Jobs…Past, Present, and Future

 

Those who are part of the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog are here probably because of an interest in our country’s history. And possibly, by extension, also historical information from around the world.

For the past month, I’ve been in the process of refreshing and expanding three novellas I wrote several years ago with the common theme of lighthouses and the keepers who maintained them. My goal is to include more details about the duties performed by these individuals—and in some cases, families—who lived in remote locations. Maintaining the light and keeping watch for mishaps on the water provided essential services to ocean-traveling ship captains, as well as those sailing on the Great Lakes in the upper Midwest.

Hendricks Head courtesy of Boothbay Register

In my search for more details about this profession, I came across a fantastic website that describes jobs throughout the ages. There you can find listings including: a description of the overall duties, the years/centuries when the profession thrived, including why the profession died, the salary, what a typical day might be like, tools involved in the trade, and what skills were required to succeed. Also available are many FAQs that provide more information.

The Jobs Museum site includes professions ranging from a flint knapper in prehistoric times to a groom of the stool in Tudor times to a slubber doffer in the Industrial Revolution to a stereoscopist in the Victorian era. And, of course, you can explore jobs that you know the name of like paper boy, blacksmith, newspaper typesetter, Pony Express rider, wainwright, and scrivener. Not only would the site be of interest to authors and armchair historians but also to genealogists who might want to know more about what their ancestors lives were like.

Wainwright courtesy of Jobs Museum

Here’s the URL https://museum.jobzmall.com. But fair warning, you might spend more time there than you planned for because the information is so fascinating.

Places to find Linda:

Amazon

Blue Sky

Bookbub

Facebook

Goodreads

I now have a free historical novelette titled Bewitching Gypsy I’m using as a reader magnet on Book Funnel for those who register for my occasional newsletter. https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ipfc1m6vaw