On May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed his small plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, in Paris successfully, after flying across the Atlantic Ocean. He made the trip in 33 hours and 32 minutes, from Roosevelt Field on Long Island. This was the first time anyone had ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane.

Exactly five months later on Oct. 21, I was born. I’m not quite 90 yet, but so far so good. I am often astounded at how much the world has changed. Today is a completely different world. It gives me pause to wonder if the world will change that much in another lifetime. I’m sure it will. Just think, we went from the first pioneer aviator, to the large, multiple, world serving airports, with huge planes carrying hundreds of passengers across the country and oceans so quickly today.

Radio transmission took quite a while to develop and grow. In 1922, there were only 30 radio stations in the entire United States, with radios in only 34 percent of American homes. (Re: Encyclopedia Americana 1954 Edition.) I’m sure there are more today in just New York state.

We didn’t have a telephone in our house until about 1939. It wasn’t a dial phone. An operator at headquarters would ring a number for you. We had a party line with other people in the neighborhood. You knew the call was for you by a coded system of rings, but other people on the line could listen in.

I was out of high school, discharged from the Navy, and in college, before TV came to Buffalo. Computers were still unheard of. I recall when asking my 10 year old son what he was going to be when he grew up. He replied. “Gee dad, when you were my age TV didn’t exist, and that’s what you do. Maybe what I’m going to be doesn’t exist yet either.” Smart kid. He now works in computers, which had yet to become a reality.

Money was worth more also. A gallon of gas was 18 cents. A loaf of bread was a dime, a pack of cigarettes was 18 cents. My first real job at 16 on a highway construction crew paid me 85 cents an hour. If you are in the same job all your life, and get a raise every year, you are never any better off. Every time you get a raise prices go up. You have more money, but living costs more. Isn’t this obvious? People feel good getting a raise but as they have not improved their performance, they are no better off, at best only keeping pace. To be better off, you’ve either got to get a different job, or get promoted to a higher status.

There was no traffic light in the main square in Gowanda. At Christmas time, they would put up a huge Christmas tree there with lights in the center of the square. On Christmas Eve it seemed like the whole town would fill the square to sing Christmas Carols. Then Santa Claus would come in a horse-drawn sleigh, sit on the steps of what is now the Persia Town Hall and take orders for presents from the village tots. Can you imagine such a party today? One big change that happened slowly was that all the stores in town were closed on Sunday. Saturday night was shopping night. All the farmers came to town to shop.

In 1937 my dad bought a low mileage 1936 used Ford V-8 for $600. The family piled in, and we took a trip to Minnesota and North Dakota to visit our relatives. There were no Thruways then either.

This article is not meant to long for the “good old days.” It is more of an expression of wonderment, at the amount of progress we have accomplished in one lifetime. Years ago families lived through many generations with little or no change in situations. It’s changing today at a record pace. May God bless America.

Richard Westlund is a Collins resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com