It was 56 years ago Friday when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in downtown Dallas.
November 22, 1963.
What was the energy industry like in those days? A gallon of gas cost only 30 cents. Sounds cheap doesn’t it. But analysts say it’s not as cheap as it sounds when you factor in the average was about $4,400 a year or $84 a week.
Yes, but you got full service back in 1963. Those were the days a “gas jockey” ran out after you entered the gas station and ran over the air hose that dinged and alerted him a customer was at hand. Usually with a rag in his hip pocket and a smile on his face, he pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield and maybe even checked your engine oil.
Crude oil prices in 1963? A barrel o f oil produced from Oklahoma oil wells brought on average $2.91. It finally reached the $3 a barrel mark in 1964 and it wasn’t until 1975 when crude oil prices went above the $10 mark and reached $12.21 a barrel.
Home prices? The median house in the U.S. in 1963 cost $18,000. Adjusted for inflation, it was $143,522.74.
A first class stamp was 5 cents. A dozen eggs cost 55 cents. If you brought a gallon of milk, it cost 49 cents and a loaf of bread was 22 cents.
Oh, if you were a smoker and a lot of people were in 1963, a pack of cigarettes cost 35 cents compared to the average $8.32 per pack today.