CITY BEAT: REMEMBER $1.00 PER HOUR WAGES AND GAS AT 22 CENTS A GALLON?

     I realize that 1960, and the years in that decade, probably sound “ancient” to younger readers of this newspaper.
     I was a teenager back then (I really was young once) and the highest paying job I had was working for Ponder Seed Company in Hammond for $1.00 per hour!
     That was $8.00 a day or $40.00 per week.
     While that reads like a very low amount of money to be paid for a week’s work, you have to remember how far a dollar went back then.
     When I started writing this week’s column I checked on what things cost in 1960 and that’s when I remembered why $40.00 per week was a lot of money for a teenager.
I learned that, back in 1960, $1 had the equivalent purchasing power of approximately $10.55 in 2024 — and prices have risen since last year!
     So, that $1.00 per hour I was earning had the buying power that nearly $11.00 had last year!
     I remember buying gas for my first car, a used 1950 Chevy, and paying 22 cents per gallon — even less when there was a gas war going on in Decatur!
     My car’s gas tank could be almost empty and I could fill it up for less than $4.00. I filled up my infamous car Christine’s gas tank yesterday and it cost me nearly $50 — about 12 times as much as a tank of gas in 1960.
     I remember going to some of Decatur’s early fast food businesses, like Sandy’s on Eldorado, and buying a hamburger, fries and a coke for less than 50 cents! I remember looking at an old used car that I was considering purchasing back then, and the price was $50.00!
     I read just yesterday that the average price of today’s new car is $50,000!
     Yikes!
     My wife and I bought our first house in 1964, a three-bedroom ranch on a big lot — for $6,500! I also bought a used Chevy in great condition and had my first monthly car payment at $49.00 per month — to go along with my house payment of $51.00 per month!
     On Saturday night, I picked up a pizza at Romano’s for $1.50 and drove to the Steak ‘n Shake on East Eldorado, ordered Cokes from the car hop, listened to Dick Biondi on WLS sing “On Top Of Old Pizza…”as we sat in the car eating the pizza and watching other young people, and their souped up cars, drive through the parking lot!
     It was a great evening of summer fun and it didn’t cost over a few dollars.
     A dollar an hour went a very long way “back in the day”.
     I have more detail on the cost of living, then verses now, in my “Viewpoint” column in this week’s Tribune.
     While being paid $1.00 per hour doesn’t sound like much today, compared to what my dad earned during the Great Depression — it was huge.
     Dad worked for a time for 25 cents per day during that dark time in our nation’s history.
When I started working on the farm when I was in high school, I was usually paid $5.00 per day — and worked from early morning to sundown!
     That’s why $1.00 per hour, or $8.00 per day, seemed like a good hourly wage for a teenager back then.
     Caterpillar paid the best per hour wage for those entering the workforce in the early 1960s, where the entry level (sweeping floors) paid $1.98 per hour.

     • OF COURSE, a lot has changed since the 1960s and today’s minimum wage has boosted the hourly wage to a point that some businesses have cut back the hours of employees — or eliminated some positions because they can’t afford to pay that high a wage in today’s economy.
     Ironically, businesses back in the 1960s had no problem finding people willing to work for a dollar or two an hour, but even with today’s minimum wage for entry level positions, many businesses are finding it difficult to get people to apply for available jobs.

     • TRAFFIC REPORT — James Towner of Maroa sent me a note the other day stating: “Paul. You should encourage people to send in all the crazy driving they see and run a series.
     “Just in a month I saw a guy on 22nd Street sitting at a red light 23 cars back pull out and run the red light t after waiting 10 seconds!
     “Then on Rock Springs Road and Route 48, a car three behind me pulls out and runs the light at the Railroad crossing, then proceeds to run the second red light turning onto Route 48.
     “Lastly, I saw a car run a red light turning left in traffic in front of a cop who looked like he was too busy looking at his phone to notice.
     “On a positive note I did see 2 cars get pulled over last week after they blew past me!
     “You and your car, Christine, stay safe out there!”
     Thanks for the traffic report, James.
     With so many people driving crazy these days, Christine may intentionally not start her engine some morning so that she can stay at home in the garage where its safe.

     • ENFORCEMENT — Help is on the way to deal with crazy drivers on Decatur streets and roads.
     The Decatur Police Department has announced it has been awarded a federal fiscal year 2026 Sustained Traffic Enforce-ment Program grant. According to information released by the police, “funded by federal highway safety dollars through the Illinois Department of Transportation, the grant will support increased traffic safety enforcement efforts aimed at saving lives and reducing crashes.
     “We are grateful for this grant, which allows us to step up enforcement of impaired driving, seat belt, speeding and other traffic safety laws under the banners of ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,’ ‘Click It or Ticket’ and ‘Drive High. Get a DUI,’” said Sgt. Steve Hagemeyer. “Our top priority is the safety of everyone on our roadways, and we will continue holding those who break the law accountable.”
     The STEP grant year runs from October 1st, 2025, through September 30th, 2026. During this time, Decatur Police will conduct additional enforcement operations, particularly during high-risk periods. These operations will focus on dangerous driving behaviors, including speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, failure to yield, disobeying traffic signals and seat belt violations.
     Key statewide campaigns such as “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket” will be emphasized during some of the deadliest times of the year to raise awareness and encourage safer driving habits. These high-visibility efforts are part of the department’s ongoing mission to keep Illinois roads safe for all.
     Hopefully, local roads will be safer because of the Traffic Enforcement Program grant awarded the Decatur Police Department.

     • CONCERNING — Judge A. G. Webber brought me a Census Bureau graphic which shows that most counties in our nation added young workers from 2020 to 2023. The chart was color coded indicating the population change of 25-to-44-year-olds.
Dark green indicated a growth of 6% of that population with dark purple showing the other extreme with a loss of that younger population of -2%.
     Many counties in Central and Southern Illinois were dark purple!
     Hamilton Lombard of the University of Virginia analyzed the Census Bureau’s results and stated that the survey “shows that economics and personal safety dominated relocators’ decisions. When ranking their criteria, last year’s movers named the cost of living and housing affordability in a first place tie, followed by safety/crime and housing availability.”
It is very apparent that we are losing many members of the critical 25-to-44-year-old age group because it costs a lot to live and work in Illinois.
     There is no doubt in my mind, that high property taxes play into any decision of where many of these young people want to live and work.
     Many homeowners are paying more in real estate taxes each year than they originally paid to buy the home years ago!
Many older subscribers have told me that, if they weren’t settled in Decatur, and close to family and friends, they would move to a state where property taxes were not so high.

     • I JOIN Brian Byers on WSOY’s Byers & Co. every Thursday morning at 7:00 for the “City Hall Insider”. something we’ve been doing for over 22 years. I always enjoy our conversations.

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