when i spoke with the newlywed, matty, yesterday, he asked that i send him the marriage certificate that he gave us at the wedding to hold onto for him. got me to remembering.
i was 19 when i married bill in 1974. i worked as a secretary in an industrial design firm in downtown cleveland. i made $450 / month salary. thought it was big time. there used to be a very cool department store right across the street from our office – halle brothers. halle’s to most. mr. jing-a-ling’s place to greater clevelanders of a certain (read that older) age. i loved this store. everything about it. when i first got my job, i went over to halle’s and applied for my very own halle’s charge card. was very proud of it.
but when i married and took bill’s name, i was anxious for EVERYTHING to show my new name. so i called over to halle’s credit department and asked that my card be reissued with my married name. the lady on the other end of the phone said, “you’ll have to have your husband come in and reapply for the account. we don’t issue credit to married women, but you will be able to use your husband’s card.” i told her that i was the major earner in the household as my husband was still (and would likely continue to be) a college student. she told me that a wife’s income was irrelevant in a credit situation as a married woman’s employment and earnings status were considered temporary and likely to change if and when she became pregnant. i told her we would not be having children for quite a while until my husband completed his education. she said that didn’t matter.
yes, this was legal at the time. within a year, the laws changed. this kind of thing always gets me to thinking about how much “things” have changed in my lifetime.
most of the time, i don’t FEEL old. until i remember something like this.
Yes, I remember, I'm the same age as you and when I worked in a bank we, the girls, could open the front door to the public for the first time. We were also asked if we would like to study for bankers exams (unheard of before) Sounds like the middle ages, doesn't it?
Posted by: Anji at August 25, 2003 12:38 PMI agree with you. I never feel old until I remember just how far we have come and how things have changed. But luckily that feeling only last for a minute or two.
Posted by: Michelle at August 25, 2003 03:12 PMI was told I could establish credit with a department store card before they would ever consider giving me a major card in my own name. So I got the credit card.. with a $100 limit. OOOOkay.
Posted by: Charlene at August 25, 2003 03:45 PMBoy.... I think I know one person that would have been thrilled if they had just done this in reverse for her.... not given credit to her ding dong!
great memory!
-d
Oh man, I would have lost my cool. Everyone says, "Oh, but it was a different time. You don't understand." But I don't care. I still would have told the woman off.
Posted by: Sara at August 27, 2003 12:07 PM