Remember When: A parade of pros brought business to your door

In a busy holiday season like this, ever find yourself wishing you could spend a day at home, with nobody bothering you?

Congratulations! Go for it! You’re living at the right time.

Despite all our work demands and social media connections, it actually might be easier to isolate ourselves today than it would have been a couple of generations ago.

Here’s why. In my recollection, our predecessors were way more likely than we are to have their day taken up by a parade of visitors, welcome or not. Here are some of the people who once came by the old homestead regular as clockwork.

Insurance agent: Typically, you purchased your life, home and auto insurance through a registered agent of an insurance company. The agent not only sold you the policy but once a month came to your door with an authoritative-looking leather briefcase. Then, seated at your dining room table, he’d make some pleasant talk and accept your monthly premium of a couple of dollars.

Door-to-door sales person: While the most historically famous example of the unexpected visitor is the guy who showed up with a shiny vacuum cleaner he wanted you to buy before the special was over, there were other products brought right to you. My family bought brushes, disinfectant, chocolate chip cookies, shoes (yes, shoes) and a long list of other items that today we haul home from stores.

Teachers: There was once an era when elementary school would shut down from time to time so the teachers could visit the students’ homes and talk with a parent, which meant the housewife mom. I remember hiding in the next room, terrified that Miss Jones would report that I’d had to be shushed during a vital lesson about the Central Asian steppes.

Doctor: In an era when medical tech was simple enough that you really could carry it in a leather satchel, and when a lot of urban residents did not own cars, it made sense for the doctor to show up at the patient’s house. Tongue depressors, a stethoscope, a thermometer and mini-packets of mysterious pills were just some of the magic that came out of the fabled little black bag. Bed rest was always commanded.

Magazine seller: Whether you enjoyed “The Saturday Evening Post,” “Colliers” or “Popular Science,” you probably read it because some time back in the Hoover administration a young fellow had come to your family’s front door hawking subscriptions. This person’s professional cousin was the lad who’d deliver your choice of Sunday newspapers wrapped in colorful comics sections, payable on the spot.

Encyclopedia sales rep: With the venerable Britannica and others now online, no longer do sales people try to convince you that you and your kids will be smart as all get-out if you’ll just sign up for this shelf of massive books. The volumes (generally never opened) would decorate your living room for years, before migrating to a cardboard box in the attic.

Meter reader: If you used gas, electricity or water (meaning everyone), you had meters, which in those days were generally in the cellar. So, once a month a fellow from each utility would come around to check his meter and figure out your bill, which you would then receive in the mail.

And that, folks, is why if you keep the TV and the phone turned off, a day at home can actually be quieter than anything our older relatives knew.

Hey, in the mood for a knock-knock joke or two?

***

Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history writer. Reach him at [email protected].