What Did Things Cost Back Then

I've been strolling down memory lane on a website devoted to St. Louis in the '40's thru the 60's. While there are many WOW moments for folks who grew up there, and many of the comments would be interesting to everyone who lived in that era, it just got me thinking about the cost of things again. I might even start a whole blog devoted to this.

One fellow said that it cost $6 to see your doctor in his office, but $12 if he came to the house. This would have been in the 50's.

White Castle hamburgers were normally $.05, but on Sundays you bought a bag of 25 for a dollar.

Everyone seemed to have a movie price. My recollection was double features were $.25 and the Saturday kids matinee was $.20. Sometimes you got a dish or other premium for going to the shows during the week.

Regular gas was $.199, but went as low as $.129 during price wars.

Candy bars 5¢, 12 ounce soda 5¢. Pin ball 5¢. Juke box 5¢ (six plays for a quarter.)

Also a nickle: 5 pack of gum, pay phone call, daily newspaper in the stand, single dip ice cream cone, popsickles off the ice cream truck. Dreamsickles, fudgesickles, and eskimo pies were a dime.

Here things get a bit fuzzy. Decent bicycle $100? New car $1000? 2 bedroom home $3000? TV $100? Hair cut? Perm? Rides at amusement parks? Deliver a baby? Whole chicken? 5 pound ham? Shoes - 2 for $5 for Payless type. What about at a nicer shoe store or department store? New jeans?

Help me out through the comment section or send your thoughts by e-mail to Quixote77@sbcglobal.net

Wall to wall carpet? Paper backs were $.35, right? Comics $.10? How much was Mad magazine?