6 American Jobs That Paid Well in 1965 — And Why They No Longer Exist

Forgotten America remembers the people who came to the house. In 1965, six jobs existed in every American town that paid a working man enough to own a home and support a family of four. No college degree required. The milkman who knew your family by name — eliminated by eleven cents per quart. The Bell System telephone operator who handled 200 calls per hour — phased out after one company changed one policy. The neighborhood insurance man who managed a book of relationships built over twenty years — replaced overnight by a 1-800 number. The TV repairman whose diagnostic skill could not be automated — eliminated not by better technology but by a pricing structure that made repair irrational. The Sears catalog order representative who knew the catalog the way a librarian knows a collection — gone when the catalog closed in 1993. And the family doctor who drove to your house, sat on the edge of the bed, and left a handwritten prescription — replaced by whoever happened to be scheduled that day. Real 1965 numbers: why 30,000 milk delivery routes collapsed over eleven cents, what closed the last manual telephone exchange in Bryant Pond, Maine in 1983, and what the insurance industry meant when they said those jobs would be "phased out." Which one of these was part of your family's life? The milkman, the doctor, the man who came to the house. Tell me in the comments — name the person if you remember them. I read every single one. 00:00 — Opening 01:19 — Number 6: The Milkman 03:19 — Number 5: The Telephone Operator 05:07 — Number 4: The Neighborhood Insurance Man 06:55 — Number 3: The TV Repairman 08:38 — Number 2: The Sears Catalog Order Taker 10:08 — Number 1: The Family Doctor Who Made House Calls Watch more forgotten america stories in the full playlist:    • They Removed These 25 Things From American...   Subscribe for more forgotten american nostalgia — because there is a lot more of this country left to remember.