Arvid Huisman.

Of all the changes I have seen in my lifetime, one of the more dramatic is how Americans eat. Well, sure, we still eat with our mouths; perhaps I should say, “how our meals are prepared.”

Three decades ago, folks who know such things claimed that for the first time in our society’s history, we were spending more than 50 percent of our food dollars on prepared foods. My guess is that the trend has continued.

It wasn’t that many years ago that Americans ate most of their meals –cooked from scratch — in their homes. That’s how it was for my family in the 50s and 60s.

Shucks, even Wally and the Beav sat down at a dining room table with Ward and June to eat their meals at home back then.

Those who ate at restaurants regularly were, in my pre-adolescent world view, wealthy. Seven decades later, eating out is common for many folks.

With six kids, we were not a “dining-out” family. I can remember only two occasions when our family went out together for a meal.

One of those occasions was a Sunday noon meal at a greasy-spoon operated by one of our father’s distant relatives. My hamburger was really greasy but, hey, it was dining out!

Back in the 50s and 60s, dining out in rural Iowa usually meant eating at a “sit down” restaurant where a waitperson brought the food to your table. Even in the city, fast food restaurants were just getting started.

I recall seeing Golden Arches in Des Moines in the 60s, when McDonalds was still counting the number of burgers sold by the single digit millions.

At that time, a fast-food chain called Henry’s was in operation in larger Iowa towns.

My youngest brother and I drove to Fort Dodge one afternoon. We ate supper at Henry’s, taking advantage of a five-burgers-for-a-buck deal. With French fries and sodas, the two of us ate for less than five bucks.

When we moved to Sioux City in early 1974, there were only two McDonalds in the metro area (population 100,000-plus) — no Burger Kings, Wendy’s or Hardees.

Today, there are more fast-food restaurants in Sioux City (and most other cities) than you can shake a French fry at.

In Iowa’s smaller communities, the first fast food restaurants were mom and pop drive-ins, many featuring soft-serve ice cream. They were known by a variety of names — Tastee-Freeze, Dairy Curl, Dairy Dee-light and others.

Some rural towns were large enough to attract a Dairy Queen franchise or an A&W Root Beer drive-in.

These drive-ins were busy places, particularly on warm summer nights when families drove in for a cool treat and the town’s teenagers drove in just to be cool.

In the last 50 years, national and regional fast-food franchises have found success in small town Iowa, too. I have visited each of Iowa’s 99 counties and I doubt there are any without at least one burger, sub sandwich, pizza or ice cream franchise.

Even small town supermarkets offer prepared food items and are enjoying that piece of the food dollar.

Convenience stores, not to be outdone, offer carry-out breakfast, lunch and dinner (“supper” where I grew up.) Many also offer carry-out pizza.

In recent decades, convenience stores and fast-food franchises have married. Nowadays, you can find a burger, sub or Mexican food counter in or adjacent to a C-store.

When our children were younger, my wife and I were adamant about eating our evening meals as a family at the table. As our nest emptied, my wife and I found ourselves dining out more frequently.

Now, as retirees, we eat-out less frequently than when we were working. We’re down to maybe twice a week.

When we do eat out, we see many families dining together. I wonder what today’s children will tell their kids about food and the good old days.

Imagine the stories: “When I was a kid, we only got to eat out four times a week.” Or, “We had to drive all the way to the county seat to get a Happy Meal.”

Or, “Eat your French fries; there are kids in China who have to eat their mother’s home cooking.”

Things just keep on changing, don’t they?