General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What did "middle class" mean to you when you were 20-30 something? [View all]KansDem
(28,498 posts)...who started his own business.
He owned a small electric-generator rewiring business. That business provided him and his family (wife and two children) a three-bedroom house with den in a suburb of LA county (CA).
I also knew of other blue-collar workers on the street who enjoyed smilier lifestyles. I grew up near the Macdonald-Douglas plant in Long Beach. It was a major employer and ran three shifts. When I moved away, I was shocked to discover that bowling allies, donut shops and gas stations weren't open 24 hours in other parts of the country! Or, at least, in other parts of the county that didn't have a major employer running three shifts. There were a lot of peripheral businesses that benefited from that one employer.
My stepfather worked for Matson Shipping in Wilmington/San Pedro. We weren't wealthy but we have everything we needed.
Middle class then meant to me you worked hard and enjoyed the fruits of you labor.
On edit: This was from 1954-1979.