CNJ+ July 2023

Caddy Butcher- A caddy butcher specialized in preparing and selling horse meat, which was popular in both the United Kingdom and the United States until the 1940s. The meat was relatively cheap and was considered an alternative to beef or venison. However, eating horse meat became taboo, and the practice died out. Telegram Messenger- In the second half of the 19th century, telegram messengers were an essential component of communication. In the United Kingdom, after the General Post Office took control of inland telegrams in 1870, telegram boys became emblematic of the next era of communication. In 1913, around 82 million telegrams were sent in the U.K., and most were delivered by telegram messengers on bicycles. After 1946, however, tele phones and other communication innovations steadily replaced telegrams. 20 th century Telephone Operator- In the early to mid-20th century, if you wanted to get in touch with someone on the phone, switchboard operator was the per son to help you do it. Switchboard operators were essential whenever you wanted to make a call, connecting one caller through the central office to the party they were trying to reach via a network of manual plugs. While this profession may seem antiquated, switchboard operators were in use well into the 1960s. VCR repairman- If you grew up in the latter part of the 20th century, you probably remember the pain of getting your favorite videotape stuck in your VCR. Enter: the VCR repairman, who could save that Fraggle Rock video and your VCR in the process. But with the rise of DVDs and streaming ser vices, you'd be hard-pressed to find a VCR tech today. Dictaphone Operator- Today, we have tiny devices in our homes that can write our grocery lists for us if we do no more than ask them to. Howev er, from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, dictation was handled by Dictaphone operators. Log Drivers-While navigating around an 18-wheeler carrying timber on the highway may be a pain, those trucks are a major improvement over the logging industry's previous practices. Case in point: until the 1970s, log driving was one of the preferred methods of moving lumber from place to place, with men riding logs down river as a means of getting them to mills. Unfortunately, the practice was extremely dangerous, with countless log drivers losing their lives on the job. Radio Actor- Today, we listen to podcasts. Throughout the 20th century, however, millions tuned into radio dramas, catching their favorite actors play out the serials that were so popular at the time. And while some radio enthusiasts are trying to bring the format back, the number of actors who can make a living in this line of work today is likely zero. Typesetter- Before the printing industry was digitized, all those stories had to be hand-set by a typesetter before going to print. Clock Winder- Before the invention of electric clock winders, the job was frequently done manually by a dedicated clock winder. While this job has all but been eliminated, there's one notable exception: just five years ago, Big Ben was hiring a clock winder. Film Projectionist- As most movie theaters switch to digital projectors, the role of the film projectionist is largely obsolete. While some projection ists' roles within the movie theater have changed to include programming and management, you'd likely have trouble finding anyone who's still pro fessionally projecting 35mm film today. Computer- Today, a laptop computer can weigh as little as a hardback book. However, throughout the 20th century, it took an entire human be ing—or sometimes a team of them—to generate the power in one of these tiny machines many of us take for granted today. Can you think of any other obsolete jobs that no longer exist?

bowling balls. After a bowler would take a turn, the pinsetter would jump into a pit, clear the downed pins, and roll the ball back to the bowler. After the second turn, the pinsetter would quickly gather the pins and realign them. By the early 1950s, the automatic pinsetter had found its way into bowling alleys, rendering the pinsetters unnecessary. Elevator Operator- Elevator operators would greet guests and shuffle patrons from floor to floor, but they have gone extinct as people are now choosing to press their own elevator buttons. However, elevator operators in their heyday would be in charge of manually opening and closing eleva tor doors, controlling the speed of the car, and announcing what businesses were situated on each floor as the car approached. By the 1970s, many eleva tor operators had been let go. Gong Farmer- Until the end of the 19th century, gong farmers would be hired to dig out all the feces from a house's privy and bring it to a dump to be repurposed as fertilizer or building materials. Gong farmers could only work at night, faced the prospect of diseases, and were sometimes required to live far away from the rest of a village or town. Mursmäcka- A Mursmäcka was a profession in Sweden reserved for wom en who would hand over mortar during construction work. It was a com mon job for poor and uneducated Swedish women during the 19th century, especially in places like Stockholm. The job was discontinued in 1922. Switchboard Operator- The earliest telephones were extremely difficult to use, so telephone companies hired switchboard operators to assist with con necting customers. The job became an almost exclusively female one by the 1880s because women were considered to be more polite. Women saw the job as a step up from factory and domestic work. In 1919, switchboard oper ators in New England went on strike and earned a wage increase as a result. Crossing Sweeper- In the 19th century when streets were frequently dirty, littered, and filled with sewage, people would hire crossing sweepers to sweep a path ahead of pedestrians as they walked down the street. Wealthy citizens would readily pay sweepers to protect their long skirts or articles of clothing and to prevent contact with manure. A crossing sweeper was considered one step above a beggar. Many people took up the profession because starting the business would cost nothing more than a broom. Lector- While people today might listen to podcasts or radio on the job, people working in the early 1900s factories had to devise another source of entertainment. Factories would hire lectors to read aloud newspapers or books on-site to keep workers entertained. The lector would usually sit or stand on an elevated surface to perform so that the entire factory would be able to hear. Lectors who read material deemed too radical were fired. Hush Shopkeeper- During Prohibition in the United States, when it was illegal to sell, buy, or consume alcohol, hush shopkeepers would sell alcohol under the table to people they trusted. They received their name because they had to keep their private business “hush.” Eventually, when Prohibition ended, hush shopkeepers were no longer needed. Alchemist- In ancient eras, alchemists would try to turn chemicals or oth er substances into gold. Alchemists were also considered “wizards” because they frequently tried to concoct special elixirs to cure sickness and grant im mortality. Today, some people consider alchemists to have been early chem ists because of their work with base metals and other chemicals. Human Computers- Human computers at NASA and other organizations would be in charge of making calculations to determine, for example, how many rockets it would take to make a plane airborne. The calculations took place on graph paper and could sometimes take up to a week. Eventually, the job became an almost-exclusively female profession. In 1942, Macie Roberts made the decision to hire only female computers because she believed male computers would undermine the group.

30 CNJ+ | FORMERLY THE MILLSTONE TIMES

JULY 2023