My name is Donald Eugene Robinson. On Oct. 20, 1926 my mother gave birth to her 12th child, that baby was me (Donald), in the town of Harrisburg, Ill. My father was a coal miner of 30 years there.
Yes, I remember when gas was 17 cents a gallon. Yes, I remember when bread was 5 cents a loaf. I remember when you could buy a nice pair of shoes for $1.50.
I remember when you could rent a whole house for $30 or $50 a month. I remember when my dad worked for the Works Progress Administration fixing roads for $30 every 2 weeks.
Then he worked for a farmer for 50 cents a day.
I remember when my dad got older and had to retire, Social Security was not started yet and drew what was called the old age pension. He drew $17.50 a month. The grocery man got all of that. Yes, I remember when milk was 20 cents a gallon, and eggs were 10 cents a dozen.
I think of what Bill Cosby said when he was 76 years old. He said that he was glad that he was on the way out instead of on the way in. I feel sorry for the young people.
I remember when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. I was a 15 year-old young man. Oh, yes, I remember just 47 years ago this July, the year of 1965, when I moved to Murray.
At that time, the only big place to shop was Uncle Jeff’s, on the southside of Murray.
Yes, I remember some of my old buddies, like Robert O. Miller, Guss Robertson, Hunter Love, Mancil Vinson, and Bro. Jerrel White, of the Memorial Baptist Church.
Maybe times will get better, I hope. For now, I’ll tell everyone, this year, I will celebrate my 86th birthday on Oct. 20 – remembering the good old days.
Letter by Rev. Don Robinson, non-student from Murray, Ky.