My paternal grandfather, who I knew as Opa, was born in 1899, the year the first automobiles were displayed in Iowa at the Linn County Fair. Opa celebrated his 11th birthday on April 29, 1910, less than a week before the first documented powered, heavier-than-air airplane flight in Iowa occurred.

On the day after Opa’s 23rd birthday, WOI Radio in Ames was granted a license to operate Iowa’s first radio station.

He told me about dating with a horse and wagon. “The horse knew the way,” he said with a wink.

Opa farmed with horses for at least two decades before he began using tractors. His last team of horses, Spot and Daisy, lived a life of leisure in their later days. The only time I saw the team put to work was when Opa cut alfalfa.

When I was a nerdy teenager in the 1960s, I sometimes thought about all the changes my grandfather had witnessed in his lifetime. I am now eight years older than my grandfather at the time of his passing and I find myself reviewing all the changes I have seen so far in my life.

Automobiles had been around for a few decades when I was born, but today’s cars bear only a basic resemblance to the models I first knew. Power everything and automatic and CVT (continuously variable) transmissions make driving easier these days. Shucks, there are cars that drive themselves nowadays.

Refrigerators were common when I was a kid but they were simply cooling boxes. Today’s refrigerators not only keep food cool, they have water and ice dispensers, can be connected to Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and can even be purchased with smudge-proof finishes to prevent little handprints. However, I am willing to wager that most of today’s fancy fridges won’t last as long as the Frigidaire that served my mother for two decades.

My grandfather never owned a television set. I purchased my first TV at the age of 19 — a used tabletop wooden box that was heavy and bulky. Today I have four TVs around the house and my grandfather would not believe the quality of the images. (Don’t worry, I only watch news, weather and YouTube.)

While telephones were around during my grandfather’s childhood, Opa never saw a cellphone nor could he have even imagined talking on the phone from his car. I’ve had a cellphone for more than 30 years, but I continue to be amazed at today’s cellphone technology.

When my grandparents still lived on the farm, my grandmother had a modern kitchen but she still used her trusty old wood and cob fired cookstove. We had a cookstove in our kitchen for part of my childhood.

In the early ’70s, I was introduced to an Amana Radarange® microwave oven priced around $500. I was amazed at popcorn popped in a paper bag in seconds.

These days I am amazed at the proliferation of microwave ovens. Though you can still spend several hundred dollars for a microwave oven, you can buy many models for less than $100.

I doubt many of today’s teenagers can, or will claim as I can, that in my teens I was my mother’s “hired girl.” Feeding and caring for six kids and a husband who worked hard but was not much help around the house kept my mother busy. I understood her need for help and picked up a few “maid” skills.

Sixty-five years ago we ironed everything. After a time in the wringer-washer, laundry was dried outside on a clothesline. Nearly everything came in wrinkled and I learned to smooth out those wrinkles with a hot iron.

I ironed nearly everything – dish towels, handkerchiefs, boxer shorts and, of course, shirts and slacks.

My grandfather enjoyed listening to music via vinyl records on his RCA console radio/phonograph. I enjoy music via digital internet streaming on YouTube or Alexa. I gave away my collection of vinyl years ago, wore out my cassette tapes and have misplaced my collection of CDs. Lots of changes.

Though Opa would be amazed at today’s conveniences, he lived a full and happy life. I imagine that six decades down the road someone will review my old-fashioned life and wonder what I would think of the modern conveniences they are enjoying.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2026 by Huisman Communications.