No Such Job Anymore
Over the decades due to the advancement of technology many jobs were held by your ancestors (maybe even their whole life) that now no longer exist. Many jobs are extinct.
As you work on the family tree especially reviewing the occupations listed on a census, there will be your clue, the name of the job and see if it still in more current times.
Here are a few that no longer exist.
Programs on the radio were big entertainment. People actually acted a part and there were daily or weekly shows, nothing visual, all audio. Those individuals were radio actors. That no longer exists.
The daily fresh milk delivery of milk bottles to homes was a very important and steady job. Those workers were milkmen. Also, no just milk bottles delivered, some companies had bread or eggs delivered. No longer done.
The Telephone Operator ‘Number Please’ – you won’t hear that anymore. With everything computerized with the phone system, it is nearly impossible to get a real person to assist. The days of switchboard operator to connect you with another number is gone. That was a job held by mostly women their entire careers.
A popular sport was bowling. Before the pins could be automatically reset with an invention in 1936, there was a need for Pinsetters. A pin boy, usually teen boys, worked at the end of the bowling lane and after someone threw their ball, the pinsetter reset all the pins.
During the days of the logging industry, there was a log driver saw that the cut logs bound together, like a large raft and then followed them using a large log boat as they floated down a river or other body of water to their destination. This job no longer exists
Here is a job most people are glad no longer exists. It is a food safety tester. Before there was the FDA – Food and Drug Administration, food ingredients and new food items did not go through any special testing to make sure they were safe for customers. However, some food companies did hire individuals to come and taste a food product. If none got sick or died, then it was considered safe to sell.
Photos: Radio actors, Milkman; Telephone Operator; Pinsetters in 1909; and Log driver.
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