neighborhood. But Joseph "Cigar Joe" Borzymowski, then the president of the Polish Home, wanted to organize a dance so all the bean pickers could meet. At those early dances, fake outhouses were built. Live ducks and chickens were brought in. Each table had a bean-plant centerpiece. People dressed up in country garb. Meanwhile, the cooks in the kitchen consulted the last of the Polish-born pickers--their mothers and fathers--to nail down the true bean-soup recipe.

Today, the dance goes on without the props and livestock, and just about all the parents who took their children to bean country have died. What's left are the children of the bean pickers, who tell the stories as the soup simmers on the stove.

[justjohn]

Franek,

I love that recount of past lives. Do you by any chance have the recipe for that famous bean soup?

[franek80]

John.
Yup, we eat it all the time,but we never measure.We eyeball everything...
Pork chops or a slab of ribs in boiling water.
Celery carrots and onion
Boil for about an hour. Add RNJOYcut up green beans and potatoes
Boil for about 20 minutes
Mix a cup of sour cream and a half of cup of milk
add flour to thicken
add to water, the soup will turn white
About a table spoon of vinagar or pickle juice
season to taste


ENJOY

[franek80]

Just John;

Do you rember this song back in the 1950. Or were you still too young.

Mares eat oats and does eat oats
But a little kid eats ivy
If a kid eats ivy,wouldnt you?
If these words sound queer and funny to yourt ear
A little jumbled to your ear
Then just sing that mares oats.

LOL iN THOSE DAYS WE THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.It even made the hit parade

[franek80]

