Back in the 1930s, the small towns of Kentucky didn’t have a lot of technology. In fact, it was a simpler time altogether. People could depend on their neighbors, who were sometimes few and far between in rural areas. Walking, horses and mules were the primary modes of transportation, even for the mail carriers. Looking back in time at the lives our grandparents or great grandparents once had, it is easy to see that technology has really taken over in modern society.

During a simpler time, here are 20 things most Kentucky small towns had:

  1. A one room school house was common in smaller communities.

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  1. A former slave quarters or two converted to something more beneficial, like a milk house.

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  1. Farmers had a meeting spot they’d trade mules and horses.

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  1. A quaint little cabin (or five) somewhere near town, or in town.

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  1. One church, not two, or five, or 20… just one.

John Vachon

  1. An old barn and wash kettle or cauldron.

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  1. Banks were a lot different, including look, size, security and customer service. Things were a lot more personal.

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  1. Families would have yearly meetings at the cemetery to discuss things.

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  1. A real general store, where various supplies could be found from flour to rope.

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  1. If it was a wet county, there was a liquor store somewhere.

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  1. Seeing a horse and wagon was not unusual during the 1930s. Seeing a car was actually more of a shock in certain places.

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  1. Hand carved grave stones marked the resting spot of those who traveled on.

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  1. The mailman and his horse, who almost everyone looked forward to seeing.

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  1. The post office of 1935 was a lot different than the ones we see now. They were much smaller and friendlier, and people even hung out there.

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  1. This was one way companies would do their marketing in the 1930s. Barn or house painted ads could be seen from a distance, like the billboards of today, but much cooler.

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  1. There was usually one small grocery store in town, and flour sacks were reusable.

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  1. This was a circus ad circa 1935, which is much different than the extreme commercialism used today.

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  1. Walking was the primary form of public transportation. You got wherever your feet would take you without a car or horse.

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  1. Those buckets are the lunch pails kids used in the 1930s, as they walked back and forth to school.

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  1. Real canned goods, likely made by the wives of local farmers. Even better, they were reusable.

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Some of us yearn for the return of a simpler time, when we didn’t push a button for everything. People worked a lot harder physically back then, as their actual survival in Kentucky depended on it. If you wanted to eat, you grew food or had something to barter with. Canning was done with glass jars and flour was sold in a sack that could be made into a dress. Yes, things were a lot harder, but they were a lot less complicated. I always enjoyed the stories told by those that lived during that era. What do you remember hearing from your elders about the 1930s?

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John Vachon

Ben Shahn

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