random question for the knowledgeable amongst you

[mickeym]

Expect me to be spammy with the questions. I'm writing, man. *headdesk*

1930's/1940's, sleeping arrangements for same-sex siblings: probably shared a room, yes? If they did, would they have had twin/single beds, or shared a double? Also, did houses back then (assume the house was built right around the turn of the century, since this would be an older farm house) have closets? I'm thinking no, that wardrobes were used.

Anyone?

Comments

[dine.livejournal.com]

my father grew up in a pre-1900 farmhouse, with three bedrooms upstairs. only one of those rooms had a built-in closet. they really weren't common in older homes - my parents' house was built in the 20s? and only a couple of bedrooms had them built-in.

I think the sleeping arrangements might vary by family - most likely younger kids would be doubled up and probably sharing a bed. that might change as they aged depending on the layout of the house (is another room available?) and if there was money to buy another bed. my dad & uncle had double beds, probably inherited from somewhere in the family.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was figuring three bedrooms -- I'm trying to take Bobby's house that we see in Supernatural and transfer it to fit the era (though honestly, from what we've seen, his house may well date back to around the turn of the century *g*). Also trying to figure out sleeping arrangements for Sam and Dean.

Thanks!

[dine.livejournal.com]

this sounds like a fun, interesting AU

in addition to the rooms/beds question, you might need to research when the area was electrified - our farm didn't get on the grid until after 1948, as rural areas just weren't a priority. also heating options - what was most common then/there? probably wood, which means they'd most likely share for body heat in winter, even if they had separate rooms otherwise

due to my grandma's hatred of change, the sole source of heat until the mid-80s was a fireplace and two woodstoves (one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom)

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Oh, holy crap! Something I didn't even consider -- city girl, here; I just assumed. HAH. *sighs* Well, okay. That. Is problematic. Looking around on a brief search, it looks like Hoover signed the REA into effect in 1935, but it was 1939-41 before Rural Electric Coops started actually getting the rural areas "on-line", as it were. So. Something else to work on.

*headdesk*

Thanks, Dine :) I'm glad this was pointed out early enough for me to fix things as necessary. :)

[girlguidejones.livejournal.com]

Do you have this link, babycakes? It has proven helpful to me before.

The People History (http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/)

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

I do have it! Thank you :) Believe me when I say, I've been *pouring* over it.

[girlguidejones.livejournal.com]

My grandparents home on my dad's side was built in the late 1920's. It was a farm-house.

Basement: Dirt floor with planks and such to walk on.

Ground floor: Kitchen/breakfast room off the kitchen. What we would call the family room (they called living room). There was a formal room (which my grandma made everyone call the parlor, and it was fancy). The dining room was where we ate most meals. Big, long table that sat 14 if the leaves were all in. There were two "utility" type rooms. One was a very large pantry with an extra deep freeze, dry goods, and all the canned (home canned) goods. The other was basically an enclosed porch; you'd call it a mudroom these days.

Upstairs: The only bathroom (clawfoot tub, no shower). It was quite large. Had a couple of spare wardrobes/dressers in it where the towels and linens were kept, because: no closets. Also had a screen in one corner, presumably behind which one kid could be getting dressed while the next bathed or whatever.

There were six bedrooms, although I know for a fact that originally there were four, and two were later divided into smaller rooms when the older (of four) kids got to be teens so they could have their own. My great-grandmother and great-grandfather had the largest room, my grandparents the next largest.

When the oldest of the kids moved out, their room was made into a guest room.

There were no built in closets until after my grandparents died, and my dad, aunts, and uncle went together and remodeled the house some. All the beds except one (that was the room that was very, very small) were doubles. Windows were not large, and always drafty. The one v. small bedroom did not even have one, and, ironically, eventually became a walk-in closet for that very reason.

I should say that while my dad's parents weren't the Hiltons, they owned their small farm, which provided almost all of the food they needed, and also a great deal of property, on which there was a lot of lumber and oil-drilling. I'm certain they were better off in the 1930's-60's than most people.

Hope this helps!

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Oh, awesome--that helps a lot! (Where was the farm located, if you don't mind my asking?) I'm trying to fit Bobby's house into the era of the 1930's(and onward). Sam and Dean go to live with Uncle Bobby, and I can't decide if they would have their own rooms/beds, or if they would share one room and/or a double bed. I know I can make an argument either way, but I want to be sure I'm not working on a "ooh, this way they could have all the sex and night cuddles they want" wavelength, y'know?

Hmm. Maybe it's two bedrooms and a third very small room -- like you said, really too small to be much of a bedroom. Maybe...Bobby and his wife bought the house and he made a smaller room off the master bedroom, to be a baby's nursery and then his wife died in childbirth... all of which is backstory that I'm just doing in my head to fit all the pieces together.

The Bobby in my story is our Bobby, except he was Mary's brother. And he ends up with the boys. Living on his farm. In South Dakota. Oh, my god, I'm never going to get this finished! *panics again*

[girlguidejones.livejournal.com]

Rural Ohio.

I think you could make a case for either scenario. From what we've seen of Bobby's house, it's pretty big. No canon reason they can't have their own rooms, space-wise. On the other hand, a wise man wouldn't forcibly separate two kids who've lost everything but each other. And Bobby's nothing if not smart.

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

beds: it depends. how many bedrooms does the house have, and how many kids? if there are lots of kids and not much room they'd absolutely have shared a room and quite possibly shared a bed. if there were a lot of kids and not much room there might be bunkbeds instead of them sharing a bed.

what's the weather like in winter? in a cold climate they'd be more likely to have shared beds, because bedrooms weren't heated. (in so cal, not so much a problem, in nebraska, almost certainly.)

and just because the bed was shared, it probably would still have been a single or twin depending on the space and how much money the family had and how old the kids were. doubles were for parents or rich folks. (for values of "rich" = probably not a farmer)

probably wardrobes, yes, although depending again on the location closets might have already been in vogue when the house was built. and again, it could depend on money -- it costs more building a house to put in closets, but relatives might have an old wardrobe to give the young folks when they start out.

i'm a geek, arent' i?

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Well, you're a geek with useful information!

This is definitely a farm(er), so money isn't going to be very plentiful, particularly since at this time it's 1941 *g* And taking place, initially, in southern South Dakota -- so definitely cold in the wintertime. Which also helps me work things around.

Thank you! :)

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

by 41 there MIGHT have been central heating...but maybe not, not on a poor farm in the midwest. we knew people in berkeley in old houses who did not have central heating (admitedly it might be more urgent in south dakota, though, so it might be something they'd scrimp more to get).

[als-wonderland.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember at one point that taxes on a house were levied based on what kind of appliances that a house had, as well as "superfluous" space, ie: spaces that were considered luxuries. Closets were luxury space, so a poor man wasn't going to have much.

Also, remember that people had fewer clothes, and they lasted a bit longer, as their washing methods were less harsh than ours and happened less frequently. I remember from the Laura Ingalls books that mostly people just had hooks to hang their daily clothes, slept in their nightshirts and had a chest for keeping their Sunday finest and personal bits.

I also remember from the Anne of Green Gables series that many clothes were cut down, hemmed and recycled for the younglings as needed, even from previous era fashions.

As far as the bed question, my grandparent's home farm had all their kids sleeping upstairs in their own rooms, in doubles, but the grands themselves remember sleeping 3 and 4 younglings per double as size allowed. Often times they were not shoulder to shoulder, but head to foot opposite for more space.