Penobscot's Past Century Review              1887 - 1987
	For those who have been privileged to live in the twentieth century,  it has been , indeed,  a spectacular experience.  Without doubt,  there has been more national technological progress achieved in the past seventy years than all of time prior to this date.   And citizens of Penobscot have been advantaged by the convenience this progress has made possible   The horse and wagon has been replaced with the automobile,  the earliest of which was the Model T Ford.   These names were later supplemented with Buick, Chevorlet, Oldsmobile, Graham Paige, Lincoln Continental, Chrysler,  Thunderbird, and Cadillac.  Little thought was g ven to starting the engine with a crank in the earliest of days,  but it was apprecitated when a self starter was later invented.  improvments continued to be made and the stick shift transmission graduated into an automatic.    The public was skeptical when the Wright brothers flew the Kitty Hawk, proving that machines could fly.  But in 1927,  the public marvled when Lindenburge flew a single engine monoplane over the Atlantic Ocean to Paris in 36 hours.  Little was it realized that the same trip would later take only a few short hours in supersonic jet planes making trips daily.  Or, it was never imagined that a flight from New York to Los Angeles could be accomplished in 5 to 6 hours in jet propulsion planes.      When President Kennedy announced that space was the last frontier and that we would put a man on the moon by 1970,  it is doubtful that anyone believed him.  But,  when John Glenn became the first astronaut to orbit the earth,  people began to envision this to be a reality.   And,  sure enough, in 1969 Astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon with his famous statement"  One step for man, one giant leap for Mankind".  Space shuttles followed,  carrying payloads onto space and launching satellites that greatly enhanced systems of communication.  There are future plans to build space stations,  where people may eventually live.  Although it hasen't happened as yet, there is no doubt that it will.  By the year 2087, this too may be an antiquated mode of living.        The kerosene, oil  and gas lamps were relaced with more modern electricity.  In the 1920's,  electirc lights first illuminated the homes and streets of Penboscot.  This paved the way for new home improvments, the stove, the blender, the mixer, the can opener, the microwave oven, the washing machine and dryer.  In similar manner electricity powered the working man's laboratory,  his workshop,  the table saw,  the lathe, the drill press, the band saw, the planer, the jointer, the shaper and the router.  When the telephone came into use around the turn of the century, no one knew how it worked or even cared,  but were thoroughly amazed and delighted in its use.  In the 1920's radio was a household product.  Although many owned a one-tube Radiola with ear phones, the miracle of listening to news or other programs at distant locations was almost unbelievable, in spite of the static.  And,  then when television was introduced shortly after World War II,  1947 - 1950, the amazement continued.  They were awed by the fact that the performers could not only be heard, but also be seen.  Through cable and satellite aids, it was now possible to watch programs not only in the United States, but anywhere in the world.  With the flick of a switch or touch of ones remote control, it became possible to receive instant news and live audio and video coverage of events that were happening thousands of miles away.      Medical science has made great strides.  From a life expectancy of 55 years in 1900, peoplecan now expect to live an average of 74 years for men and 78 years for women.  Small pox ,  typhoid feaver, diphtheria and tuberculosis are practically extinct, although they were killer diseases seventy years ago.  Polio has been conquered with a vaccine discovered by Dr. Jonas Salk.  Open-heart surgery and transplants are commonplace.   Accidently severed  limbs again became usable through a time consuming surgical team methods of restoration.     We are now in the computer, high-tech age and have been since the early 70's.  Still in the infant stage it would be interesting to learn how this facinating science will affect changes in the next one hundred years.  Already, it controls the flight of space vehicles, computes the financial ledgers of milti-million dollar corporations, partially does the work of man in automobile construction, and expeditiously handles the inventory of huge operational plants.    These developments and changes, as wounderful and unbelievable as they are,  have, on the other hand created problems.  Over the past forty years prices have radically escalated.  The five cent ice cream cone, that used to be, is now fifty to seventy-five cents, depending where you buy it.  The five cent Hersey candy bar is now thirty-five cents.  The cost of groceries, averaging $10. to $15. for two people in 1940, has risen to &65 to $75 per week.  The $600 Ford automobile of 1935 not costs $10,000 and the luxury Lincoln Continental $25,000.   Real estate prices have almost outreached the newly-married couple,  the average home nationally priced at $75,000.  Movie prices have risen from a low of 25 cents to a present day cost of $3.50 to $7.50, again depending on where you buy your ticket.  This radical inflation rate has bee offset however by increased income.  The automobile and other industries pay some  workers as much per hour as some of our ancestors earned in a month, or at later dates,  in a week.  As income of $3000, per year, thought to be a fortune as late as 1930, can be equated to an income of $25,000 in 1987, and thought of as average income.  The point of it all is that, even though we are making more money  today,  we have no more money left over.  We are simply grantedt he opportunity of handling a greater sum.  Even so, most people are economically better off then they were 100 years ago.  And,  few would exchange their present situation for the "good old days".      Let us, therefore, end this publication by summarizing our two-hundred year town with a poem written by Marie Mitchell Bridges.  It reads as follows on the next page:                                                                                                           Click here to view                                                 Penobscot U.S.A.                                                      by Marie Mitchell Bridges