Another case of 20-somethings fiddling with the dialogue because they were NOT around when this strip originally ran! They were NOT called “self-serve restaurants” – They were Automat Lunchrooms! And you didn’t always need “two coins.” Back in the day – you could get a cup of coffee for a nickel – which was one ONE coin unless you wanted to use FIVE pennies. I feel sorry for the poor twenty-something kids who have been given the job of “modernizing” the classic strips! The poor kids don’t realize that – years ago – EVERYTHING was much simpler – and MUCH cheaper! Even as late as the mid-60s, you could get a pretty substantial breakfast at a regular DINER for about Sixty Cents – that would include two eggs, any style, hash browns, bacon or sausage, buttered toast and coffee, tea or milk. Since Automats were at the height of their popularity during the Depression, many people who were lucky enough to have jobs often earned only $1 per day – and they worked from sunup to sundown – mostly because kerosene cost money and there were not many stores willing to spend the extra money needed to keep their businesses open if they had to buy kerosene for lanterns. But, in those days, the average family could buy a 100 pound sack of flour for fifty cents – and the sacks could be turned in to dresses, shirts, blouses, skirts, etc. by someone who had a treadle sewing machine! If you were charging as much as two nickles for a sandwich, pot pie or bowl of soup – you wouldn’t have many customers, because uost people would have regarded that price as too rich for their blood! Back when Kraft introduced their boxes of Mac and Cheese – they sold for around Seven Cents per box – so you could have Mac and cheese every day for ten days for less than a dollar. And, in those days, even apartment dwellers had a little window garden – so you could add your own FRESH -grown peas, carrots, corn or green beans to the Mac and Cheese.
Another case of 20-somethings fiddling with the dialogue because they were NOT around when this strip originally ran! They were NOT called “self-serve restaurants” – They were Automat Lunchrooms! And you didn’t always need “two coins.” Back in the day – you could get a cup of coffee for a nickel – which was one ONE coin unless you wanted to use FIVE pennies. I feel sorry for the poor twenty-something kids who have been given the job of “modernizing” the classic strips! The poor kids don’t realize that – years ago – EVERYTHING was much simpler – and MUCH cheaper! Even as late as the mid-60s, you could get a pretty substantial breakfast at a regular DINER for about Sixty Cents – that would include two eggs, any style, hash browns, bacon or sausage, buttered toast and coffee, tea or milk. Since Automats were at the height of their popularity during the Depression, many people who were lucky enough to have jobs often earned only $1 per day – and they worked from sunup to sundown – mostly because kerosene cost money and there were not many stores willing to spend the extra money needed to keep their businesses open if they had to buy kerosene for lanterns. But, in those days, the average family could buy a 100 pound sack of flour for fifty cents – and the sacks could be turned in to dresses, shirts, blouses, skirts, etc. by someone who had a treadle sewing machine! If you were charging as much as two nickles for a sandwich, pot pie or bowl of soup – you wouldn’t have many customers, because uost people would have regarded that price as too rich for their blood! Back when Kraft introduced their boxes of Mac and Cheese – they sold for around Seven Cents per box – so you could have Mac and cheese every day for ten days for less than a dollar. And, in those days, even apartment dwellers had a little window garden – so you could add your own FRESH -grown peas, carrots, corn or green beans to the Mac and Cheese.