Life in the Old Days

Our Cathedral parish was founded in 1904. What was life like back then? Imagine…

Theodore Roosevelt was the president. He was a war hero who had written books about his exciting adventures in the wild West. Some people were amazed when this “cowboy” got to be President! In 1904, he was the youngest man ever to become President. He was full of energy and optimism. In a time when 1% of the people owned 99% of the wealth, Roosevelt said that every single American deserved a “square deal”—a chance to succeed. Because of him, the 1900’s are sometimes called “The Roosevelt Era.”

Thousands and thousands of immigrants arrived in the United States every day. They came from all over the world—especially from Asia and Europe. On a single day in 1907, 11,747 immigrants arrived at Ellis Island in New York.

Women still couldn’t vote in the United States. The suffragettes were women who fought for the right to vote. They often got arrested! Women wouldn’t win the right to vote in the United States until 1920.

Many inventions we take for granted were still a rarity. The first airplane flight took place in 1903, but it would be many years before airplanes were common. Even cars were still a newfangled invention, and not many people had them. But telephones, indoor plumbing, central heating, vacuum cleaners, radios, and movies were all coming soon. The first “real” movie, The Great Train Robbery, appeared in 1903. It was only 12 minutes long!

Kids couldn’t watch TV or movies; but that didn’t mean they didn’t have fun. They played with toys, sometimes homemade toys. Music was important. Since they couldn’t turn on the radio, people played the songs themselves! Almost every household had a musical instrument of some kind. Books were important, too. Some great classics were published in or around 1904: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for kids, and Call of the Wild and The Virginian for adults.

Some of the bestsellers of 1903-1904.

There were also theaters—not for movies, but for live stage performances. There were comedies and melodramas (almost like soap operas!). In vaudeville theaters, audiences were treated to an amazing variety show. You might get comedians, magicians, singers, dancers, and acrobats, all in one show! And of course there were sports. The first World Series was played in 1903. (Boston won.)

It was very hard to be poor in 1904. There were a few very rich people, but many lived in poverty. Children from poor families often had to go to work instead of school. Six million children under the age of 16 were working, often in difficult and dangerous jobs like mining.

Can you imagine having to work in a factory at the age of 7 or 8? And not only work, but work 8 to 12 hours per day, 6 days per week? Child labor was not banned in the United States until 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson created the Keating-Owen Act making it illegal to buy or sell items produced by child labor. This picture comes from Wisconsin Department of Workforce timeline at wisconsin.gov.

Professor Hypnotiser and his Wonderful Power was a comic that appeared in the Seattle Times in 1904. He goes to pick up his laundry but finds out he doesn't have his ticket. "Presto Change-O!" He tries to hypnotize the clerk to give him his laundry and thinks he has succeeded, but when he gets home he finds out he has a baby's laundry!

On the left, this is a boy's suit???
On the right, an "up-to-date school coat" for girls.

Kids shoes in 1904. Only $1.00 for a pair of leather shoes! These advertisements appeared in the Seattle Times in 1904.