Canada in the 1920's
By Robin Darking
War made it harder to enjoy the small luxeries in life, as well as endangering life to a point everyone rejoiced at being alive, they also wanted to look back from the end of their existance with joy. In doing this, an economic boom came forth with a proverbial roar as people indulged in the finer things in life. Fashion was at a high, more money spent on haircuts and jewellery.

Prohibition was installed to prevent the crime that was skyrocketing by preventing drunkedness (Poholek, 1). Of course, it didn’t work... only causing the bootleg manufacturing of drinks to soar and deaths and injuries from badly made drinks to soar along side it as well. Drinking had been another way to have fun, another cause of the war. Ironically, the war caused more death and damage in this sense than any other.

Of course, not all of Canada was in the throes of modern life. In many places, particularly in the northern areas, Canada was still stuck in the years of fur trapping, and farming. In the praries, getting their families back together and the rebuilding of the farming communities that had been destroyed by WW1, life was beginning to settle down. The lack of sons during the war had put a great stress on the farms, and production of food and other farm-related materials was picking up slowly, but surely. The Lawless Decade had not reached them, nor would it until much later when the depression set in.

Some of the most important inventions at this time included the radio, the car, and the come back of the airplane. All of them were important to the expanding of the economy of most large nations.

The radio became bigger in the 1920’s than the television of today. Every household that the roaring twenties reached had at least one. As the radio became better made, and radio stations began to spread everywhere, it became a family affair. After supper, before supper, while children did homework, while the parents relaxed after their kids were in bed, it was used almost around the clock. The radio became the best link to the rest of the world, with news programs being the most popular, and the first to go on radio. Later on, everything from radio plays to sermons were broadcasted to the public.

The radio was an inexpensive way to know what was going on around the world, and the need to know about ones surroundings grew as well (Name not given, 2).

The car changed the face of all large nations. It gave mobility to everyone, so they could visit places, and see people they hadn’t previously been able to see. It cost less than horses and a wagon in the long run, and horses were difficult to keep in cities, unless you were phenomenally rich. The car was made affoardable to everyone, and it came to be so popular, almost every house hold had one. Dirt roads were hard to travel on, so the construction of firmer ground created jobs. Gas stations became a normal occurance as the car grew to spread from America to Canada and other countries.

Lastly, the airplane came back in after it had been thrown away as useless in world war two. It gave new meaning to those seeking to deliver packages and mail. Air-mail became popular and soon many companies choose to freight their packages. Soon the idea that planes could carry people came about, but that was purely reserved for the wealthy, and prices for flying wouldn’t fall until much later.

The war permenantly changed the outlook on fighting, dying, and living. Society reacted in a way to preserve youth, and therefor, prevent death. Everything was done to make life easier, so more time could be spent enjoying every minute.

Endnotes:

1. Poholek,Catherine H., http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/4399/, May 6, 1998.
2. Name not given, http://www.angelfire.com/co/pscst/.

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