SONGS OF THE 50's
ARTIST SONG ARTIST
VENUS AVALON, FRANKIE HOUND DOG ELVIS
DAY-O BELAFONTE, HARRY JAILHOUSE ROCK ELVIS
GREENFIELDS BROTHERS FOUR TEDDY BEAR ELVIS (D)
DON'T FORBID ME BOONE, PAT (D) ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM EVERLY BROS
LOVE LETTERS IN SAND BOONE, PAT IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT FIVE SATINS
WHAT'D I SAY CHARLES, RAY DO YOU WANNA DANCE FREEMAN, BOBBY
CHARLIE BROWN COASTERS ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK HALEY, BILL
SIXTEEN CANDLES CRESTS PEGGY SUE HOLLY, BUDDY
MACK THE KNIFE DARIN, BOBBY THAT'LL BE THE DAY HOLLY, BUDDY
BEYOND THE SEA DARIN, BOBBY GREAT BALLS OF FIRE LEWIS, J LEE
LITTLE DARLIN' DIAMONDS LONG TALL SALLY LITTLE RICHARD
TEENAGER IN LOVE DION & BELMONTS HELLO MARY LOU NELSON, RICKY
AIN'T THAT A SHAME DOMINO, FATS ONLY THE LONELY ORBISON, ROY
BLUE MONDAY DOMINO, FATS BLUE SUEDE SHOES PERKINS, CARL
ALL SHOOK UP ELVIS MONEY (THAT''S WHAT I WANT) STRONG, BARRETT
DON'T BE CRUEL ELVIS COME ON, LET'S GO VALENS, RICHIE
HEARTBREAK HOTEL ELVIS LA BAMBA VALENS, RICHIE
60'S 60'S 60'S 60'S
SONG ARTIST SONG ARTIST
SUGAR SUGAR
ARCHIES
SOMEBODY TO LOVE JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
RESCUE ME
BASS, FONTILLA
GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME JONES, TOM
CALIFORNIA GIRLS
BEACH BOYS THE THRILL IS GONE KING, BB (D)
CATCH A WAVE
BEACH BOYS (D) STAND BY ME KING, BEN E
HELP ME RHONDA BEACH BOYS
LOUIE, LOUIE KINGSMAN
I GET AROUND
BEACH BOYS (D)
YOU REALLY GOT ME KINKS
SURFIN' USA
BEACH BOYS (D)
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT KINKS
A HARD DAYS NIGHT
BEATLES
I'M SORRY LEE, BRENDA
ALL MY LOVING
BEATLES
LOCO-MOTION LITTLE EVA
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
BEATLES
CALFORNIA DREAMIN' MAMAS & PAPAS
AND I LOVE HER
BEATLES
MONDAY MONDAY MAMAS & PAPAS (D)
EIGHT DAYS A WEEK
BEATLES
DO WAH DITTY DITTY MANFRED MANN
GET BACK
BEATLES
DANCING IN THE STEETS MARTHA & VANDELLAS
HELP!
BEATLES
LOVE IS LIKE A HEARWAVE MARTHA & VANDELLAS (D)
HEY JUDE
BEATLES
EVERYBODY LOVES SOMBODY MARTIN, DEAN (D)
I SAW HER STANDING THERE
BEATLES
PLEASE MR POSTMAN MARVELETTES (D)
I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
BEATLES
HANG ON SLOOPY MCCOYS
IN MY LIFE BEATLES (D) GAME OF LOVE MINDBENDERS
MICHELLE BEATLES
DAYDREAM BELIEVER MONKEES
SHE LOVES YOU BEATLES BROWN EYED GIRL MORRISON, VAN (D)
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER BEATLES (D) BLUE BAYOU ORBISON, ROY
TICKET TO RIDE BEATLES CRYING ORBISON, ROY
TWIST & SHOUT BEATLES OH PRETTY WOMAN ORBISON, ROY
WE CAN WORK IT OUT BEATLES 500 MILES PETER, PAUL & MARY
YELLOW SUBMARINE BEATLES BLOWIN' IN THE WIND PETER, PAUL & MARY
YESTERDAY BEATLES MIDNIGHT HOUR PICKETT, WILSON (D)
SPINNING WHEEL BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS (D) GROOVIN' RASCALS
I FOUGHT THE LAW BOBBY FULLER FOUR SITTIN' ON DOCK OF THE BAY REDDING, OTIS
THE LETTER BOX TOPS UNCHAINED MELODY RIGHTOUS BROTHERS
I FEEL GOOD BROWN, JAMES (D) YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN FEELING RIGHTOUS BROTHERS
BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX CAMPBELL, GLEN SHOP AROUND ROBINSON, S (D)
GENTLE ON MY MIND CAMPBELL, GLEN TRACKS OF MY TEARS ROBINSON, S (D)
LAND OF 1000 DANCES CANNIBAL & HEADHUNTERS WOOLY BULLY SAM THE SHAM
I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU RAY CHARLES LIL' RED RIDING HOOD SAM THE SHAM
DA DOO RON RON CRYSTALS BRAKING UP IS HARD TO DO SEDAKA, NEIL
HE'S A REBEL CRYSTALS HAPPY BIRTHFAY SWEET 16 SEDAKA, NEIL
BEYOND THE SEA DARIN, BOBBY (D) LEADER OF THE PACK SHANGRI-LAS
LA-LA MEANS I LOVE YOU DELFONICS (D) THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN' SINATRA, NANCY
PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART DESHANNON. JACKIE SUGAR TOWN SINATRA, NANCY (D)
RAINY DAY WOMAN 12 & 25 DYLAN, BOB NA NA HEY HEY KISS HIM GOODBYE STEAM
CAN'T HELP FALLING INLOVE ELVIS BORN TO BE WILD STEPPENWOLF
GOOD LUCK CHARM ELVIS BACK IN MY ARMS AGAIN SUPREMES
RETURN TO SENDER ELVIS COME SEE ABOUT ME SUPREMES (D)
SUSPICIOUS MINDS ELVIS I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME SUPREMES
WAKE UP LITTLE SUZIE EVERLY BROTHERS STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE SUPREMES (D)
BABY I NEED YOU LOVIN' FOUR TOPS WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO SUPREMES
RESPECT FRANKLIN, A (D) DOUBLE SHOT (OF MY BABY'S LOVE) SWINGIN' MADALLIONS
I HEARD IT THRU THE GRAPEVINE GAYE, MARVIN (D) MY GIRL TEMPTATIONS
ODE TO BILLY JOE GENTRY, BOBBIE HOOKED ON A FEELING THOMAS, BJ
IT'S MY PARTY GORE, LESLIE RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD THOMAS, BJ
LET'S LIVE FOR TODAY GRASSROOTS SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG THOMAS, BJ
KANSAS CITY HARRISON, WILBERT DEVIL OR ANGEL VEE, BOBBY (D)
SUNNY HEBB, BOBBY RUN TO HIM VEE, BOBBY (D)
HE AIN'T HEAVY HOLLIES DO U KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE WARWICK, DIONNE
NOBODY BUT ME
HUMAN BEINZ
GET TOGETHER YOUNGBLOODS

[hollister]

franek80 said:

Just John;

Do you rember this song back in the 1950. Or were you still too young.

Mares eat oats and does eat oats
But a little kid eats ivy
If a kid eats ivy,wouldnt you?
If these words sound queer and funny to yourt ear
A little jumbled to your ear
Then just sing that mares oats.

LOL iN THOSE DAYS WE THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.It even made the hit parade

Oh great, now I am going to have that tune in my head all afternoon.
Thanks, Franek

[justjohn]

hollister said:

franek80 said:

Just John;

Do you rember this song back in the 1950. Or were you still too young.

Mares eat oats and does eat oats
But a little kid eats ivy
If a kid eats ivy,wouldnt you?
If these words sound queer and funny to yourt ear
A little jumbled to your ear
Then just sing that mares oats.

LOL iN THOSE DAYS WE THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.It even made the hit parade

Oh great, now I am going to have that tune in my head all afternoon.
Thanks, Franek

Come on Holli,

You and Wayne are not as old as us old codgers here, are you??

[Alicja]

wow...i just paid $3.35 a gallon in New York for gas...i guess times really have chagned. i remember when it was 90 some cents a gallon here in the US and then like 1,75 a liter in Poland for gas

[justjohn]

alas7711 said:

wow...i just paid $3.35 a gallon in New York for gas...i guess times really have chagned. i remember when it was 90 some cents a gallon here in the US and then like 1,75 a liter in Poland for gas

Filled the van up this afternoon. 2.88 per gal. That hurts but not as much as Alicja.