I loved this little article I stumbled across, about a family who found their grandfather's old ledger:
Our family discovered buried treasure recently: a household ledger kept by my husband's grandfather in the 1930s and '40s.
Randy's mom found it while sifting through papers, a 100-page Standard Blank Book yellowed with age. The first line reads "January 1936." Just below that: "cash on hand, $8.21."
What caught my eye first was the handwriting — loopy, uniform, beautiful cursive. John Henry was an elementary school principal and his wife a teacher in Great Bend long before computer keyboards. Their everyday penmanship was wedding-envelope quality, unmatched.
It draws the eye and piques the interest, so I read on:
Rent, $12.50.
One gallon of milk, 20 cents.
Newspaper, 10 cents.
Lights and water bill, $2.35.
Flowers for Mr. Doran's funeral, 15 cents.
"To the Lord's work," $5.
As with most household budgets, the income lines are fewer and farther between, but similarly telling:
Salary for January, $95.
Sold Mrs. Copeland a chicken, 60 cents.
Two dozen eggs, 30 cents.
Helped Bill unload shingles, $1.50....
Reminds me of the notes of my Dad's that I found after he died...
