I think this discussion has become a mixture of the two discussions of the
old returnable bottles and the oen a few weeks ago about amythest glass -
not quite rosy, but biased and tainted nonetheless.

John Dendy's comments about the gangs, abortions, and such made me think of
an interesting paper I have on my web page.  It was presented in 1867 by
Dr. Alvin Foord, maker of the famed Foord's Pectoral Syrup patent medicines
that I hope many of you have had the pleasure to find and identify in your
digs.  Foord's paper discusses the reproductive patterns of what he
considered the more desirable "puritan or Yankee" portion of the population
(always having abortions) and the less desirable recent immigrants who were
breeding like fruit flies.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/Documents/FoordMCMS1867.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/Shorts/Questions/AlvinFoord.html

And, don't get me started on diseases that killed most people before their
prime.  One day in Dick Wilkinson's class he went through a list of various
diseases that would have killed us in the good old days but for which we
presently had cures or treatments.  I had had two of them by that age and
have since had a couple more.  I am definitely not so teary-eyed
reminiscent of the "good" old days, although I wish we could get back to
the mentality of when we all carried pocket knives because we lived on
farms and used them with care.

         Dan W.





At 11:44 AM 3/22/02, you wrote:


>`I take it, then, that there were no back alley abortionists or adoption
>agencies in Detroit either? No gangs? No subculture? I thought we were
>talking about history, not mythology.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jim Bowles [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 1:05 PM
> > To:   [log in to unmask]
> > Subject:      no 'bout a dout it (as we used to say)
> >
> > re.,  Why do you think it's called the "baby boom"?
> >
> > (a)        Troops from Europe and the Pacific theaters returning to their
> > families?
> >
> > re.,  Benzedrine, cocaine, heroin, marijuana
> >
> > (a)        Not in Detroit schools of the 40's and 50's. And not in our
> > neighborhoods. Truant
> > officers were still in existence, you missed a day in school and a note
> > from mom got you back in
> > (not that I didn't write a few of those myself)