. Figure 1.-These kids from Mansfield, Washington are enjoying an outing on a ship. We do not know where they are heading. Manfield is a town in the middle of the state, so they probably traveled to Seattle. The boys are are done up in their best outfits for thev trip. They look to be about 6-13 years old. The snapshot is undated, but looks to us like the 1910s.

We see family outings in parks duriung the 1910s. Thise parks with zoos were especially popular with children. Coastal cities offered beaches. This included Great Lakes cities as well as cities with small lakes and rivers. But it was the coastal cities with ocean front beaches like Coney Island in New York that were the most popular. Some cities had boat trips to nearby islands. Summer vacations were just beginning to become an American tradition, still mostly limuited to the Middle Class. But a major change was beginning to percolate through Americam society -- the automobile. Henry Ford had perfected a low-cost automobile within the price range of the average working man--the Model-T (1909). Thge automobile was no longer the play thing of the richh. There were endless consequences. And this only occured in America. Workers in Europe could only buy bikes. The automobile helped open up the suburbs, but it also freed American families from the narrow confines of public transit. Picnics and other outings into the countryside were now possible. This was all just beginning, but by the end of the decade a substantial number of American families had cars--mostly Model-Ts. And all kinds of week-end outings were now possible. The roads were not in place yet for long trips, but they were coming.

Created: 6:46 AM 9/30/2020
Last updated: 6:47 AM 9/30/2020